(Book) - A Castle and Giant Rings...

(Sneak preview...seeking publisher...excerpt...send links to friends...by Daniel J Hay.)

Once upon a time, in a small town, lived two friends. A girl and a boy...

You knew this story had to start with “Once upon a time.” It just had to. There really is no other way for a really first-rate story to get started. In fact, it is so important that we better do it again.

“Once upon a time, in a small town, lived two friends.”

Well they didn't really live in a town. They lived in what might be called a village, or maybe a hamlet. You see, there were exactly three houses on the road where they lived. Two roads, actually. One went west and east, and the other went south.

So, on the south road lived a very poor goldsmith. Also on the south road, facing across the road lived a very poor blacksmith. One worked with gold. The other worked with iron. On the north road that ran west and east, but facing south, and just across the road from where the north road really went south between the home of the goldsmith and the home of the black, stood the other home. Perhaps home is not accurate. It was, you see, and perhaps still is, an old, yet beautiful, castle. An empty castle.

Now, in once upon a time stories friends are truly friends forever. Not so for the blacksmith's daughter and the goldsmith's son. They fought all the time. They yelled at each other and promised to never speak again. One such promise worked for an entire three days. Normally they would be meeting again by the next day. And often they were only mad until after lunch. It is hard to stay mad at the only other person you have to play with.

What usually got them mad was when one decided they were boss because they were older. And in fact, they never knew who was oldest. Their birthdays were the same day of the same week of the same year. And in this story their births are so important that we just have to tell the story. So...

Once upon a time...two mothers were expecting the births of their children. They suspected the babies would be born at very nearly the same day. Being the only two women................. (the rest is hidden in the book...)