Free Silverstone Part One: Through Dark Waters by J.J. Moody Page B

hoped she forgot him quickly. He tried for a
moment to imagine her reaction to the news of his departure.
    Finally Ben returned the smile.
“I need to get home. You have been very kind to me Appleby, and if
you ever find yourself in…” He trailed off. “I can’t ever hope to
repay you.”
    Appleby shook his head. “There
is no need whatsoever. You are a citizen of Norchand, and now a
good friend of the Peregrine croppers besides!”
    He sighed, propping himself on
his spade for a moment of contemplation. “You know, there is all
this talk nowadays of the future being a dark place what with all
these mages about. But I always say the future comes and goes, and
we’ll struggle through it together with friends somehow, just as we
have the past. I doubt we simple farmers have taught you much to
take back to learned King Elmer, Silverstone, but I hope we’ve
taught you at least that friends can be found far from home.”
    Ben smiled widely, and they
embraced. Then he turned away, and walked quietly out of the camp
to the northeast, towards the Drumald ridge.
     
    END OF PART ONE

From the author

    Dear Reader,
    Thank you for taking the time to read this
first part of the Silverstone story!
    I hope you enjoyed it, and that you are as
excited as I am about what comes next for Ben Silverstone in the
strange land in which he has found himself, and to discover why
he’s there and if he makes it back to Hulstead!
    But right now, I need to ask for your help in
two very important ways to complete Ben’s journey.
    Firstly, please send me your feedback!
    My hope is that this story will be one that
resonates in different ways and at different levels with readers,
and I want to hear from you. I’m publishing the story in stages in
part so that I can take into account your feedback to shape the
rest of Ben’s journey (see the Q&A below for more details). So
please, help me help you get the most out of it!
    You can do this by emailing me directly at [email protected]
    Secondly, please leave a review!
    The Silverstone story is just getting
started, and for it to gain an audience and grow it desperately
needs reviews. Typically only 1% of readers actually leave
feedback, and in many cases those with negative reactions are more
likely to review than those with positive feelings, which can
distort the overall rating level. The volume of reviews is critical
in persuading readers to purchase a book, so your voice is
extremely powerful!
    So if you have a few minutes to leave a
short, honest review, I would appreciate it greatly!
    Thank you once again for reading!
    More information about the
story including artwork and clues about the next parts will be
available on the website soon. www.silverstonestory.com
    Sincerely,

    James

Q&A

    Q: Why are you publishing the
Silverstone story in several parts, rather than in one go as a
traditional novel?
    A: The whole story will cover
three whole novels, so was always going to be broken up in the same
way as many fantasy stories are split traditionally, but we have
gone a step further and broken the individual novels into separate
parts, each published separately.
    There are a few reasons for
this but the basic one is that I wanted to try to build a
connection with the readers. Firstly I wanted to try to build
interest in the story with readers gradually, and in a way
encourage them to reflect on individual parts, and what might
happen next, before being given the ‘official’ version, and so help
to fire their imaginations. Ben’s imagination is really a major
ingredient in the story, and so I liked the way this method of
publishing helped relate that back to the readers. If readers join
the story after several parts have already been released they can
catch up quickly of course, but at least for some it will hopefully
help fuel their own interpretations.
    Secondly I also really wanted
to be able to listen to feedback from readers as the story was
written, rather than after it was finished,