Dashes of Dreams

                                Dashes of Dreams

After crash landing beneath the ice sheets of Greenland, a fighter pilot joins a feline knight, a roguish oaf, and a plucky elf in search of an amphibious madman bent on ending all existence. When a "weather plane" and an F-22 Raptor disappear in a mysterious Arctic storm, Naval Captain John William Newman embarks on a search-and-rescue mission. He too vanishes. 

The pilot and his F-16 emerge from time-space distortion into fantasy land of fairy tale people, ultra-bizarre creatures, and monsters far more Hellish than mere wizards and dragons. Divest of his gear, the captain must depend on his wits, military training, and new-found friends to survive. With flits of whimsy sprinkled along the way, thrills and suspense mount with every step. Survivors come to stand on a precipice high above the Gorge of the Gargoyle where the leering face of a toad man and the brutish brawn of Neanderthal trolls stand primed for battle.

Victor becomes victim when cursed with the task of wresting the last fragment of a mythical orb from the skull of a stone demon, which in mortal form, possesses a strength of volcanic proportion. At stake—Earth's extinction and the end of forever. Perched on an ungodly limb is a haunting truth—not all fairy tales have happy endings.

Author Note:

On Easter morning, 2019, I was driving past a little park thinking about the climate crisis when I saw some kids searching for eggs. The scene inspired me to become proactive. I went online and learned that one of the best things people could do to help with the situation is "get creative". During all those months of COVID "sheltering”, I wrote a fantasy story that was light-hearted, full of action, and a little scary so kids would enjoy it. And I loaded it with interwoven subplots complex enough to encourage grownups to wallow in some deep thinking. I added an extra tricky ending to keep readers puzzled and pondering. 

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                              Dashes of Dreams

                            A modern-day fairy tale

In a realm where the real and metaphysical entwine, the fate of existence hangs in the balance.

On a search-and-rescue mission, a fighter pilot encounters an Arctic disturbance and crash lands beneath the ice sheets of Greenland. He joins an elf, an oaf, and a feline knight on a quest to stop an amphibious madman from stealing the omnipotent Indigo Orb. The creature obsesses night and day, yearning to use the sphere's potence to entomb all that is, all that was, and all that ever will be. Sailing stormy seas, escaping vulcanic hollows, braving forests of thorns, crossing eerie grasslands, suffering tornadic sands, the dogged travelers endure the terrors of terrain, tooth, and talon.

As swirls of autumn fill the sky, the wilting unterlands quake from the mountains to the shore. Shadows lurk and linger in the mind's darkest corner where gnashes of nightmares chase dashes of dreams. Despite the gallantry, the daring, and the fury of the fight, there looms a haunting truth--not all fairy tales have happy endings.

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If the words in this book provide enjoyment, stir concerns about the plight of our world, and offer a whisper of hope—the whole endeavor has been worthwhile.