Curse of the Shamra

When I finish a novel I hate to let go of the characters I’ve created; characters who have come to life for me and I’ve made part of my life throughout my writing the book. I play with story ideas in my mind that deal with characters in the book long after I’ve finished writing. With Curse of the Shamra I never left the characters from the novel. I have written the other two books of the series, so my characters were never very far from me. Once I finished the third book of the trilogy, however, I still had ideas popping into my mind and characters demanding I tell their story. I’ve gone into classrooms where I donated copies of Curse of the Shamra and listened (really listened) to what the students had to say. And, that’s why I decided to write three new stories dealing with Curse of the Shamra. I was intrigued with the Crystal Cave I had created and without knowing it would occur three of the four stories in this collection find Dara at the Crystal Cave.In “Dream of Truth and Deception” Dara is stung by a venomous bug and in dreams is visited by her mother and lifelong friend, Pilla. The story foreshadows events in the second and third book.When I visited classrooms I found that Pilla was a favorite among students (in a virtual tie with Tyler, Dara’s Bauble). In this deleted chapter from Curse of the Shamra we get to meet Pilla again. And, in “The Eye of the Beholder” the last of the Crystal Cave stories, Dara confronts a new dangerous enemy who doesn’t want to see Dara succeed. As a bonus there is “Glimmer” which can also be found on my website (www.ShamraChronicles.com) as a free download. Front and center in this story is Tyler, Dara’s Bauble. Tyler’s wisdom, in this story, saves Dara’s life.

BARRY HOFFMAN IS THE AUTHOR OF 5 ADULT NOVELS AND TH YOUNG ADULT NOVEL CURSE OF THE SHAMRA. HE IS ALSO PUBLISHER OF GAUNTLET PRESS.