{"product_id":"wil-deft-paperback","title":"Wil Deft - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRichard Wolkomir\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWil Deft\u003c\/i\u003e is a story about enslavement, and struggling to be free. It's about love, and malevolence, and decency. It's about how a choice can change a world. It's about sorcery, and the mundane magic of rooster crows at dawn. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eT\u003cb\u003ehere's beauty in \u003ci\u003eWil Deft, \u003c\/i\u003e and terror, and glimpses of the primordial shadows steering our fate. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eMost of all, in a way, it is about a dog. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWil Deft speaks with this dog. He tells no one he hears the thoughts of beasts. It shames him and endangers him. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHis fellow Fishtowners don't know. They just say he's an idler, and it is true. Only when he needs a few coppers does he thatch a roof or catch mudfish. Then he rows his skiff to Horse Skull Island, to flirt with tavern barmaids. It's all he wants. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSuddenly, though, imperial constables hunt him, meaning to kill. He doesn't know why.He flees upriver, then into the great forest, where ancient enchantments linger. A cat and dog appear, summoned to guide him, by whom he doesn't know--a cold-eyed forest cat., and a consequential dog. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAtop a crag, gripped by a power beyond seeing, Wil Deft learns his fate-he was bred and born to be a pawn, in a game of cosmic chess. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHe finds haven with a tribe of magicians, in their treetop city, but it is brief. They train him to be a thief. He must sneak into the imperial capital, then into the palace itself, to steal. He faces slavery, and torture, and death. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eYet, he must go. It is fated. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHe must go alone, with just the dog. Yet, that dog loves him fiercely. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAnd, on that love, all turns. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003ePRAISE FOR \u003ci\u003eWIL DEFT\u003c\/i\u003e FROM A REVIEWER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBeginning with the narrator's pitch perfect storytelling \"voice\", I was quickly captivated and constantly lured on....I loved the author's choices of people and place names - 'Fishtown' for the village, Wil Deft for the hero. This author manages to coax poetry from every descriptive turn of phrase.... \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eFROM A SECOND REVIEWER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIt started with a terrific hook-who can resist a talking cat sent to deliver a message? It starts off strong and just continues that way. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003ePRAISE FROM READERS...\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis is a wonderful tale! Intriguing. Imaginative. Complex...a very talented and masterful writer and teller of dramatic tales...people will find this little-known story to be as satisfying and intricate a drama of good and evil as the classics (The Hobbit comes to mind.)-Jay B. Cutts-5 Stars. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe author has totally nailed the corgi personality - a fun and interesting page-turner-David Schaldach-4 Stars. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWolkomir's characters are memorable, especially Tobi, the corgi, who epitomizes all loyal dog characteristics. -Ellen Miller-4 Stars \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eAND OTHER READERS SAID...\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e... wonderful scene-painting: mundane Fishtown, the cobblestoned streets, the glow seeping through closed shutters, and above all the sinister bulk of the imperial ship blocking out the lights of the neighboring town, all spring into reality before us. Impressive work. -Cairo, Egypt \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e...charming well-balanced prose, unexpected and delighting imagery, perfect pacing and immediate suspension of disbelief...characters are shaped almost invisibly with an expert choice of few words. I want MORE...and I want it NOW! -Long Beach, California \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e....yet, it is the language with which the story is written that sets it apart....Move over your treasured copies of Tolkien and C. S. Lewis and make room for Wolkomir. -Waitsfield, Vermont \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom the very first sentence I was hooked....The characters were instantly real-Albany, New York \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e...a world as believable as Tolkien's. I woke up thinking about the characters and their world. I loved what the dog says-we all know that's what dogs would say, if we could only hear them...-the movie folks will want to do something with it. -Albuquerque, New Mexico\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eRichard Wolkomir has worked as a laundry sheet folder, grounds keeper, roofer, zoo bear-cub keeper, reporter, and writer of award-winning articles for magazines, from \"Reader's Digest\" and \"Smithsonian\" to \"National Geographic.\" Now he writes fiction-speculative, mysteries, and thrillers. He lives with his wife and partner, Joyce, in the New England hills. Visit his website at www.richardjoycewolkomir.net.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 432\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.96 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 01, 2014\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53109438251232,"sku":"9781502416162","price":30.16,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0811\/5909\/4496\/files\/WcFsiUi_nT9781502416162.webp?v=1781815846","url":"https:\/\/improvedinc.myshopify.com\/products\/wil-deft-paperback","provider":"Improved Improper Input Inc.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}