Great Big Ocean Sky
by Kelly Byrd
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GENRE: Mid-grade Fantasy
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BLURB:
Book Two of the Far from Home Trilogy
Catch up with Mary Jingo as she trains with her
friends in the Great Big Ocean Sky-side city of Festdelm. She may have survived
the danger in Luminos, the City of Lights, but new challenges await as she,
Teeny, Van Clare, Corb, Mikeala, and WindRunner continue their fight to save
the Everything. When a new Shadowlander comes to LeeChee, will Mary be able to
trust him—even if he is one of her closest friends?
Join Mary Jingo and her motley crew as they travel
to the far ends of the world on their quest to save the Everything.
As more of LeeChee falls under Thrall, Mary must
choose wisely. Whom will she trust? What bonds will endure? And... how did a
Yorkshire Terrier end up as a part of this crazy experience?
The answers, dear reader, await inside as we set
sail on the Great Big Ocean Sky.
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Excerpt One:
WindRunner shot into the air, following the great ‘Dragon through the sky. Peregrina’s wake was strong and fast, and WindRunner put himself in the center of her air stream. Mary looked around, sensing for the other Thoughtdragons that had attacked the Garnet Revenge, but did not feel them.
It doesn’t mean they aren’t nearby, WindRunner said.
Really?
Do not become overconfident with this power, Mary Jingo. The Thoughtdragons are dangerous. Older even than my Kin. While I face the same temptation as you—I am drawn to her great power—remember that Peregrina wanted to be found. Otherwise, we would not have been able to follow her.
That couldn’t be possible, Mary puzzled to herself. She had known where Peregrina was. Mary had made this decision to follow Peregrina, hadn’t she? A stab of doubt hit Mary in the chest. Had they walked into a trap?
Peace, Warrior, WindRunner said soothingly. Peregrina wanted us to follow her. I don’t think she will harm you. I think she wishes to speak with you. Or, that is what Mikeala said to me before we left the boat.
You had a private Mindspan with Mikeala?
Yes. She told me I should take you if you wished to go.
Private Mindspans are rude when they are about someone else. The Father says so.
WindRunner laughed in her mind.
Suddenly, Peregrina stopped in midair and whipped around. WindRunner dove to keep from running straight into her serpentine length, ending their conversation. Peregrina beat her wings softly to stay stationary, and WindRunner flew around until he was face to face with the great Thoughtdragon.
Mary’s stomach sank. The last time she had been face to face in the air with someone like this, it had been the evil Mellie. She had won that battle, but only barely. She was not certain she could win a battle like that again. Peregrina was even more terrifying than Mellie. Her head was twice the size of WindRunner. The Thoughtdragon only needed to barely open her mouth to swallow them both whole.
WindRunner sent courage through their bond, but Mary felt his unease. He was being strong for her, just like she wanted to be strong for him. Peregrina spoke then to them both, her voice rich, gravelly, and musical, like a bass note dropped beneath a perfect melody.
“Well, you followed me out here, Shadowlander. What is it that you want?” She slithered her great head to the side as she said this, and Mary felt and smelled the Thoughtdragon’s untamed power. It blotted out her fear.
“I need your scales. Three of them. We need them in LeeChee. The Everything is shrinking, and I am fighting with the Resistors. We are trying to save it,” Mary said, breathing deeply. She spoke clearly and with confidence. “Please help us, great Peregrina.”
The ‘dragon shook her head and laughed.
“Save it? Save the Everything with my scales? Child, in your tiny mind, I might as well be the Everything. You cannot save the Everything with the Everything. And that world, that island, has been pitiful and beyond saving for many annuals now. Your Keeper is the size of a child. Don’t you see? It is lost. Go home to your dark, dark world and leave us in peace. Your People are causing the problem anyway.”
“My People?” Mary responded, trying to hide the hurt in her voice.
“Yes—you Shadowlanders. The Everything is created in the Shadowlands. It cycles up and up to places like LeeChee to be kept safe. Over time, it drifts back down to the Shadowlands and the cycle continues, with the ebb and flow of time. Do they not teach you anything in school down there?” Peregrina paused and turned her livid golden eyes to WindRunner.
“And you, the Lumon’s son. Bound by oath to protect a girl from the Shadowlands. Why have you done this?”
“She can save us,” WindRunner blasted back.
“Can she?” Peregrina replied with a grin on her giant mouth. “How? It is the greed of her People that has caused the blight in your lands. They don’t go outside anymore. They are trapped in their own heads, in their own tribes. They don’t listen to each other. They hardly interact with anyone who doesn’t think exactly how they do. How does one child heal rifts and tears that are hundreds of years old? This is why the Everything shrinks. Do you not know, WindRunner, son of Spearwing? Or are you all much too blind to see it?”
