Tales of the Hiole by David Duffy Published by Clink Street Publishing on Feb 24th 2022
Genres: Fantasy
Buy on Amazon
The dreams of children are the most magical places, where anything is possible and there are no limits. Where entire worlds - even life itself - can be created with just a thought.
In one such amazingly ordinary world, imaginations collide and fantastically normal beasts are born. The land of The Hiole provides a safe place for these creatures to call home. The guardian of The Hiole and its residents is a creature known as The Frox. Half frog, half fox, this magnificent being has been charged with their safe-keeping. The Frox must guide these creatures back to finish their dreams. To remind them of who they came from and to ensure that their dreamers' imaginations continue to flourish.
This story introduces the first ever guest of The Hiole, Lord Regibald. The Frox must find, befriend, and help him finish the dreams he was created in. If The Frox can't convince Lord Regibald to travel back, his creators will be stuck in their unfinished dreams every night, unable to create anything new.
Today, we have the spotlight on a children’s book called Tales of the Hiole by David Duffy. It’s a fantasy story suitable for the younger kids, age 6 and up, but I’m sure many older people will enjoy this one too. The blurb and the extract sound magical and I can’t wait to take a dive (or a climb) into the Hiole myself.
The publisher is also kind enough to let us share an extract from the book!
Extract
I want to begin by telling you a story. It’s a story of a magical, ordinary place. In a land on the other side of the world, just around the corner. A place that is so far away that it takes six and a quarter seconds to get there. A place so amazing that nothing ever happens.
This place is called “The Hiole”.
Some say it’s a hill, some say it’s a hole. They say it’s as tall as the sky, yet as deep as the ocean. You can spend days wandering around it, or step right over it. It’s magical and amazing, yet ordinary and boring.
On first glance, The Hiole appears to be an impressive golden volcano spouting clouds of varying colours into the sky. However, The Hiole doesn’t stay this way for long. When nobody is looking, it changes.
The next time you look, it could be a gloriously majestic canyon, with the most awe-inspiring rock formations nestled amongst the rivers of rainbow. It could be a black hole, deep and dark, with swirling clouds of candy floss circling into a black liquorice bowl. It really could be anything.
The land surrounding The Hiole is just as magically normal as The Hiole itself. It has all the trees you can imagine, growing some very strange combinations of fruit-food. Some of them are as tall as The Hiole itself, and some are just pretending.
There are red trees, blue trees, brown trees, and some that don’t even look like trees. There are trees that are so short that they grow on top of each other to make themselves look taller and there are some that are so skinny that they grow up against each other to make themselves seem wider. There are even trees that are so shy that they grow underground. The sky sparkles with a shimmering pink glow. Like a marshmallow covered in glitter was swirling above.
In the distance, the mountains shine as if made of crystal, reflecting all the rainbow colours of the land back on itself. The rivers stream rainbows and flow so slowly that they almost look like they’re going backwards. The lakes, majestic and grand as they are, reflect the pink sky, and sparkle beautifully in the night time sun. This place is perfectly, magically, ordinary.
