A Step Sideways

2012 OKRWA International Digital Awards in the YA Long category

A Step Sideways

A Novel by: Nancy Marie Bell

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

RATING: L=0     S=0    V=1

Release: December 2, 2011

Editor: Antonia Tiranth

Line editor: Penny Ehrenkranz

Cover artist: Kaytalin Platt

Words: 49082

Pages: 129

ISBN: 978-1-927361-31-3

Price: $5.50

Back Cover:

Legend says that land once stretched from Lands End in Cornwall as far as the Scillies Islands thirty miles out in the Atlantic. To this mythical land Gort Treliving escapes when his Uncle Daniel beats him senseless. He steps away from his corporeal body and walks into the mist of oblivion, seeking only to escape the pain. To Gort’s surprise he finds he is Sir Gawain, one of King Arthur’s knights. He is also the partner of a wonderful grey war stallion who can telepathically speak to him.

While he is caught up in a wild chase across the countryside to rescue King Arthur’s kidnapped queen and her lady, Gort as Gawain, tries to puzzle out the strange visions of another life that assail him at the most inopportune times.

There is intrigue, mystery, sword play and a dash of romance. A Step Sideways is a rollicking romp of an adventure that borrows inspiration from the Arthurian legends with a decidedly quirky cast of supporting characters.

After the last page the characters will linger in your mind and you’ll wonder what happened next.

Excerpt:

Whoever had him by the back of the neck half-dragged and half-carried him into a dark narrow lane.  Gort tried to get his teeth into the hard flesh digging cruelly into his face. The action was rewarded by a hard shake and a blow which set his ears ringing while bright lights danced across his vision.

It was full dark now. There was no way to figure out where the man was taking him, his head hurt so much he couldn’t see straight anyway.  After what seemed like forever, his captor set him on his feet and twisted his arms painfully backward.  The man secured Gort’s thin wrists with a thick zip tie before spinning him around.

Gort narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the person’s features. The light behind the figure threw the man’s face into shadows.  The dark figure spoke, and his worst nightmare became reality.

“Ya young whelp, who do you think you are kissing the daughter of that trollop, right in the lane.  It’s a good thing it is I’ve come back to keep you in line.” Uncle Daniel’s whiskey-roughened voice cut as surely as a knife.

Gort forced himself to open his mouth to say something, anything. Nothing came out, just a faint croaking, like a squashed frog, which was pretty much mirrored his feeling at the moment.  Daniel’s yellowed teeth glinted in the bit of light filtering into the shed.  The youth fought to control the tremors threatening to unlock his knees and drop him to the ground at Daniel’s feet. He knew where they were now; this was the shed behind Daniel’s house. Just two streets over from Emily’s, but it might as well be miles.  Gort made himself look up and meet Daniel’s drunken gaze; his heart shrunk in his chest at the anger in Daniel’s eyes.

He’s going to put me in the cupboard.  I can’t go in the cupboard.  I won’t.

The boy shifted his feet and stood up a little straighter. Daniel narrowed his eyes at the small show of defiance. Gort’s heart tripped in his chest as he fought the urge to cower from the rage emanating in waves from his uncle, refusing to listen to the voice of terror screaming incoherently through his mind.

“Don’t look at me like that, boy,” Uncle Daniel snarled and took a quick step forward.

Gort refused to step backward away from him, and at any rate, past experience said such a move would only make his uncle more belligerent. So he stood his ground and hoped Coll would come looking for him soon.  In answer to his prayers, he heard his friend’s voice faintly calling his name. Daniel looked over his shoulder at the sound, and Gort took the chance to bolt for the door.

Uncle Daniel swung back and lifted him by the collar of his jacket. Daniel’s enraged face filled his vision as the man shook him roughly, his feet dangling a foot off the ground. Gort’s throat worked, trying to draw air into his lungs.  Daniel’s thin lips drew back from his teeth, his whiskey-laden breath making Gort gag even more than the restricting collar of the coat.   Daniel’s hand snaked out, his blow leaving behind a burning, stinging pain on his victim’s face. The boy tried not to let the tears leave his eyes, but Daniel’s next blow knocked all his good intentions out the window.

He lost count of the number of times Uncle Daniel hit him in the face, his eyes refused to focus, and his face was numb from the hard slaps.  Uncle Daniel threw him against the wall of the shed, kneeling on his legs when he slid to the ground.  Gort didn’t know how long Uncle Daniel beat on him. His body was one great pain, and still Daniel continued to land blows on his head and his stomach and his back.

“Set the law on me will you?  Get some fancy lawyer to take away the money that’s rightfully mine and give it to that auld biddy, Emily?” Uncle Daniel punctuated each accusation with another blow.

Gort finally just let himself slip into the comforting darkness where Uncle Daniel and the pain in his body couldn’t follow him.  Safe in the encompassing darkness, his searching hand encountered and became entangled in the crystal strands of GogMagog’s mane. Relief at the stallion’s presence washed through him. Gog had been gone for a bit on some business not requiring his soul mate’s presence, so there hadn’t been an opportunity to discuss the recent troubling events.

