Book Details:
THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF JIMMY CRIKEY: Worlds Beneath And Above The Stars by Wallace E. Briggs Category: Middle-Grade Fiction (Ages 8-12), 302 pages Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy - Tour dates: Feb 1 to Feb 19, 2021 Publisher: Independent | Release date: June 2020 Content Rating: G. Book Description: Do you want to know a secret? Beneath the very ground on which you walk and beyond the stars above your head, are more worlds than you could ever dream of. There are monsters. Be afraid. Magic, wielded by witches and sorcerers. Epic adventures in worlds far across the ocean. And fearsome weapons which threaten to destroy everything. Jimmy Crikey is a brave soul who faces some pretty scary challenges. Solving mysteries and averting mayhem, his incredible courage allows him to free up his abilities to shine and rise above every challenge in his path, on his way to discovering why he looks so very strange. With a bright red mop of unruly hair, big blue eyes, a small snub nose, pointed ears and enormous feet, poor Jimmy is ridiculed by the neighborhood children and runs away in search of a world where he fits in. Following a midnight flight through the forest, he stumbles into a lost, underground world called Roombelow and magic, adventure, danger and excitement await. From the little lady who lives at the bottom of a well, a starship that wants to take him home, trolls, little people, traders and diamonite stealers to water sprites, witches, helpful dolphins, and interplanetary warfare, Jimmy learns the biggest lessons of his life. Buy the Book: Amazon ~ Add to Goodreads
– Best Laid Plans - An excerpt from ‘my life as an Export Sales Manager’ Ninety-nine per cent of my export sales trips consisted of taxi rides to airports, hours waiting, a few hours flying, rarely comfortably, and then more time spent in passport queues and baggage halls. Usually, it was then another taxi ride to the hotel, arranged by the company Travel Agent. Occasionally I was afforded the comfort of being picked up at the airport by a representative from an existing appointed distributor/agent. There would usually follow meetings at the distributors’ offices, perhaps with staff training sessions, and end-customer/user visits which helped establish the status of the agent and perhaps assisted in the winning of some contracts. This could typically take one, two or three days and often the programme allowed little if any free time for exploration of whichever county I was visiting. The exceptions were memorable. The hotels I was assigned to were usually of a high standard and the quality of food excellent but it could be a lonely existence as a stranger in a strange country unless the distributor accompanied you for the evening. The most memorable exception was a tour which included a five-day stint at an exhibition in Israel supporting a long established Agent, followed by a three-day sales tour in Egypt with a newly appointed Distributor. The Egyptian part of the trip was planned to give me a one-day break from business in Cairo to visit the Museum and The Pyramids of Giza. Ah! The best-laid plans .... As I approached the hotel venue on the last day of a slow-moving exhibition in Tel Aviv the MD of the Distributor put a hand on my shoulder. “What are you doing here?” I looked at him in surprise. “Today is the last day of the Exhibition. I’m not due to fly out until tomorrow.” “We can manage the exhibition stand today but you are not on duty. You are on a one day trip to Jerusalem. See, here is your ticket and Ashmeil will take you to the tour pick-up office and when you get back the company will provide transport to your hotel where you will join us for dinner, as thanks for your work supporting us this week.” I was dumbfounded but graciously accepted the MD’s offer. In general, my memory is atrocious but that day is burned indelibly into my grey cells. Emotions ran high that day, and still. To visit the Holocaust memorial and the eternal flame left with me with a heavy heart about man’s inhumanity to fellow men. I visited Christ’s supposed birthplace at the site of the stable by the side of the Inn, now entombed within a church. I walked in the steps of the Lord as our group traced His last journey, carrying the cross, on foot Via del Rosa, the Way of the Cross. The streets were crowded but there were clearly marked Stations of the Cross, points at which Jesus had stumbled or rested. Whether an avid believer or not nothing will erase those memories of walking the crowded, narrow streets of Jerusalem in the footsteps of the Lord. And two days later I had set a day aside during my short trip to Egypt to visit the pyramids. Who would swap places with me? As I said before: best-laid plans of mice and men... From landing in Cairo the following afternoon, the new distributor had set up so many appointments that there was hardly time to eat, let alone to visit any tourist sites. As we ended the programme of industrial visits late afternoon on the last scheduled day of business, we headed back into the city and drove past the pyramids on our right- hand side. I was craning my neck around to get a better view. “You have seen before,” he said. “No?” “No,” I replied. “I had hoped to book a tour but we have been very busy.” “That not good,” the distributor said, and yanked his car across two streams of oncoming traffic amid a cacophony of blaring horns, and then sped back to the entrance to the pyramids. My heart rate must have doubled following that maneuver. He drew up at the entrance gates which were in process of being locked. He jumped out of his car and there was an intense conversation with Duty Guard. There was much gesticulation amid raised voices and then, I swear, cash exchanged hands before I was a part of a Grand Prix around the pyramids. At each pyramid, we screeched to a halt in a cloud of dust and sand and I was ushered out of the car to take a photograph. If I remember correctly, we completed a circuit of the pyramids in about ten minutes. I don’t remember the Sphynx and really, the rest is a blur across the pixels in my eyes. And my photographic record is a disaster of poorly framed, out-of-focus shots on my manual 35mm camera. I was in touching distance of the great stones but never got to touch them. But would I change a thing about that trip? Never! Of such stuff are indelible memories made. I was grateful for the opportunities that came my way while doing a job I loved. 
Meet the Author:
My formative years were experienced in and around Durham City. Married in 1964 to a girl I first met at the age of eleven, Pat and I spent many happy years in the North East before employment almost took us off to emigrate to Jo'berg, South Africa but plans were changed in the final weeks and instead the company moved me to Sussex. After more than twenty years in Sussex, then Hampshire, employment was again responsible for the move to beautiful rural Lancashire. Jimmy Crikey was born one rainy day, many years ago, during a family holiday in Great Yarmouth, to entertain my son and his new found friends for an hour or so. The story expanded over the following wet afternoons in the cramped confines of a beach tent, and more and more adventures were required to keep the children entertained. Many years later I decided to commit to the written word. Now retired I look forward to sharing The Amazing Adventures of Jimmy Crikey with a wider audience. These began as several short, twenty minute duration, stories but after an encouraging review from a major Publisher I brought them together in this offering and hope they will bring a sense of wonder and enjoyment to another generation. connect with the author: website 
Giveaway Details:
Autographed copy of THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF JIMMY CRIKEY (USA only) (1 winner) (ends Feb 26) To Enter, Fill in the Rafflecopter Below. 
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