The Gemstone Chronicles

Readers of The Gemstone Chronicles know that Beebop has some very cool toys. He has a ski boat, jet skis, four-wheelers, and a utility vehicle. He drives a truck and Nana has a crossover vehicle. But, Beebop’s Corvette Convertible is his favorite toy in the books! I found this picture on Google and thought I would let everyone see what Beebop loves to drive!!

The Corvette!

Now, some facts about the car. There were only about 30,000 Corvettes made in 1973 and of those, only 4,943 were convertibles. 1973 was the last year the rear chrome bumper was available. There were 3 engine options available: the base engine 350 cubic inches (190 hp), L82 version at 350 cubic inches (250 hp), and the 454 cubic inch LS4 (275 hp). The cost for a convertible began at about $5,300!

Beebop’s Corvette is painted Mille Miglia Red and has the L82 engine. Why did Beebop pick this particular car and this particular year? Because it is a beautiful classic automobile that he has admired for years! It is fast, nimble, and incredibly fun to drive.

If, and when, I ever get the chance to own one of these classic convertibles, I will be sure to take advantage of the opportunity. I could see myself, Nana at my side, cruising down to Panama City Beach, Florida with the top down, wind in our hair, enjoying the sunshine! Pair it up with some Rayban Wayfarers (which I happen to own), and we will be ready to roll!

To find out more about Beebop’s 1973 Red Corvette Convertible, read The Gemstone Chronicles! Books 1-3 can be found at the following links and at many fine etailers (like Barnes and Noble and Books A Million) on-line!

Links:

Book One: The Carnelian:

Amazon:

Smashwords:

Barnes and Noble:

Book Two: The Amethyst:

Amazon:

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/313213

Barnes and Noble:

Book Three: The Emerald:

Amazon:

Smashwords:

Barnes and Noble:

And, remember, a portion of every book sale goes to my 1973 Red Corvette Convertible fund!!!

What is your favorite classic car? Leave me a comment and let me know!

The Gemstone Chronicles Book Three: The Emerald Now in Paperback!

It’s official! I have just approved the third book in The Gemstone Chronicles series for publishing in paperback! The Gemstone Chronicles Book Three: The Emerald joins Book One: The Carnelian and Book Two: The Amethyst as both an ebook and a paperback.

Below is a brief description of Book Three: The Emerald:

Aidan, Maggie, Nana, Beebop, and their elven friends have recovered the first two of four gemstones stolen from the Elven Bow. With the second stone – the Amethyst – protected by the Elven Scouts Alatariel and Lotheth and on its way to Keeper for safekeeping, the rest of group heads deeper into Celahir to rescue Aidan and Maggie’s father, Mike, from the clutches of the witch Maeva and to recover the third gemstone – the Emerald.

After a fateful encounter at Maeva’s house, the witch turns everyone, except Aidan and Maggie, into stone statues to decorate her lawn. With the help of Dylan – a ghost boy they met in the village of Fearn – the children have to muster all of the courage and ingenuity they possess to find a way to retrieve the witch’s heart from its hiding place and trade it for their family and friend’s freedom. If they can do that, then they might be able to find the third gemstone by defeating the cockatrice…

That is enough of a teaser! If you want to read a longer sneak peek of The Emerald, find it at: https://www.williamlstuart.com/sneak-peek-the-gemstone-chronicles-book-three-the-emerald/

What’s next? I am working on the final book, called The Ruby! Expect it to be released in November 2013! In the meantime, read the first three books and enjoy the adventures of Aidan, Maggie, Nana, and Beebop! You won’t be disappointed!!

Links:

You can find The Gemstone Chronicles at the following links:

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008WV90JQ

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AR7UYGQ

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D8RH54Q

Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/214281

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/313213

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/323788

Have you read any of The Gemstone Chronicles series? If so, leave me a comment and let me know what you thought! If not, what are you waiting for? 🙂

Connect with me on social media on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, or email me at bill@williamlstuart.com or subscribe to the blog! I look forward to connecting with you!

Elves!

