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Treasury of Feel-Good Stories
Dargo: Eco Hero follows a lonely young man as he rises from despair in his going-nowhere-fast job to his new position as hero for the environment. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
This came from many sources. Part from a dream (the character’s first name and the bone thing). Part from my childhood adoration of my older brother. Part from a recent visit to Northern California, where I was shocked by mile after mile of freeway with memorials to fallen highway patrol officers, many with Hispanic names (hence Fernandez). Part from my own experience of being bullied in the workplace. Part from my ongoing love affair with music. Part from my life-long love of nature. Part by the First Nations American elder who saved his people from annihilation due to his translatory skills and eloquence of speech. Part from the ordinary cold-war Russian soldier who did NOT hit the red button to signal incoming nuclear attack (otherwise, we would not be having this conversation, I suspect). All this reminded me of what just one person can do, even though they may feel at the end of their tether.
Dargo is an intriguing and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
There are plenty of people who don’t fit into everyday society. So many have suffered as a result, and of course still do. I wanted to say that no matter how hard things get, be exactly who you are.
And please BE. Don’t give up. Things will turn around. Hang in there. There may be 7.5 billion people and counting in this world, and the pressure to conform to the idealised ‘thing’ is greater than ever, but we need YOU! As Samara Jones learns in The Girl with Ten Diamonds, my companion novella to Dargo, “You can’t clone a soul”.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
This disconnect between humanity and nature, and how that problem might be addressed. Because it absolutely must be! You can’t save it if you don’t love it, and you can’t love it if you don’t know it.
Also, personal redemption. So very, very important in this increasingly crowded and competitive world. I wonder how many fell through the cracks-of-no-return just today…
So, as Dargo discovers, he begins by lifting spirits, and that includes his own.
I really hope this book lifts readers’ spirits in these very tough times we find ourselves in. Especially important for those trying to save the Earth. It’s a tough gig, and I hope Dargo can provide a little solidarity and joy.
Find nature and you will find yourself — worked for me!
Thanks for reading.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Kahnilla the Dragon. She will be the 6th instalment in this Treasury of Feel-Good Stories. This series follows the style of Dargo – examination of serious, topical issues through humorous story-telling.
The series has stories for all ages. Kahnilla is another adult fairy-tale. It deals with hate and its cost, and how young people and others learn to hate by following wrong information. The story focusses on the importance of true listening, thinking for oneself, and getting one’s facts from reliable sources. We really need to, more than ever!
Kahnilla is in production now, and will hopefully be out early next year.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
A lonely young man suffers a massive defeat. When all is lost, he meets a fiery fortune-teller who pleads with him to save her.
Can he re-invent himself as a hero?
A light-hearted but poignant little story, Dargo is humorous and heart-warming; a fairy-tale for adults.
You can also read this to your children who care about Earth. And, if they don’t, Dargo will help them to do so!
An enjoyable timely tale that will appeal to the magic in all of us.
Illustrations
Dargo
![Dargo: Eco Hero! (Treasury of Feel-Good Stories) by [Karina McRoberts]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/510jroDCXzL._SY346_.jpg)
Poor Dargo Fernandez. He doesn’t want much out of life. In fact, he really wants nothing more than to belong. At the rate he is going, he won’t even accomplish that much. His life is more of an existence than anything–he has no social life to speak of. When Dargo comes face to face with the fact that even his meager position in the company is in jeopardy, he heads for home with his heart on his sleeve. Wondering how he will be able to pay his bills, Dargo finds himself creating a laundry list of new worries on his journey home. Before he can even begin to resolve his issues, he is quite literally swept away to face a whole new challenge
Dargo: Eco Hero, by Karina McRoberts, follows main character Dargo Fernandez as he rises from the depths of despair in his going-nowhere-fast job to his new position as hero for the environment. McRoberts’s work hits on a few genres but hones in primarily on fantasy. In fact, it gives me the best kind of Wizard of Oz vibes. The author has nailed the same type of warmth as L. Frank Baum but puts her own unique spin on main character Dargo and his band of merry cohorts.
The ecological lessons conveyed in McRoberts’s work are huge ones. She is successful in creating quite an impact with her words and the experiences of her cast of characters. I was especially impressed with the mixture of personification and metaphors found throughout the writing. The imagery she creates leaves readers breathless at times. Her writing is timely and gives voice to the environment in a way no other writer I have seen has been able to do.
