Samantha Mae Costas, “Sam,” is like any other eleven-year-old ... well, almost. She attends a school for gifted children in New York City, plays piano, and excels in math. But she’s far from perfect. Kids as we know can be cruel, and she’s teased about her thick glasses, her small size, and her asthma attacks are embarrassing and difficult to control. The bouts of asthma force her to quit soccer, which ends regular contact with team members and further isolates Sam, an only child of busy, career oriented parents. When Sam is forced to spend the summer on her grandpa’s farm on Mile High Mountain, she thinks things can’t get much worse. The last thing she expects is Innerworld, a land beneath a mirrored pool hidden in the primordial forest. And the reason the green-eyed, red-haired Sam looks different than rest of the black-haired, brown-eyed Costas clan will soon be revealed.
Prince Buznor, “Buzz,” is on a life-and-death mission to locate Sam. She’s the only one who can find and control the Crimson Crystal ... the one weapon that can defeat the evil Zogs that are poised to destroy his people. He enters her world through the mirrored pool’s portal, where Sam has been mysteriously drawn. She has a crimson diamond-shaped birthmark on the nape of her neck, and Awokian legend tells of an Outworlder savior with this mark. After persuading Sam that she’s the one, the prince takes her to meet his people.
To reach the Crimson Crystal, Sam must journey through the hostile Land of Geffen, face hordes of catacomb dwarfs at the Red Mountain, escape from vicious vampire bats, and face down deadly monsters. The stalwart team of Sam, Buzz, and her dog, Patch, begins the perilous quest. Can Sam overcome her fears, her doubts, and find the Crimson Crystal in time to save the Awokian world?
Q: Where did you find the inspiration for this story?
A: On the first day of my fifth grade history class, a cute girl with long red hair and green eyes sat a couple of rows away from me. Samantha instantly became my favorite girl’s name. I wracked my brain trying to come up with something to impress her. Johnny, who was sitting directly behind Samantha, refused to switch places with me. Our history teacher’s cataracts had restricted her field of fire to the first row seats, which would have given me adequate cover, but no sale.