The Gemstone Chronicles has elves! Good ones, bad ones, Light and Dark Elves, the series has them all. Where did that inspiration come from? Well, the real Aidan and I were out gem hunting one day and we were discussing the magical properties of gemstones. Aidan, who enjoys reading fantasy and sci-fi, said that I should write a book with gemstones and elves. I agreed and The Gemstone Chronicles series was born.

It took time to research elves and what I found fascinated me! Many of us know about the elves from Tolkien’s classic books, but they are deeply embedded in many traditions around the world. Santa Clause has his elves. They are pervasive in Norse mythology. In medieval times, the elves were intermingled with fairies and the terms became synonymous. Native American mythology has elven stories.  Indian mythology even has a version of elves, according to my research.

What about the names?

Being a fan of Tolkien, though, I found a Tolkien alphabet online and used that to translate family names into the names of the elves used in the books. Not only are my grandchildren are featured human characters in the books, but sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, and parents and in-laws are in them, too, only disguised as elves! Descriptions of the creatures were probably the hardest part of developing the characters. I wanted to stay somewhat true to the stereotypical version of the elves, but I wanted to put my own stamp on them. I wanted the Light Elves to be beautiful and regal looking. The Dark Elves (or Drow) are also beautiful, but with a somewhat sinister twist. Instead of immortality, though, I made them long-lived but mortal.

As with their appearances, I struggled a bit with personalities. I used some inspiration from the Vulcans of Star Trek fame and tried to make them somewhat emotionless. I want to let them develop more human characteristics as the story unfolds, You, the readers, will be the judge of whether I was successful!

Elves in The Gemstone Chronicles:

Now, I want to introduce you to my elven friends! The main elf characters in The Gemstone Chronicles series are:

Findecano Saralonde- the first elf that the humans meet. He was freed from his fairy cross prison by Aidan and Maggie.

Alatariel Lissesul – lead elven scout and brother of Luthien and Lotheth Lissesul

Luthien Lissesul – elven scout and sister of Alatariel and Lotheth

Valandil Lissesul – the greatest elf swordsmith and forger of the Elven Sword

Enelya Leralonde – Dark Elf and one of Findecano’s  captors

Elerosse Silimaure – Dark Elf and another of Findecano’s captors

Artanis Amandil – elven scout

Naesse Tasartir – leader of the Elven Council

If you want to find out more about these elves, their human friends, and their adventures, be sure to read The Gemstone Chronicles series.

The adventure begins with Book One: The Carnelian and continues in  Book Two: The Amethyst and Book Three: The Emerald! The final book of the series, Book Four: The Ruby will be released in late November 2013!

Find the Books:

Find The Gemstone Chronicles at the following links:

Book One: The Carnelian:

Amazon:

Smashwords:

Barnes and Noble:

Book Two: The Amethyst:

Amazon:

Smashwords:

Barnes and Noble:

Book Three: The Emerald:

Amazon:

Smashwords:

Barnes and Noble:

Connect with me:

You can connect with me at the following:

Facebook:

Amazon Author Page:

Goodreads:

Twitter:

Do you have a favorite elf character? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Book Three: The Emerald!

Its official! The Gemstone Chronicles Book Three: The Emerald has been released in eBook form on Smashwords and Amazon.

The Emerald is the continuation of Aidan, Maggie, Nana, and Beebop’s adventures in the magical land of Celahir. If you have read the sneak peek, you already know a little about the book. If not, you can find the sneak peek here: https://www.williamlstuart.com/sneak-peek-the-gemstone-chronicles-book-three-the-emerald/

I also thought I would share the book blurb with you!

The Blurb:

Aidan, Maggie, Nana, Beebop, and their elven friends have recovered the first two of four gemstones stolen from the Elven Bow. With the second stone – the Amethyst – protected by the Elven Scouts Alatariel and Lotheth and on its way to Keeper for safekeeping, the rest of group heads deeper into Celahir to rescue Aidan and Maggie’s father, Mike, from the clutches of the witch, Maeva, and to recover the third gemstone – the Emerald.