“Mellie is to blame for the Void. Mellie has been warping the Everything to her own purposes,” Mary said, yelling across the distance.
“Fool! Mellie was once like your precious Mikeala. As tall as a mountain and charged with keeping the Everything and the flow of the Cycles safe. She could no more turn the Everything into the Void than I can. It is against her nature. But to regain her former strength and form, she may have been tempted to help someone corrupt the Everything. The Void is powerful, even if it is unnatural. She may be helping the flow of the Void, but no, no. She did not create it.”
“Her scars,” Mary said to herself and WindRunner, thinking of the marks that marred the woman’s face. “Her scars are from the Void.”
“Yes,” Peregrina said. Her hearing must be excellent to perceive Mary over such a distance. “Yes. She has paid dearly in service to the Void.”
“You must help us,” Mary cried desperately. “Mikeala said you brought me out here to talk to me. Help me. I know you can.”
The giant Thoughtdragon swirled her body in the air in front of Mary. Small flames burst from her mouth when she laughed. Mary could feel their heat as they crackled in the air.
“Why would I help you? As I said, the greed of your people is what is causing LeeChee to die. It will grow dark and cold and fade, and me and my kind will visit it no more. And your land will suffer, Mary Jingo. As we have all suffered.”
“Please—you cannot let this happen.”
“How dare you!” Peregrina boomed. Her jaws opened wide. “How dare you accuse me of letting anything happen. It breaks my very being to know that LeeChee will fall into darkness and the Void, but I cannot intervene. Your People, you Shadowlanders, with your pride and your lack of imagination, your desperation for profit. You will kill LeeChee. I allowed you to follow me here because I wanted to see your face before I send you back to that darkened world of the Shadowlands. You don’t belong in LeeChee, Mary Jingo. You will only make things worse.”
Peregrina dove towards Mary and WindRunner, spinning her long body in the air and flapping her wings hard. WindRunner, always ready for attack, spun out of the way, as Mary gripped the handholds. She cast for Peregrina’s power, but found herself blocked from it.
WindRunner. She has shielded me. I cannot channel or control.
Sensing Mary’s fear, WindRunner burst through the air, the giant ‘dragon following swiftly behind. Peregrina was bigger, which WindRunner used to his advantage, banking and turning quickly through the air, making it hard for the Thoughtdragon to follow. Mary found herself dizzy and out of sorts, casting about for ideas. WindRunner blasted a mighty caw at the Thoughtdragon and watched as a jet of light shot from his beak and hit Peregrina squarely between the eyes. She roared angrily, then continued her wild pursuit.
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Topic: What's your favorite scene in this book and why?
In Great Big Ocean Sky, Mary continues her journey in LeeChee with bravery and aplomb. A new character joins her on the journey. A friend from home, Brandon Small, is also transported to LeeChee and flies across the skies to help fight for the Everything. My favorite scene in the book is when Mary and Brandon are united in LeeChee. Brandon sees Mary across a crowded area and almost doesn’t recognize her, as she has grown and changed so much over her time in the magical land.
I love this scene because it is a great character-building moment for both Mary and Brandon. For Brandon, he’s in a whole new place, learning more about himself and others than he ever imagined. Mary, on the other hand, has been in LeeChee for several months, changing and growing. They view each other in such a different way than they’re used to interacting at home. We get to see their excitement and love in that moment. Oh! And Mary realizes that Brandon’s grandmother’s Yorkshire Terrier has also come along for the journey, which just adds to the excitement.
Excerpt:
This was Sam’s sister all right, but she didn’t look like herself. She was bigger somehow, or taller? He couldn’t quite put his finger on it—she just seemed to take up more space. Her black hair was pushed back with a yellow headband, and the ends hung loosely around her shoulders. Her wide, crescent-shaped brown eyes practically glowed at him, and her light tan skin sparkled in the fading light. She wore a pair of wide-legged hunter green pants, a matching sleeveless top with a slash of contrasting color, and a pair of heavy, brown-leather sandals. Her thin mouth broke into a smile as they made eye contact. She waved. If he were honest, she looked like she belonged here in the motley crowd of people swirling around him. If he had passed her on the sidewalk on the way to school, he wasn’t sure he would have recognized her.
A man stood next to Mary, in a pair of black rider pants and matching T-shirt. The bright orange bandana tied around his tight cornrows offset the deep brown color of his skin. He had a wide nose and striking golden-brown eyes. The man waved an arm over his head at Brandon and Van Clare, who Brandon felt tense beside him.