Dargo: Eco Hero is a short read, easily digestible in one sitting, it packs an important punch–and one we all need to feel right about now. Protecting and appreciating the earth for the miracle it is tops this author’s list of priorities. Readers looking for a hard dose of truth in their fantasy reads will appreciate McRoberts’s style and character development. I highly recommend Dargo’s story to anyone looking for something different, something fun, and a book that will leave them smiling.
Pages: 85 | ASIN: B083RBML74
The Namer of Spirits
![The Namer of Spirits by [Todd Mitchell]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51FAUPVWmML.jpg)
Ash Narro is the eponymous Namer of Spirits in this engaging eco-fantasy by Todd Mitchell. She is a young girl with a talent for finding the true names and souls of beings and thereby taming them. She is growing up inside the walls of a village that is hiding from the perils of the outside world, including the unpredictable and fearsome dao fora, who seem to attack at random. But the village has been cursed, and their fear and greed has blinded them to what’s important while their farms struggle under plagues of webworms. When a dao fora youth called Fen finds his way inside the walls and is imprisoned in a cage by fearful villagers, Ash befriends him and sets him free. Branded a traitor by her own people, she goes on the run with Fen to clear her name and to find the Sky Tree in the hope it will provide the answers that her village needs to survive.
Engaging characterization in this adventure will have readers rooting for the protagonists right from the start. The magic is enchanting, and the monsters are frightening and have hidden sorrows. The lineup of otherworldly beings is rich without even a hint of the confusion or clumsiness that many less experienced writers get bogged down in within this genre. Author Todd Mitchell’s naming is both creative and evocative; I particularly loved the mistcats and the illwen.
The Namer of Spirits is among the best of its kind, and it has a superb cover too. Drawing devastating parallels with the real world, Mitchell has created a captivating allegory on the effects of deforestation. This is a thrilling educational adventure novel for children ages 9 and up, but this beautifully crafted story will also be loved by adults.
Pages: 300 | ASIN: B095Z374J7
Essential to our Survival
The Nature of Nature makes a clear case for why protecting nature is in all of our best interests. Why was this an important book for you to write?
Because in the last 30 years I have seen nature decline all around us, and this felt like seeing your favorite museum (or cathedral) burn to the ground. I felt like most people do not understand how nature works, and why it is so essential to our survival. Without the natural world there would be no us.
You are a renowned ecologist with decades of experience in the field. How has your experience helped you write this book?
The book actually wrote itself because all these ideas and facts had been accumulating in my mind since I started traveling around the world and conducting scientific research. They had to go somewhere, so I put them in paper.
What is one thing people can change in their everyday life that will make a positive impact on the environment?
Eat more plants and less meat. Eating a plant-based diet (what’s called being “flexitarian”) would reduce the amount of land, water and chemicals we need to produce food, and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions (livestock burp huge amounts of methane).
What is one thing you hope readers take away from your book?
That we’re all dependent on each other, but not just among humans, also between all species of plants, animals and microbes that live on our planet – therefore we need to protect our natural world as if our lives depended on it – because they do.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Website
The Nature of Nature: Why We Need the Wild
![The Nature of Nature: Why We Need the Wild by [Enric Sala]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51WlqsR5oYL.jpg)
In The Nature of Nature: Why We Need the Wild, Enric Sala talks everything nature and discusses conservancy, the importance of protecting the planet, and living responsibly. Having been a marine biologist for decades, Enric Sala pulls from years of experience to provide a sharp and informed perspective on the environment and how man has managed to drastically change nature. As he discusses the wild, animals, plants, and every living thing, one can tell how passionate Enric Sala is about the subject. The agony in his words when addressing the destruction of nature, the joy in his tone when he discusses conservancy and how to preserve the planet’s endangered species makes one fall in love not only with the book but also the work the author has been doing over the years.
Through the lessons and Enric Sala’s stories about his work and personal life the reader is exposed to a world that is so vital to us, yet nebulous. I enjoyed the experiences Enric Sala shared about his line of work. The stories the author gives are eye-opening and will leave you feeling informed about the role humans play in destroying flora and fauna. Not many people get to witness directly how human activity affects animals both on land and in the sea. Enric Sala shares this reality through simple and engaging language that kept me rapt.
Readers will learn a lot about the value of saving the environment and how politics, the economy, and other sectors are affected when the environment is destroyed. Through this book, the author encourages everyone to be an environmental activist in little ways. Modernization and civilization have led to an increase in air pollution. To control this, the author encourages people to adopt new lifestyles and engage in activities like tree planting and cleaning the environment to ensure that the air we breathe and the water fish swim in is not harmful.
