Writing & Publishing A Book

It seems as though the Amazon links are broken. My Amazon module "What I am reading now." will not even show. Thanks, will try to get this fixed. Still broken as of 1400 on Sept 12, 2009

My pen name is Oscar Jones Dambrit. I have two books currently published. The Pulse of Honor and The Rambling and Babbling of Just An Old Man.

The poetry book titled: The Rambling and Babbling of Just An Old Man, is drawn from my writings from 1982 to 2001.

The novel titled: The Pulse of Honor, is the first book of a trilogy in the making. The novel is a historical fictional work, based on real events.

I am also working on several childrens books, in addition to the next two books of the trilogy.

A much needed thanks goes to Cheryl Ferguson. To Lee and Kim Martin, my eternal gratitude for your understanding and your compassionate ear.

I write the story, starting with the beginning sentence first, then the ending paragraph. Then I add the story line as it comes to me.

The Krysstal Princess

Red cardinals, blue jays, and yellow finches chirped loudly, while the big bright smiling sun cleared the morning fog. Few clouds dotted the beautiful light blue sky. Princess Krysstal, looking out her window, just knew that it was the perfect day to play in the small glen near the gentle bubbling creek.
Last year, King Osias made a nice swing for his seven-year-old princess. The rope made of the finest hemp, covered with a layer of delicate sheep-wool, protected Princess Krysstal's little hands from getting string slivers poked into them. The rope, attached to a large branch on her favorite tree, a great White Oak, made Princess Krysstal feel secure. She loved to swing and play on it. It was her most favorite place in the whole kingdom. Princess Krysstal loved to listen to the birds chirp and sing while she played. She enjoyed watching the birds flit about the glen, and especially watch them as they flew near the tall obelisk (branch-less tree as she liked to think of it since it was a greenish color) in the water near the edge of the creek bank. The king had told the little princess never to go near the object. That was why there were always two guards with her when she went to play on the swing.
Many times, Princess Krysstal asked her father why she could not go near the object. The answer always being the same, "You might fall in the creek and drown." the king would reply.
Today was a beautiful day to play, and Princess Krysstal very much wanted to play on the swing. She hurried and got dressed, and quickly went down the stairs, through the great hall, and out one of the many side entrances of the castle.
Princess Krysstal arrived at the great White Oak. Laughing and giggling she climbed onto the cushioned wooden seat. Grabbing the soft rope, she heaved her upper body backwards while thrusting her legs and feet straight out in front of her. Thus she propelled herself forward, and began her back and forth swinging motion.
Suddenly Queen Alicia appeared in the side entrance door. "Guards, guards, come quickly! The king has fallen and injured his leg. Krysstal, you stay on that swing until the guards come back!"
"Ok, mama." replied the little princess, as the guards began running toward the castle.
Ten minutes later, little Princess Krysstal was staring at the obelisk. Now, the little princess had an inquisitive mind and she was very curious about that object. Slowly she peeked around, checking to see if the guards were coming back. Seeing no one, she hopped off the swing and ran toward the obelisk. When she reached the edge of the water, she stopped. 'You might fall in the creek and drown.' her father's words echoed in her mind. Again, she slowly peeked around and saw no one. Puffing her little chest up she stepped forward into the shallow water. The obelisk was only five feet from the shoreline, and she could see the bottom of the object through the sparkling clear water.
Quickly stepping forward, Princess Krysstal reached the obelisk.
Being only slightly timid she stretched out her tiny left hand and touched the object. Fzzzzzzzzz, Princess Krysstal felt strange. Her tiny little body began tingling, her mind became fuzzy and quicker than the flash of a sunbeam the teeny princess fell into a deep, deep, sleep right where she stood. Princess Krysstal's itsy-bitsy body had turned into a solid crystal statue!
A few moments later the guards returned to the glen, and were horrified as they looked at the crystal statue that had been their beautiful little princess. Straight away one of the guards ran to the palace to tell the Queen and King what they had found.
King Osias, only having sprained his ankle in his earlier accident quickly dashed toward the glen, with Queen Alicia and the guard sprinting after him.
When they arrived at the glen, they became alarmed at seeing the once lively little princess standing there frozen, turned into a crystal statue, her tiny feet and lower legs covered by the ever flowing water of the gentle stream.
Queen Alicia murmured aloud, "What shall we do! Our poor little Krysstal!"
King Osias knew of the legend of the obelisk and had read its writings. He swiftly replied, "Calm down my dear. Getting hysterical will never solve anything." Closing his eyes while rubbing his kingly chin, Osias, calmed his mind. Sweeping the fear from his thoughts, he allowed his mind to come to a state of peace. He knew that only with a peaceful mind would he be able to attain the state of serenity that would allow him to seek the answer he needed to save his daughter.
Soon King Osias opened his eyes. Addressing the guards, he spoke quietly, "Sir Edwin stay here. Let none come near the princess. I will send more guards to assist thee."
Sir Edwin replied, "Yes My King."
Speaking to Queen Alicia, the king said, "Come, let us retreat to the privacy of the castle."
Upon entering the castle the king gave orders to his Commander of the Guard, "Captain Oscard, send ten more guards to the glen. Have them report to Sir Edwin. He is in charge of the glen security. Be quick about it."
King Osias firmly stated to Queen Alicia, "I am retiring to my private retreat to think. I do not want to be disturbed, except in the case of an impending attack."
Softly Queen Alicia acknowledged the kings' statement, "Yes my husband. I will make sure none disturb you."
The next day near noon, the king emerged from his retreat. "My queen!" he called out, his words echoing throughout the castle halls.
The king's wife stepped from their bedchambers into the large hall. "What is it my husband?" she asked.
"I remembered the words. We must hurry. There is no time to waste. We have to travel to Lord Hartford's castle post haste. I will explain on the way. Quickly get our things ready." replied the king.
With that King Osias stepped quickly toward the guard quarters. "Captain Oscard! Captain Oscard! Come quick!" he commanded.
Captain Oscard appeared in the large entrance hall stating, "I am here my king."
King Osias said, "I will need a small detachment of my personal guards ready to ride within the hour. We will be traveling quickly, so have them pack lightly. We will return before the next day's sunrise."
On that note, the king returned to his bedchambers.
There he told his wife, I remember the words from the scrolls. They are thus:

