“The Vesuvius Escapade” by Maureen Cardoso coming in 2014

In “The Conjunction of the Realms (Part One),” Maureen Cardoso is the Kingsley's youngest daughter. As a child, she dreamt of being a scientist; she followed current discoveries and was fascinated by DNA sequencing, molecular structures, and genomes. By age ten, she had memorized the periodic table of chemical elements. In spite of her scientific side, she carried strong artistic traits that led her to write poems, stories and children’s books.

Maureen studied macro-biology but interrupted her degree to have Philly, her firstborn. She always carried a pen and paper with her because she was also a writer. Paulo, her Brazilian husband, tried to give her an electronic pad or tablet, but she preferred her paper notepad, claiming that a true writer will use napkins if necessary. A small, local publishing company had picked up some of her children’s books. Still her hope was that someday her books would make it across the isle, into the hands of one of the more prominent publishers of London.

With the advent of electronic publishing, Livre Press, Inc. is making Maureen's books available for download on Amazon, iBooks and Barnes & Noble in 2014. Watch out of the announcement.
Here is a sample of Maureen's writing: the Preface for the first book she ever published, “Voyage One: The Vesuvius Escapade.”

 

Preface

At age 10, I wrote a song about a little gnome who loved to row his boat on the sea waters under the moonlight.  He loved the moon because he thought it was made of vanilla ice-cream, so he followed its reflection on the ocean hoping to reach that inexhaustible supply of his favorite dessert.

My sister Esther and I grew up hearing fantastic stories about gnomes, my favorite being one whose name was Laddy Dah. Our dad, Phil Kingsley, was quite the old Irish story teller. It is no wonder that at age 10, Laddy and his family were alive in my imagination. His wife’s name was Lynda and they had three kids: Lyle, 11, Lilly, my age, and Cousin George, 12. Dad’s stories were animated and rich in content. Laddy was always at the center of them.

When my first son was born, I began to cogitate on the idea of writing and illustrating Dad’s stories so they would be preserved for our family. I thought of a kids’ book format where each chapter would be a voyage and Laddy would be the guide to take you, dear reader, through amazing imaginary places. This story is the beginning of your journey. There are many more to come from Dad’s story repertoire. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did growing up and as much as I enjoy telling them now.

Maureen Cardoso
8/28/2003

Excerpt From “Voyage One: The Vesuvius Escapade”

2013 © Livre Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is not permitted except with written authorization from Livre Press, Inc.

The Mysteries of Easter Island

In “The Conjunction of the Realms (Part One)” Grandpa Kingsley and others make a trip to Easter Island with the purpose of investigating a murder. From Northern Ireland to Easter Island. What is the connection? And why?

To answer properly, one must first understand that there is no distance in the world of imagination, where humans or other beings can travel unhindered from one location to another in fractions of a second. With that in mind, Grandpa Kingsley decided to incorporate Easter Island into the surroundings of his stories because from the time he was a young lad, the island always fascinated him. Especially the legends of the moais.

Now, the inhabitants of Easter Island call its famous statues moai. Those visiting the isolated Pacific Island cannot ignore the prolific presence of moais everywhere.

Throughout the island, moais are found in various stages of preservation. Some have their pukaos intact; pukao is the word for the statues’ red volcanic hats. Others are half-buried. While a few remain placed on a plateau or ahu. There are one-hundred and twenty-five ahus with standing moais. For instance, Ahu Tongariki has fifteen; however, the majority of the remaining ahus has only one. Grandpa Kinsgley taught his grandchildren the following:

Rapa Nui is what the natives call Easter Island. If you ask the people who live there about the origin of its monolithic statues called moai, they will explain that a previous civilization of royal beings transported the large rocks using their minds. Through concentration, they used the power of their minds to move these enormous rocks from one location to another. It is also said of this remote island that it may once have been the site of an astronomical observatory—not an observatory of astronomical proportions, but a scientific outpost of a long forgotten, antediluvian civilization that studied the stars. Not all archaeologists agree with this possibility, but further indication points to the island having been known as Mata-Ki-Te-Rani, which means “Eyes looking at heaven.”

To find out more about Grandpa Kingsley’s trip to Easter Island, you can purchase “The Conjunction of the Realms (Part One)” in any digital platform at Livre Press, Inc.

Photo taken by Ian Sewell, July, 2006. Ahu Tongariki on Easter Island. These moai were restored in the 1990's by a Japanese research team after a cyclone knocked them over in the 1960's.

Press Release for "The Conjunction of the Realms (Part One)"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 

“The Conjunction of the Realms (Part One)”

A thrilling and original adventure to the world of imagination for the entire family.

 

In this whimsical mystery novel written for all ages, Grandpa Kingsley takes his entire family along with the reader on an unforgettable adventure where imagination and reality collide.

Burbank, CA – October 10, 2013 – Sandra Alex is debuting her fantasy literature “The Conjunction of the Realms (Part One)” released on August 1, 2013 through the Kindle Publishing program of Amazon.com. The trilogy collection contains elements of mystery, thriller, adventure and romance for the coming of age demographic, and for parents and grandparents alike. An Irish-themed party will be held in November for the launch with members of the press.

National Emmy Award winner Frank Radice, television producer and co-author of Random House’s popup 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!’”
 
Chere Berman, author of acclaimed poetry book for women, “Amber String of Beads” offered the following five-star review on Amazon: “Utterly original and spellbinding. The Conjunction of the Realms is quite unlike anything I have ever read… what you will discover will both delight you and release your inner child to consider the possibilities of the world that we live in. The illustrations are winsome and lovely….I can’t wait for Part II!”
 
Sandra Alex is available for interviews and appearances. The eBook is currently being distributed via Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Kobo.com and on Apple’s iBooks store.

About Sandra Alex

 

Sandra, an entrepreneur and creative writer originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has been working towards the publication of her first book for the past ten years while raising her daughter, running a successful software business and consulting for major television studios. As a cinematographer, Sandra co-owns Studio City’s production company, Shoot to Film, and is the founder of Livre Press, Inc., an e-publishing corporation that she started to support the release of upcoming books.

For more information about THE CONJUNCTION OF THE REALMS (Part One), please visit: www.livrepress.net or call at (800) 804-1173, Ext. 107.

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