After a fateful encounter at Maeva’s house, the witch turns everyone, except Aidan and Maggie, into stone statues to decorate her lawn. With the help of Dylan – a ghost boy they met in the village of Fearn – the children have to muster all of the courage and ingenuity they possess to find a way to retrieve the witch’s heart from its hiding place and trade it for their family and friend’s freedom. If they can do that, then they might be able to find the third gemstone by defeating the cockatrice…

You can visit The Gemstone Chronicles at:

Facebook:

You can connect with me at:

IAN:

Twitter:

I hope you will enjoy The Gemstone Chronicles Book Three: The Emerald as much as you have the first two books of the series! And, don’t forget to leave a review after you have read it. I love to hear what my readers have to say!

As readers of The Gemstone Chronicles know, Nana and Beebop’s house in the books sits perched on a mountain in the north Georgia mountains. For those who don’t know, the mountains in Georgia are part of the Blue Ridge Mountains (which are part of the Appalachian Mountain chain). While not towering like the Rockies, the mountains can be very remote and extremely rugged. They are also beautiful!

Recently, Lana and I decided to visit Brasstown Bald and see what the highest spot in the state looked like. We were not disappointed!

The views were breathtaking and expansive. On a good day, you can see North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and, of course, Georgia. Rising over 4700 feet above sea level, Brasstown Bald allows spectacular views like the ones below!

These and similar views were the inspiration for the setting of the four books of The Gemstone Chronicles. I also discovered my fascination with gemstones that are found in the hills. Findecano, one of the elves in the books, was trapped in a chiastolite fairy cross found in the mountains. Fairy crosses are often found in Fannin County, GA, which can be seen from Brasstown Bald. I have found rubies, emeralds, sapphires, garnets, aventurine, carnelian, amethysts, and different other quartz during my many rock hounding trips. I recently joined a gold prospecting group, too, and I am looking forward to finding some of the gold left in the mountains!

The region also has some fantastic homes nestled in the hills. One of those houses became the prototype for Nana and Beebop’s house. I think this one is a bit larger than their home, but what a great place to spend a day. There is even a gold-bearing creek running through the area – the basis for the river running through Beebop’s property.

The House and The River:

There you have it. The North Georgia Mountains and streams that inspired the setting for The Gemstone Chronicles. Feel free to share pictures of the mountains and streams (or whatever else) that have inspired you!!

Seven Seven Blog Challenge!

Among the many new things I’ve learned (mostly the hard way) since beginning The Gemstone Chronicles is there are many people out there who want to help you succeed. They offer writing advice, formatting help, publishing tips, and, perhaps most importantly, marketing help! I have some skills in certain areas, but marketing is not one of them. This is where the Seven Seven Blog Challenge comes into play!

So, I get to try new things in my efforts to publicize my books. This week is my first blog challenge. I want to say thanks to B.B Shepherd, author of The Glister Journals for putting this together!! You can visit B.B.’s website at http://www.theglisterjournals.com/ to find out more about her books!!

The Challenge!

The neat thing about this blog challenge is that I have to post seven lines from page seven (hence the Seven Seven Blog Challenge) of The Gemstone Chronicles Book Three: The Emerald for everyone to read. I think it is a cool idea to give out a teaser like that! I plan on releasing The Emerald in June 2013. Now for that teaser…

“I have been meaning to ask you what people use for money in Celahir,” Nana said to Findecano.

“We usually trade for goods more than use coin. However, since I have no goods to barter with, I used one of my few coins to reward this young man for his help.”

“How did you pay for our passage on the ship and our rooms at The Bloated Toad and at Peter’s inn?” Maggie asked.

“Keeper paid for those. How, I do not know. Keeper is a mystery to us, even though he is on our side in this struggle,” Findecano shrugged his shoulders at the thought of Keeper.

There are my chosen seven lines from The Gemstone Chronicles Book Three: The Emerald. I hope they entice you to take a look at the first two books of the series, Book One: The Carnelian and Book Two: The Amethyst, and read and review them!