The Nature of Nature: Why We Need the Wild comes at a critical time for the planet and should be essential reading. Enric Sala has written a thought-provoking book that distills complex ecological concepts into easily understandable ideas that could save the planet, improve your health, and strengthen the economy.
Pages: 272 | ASIN: B08273CTZK
The Orangutan Rescue Gang
![The Orangutan Rescue Gang by [Joyce Major]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51fxvvH61zL.jpg)
The Orangutan Rescue Gang written by Joyce Major is a riveting adventure following a group of children that set out to rescue an abused orangutan! This was a heartfelt story with a beautiful message portrayed through a thrilling adventure through the rain forest of Sumatra.
I loved Jaylynn’s character (though her father got on my nerves a lot) and Bima and Zaqi, although supporting characters, brought new dimensions to Jaylynn’s character and the story. Little O was adorable, his plight was heartbreaking but also serves to get you immediately invested in the story. I loved that Jaylynn was determined and persistent, from the moment she met Little O his safety and freedom were the only things on her mind. It was great how she and her best friend back home, Matt, helped recruit people to help Little O and it showed that if you truly want to do something to help change the world, you can if you stick to it and take action. While the character development in this story was one of the books stand out features, I felt like towards the end Zaqi’s character backtracked a bit, becoming a toddler and pitching a fit when the rescue center option was placed on the table, but that could just be my interpretation.
The Orangutan Rescue Gang shines a light on the horrible truth behind the abuse of primates and the ecological disaster happening in the rain forest. This book does a fantastic job of helping children become aware of a problem that could be abstract, as it’s happening so far away. I truly hope that those who read this decide to help primates because it is devastating that poachers do those things to them. The one thing I would have liked to see included in the book would have been an epilogue containing maybe Jaylynn, Bima, and Zaqi working with Orangutans and maybe JayLynn’s father visiting her at work or volunteering with her. I really would have liked to see Matt visiting her since he was a big help in the rescue as well, even if it was from afar.
This book is both creative and informative. Joyce Major does a great job of relaying an important message while telling a story that is consistently entertaining.
Pages: 137 | ASIN: B07PMTN95B
Grass Miracle from the Earth – Trailer
We see grass everyday, tread on it, maybe handle, smell, or plant it.But how many of us noticed it – let alone appreciated its amazing presence and resilience and the way it someway holds our planet together? It’s everywhere.
This beautifully illustrated book, engaging and readable, gives us the full,picture. It tells of the marvellously complex evolution of grass, the incredible number of species (did you know that bamboo and sugar-cane are forms of grass, and that three kinds of grass make up the major food of humans and the grazing (‘grass’-eating) of innumerable animals?), leading us on into some appreciation of the abiding necessity of grass for humanity, for nature and for the arts. It has a place in folklore too, and in poetry
A book to give and to treasure.
David Campbell Callender, a name taken (adapted) from, and in memory of, her gifted Irish grandfather, is the penname of the British anthropologist Ruth Finnegan.
An Interesting Psychology
Igor Valec Author Interview
Damnation is a thrilling dark fantasy novel that follows King Lortar as he finds himself surrounded by enemies. What was the inspiration for the setup to this novel?
Loosely, the Warring States period of ancient China.
Asuf was an intriguing character that I enjoyed following. Your book is filled with interesting characters, who was your favorite character to write for?
Princess Alerise. She has an interesting psychology and fun dialogue. Plus I have a thing for tomgirls, villainesses, and blondes, and Alerise just so happens to tick all those boxes.
The characters inhabit a world with a rich backstory. How did you create the backstory for this world and what were some themes you wanted to capture?
From the ground up. First the geography, then the ecology, then the peoples and their cultures, then their histories.
As for themes, I wanted to show a harsh people bred by a cruel and uncaring world—but more importantly, I wanted to show how kindness, however small, can exist even in a world that punishes the kind.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
The sequel to this book will most likely be available sometime in 2021.
Author Links: Website | Twitter
![Damnation: A Grimdark Fantasy Political Drama by [Valec, Igor]](https://i0.wp.com/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41x%2Ba5mqJrL.jpg?resize=289%2C433&ssl=1)
An Empire fallen. A kingdom beset. A family divided. When King Lortar discovers a savage cult performing heathen rites, he’s forced to battle a foe he never imagined: his own son. Surrounded by enemies, Lortar is trapped in a world of treachery and betrayal, where mercy is vice and malice is glory.
