by: C.W. Allen
Series: The Falinnheim Chronicles
Genre: Middle-Grade Adventure Fantasy
Release Date: June 6, 2023
Publisher: Cinnabar Moth Publishing
Zed and Tuesday ought to be living the good life. After all, it’s not every day two kids take down an evil dictator and their mom gets put in charge of an entire dimension. But after moving into Falinnheim’s palace, they learn that life as royalty isn’t as carefree as they’d imagined.
Mysterious hidden passages aren’t the only secrets lurking within the palace walls. When the siblings discover a stash of banned books, they realize everything they’ve been told about Falinnheim’s history might be a lie. And though contact between worlds has been cut off for centuries, returning home might not be as impossible as their parents claim.
Could the adventures of a runaway monk, a reluctant viking, a silent ambassador, and a rebel librarian hold the solutions to both problems? To find the truth, Tuesday and Zed will have to learn the stories of Falinnheim’s forgotten founders.
Tuesday June Furst (hold the jokes, please—she’s already heard them all) starts the series at age twelve, so in Tales of the Forgotten Founders she is just turning thirteen. Like many girls at this formative in-between stage, she is working on reconciling all the different sides of herself, deciding what she values and what she’d rather leave behind. She loves the concept of mystery and adventure, but actually getting caught up in real-life adventures makes her wish she could just have a “normal” family like everyone else.
Though Tuesday tends to jump to conclusions and can come across as sassy or petulant, she also has a quick wit that saves her brother’s bacon on multiple occasions. When Zed gets too analytical, freezing up while trying to decide the perfect thing to do or say, Tuesday leaps into action. She has a keen sense for what adults expect of her, and knows how to play the part perfectly—for example, how to sound younger and more naive than she really is when a suspicious guard thinks she might be up to something. In fact, when Tuesday argues, complains, or airs her frustrations, it’s actually a compliment—she’s letting her guard down enough to be herself, instead of acting a part. Despite her tweenage angst, Tuesday isn’t self-centered. She has a fiery sense of justice and she’s more than willing to use her outrage and cunning to fight for a fair deal for the people around her.
Tuesday’s brother Zed is a thoughtful, analytical soul. He loves reading mysteries and solving jigsaw puzzles, and definitely sweats over getting his homework turned in on time—a late or incomplete assignment would break him, because he cares so deeply about giving things his best effort. Zed is the “look before you leap” foil to Tuesday’s rash action, thinking through every angle. This gives him a unique insight into the emotions and motivations of the people around him. He doesn’t say anything until he’s sure it’s precisely what he means—which means if Zed’s talking, you’d be wise to listen. Don’t mistake him for a junior zen master, though—he’s still an eleven-year-old boy, and he enjoys cracking jokes and teasing his sister just like every little brother.
The Falinnheim Chronicles series is told in Limited Omniscient point of view, which is something of a rarity in modern fiction. First Person or Third Person Close are much more common. I chose this perspective very intentionally, so that Zed and Tuesday could be equal protagonists in every sense and the readers would have access to their inner thoughts without needing to wait for a chapter break to switch perspectives. This is essential because Zed and Tuesday’s natures complement each other. Neither of them could have gotten through their adventures alone. I think this really highlights what Zed and Tuesday have taught me: balance. They are polar opposites, and yet both have skills and perspectives that were essential to success. Sometimes I need to stop and think things through, and sometimes I need to quit overthinking it and jump in. Sometimes relating to the people around me requires Zed’s quiet empathy and willingness to listen, and sometimes it requires Tuesday’s fierce and idealistic loyalty. It might sound strange to have imaginary kids as your role models, but when I’m faced with a real-life dilemma, I think I could do a lot worse than taking a moment to ask myself: what would Zed and Tuesday do?
For some odd reason, Bastian started laughing. “Now you’re just messing with me,” he said, wagging an accusing finger at Tuesday. “London’s imaginary!”
Tuesday stared at him, perplexed. “No?”
“Oh come on,” Bastian insisted, “London’s in a bunch of stories. Peter Pan and Sherlock Holmes both talk about London, and they aren’t real either, you know.”
“Wait, now you know Sherlock Holmes, too? He wasn’t in any of the books you showed us.”
