The Hobbit in real life?

(or in the case of "The Conjunction of the Realms, Part One" could it be “Laddy” in real life?)


Another one of Paulo Cardoso’s documentaries: the archaeological discovery of a very small humanoid-type, possibly a contemporary of humans, but supposedly now extinct. Or perhaps they are visible only with the mind’s eye.

Homo floresiensis (“Flores Man,” nicknamed “hobbit” and “Flo”) is a possible species, now extinct, in the genus Homo. The remains were discovered in 2004 on the island of Flores in Indonesia. Partial skeletons of nine individuals have been recovered, including one complete cranium (skull). These remains have been the subject of intense research to determine whether they represent a species distinct from modern humans, and the progress of this scientific controversy has been closely followed by the news media at large.

This hominin is remarkable for its small body and brain and for its survival until relatively recent times (possibly as recently as 12,000 years ago). Recovered alongside the skeletal remains were stone tools from archaeological horizons ranging from 94,000 to 13,000 years ago. The discoverers (archaeologist Mike Morwood and colleagues) proposed that a variety of features, both primitive and derived, identify these individuals as belonging to a new species, H. floresiensis, within the taxonomic tribe of Hominini. The discoverers also proposed that H. floresiensis lived contemporaneously with modern humans on Flores.

To find out more about this particular documentary and the other documentaries from Paulo Cardoso, please visit livrepress.net to purchase a copy of "The Conjunction of the Realms (Part One)."

The Legend of the Vitoria Regia

Paulo Cardoso is one of the characters in The Conjunction of the Realms series.  Paulo came from the southernmost parts of Brazil and arrived in Northern Ireland as an exchange student during secondary school. Upon graduating, he went to the University of Ulster to get a degree in film. Paulo now has his own film production company. His famous documentaries require constant travel throughout Europe, Africa, Indonesia, and mainly South America. One beautiful documentary by Paulo Cardoso reports on the Vitoria Regia, the most peculiar and largest water-lily in the world, indigenous to the Amazon region. The Vitoria Regias vary from one hundred and forty to one hundred and eighty centimeters or four to six feet in diameter, and can hold up to forty-five kilograms or one hundred pounds. A child can sit in the middle of the plant and neither the plant nor the child will sink. The Brazilian Indian tribe Tupi-Guarani has a legend explaining the origin of this unique water plant (to listen to the legend, instead of read it, you can go to SoundCloud®).

“It was said of the moon goddess, Iaci, that she was known for her majestic presence in the heavens inspiring young native women to fall in love. The legend also tells how the young women who loved and were loved the most, eventually became a shiny star, glamorizing the heavens with their brilliance. Naia, the chief’s daughter and princess of the Tupi tribe, became so enthralled with this legend that every full-moon night, she would climb the hills to be closer to heaven and cry out to Iaci, longing for love. One night, Naia looked down from the top of the hill and saw Iaci’s reflection on the waters of a calm lake, as if spending countless hours contemplating her own beauty. The splendor of that reflection convinced the young Indian that the moon had heard her cry and descended from heaven to bathe in the pristine lake. This was Naia’s chance to be closer than ever to Iaci, when she, too, could be stricken by love and be transformed into a bright, shiny star. In no time, the princess ran down the hill and threw herself into the illuminant waters, in hopes to touch the celestial being. The deeper she swam, the further she became from Iaci; eventually, Naia was overtaken by the waters and drowned to her death. Iaci, moved by the girl’s unfortunate tragedy, was unable to transform Naia into a star in heaven, so she transformed her into a different kind of star: the magnificent ‘Star of the Waters,’ also known as the Vitoria Regia. Thus was born the aquatic plant and its exquisite flower that only blooms during the full-moon, exuding unique, sweet perfume; the flower’s petals are first white to reflect the moonlight; the following morning, the petals turn pink and then red when they finally wither, after only three days.”

The lake from which the legend originates is to this day called “Mirror of the Moon,” and it is located near the Amazonas and Pará states border.

Another Positive Review

National Emmy Award winner Frank Radice, television producer and co-author of Random House’s pop-up book “Sam Katz on the Loose,” said:

“As an author of content for kids I know the difficulty of creating a world that is intriguing, engaging and fun. ‘The Conjunction of the Realms’ has achieved that goal, and gone way beyond, in both originality and beauty. It is a giant leap for the genre. This has great ‘Legs!’”
The Conjunction of the Realms (Part One) is available for sale at:

- Amazon.com
- Amazon.co.uk (currently discounted! Only £2.00)
- Barnes & Noble
- iBooks from Apple
- Kobo

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Why Northern Ireland

Beginning October 10, 2013 and continuing for the next thirty days, “The Conjunction of the Realms (Part One)” is being discounted on Amazon.co.uk.

Why is this promotion taking place in the United Kingdom and not in the United States?
When I started writing The Conjunction of the Realm’s first volume, I imagined the story to occur in a magical location, filled with beauty and mystique. A place where the existence of creatures from a different realm was still considered a possibility and bedtime stories never stopped being told; a place where forests, caves, and waterfalls could be found all around. Ireland was my first pick. There Leprechauns are as close to real as rainbows, and there just might be a pot of gold hiding somewhere. Then suddenly my focus shifted to Northern Ireland. Searching the internet, I stumbled upon Glenariff, the most beautiful of the nine Glens of Antrim, sometimes known as the Queen of all the glens. Besides Glenariff and Waterfoot, the cities of Belfast and Hillsborough became strategic locations for The Conjunction of the Realms (Part One). Later, with the advent of Google® Maps, I was able to virtually visit each one of these places and carefully examine them from my MacBook® Pro’s screen. I even had the strange experience of seeing one of these locations in my mind’s eye (Dark Hedges) before I knew it existed.

Northern Ireland also appealed to me because of The Troubles’ history in the late 1960’s, leading to the Bogside Massacre of 1972, or as it became famously known: “Bloody Sunday.” Yes, the same “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” sung by Bono and the U2 band. My heart had always gone out to the people of Northern Ireland. I imagined depicting this beautiful place filled with wonder, where the importance of relationships is paramount, and the love of family surpasses all remaining friction. I imagined my little book making an impact in the lives of those Northern Irish children and families, and eliminating any possibilities of future conflict. Quite the imagination I have, and yet, why put a limitation on it? Why not think big? I began writing, picturing myself in Glenariff, describing each location as best as I possibly could, knowing that since a conjunction of the realms was taking place in the Northern Ireland of my book, the reader would find some aspects from the realm of imagination superimposed on the current state of things, which some refer to as reality.

As if all of the above was not reason enough to have Northern Ireland be the perfect location for The Conjunction of the Realms, this next discovery was about to astound me. Writing Chapter 4, I came to a stand still and began questioning myself: “Why write a book? You’re not even a writer! Who do you think you are?” The wave of discouragement was so strong that it halted my writing for a couple of years. One day, while doing a research for Disney on the 2005 release of “Chronicles of Narnia,” I began studying the life of C.S. Lewis. The first sentence read: “Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland…” At that moment I knew it was no coincidence. The Conjunction of the Realms needed to be written. Thanks to C.S. Lewis and his inspiring legacy which has blessed and continues to bless children all over the world, my goal of blessing the children and the families of Northern Ireland grew stronger and stronger, enough to help me finish the first installment of the series.