Would You Read On? hosted by Diana L. Flegal

Welcome to Hartline's weekly column,  Would You Read On?
We appreciate you stopping by and welcome your comments below.

 This submission is a middle grade historical novel set in a fictional New England town in the 1870s

Chapter One

What would Aunt Martha say if she knew? It occurred to Amelia that her aunt and caregiver would more than disapprove of her frolicking along the edge of Ridgemont Lake with Ralph when she was supposed to be studying her lessons.

But the day had called to her. It was one of those glorious early autumn days where the elements couldn’t decide if they wanted to let go of summer. The warm breezes danced through her hair and tickled her cheeks. The sun peeked out playfully from between the trees whose leaves were in the midst of their annual change to red, orange, and yellow. 

With bare feet Amelia jumped to the next rock, the moss squishy and slippery underneath her toes. Her slender arms stretched out to help maintain her balance, she exhaled deeply. Oh, if only every day could be like this.

The screech of a hawk drew her gaze up to the sky and threw her off balance. Two strong arms encircled her waist and pulled her unsteadily onto the grass.

“You best be careful Miss Amelia.” Ralph scolded her with a waving finger. “You go home drippin’ wet and Miss Ridgemont is sure to know you ain’t been studyin’.”

Amelia’s hand flew up to her forehead and she pretended to swoon. “How dreadful it would be to have a bit of fun.”

Ralph’s lips curled as he gave a hearty laugh. He turned to pull his fishing pole out of the water. He had tossed it aside when he went to save Amelia from a possible nosedive into the lake.

Last weeks contributing author was Sally Apokedak.
You can learn more about Sally and her passion for YA novels and writing at her blog.


Happy 4th of July to you and yours

Would You Read On? by Diana Flegal

Welcome to the newest, Would You Read On? submission. Today's first page is a Fantasy title.

Aiden breathed in the crisp autumn air and the scent of dewed leaves as he glided on the back of his commonlear dragon. She smoothly and swiftly flew him to the meeting place where a test to transform the brotherhood of squires into knights soon would begin.

“The brotherhood” as they called it, was an impenetrable bond between the three boys. It was Samuel’s idea. When they were twelve years old, they were the only ones in the entire kingdom to begin squire training that year. From that time on, they were inseparable.

Aiden was the youngest by several months, yet many assumed he was the oldest—by at least a year. He had always been tall, muscular and mature for his age. He also had a competitive spirit, which helped ignite their bond. It was this competitive spirit that prompted Aiden to challenge Aeric and Samuel to make this more than a test. It had to be a race.

Sir Zachariah stood with one hand on his hip and the other hand shielding the rising sun from his eyes as his head tilted skyward toward the incoming squire, his face clearly indicating his eager anticipation of the arrival of the three boys. Zachariah’s long grey cloak and beard, the two almost matching in color, whisked in the breeze as Lucy soared gracefully into the landing, grounding her rider close to the other commonlear, Cameron, and his squire, Aeric.

“Good to see you,” Zachariah greeted with a warm smile.

“Good morning, Sir Zachariah,” Aiden said. “Good to see you, too.” Aeric walked over with his arms folded and head cocked.

“Still up to the challenge?” He asked with a bold smirk.

“Of course,” Aiden replied with buoyancy as he dismounted Lucy.

“Good,” Aeric said. “You know, we haven’t discussed what the loser will owe the winner. How about good old fashioned humiliation?”

Would you read on?

Last weeks First page generated a lot of discussion and I must confess I left off the introduction. I will not do that again, I feel I did a disservice to the authors first page. The book, Your 100 Day Prayer is scheduled for release September 15th by Thomas Nelson Publishers. It is authored by John I Snyder. I do hope you will check it out further.

Happy reading!