“That’s because he’s not from a book,” Bastian said with a shrug. “Here, see for yourself.” He scooted over to the jumble of papers on the crate shelves and pulled out a dog-eared magazine. He flipped past several black and white illustrations until he found the page he wanted, then handed it to Tuesday.
“The Valley of Fear,” she read aloud, “a new Sherlock Holmes story by A. Conan Doyle.” Her eyes flicked to the page heading. “The Strand magazine. January, 1915.”
“See?” said Bastian smugly. “London’s just a place from stories. Like Oz, or Neverland.” He laughed again. “I mean, it’s not like there’s really a land called India full of talking animals, just because The Jungle Book says so.”
Zed tried to break the news to Bastian without making him feel stupid. “Look, we know the stories are made up, but those are all real places. Well, not all of them—Neverland and Oz are imaginary—but India and London are real.”
“Have you ever been there?” Bastian argued.
“Well, no,” Zed was forced to admit. “But I’ve seen them on maps.”
Bastian just rolled his eyes. “Stop trying to prank me. Next you’ll be saying there really are giant wind storms in a place called Kansas.”
“There are!” Tuesday protested.
Tuesday stared at him, perplexed. “No?”
“Oh come on,” Bastian insisted, “London’s in a bunch of stories. Peter Pan and Sherlock Holmes both talk about London, and they aren’t real either, you know.”
“Wait, now you know Sherlock Holmes, too? He wasn’t in any of the books you showed us.”
“That’s because he’s not from a book,” Bastian said with a shrug. “Here, see for yourself.” He scooted over to the jumble of papers on the crate shelves and pulled out a dog-eared magazine. He flipped past several black and white illustrations until he found the page he wanted, then handed it to Tuesday.
“The Valley of Fear,” she read aloud, “a new Sherlock Holmes story by A. Conan Doyle.” Her eyes flicked to the page heading. “The Strand magazine. January, 1915.”
“See?” said Bastian smugly. “London’s just a place from stories. Like Oz, or Neverland.” He laughed again. “I mean, it’s not like there’s really a land called India full of talking animals, just because The Jungle Book says so.”
Zed tried to break the news to Bastian without making him feel stupid. “Look, we know the stories are made up, but those are all real places. Well, not all of them—Neverland and Oz are imaginary—but India and London are real.”
“Have you ever been there?” Bastian argued.
“Well, no,” Zed was forced to admit. “But I’ve seen them on maps.”
Bastian just rolled his eyes. “Stop trying to prank me. Next you’ll be saying there really are giant wind storms in a place called Kansas.”
“There are!” Tuesday protested.
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C.W. Allen is a Nebraskan by birth, a Texan by experience, a Hoosier by marriage, and a Utahn by geography. She knew she wanted to be a writer the moment she read The Westing Game at age twelve, but took a few detours along the way as a veterinary nurse, an appliance repair secretary, and a homeschool parent. She writes long stories for children and short stories for former children. When she’s not writing, she helps other writers hone their craft as a board member of the League of Utah Writers.
Her debut novel Relatively Normal Secrets is the winner of the Gold Quill Award, being named the best children’s book of the year by a Utah author. The Falinnheim Chronicles series continues with The Secret Benefits of Invisibility (Cinnabar Moth, 2022) and Tales of the Forgotten Founders (Cinnabar Moth, 2023). She also has shorter work published in numerous anthologies.
Places to find C.W. Allen:
You can follow Tales of the Forgotten Founders Book Tour here.
The cover looks great. Sounds like a good story.
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DeleteThank you for sharing your guest post, bio and book details, I have enjoyed reading about you and your work and I am looking forward to reading this book and series with my grandchildren. If given the choice would you prefer to see this series made into a film or an animated series?
ReplyDeleteHi Bea, thanks for stopping by! What an interesting question...
DeleteThere's a lot to cover over the three books in this series, so I think there might be too much to squeeze into a single film. An animated series would be fantastic!
This sounds like an interesting book.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your excerpt.
ReplyDeleteI think my grandbabies would love this book. I like to encourage young readers so I usually give a gift of books for each occasion.
ReplyDeleteGreat guest post!! I enjoyed reading it!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a intriguing review, excited to read this book with my nephew!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Tracie. But there is no review. There's a guest post, where the author, C.W. Allen, introduces her to the main characters of the series.
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