Brandon took his eyes off Mary and the man as he and Van Clare made their way through the crowd. This place was crazy. People of all shapes, sizes, hair colors, and skin tones moved around him, wearing some form of the black garb he wore. Most of them called to Van Clare and placed their palms to their foreheads, and she responded in kind. A few Thunderbirds perched on high wooden platforms above them, looking down and surveying the busy scene.
Brandon and Van Clare were surrounded by a series of low, wooden structures that men and women streamed out of. In front of them stood a massive stone building that resembled a warehouse. People rolled by on bicycles everywhere. All kinds of bicycles—mountain bikes, slim city bikes, beach cruisers, even a Penny Farthing rolled by, which made Brandon smile to himself, its extra-large front tire and tiny back tire resembling bikes he’d seen hipsters ride in San Francisco.
The air was thick and crackling and lively, so different from the quiet, oppressive nature of the Imperial City. As Brandon watched, a Rider on a lightweight urban bike in deep blues and greens pedaled a few times across the paved road beneath them and then shot into the sky.
“Whoa!” Brandon said.
“Hey—no take offs outside of the Landing Circles—you all know the rules!” Van Clare called after the retreating frame of the bicycle.
“Good to see that you’re following protocol. Well met, Captain Van Clare,” the man said. Van Clare formally placed her palm against her forehead, as he reached out and pulled the Rider Captain into a quick side hug. “Who’s this new friend you brought with you?”
“Brandon” Mary exclaimed, before Van Clare could answer. Her arms were around his waist, as Misty clawed at their shins. “You’re here. How are you here? Why are you here?”
“Another Shadowlander?” the man standing next to Mary said, his mouth quirking to the side with trouble. Mary released Brandon from the hug and turned to the man. Misty sniffed around the man’s boots.
“Commander Cody, I mean, Cody, this is Brandon Small. He’s my older brother’s best friend. And this is his grandma’s dog, Misty. And I have no idea what either of them are doing here.”
“You remember Misty?” Brandon asked.
“Of course!” Mary said, squatting down to rub the small dog’s ears. “She’s kept me company at so many dinners at your parents’ house.”
Brandon stopped to think about this for a moment. His parents were close enough friends that the Jingos came around for dinner every couple of months. He’d almost forgotten that Mary came with them, since he and Sam would often escape upstairs to play video games as soon as the meal was over. He suddenly felt a tinge of regret at overlooking her.
“Don’t feel bad, Brandon,” Mary said, standing up from scratching Misty’s ears and looking him in the eye. “You’re Sam’s friend first. And that’s okay with me.”
“Did you just read—”
“Well met, Brandon of the Shadowlands,” Cody said, briefly touching his palm to his forehead before removing another bandana from one of his pockets and cleaning his hands of axle grease. “I hate to interrupt this reunion—but, Captain, who is this grom? And what in all the Cycles is he doing here?”
Brandon pursed his lips. The man named Cody judged him and Van Clare with a coolness Brandon did not appreciate. Every time he looked at Cody, something tugged at the back of his mind, telling him that this man was not to be trusted. A quick memory flashed through his mind of a small woman pressing her finger to his forehead. Brandon shook his head to clear it. When he looked up, Mary’s eyes were locked on him.
“What are you doing here, Brandon?” she asked slowly.
“What are you doing here, Mary? Sam told me that you were at summer art camp.”
Mary laughed, her voice tinkling and rolling across the dim dusk light.
“My mom and dad didn’t tell me that story. I guess it’s easier to tell People that than to try and explain where I actually am,” she said.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Stories have crept around the halls of Kelly Byrd’s mind since she was a little girl. Not even the combined will of her two loyal pups, her devoted husband, and all her house plants could keep her from putting this story into the world. You’ll find this happy crew in Nashville. Tennessee.
Website: https://www.kellybyrd.com/
Blog: https://www.kellybyrd.com/blog
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farfromhomeseries/
Buy Great Big Ocean Sky
This book will be on sale for only $0.99.
Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/great-big-ocean-sky-kelly-byrd/20069251?ean=9781736617458
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/great-big-ocean-sky-kelly-byrd/1143479263?ean=9781736617458
IndieBound: https://bookshop.org/p/books/great-big-ocean-sky-kelly-byrd/20069251?ean=9781736617458
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GIVEAWAY :
Kelly Byrd will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you for hosting today.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a fantastic novel. Thanks for hosting
ReplyDeleteThank you! You are so kind!
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ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an interesting book and I also like the cover.
ReplyDeleteVery good excerpt
ReplyDeleteI like the cover. Looks great.
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