Category: Characters

On Tour with Prism Book Tours

We’re celebrating the release of the third book in the Hamelin Stoop series, The Ring of Truth! Today, the author talks about the storybook world for the series. If you missed his post about the inspiration for the series, you can check that out HERE. Come back HERE on Friday, January 15th, to read an excerpt from book three. Plus, there’s a giveaway to enter below. Enjoy!

The Eagle, the Cave, and the Footbridge
(Hamelin Stoop #1)
By Robert B. Sloan
Young Adult Fantasy, Christian
Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 332 Pages
November 15, 2016 by 12 Gates Publishing

Afraid of being caught by trackers from another world, a young mother abandons her baby boy in a tomato box inside the screened porch of a children’s home. The staff at the orphanage name him Hamelin Stoop, but he grows up longing to learn his real name, find his parents, and thus discover his true identity.

Life is not easy for Hamelin. He belongs to everyone, though in some ways to no one fully. And the people he is closest to leave him one by one. A letter from an older friend advises Hamelin to “keep waiting and keep hoping.” Bitter experiences force Hamelin to wait, but he has to learn how to hope.

When the children’s home forgets his eighth birthday, he sneaks away at night. He soon discovers that he isn’t just running away — he is being summoned by the Ancient One. Guided by the Great Eagle through a mysterious cave, Hamelin must pass a dangerous test of courage before he can find his parents.

Hamelin’s failures, fears, and hopes become part of a larger story, a story of a great struggle between worlds and kingdoms where the old myths of magic, evil contracts, and enslaved children turn out to be real.

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The Lost Princess and the Jewel of Periluna
(Hamelin Stoop #2)
By Robert B. Sloan
Young Adult Fantasy, Christian
Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 304 Pages
February 7, 2017 by 12 Gates Publishing

Hamelin finally makes it across the footbridge only to learn that his quest to find his parents and learn his true identity will not be quickly done or easy to fulfill. The Great Eagle leads him through the dangerous Waters of Death and Life and into the Land of Gloaming, where Hamelin is thrown into the midst of a war already being waged between the evil Chimera and the mysterious Ancient One. He must help two new friends find a kidnapped princess and recover a stolen jewel, tasks for which they have special gifts that must not be misused: a scarf of sight, shoes of speed, and a sword of death. But these quests are only part of the larger story, a story including Chimera’s plan to use Hamelin—a child of two realms—to seize the kingdoms on both sides of the Atrium of the Worlds.

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The Ring of Truth
(Hamelin Stoop #3)
By Robert B. Sloan
Young Adult Fantasy, Christian
Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 580 Pages
December 29, 2020 by 12 Gates Publishing

Will Hamelin be summoned again?

Hamelin suspects that his friend Layla is the lost princess from the Land of Gloaming. As he describes his daring adventures to trusted friends at the children’s home, an intricate tapestry of stories emerges. Layla admits that she has had dreams – or are they memories? – of another world with faded light. The orphan boy is not alone in his struggle to learn the truth, search for family, and question the Ancient One’s purposes.

Meanwhile, dangerous forces continue to pursue the boy of both worlds, but the evil Chimera gives his agents an additional task: find the fourth princess, the missing daughter of Carr, and stop her. She must never return home.

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Guest Post: The Storybook World of Hamelin Stoop

A strange portal connects the two worlds of the Hamelin Stoop series. On one side, the portal touches the world at the mouth of a cave outside of Middleton, Texas. The cave is one of many in West Texas, surrounded by small trees and shrubs, at the top of a small hill. Just a few miles away, 8-year-old Hamelin Stoop lives at Upton County Children’s Home, where he was abandoned by his parents as an infant in 1951. The children’s home is tended to by house parents, a cook, and an old farmer named Mr. Moore. Hamelin attends an elementary school in Middleton. He likes some of his teachers, especially Mrs. Eastland, but other people at school, like Mr. Litchie and Patton McBoggerson, make the orphan’s life miserable. The winters blow cold, and the summers are hot with the occasional fast and hard storm. It is one such night, when the rain isn’t expected, when Hamelin decides to run away.

On the other side of the portal, an Atrium with beautiful flowers and light abundant awaits, but it also hides an enchanting darkness beneath healing waters. Beyond the Atrium, there is a medieval world waiting. This world has many kingdoms, including Parthogen, which has been overthrown by an evil commander; Osmethan, where waters of unending life entice the weak-minded; and Periluna, an underground kingdom dependent on a precious jewel for light. These two worlds are connected, and a great evil is attempting to grasp for more power. Nevertheless, the servants of the Ancient One on both sides of the portal have hope.

About the Author

Robert is married to his college sweetheart, Sue. With seven married children and over twenty grandchildren, they enjoy large family gatherings with good food and lively conversation around the table. Favorite family activities include role-playing games, writing and reading stories, and, of course, storytelling. Robert is also a University president and scholar.

Photo Credit: Joannah Buffington

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Blitz Giveaway

One winner will receive print copies of The Eagle, the Cave, and the Footbridge and The Lost Princess and the Jewel of Periluna plus bookmarks and a $15 Amazon Gift Card (US only)

Ends January 18, 2021

ENTER HERE