A short excerpt from Zoolin Vale and the Chalice of Ringtar

Just two weeks away from the release of my 2nd novel Zoolin Vale and the Chalice of Ringtar.

Here's a little excerpt from the book. Let me know what you think.

Berrinn took the liberty of flying faster this time. When they were about halfway, Berrinn came to a sudden and abrupt halt. The dragon roared in surprise. Something in the water had shot up and grabbed his leg. Captain Norton was seated at the back not holding on very tight. He lost his grip and flew forwards. Berrinn’s back suddenly tilted precariously. Captain Norton flew over Rimotar’s head and over the side. At the last possible moment, Tennen grabbed his arm and a loud cracking noise echoed through the air. He slammed into the dragon’s side. Tennen leaned over and pulled Captain Norton back onto the dragon’s back. Berrinn was doing all he could to stay airborne.

“Hold on!” Tennen had been shaken to the core by the sudden stop.

More tentacles emerged from the water. The strong, slimy appendages snaked around, trying to get a hold of them and pull them to the murky depths below. Berrinn had a monstrous time keeping them up in the air. The tentacles were a dark putrid green with even darker green spots. The water below swirled and turned into a whirlpool. Sharp teeth surfaced out of the water, these teeth belonged to a big round gaping mouth, which opened and shut thunderously. The lake monster sucked in tremendous amounts of water and pumped it out of its massive gills, producing jets of water that flowed out from its sides.

Tennen unsheathed his sword and maneuvered himself to cut them away.

One of the tentacles reached for Rimotar. It was as if the tentacle had eyes of its own. Undaunted, Rimotar pushed it away with his wizard's staff. The tentacle wasn't deterred and returned for more. Using a quick spell Rimotar turned the tentacle into ice; taking a mighty swing, he smashed it to bits. There was a slight utter of annoyance from the mouth below.

Tennen maneuvered into a better position and managed to cut one tentacle in half. More rose up to try to pull them under. With every limb that was bashed or cut away the creature got more agitated and its attack more frenzied.
Captain Norton was clutching to Rimotar’s robe with his one good arm and gritted his teeth over the pain in his other.

“Berrinn, this isn't looking good,” called Tennen.

"Don't worry, nothing that we can’t handle," the dragon replied confidently. Tennen couldn't help but notice that Berrinn didn't fully believe his words. In that an emotion of fright had been transferred between them and the mind link. Tennen gritted his teeth, he was determined to not let his friend down.

A tentacle grabbed Berrinn’s other leg. The dragon flapped his wings harder, stretching the arms of the gaping mouthed monster. Berrinn wrung out every ounce of energy he had left. They heard and felt a horrendous tearing as if the monster had been torn from its hold to the bottom of the lake.

The dragon hoisted the lake creature into the air. Its body was egg shaped with green tendril like roots that must have clung to the lake bed. These roots were torn to shreds.

The creature wheezed like an old windbag. They rose higher and higher into the air. The creature, enraged and dying, pulled closer towards Tennen and the others.

Zoolin Vale and the Chalice of Ringtar Release Information

Hello Everyone,

My second novel Zoolin Vale and the Chalice of Ringtar is going to be released in one month's time! (10th December 2010)

Here's the back cover blurb:

A thief in the night. A missing sacred artifact. An evil warlord from ancient history, out to rule the world. These are only a few of the problems facing Tennen, the newly appointed Lord Protector of Melin. Thrown into a desperate race against time, Tennen, his dragon friend Berrinn, and his men chase the thief and his mysterious companion over land and sea to a cursed island where they try to wrench the Chalice of Ringtar from the enemy’s hands before it’s too late. All while under the watchful eye of a mysterious black hawk.

Meanwhile, searching for his family that had been taken from their home by the enemy during the war in Elfwood, Devlin and his friends face mounting danger as they travel through war torn Welkland to find them. Battling ogres, befriending a rambunctious imp, and even competing for the crown of Welkland in a grand contest, Devlin finds a little more than he bargained for, something that will change his life forever.
What others have to say about the book:

“A vivid fantasy world. A classic quest adventure. If you like Dungeons & Dragons, you will love what Craig Smith has to offer.”

Herbie Brennan, author of the New York Times best-selling Faerie Wars series.

http://www.herbiebrennan.com/

"An enjoyable read - highly recommended for fans of Fantasy novels" - Lood du Plessis, Exclus1ves.co.za

Lood's Blog

"Craig's prose is deceptive in its simplicity, giving his characters layers of emotion, which also makes Zoolin Vale and the Chalice of Ringtar a quick and refreshingly honest Fantasy." - Davebrendon's Fantasy & Sci-Fi Weblog

http://davebrendon.wordpress.com/

Don't have the amazon link just yet but will post it with other bookseller links as soon as I get them.

Here's the fan page: http://on.fb.me/zoolinvale

You can also pre-order the book directly from the Publisher's website! http://bit.ly/zoolinsg

Or you could purchase The Red Stone. My first novel and the prequel to Zoolin Vale and the Chalice of Ringtar from:

Exclus1ves (South Africa) only R107
Amazon US
Amazon UK
The Red Stone FB page

If you have any questions or would like to interview me, feature the book, or review the book please contact me through FB or my email: zoolinvale (at) gmail (dot) com

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it,
Craig