Gort pulled himself to his feet and leaned heavily on the spirit stallion’s shoulder. Not for the first time, the teenager thanked the Goddess of Glastonbury Tor for the kinship of the Crystal Stallion.  They became bonded the night Laurel successfully bargained for her mother’s life in the crystal caverns within the Tor. “Thank the gods, you’re here Gog.” Gort’s voice trembled, choked with his tears.

“I would have come sooner, but I was a long way away.” Gog’s warm breath sent hope and strength coursing through his cold body. The stallion glowed and shimmered with rainbow light; his large liquid eyes were as fathomless as the night sky.  Powerfully built, the spirit stallion had a long, flowing heavy mane and tail and thick-boned legs.  His broad short back and powerful haunches rippled with strength.  He belonged to the herd of crystal stallions that wait beneath the Tor for Arthur to call them to battle on the day of Britain’s greatest need.  Partners in many former lives, man and horse were re-united once again. In the everyday world, Gog appeared as a sturdy black Fell pony who never strayed far from Gort’s side.

“Come with me for a while.  Leave what is for a time, and travel with me to what was once,” GogMagog entreated him.

“Lead me to it.” Gort stepped away from the warm crystalline shoulder of the great stallion.

Reviews:

I liked this continuation from the English kids we met in Laurel's Miracle (The Cornwall Adventures Series). This time, the focus is on Gort, a boy who is traumatized by the death of his parents and the abuse of a drunkard uncle. He's rescued in Laurel's Miracle from the uncle and is living with his friend Coll's family...It's a totally original Arthur story, no re-hashing of how Arthur becomes King, but a tale of Camelot in full power. 4STAR REVIEW-MARVA DASEF...READ FULL REVIEW

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Customer Reviews:

must admit I fell in hunger for this book the minute I saw the cover. I knew I would be pursuing it. Luckily the cover honors the story very aptly.rnrnThis is book two in Ms. Bells' THE CORNWALL ADVENTURE SERIES...with LAUREL'S MIRACLE being Book One.rnrnBook One focuses primarily on the adventures of children. This one continues with most of the children from Book One, but briefly. Gort the hero of this story steps into a world beyond his imagination after he is brutalized to within an inch...maybe...of his young life.rnrnGort rises from his bleeding shell into the life of Sir Gawain, one of the Knights of King Arthur's realm and an adventure beyond Gort's wildest imaginings.rnrnI am a fan of Arthurian England. From the time I was little I played and replayed the Broadway album of Camelot until I think I wore it through and through. I imagined living aside Arthur, his knights and the pagentry of Camelot...This is NOT a feel-good Broadway musical...it IS an adventure so realistic I expected to see Merlin popping out of my e-reader taunting me about my eagerness to follow Gawain and his trusty war steed, Ailim.rnrnI LOVE this story even though I am an adult and it is geared for the young readers. Guess I'm younger than I thought. (wink, wink)rnrnI KNOW this is not the last book in this series...thankfully.rnrnOne thing missing from so many of our lives is MAGIC...but Ms. Bell gives us MAGIC in abundance.rnrnErgo..I happily give this book FIVE magical stars and profess to being eagerly looking forward to more. rn

I liked this continuation from the English kids we met in Laurel's Miracle. This time, the focus is on Gort, a boy who is traumatized by the death of his parents and the abuse of a drunkard uncle. He's rescued in Laurel's Miracle from the uncle and is living with his friend Coll's family.rnrnGort's uncle returns to town, catches up to the boy, and beats the bloody hell out of him. Unconscious in a shed where nobody knows he is, Gort slips into an alternate reality and persona. He becomes Sir Gawain of King Arthur's court.rnrnThe book proceeds completely in Gawain's point of view except for occasional slippages between the modern world and the time of Arthur. rnrnThis central part with Gawain, his mighty stallion Ailin, and Gawain's crush on the lady-in-waiting to Gwenhwyfar. The ladies have been taken by the villain, who remains a shadowy figure for the most part. After all, the point of this story is showing poor little Gort as the strong noble Gawain.rnrnIt's a totally original Arthur story, no re-hashing of how Arthur becomes King, but a tale of Camelot in full power. rnrnNow the weak part for me is not enough Gort. Bare little shreds of memory pass through Gawain's aching skull (he's clouted in the head early on) of his identity as Gort. This really isn't confusing when you read it. It's just hard to say in a few words. I would have liked to see Gort fully going back and forth between the modern world where he's being beaten to a pulp by his lousy uncle, and Gawain as he helps rescue the ladies. I just think it should be more Gort's than Gawain's. rnrnOn the other hand, I found Gawain's story compelling and strong. It didn't need a time travel wrapper to stand on its own. There are two stories here, both interesting and worthy. I don't believe they meshed as well as they could. I'd be perfectly happy with one or the other.rn

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