My first foray into e-publishing is a novel-in-verse that my close friend I.C. Shaw and I co-authored a few years back, The Legend of The Books.

“In former days when legends still gave shine…” Thus the tone is set for The Legend of The Books, a novel in verse that hearkens back to epic poems of the days of old.

Replete with war and ruin, death and debauchery, jugglers and clowns, adventure and intrigue, The Legend of The Books arrives with a promise to return poetry to its rightful place in human history as a source of enjoyment and recreation for the masses. In homage to the works of Homer and The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Legend of The Books is as much Literary Ballad as it is Epic Poetry. Best read aloud around a roaring campfire with flagons of rum, The Legend of The Books recalls the oral and ancient tradition of storytelling.

When Artemus the infant Prince is kidnapped and left for dead by his jealous stepbrother, William the widowed woodsman finds and raises the orphan as his own. Within the forest of giant trees, the boy grows into a capable hunter, fisherman, soldier and scholar. Encounters with murderous Huns, primitive savages, corrupt politicians and a rollicking cavalcade of characters combine to create a timeless tale that unfolds on a landscape as varied as the cast.

While the elusive Books of Wisdom contain the keys to the survival of civilization, battles ensue, marauders invade, senator’s slither, and shadowy riders Robert and Jessup rise to meet the fate that awaits them as they endeavor to protect the tattered tomes.

The Legend of The Books earned an Honorable Mention in the International Hemingway Poetry Competition on the 100th anniversary of Hemingway’s birth. Appropriately, during the creative process the authors strictly observed Papa’s advice to “Write drunk; edit sober.” Dear reader is encouraged to approach the verse with gusto, celebrating each rhyme and line with triumphant exultation!

So, gather your friends around the fire, pass the bottle and the book around, and breathe robust life into this tale of days gone by, when legends still gave shine…