Song of Sorcery
Colin Songsmith sings a song to an old witch who takes an unlikely revenge. The witch's granddaughter rescues him from the dire threat of being eaten alive by the cat. She hears the song, which happens to concern her recently married sister and a gypsy. Convinced that she has to save her sister, she takes the minstrel, the cat and her magical resources to Rowan Castle. The story is rich with descriptive details of setting and encounters with magical and fantastic creatures such as a talking cat, a lovesick dragon, and a bear prince. The characters speak in contemporary slang which plays nicely against the traditional fantastic settings. |
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First printing, January 2010 E-Reads, Ltd. |
SKU: ERBAEN0099
Copyright© 1982 by Elizabeth Scarborough All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form. Electronic version by WebWrights |
ONE THING AFTER ANOTHERA passing log swept the boat out from under Maggie, and she dropped with a shocking splash into the river, the rope slipping agonizingly in her hands. Suddenly her body was tossing and turning with the torrent. Then she felt Colin's arm about her waist. "Got you!" he yelled above the river, nearly breaking his own hold on the rope with the shock of her added weight. "Grab on now!" Flinging her arm wildly in his direction, she hooked her elbow about his neck, nearly throttling him. When at last they reached shore, and Maggie had clambered out of the water onto the bank, she looked up to see a large green-and-turquoise dragon that murmured to herself: "Aha! Dinner is served."
"The word for SONG OF SORCERY is delicisous!"
DEDICATIONFor Betty, Don, Monte, and Gladys Scarborough and Richard Gridley Kacsur and the pets who are my family. And for Dr. Martha Kowalski, who checked her own laboratory work while her office nurse was fighting dragons. Also for Jeannie Jett, Marion Watts, Allen Damron and Dr. Jeff Trilling, who not only believe in fantastic beasties and awesome enchantments, but believe in me as well.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThe "song of sorcery" quoted by Colin (and added to by him) is a compilation of several different versions of "The Gypsie Laddie," "Whistling Gypsy O" or "Gypsy Davey," a popular folk ballad believed to date from the 1600's. I am deeply grateful to Dover Books for reprinting The English and Scottish Popular Ballads collection, edited by Francis James Child, from whom the lyrics I've used in Song of Sorcery have been gleaned, and also to the many wonderful performers of folk music whose artistic stewardship of these old songs has been a continuing source of inspiration. I owe particular thanks in this respect to my good friend Allen Damron. |