"Whosoever shall defile my surface with thine touch, shall forever more become a solid of thine own essence. The purity of thine heart or the evil of thine heart shall be thy reward, and none shall escape, except the innocent. Hence, an innocent shall regain their flesh and blood through the touch of that which did an innocent through innocence give. Thine reprieve shall last three sunrises, else thine touch is everlasting."

"You see my queen, Lord Hartford's son, Jon Mar played with Krysstal many times. I am hoping that during one of those times that Jon Mar gave Krysstal a toy or a gift. If he did, we just need to retrieve it and touch our little princess with it. That is why we must hurry." explained the king.
"My king, I have packed all that we need for this quick journey. Let us depart now." Queen Alicia replied.
"Come then. To the main gate. Our carriage is waiting." responded King Osias.
The carriage was waiting, and the footmen loaded the king and queens' luggage. And off they went as fast as their team of horses could carry them.
Lord Hartford and his son, Jon Mar, were waiting for them, as the king had sent a messenger ahead with a personal dispatch.
Forgoing the normal greetings, Lord Hartford spoke quickly, "My king, Jon Mar indeed gave a leather bracelet with pieces of amber attached to it. However, Princess Krysstal, accidentally, left it in the play yard. Luckily Jon Mar had retrieved it and put it away for the next time they would play."
Stretching his hand forth, Lord Hartford handed the king that precious bracelet.
King Osias thank Lord Hartford then said, "Forgive me Lord Hartford, but under the circumstances we must return to the castle immediately. I hope you understand."
Lord Hartford replied, "I do my king. God's speed be with you."
Upon their arrival at the castle, the King Osias and Queen Alicia went straight to the glen. The guards held their torches high as king hastily walked to Princess Krysstal and put the bracelet on her right wrist.
A loud boom and a brilliant flash of light burst forth from the area of the object.
The king regaining his sight watched as the little princess removed her hand from the obelisk.
Princess Krysstal turned and ran toward the bank. In her mind, she was never crystallized.
Queen Alicia and King Osias embraced their little daughter, before she could blink an eye.
After a few moments, the king, queen, little princess and the guards all walked into the castle. Everyone was happily chatting and laughing.
The guards went to the guard quarters, and the king, queen and princess went to the large family room.
King Osias sat down beside Queen Alicia. He commanded Princess Krysstal to come and sit in front of him. The little princess did so.
King Osias said, "Now my princess, do you understand why I didn't want you to play near that object. You could just as easily drowned as turned into a crystal statue. Thankfully, Jon Mar kept the bracelet that you are now wearing. That bracelet awakened you from your deep sleep. You have a great friend in Jon Mar. You owe your life to him. I hope that in the future you listen to your mother and me. Otherwise something else may happen to you, something that may not be able to be undone."
"I will listen father." stated the little princess, as her tiny mouth opened into a big yawn.
"Good." said the king, "Now off to bed with you."
Princess Krysstal gave her mother and father a great big hug, then turned and skipped happily toward her nanny.

©2009 Oscar Jones Dambrit

I give it a title. Then layout the chapters, Write the first sentence, then the ending paragraph, and work on each chapter in various order, as it comes to me. However for this book, I am writing the novel and posting the new additions to it, with the previous writings being over-written. When the novel is finished, I will most likely rearrange the chapters to fit into a better story line for the completed novel.