New Release! The Tightrope Dare

New Squirrel Book just released! Read an excerpt from The Tightrope Dare!

August 24, 2018

New Release!  The Tightrope Dare

Today I’m really excited to announce the release of “The Tightrope Dare,” the second adventure in The Landmark Tribe (furry squirrels lighting the way)!  The illustrators have finally finished with this project!

Rebeccah did this illustration.  She drew and colored both the cute little squawler and the full background!

Kimberly accented the drawing for digital copy and enhanced the details on the computer (some digital art manipulation).

Each of the Landmark Tribe books is narrated by a different member of the Tribe.  This adventure is narrated by Nutty, a crunchie (the squirrel’s word for teenager) who may be just a bit over-confident (okay, maybe he likes to brag and exaggerate, as you can see from the excerpt below).

Our Landmark Tribe books are written for our church.  Any sales we get go straight back to church because it is our squirrely church family who inspires characters in the Landmark Tribe and this series was created during a trip to church!  (Read that story here!)

Come read a bit from “The Tightrope Dare” here:

 

This is the story of how, me, Nutty, greatest Crunchie in the Landmark Tribe and in all of the squirrel tribes in the Wooded Lands, saved the day with my big brawny arms!

“Nutty.”

And that is Walnut, whose favorite thing to do is do that deep sigh and say Nutty, like I’m really doing something wrong.  He is a Crunchie in the Landmark Tribe too, but he is ages older than me.  Walnut is almost as old as Kahoona, our great and powerful leader.

“Nutty.” Sighed Walnut again.

Okay, so he isn’t really that old, but almost.

On the day my story takes place, the winds were ripping squirrels from their nests and squawlers from their mother’s clutching paws.

“Nutty, seriously?” Walnut chided.

Okay, okay, so maybe the winds were just enough to make leaves dance, Walnut is only a season older than me, and maybe I am not the greatest Crunchie in all of the squirrel tribes and maybe I didn’t use my big brawny arms to save the day, but I’m telling the story and that sounds cool, doesn’t it?

And that sigh from Walnut means he agrees but doesn’t want to say I’m right about anything.  Ever.  And he certainly doesn’t want to admit that I, Nutty the Great, am cool.  But I so am.

“Why do you start every sentence with a conjunction?” Walnut said in a bookish voice.

Honestly, he sounds so much like Grizzly, a new member of the Landmark tribe, that he seems like his real son.  Grizzly talks with a gruff bear voice but through his nose like it is constantly pinched shut.  And now Walnut has walked away so he can’t hear my awesome story.  Okay, well, you will have to do.  Stay right there and don’t move.

 

If you liked that and want to see how the Landmark Tribe of furry squirrels light the way in the Wooded Lands, click on the link to buy a copy or check out my Book List to view all the available formats!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

 

Meet Eric (of the Landmark Tribe)

June 11, 2018

Meet Eric

Eric is a squirrel in the Landmark Tribe.  They live deep in the Wooded Lands in some big ancient trees.

Eric is the eldest son of Mama Nut and Kahoona, the leader of the Landmark Tribe.  His grandfather is Grappy and his grandmother is Granny Pecan.  Granny Pecan makes the best hazelnut pie in all of the Wooded Lands!

Eric has a sister (called a squirreless) named Magnolia.  He and Magnolia are of courting age, but Magnolia hasn’t found her mate yet.  Eric is courting Hazel.

Eric is just old enough to consider himself out of the Crunchies (the word for “teenage squirrels”), although most of the younger Crunchies consider him the eldest of them.

He orders his thoughts carefully before speaking.  He is considerate of others and gentle to the squawlers (babies or very young squirrels).  Eric is always respectful.  He helps lead others in what is right.

Here is an excerpt from “The Busting Berry Bath,” in which Eric tries to encourage Chip, who is narrating the story:

“I was held in the spell of newness that encased the nest.  I’d never seen an egg hatch.  The mama bird showed up and settled on the nest, feeding the older baby birds and preening the hatchling.  Precious.

“You saved it,” I heard a voice as I tried to slip away.  It was Eric.  I grabbed my baskets and quickly started filling them with berries.  Eric came near me and helped.  He tossed berries into the basket without missing just like Granny with the nuts. 

I shrugged. 

“All life is worth fighting for,” Eric nodded as he gently placed the last berry to crown one basketload.  “Even if it’s just a bird.”

I knew he was using Woody’s words to make a point, but I missed it. 

“Thanks for helping,” I offered.  He gave me the basket and I carried both to Granny Pecan.  The image of that tiny little bird hatching out of his shell – I didn’t even know if it was a boy baby or a girl baby – was so neat.  Maybe I did save it.  I felt blessed. And we hurried back for the best pie in the whole wide wonderful world!

So, that was the story of how I, Chip, Crunchie of the Landmark Tribe in the wooded lands, was rained on by the Busting Berry Bath while harvesting toppings for a heavenly hazelnut pie.”

Oh, oops, Chip forgot, the full story isn’t here!  You have to read Chip tell the whole story in “The Busting Berry Bath!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

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