PEOPLE OF THE SUN
by Ben Gartner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Middle Grade, Action Adventure, Time Travel, Historical Fiction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
The explosive reveal about who John and Sarah really are and why they’re traveling through time, with their most gut-wrenching challenge yet.
In the time of the Aztec, a scoundrel named Cortés arrives and the kids are forced to make an extremely difficult decision: If you could change history, should you? For more twists, more danger, and more fun, read the third book in The Eye of Ra series, People of the Sun!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt:
JOHN
The ground shook like the end of the world.
At least, that was how it felt to John, who had never experienced an earthquake while growing up in Colorado. And they’d only lived in Maryland for a month before taking this trip to California to visit their aunt. On their second day in the steep mountains of Santa Cruz, while hiking through an old-growth redwood forest that reminded John of a fairy tale, he suddenly felt woozy. But he wasn’t sick. His legs swayed like he was dancing the hula, as if the ground beneath his feet were the roiling sea. Birds took to the sky. Their aunt’s dog, Nickel, barked and snapped at the air, her ears tucked back and tail between her legs.
“Sarah?” John looked over to his sister and held out a hand to steady himself.
She wore the same expression of bewilderment for a moment, then realization dawned across her face. “Is this an earthquake? Cool!”
Her voice rose and fell with the waves just like her knees riding the shifting earth as if it were a skateboard or a pair of skis. Dander like fireflies floated down from the trees and sparkled in the sun’s rays.
“Earthquake,” Aunt Lorraine confirmed. “Just a little one. Hold on, it’ll end in—”
The earth eased to a halt.
“There ya go, all done.” Aunt Lorraine heaved a breath. “For now.”
“For now?!” John hunched over, ready to fall flat on the ground if it got any worse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Sun Stone
By Ben Gartner
The Aztec sun stone plays an important role in a brain-melting twist in my book, People of the Sun (The Eye of Ra book 3). So, let’s talk about the Sun Stone, sometimes referred to as the Aztec calendar. The Sun Stone really does exist and it’s huge, almost twelve feet high. It was uncovered in Mexico City, which is built on the former Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, and is now on display in the National Anthropology Museum. It details the story of everything, or the cosmogony, the origin of the universe, according to Aztec lore.The Mexica (meh-SHEE-kah)believed there had been four major eras or cycles of humanity on Earth. Each met with a violent end.
The first era ended on a “Four Jaguar”day after a good run of 676 years (or thirteen Aztec centuries). On that day, monsters devouredhumanity. Yikes.
The second era ended on a “Four Wind” day after 364 years (or seven Aztec centuries). This epoch ended with hurricanes, which destroyed the Earth. Oh, and humans were turned into monkeys. Not as bad as the first era’s ending, I’d say.
The third era ended on a “Four Rain” day, which lasted 312 years (six Aztec centuries). A rain of fire was the source of our demise this time. And humanity was mutated again. This time, into turkeys. Yep, turkeys.
The fourth era ended on a “Four Water” day after another thirteen Aztec centuries. This time, floods overcame the world and humans transmogrified into fish.
Now, the fifth era, in which we currently reside, is foretold to end on a “Four Ollin” day. The Ollin day stands for movement, or rebirth, and is often associated with the physical manifestation of earthquakes. Oh, boy.
There is a key date in People of the Sun that, in fact, falls on a 4-Ollin day. Read the book to find out if John and Sarah survive when the earth shakes!
If you’re interested in playing with the Aztec calendar, you can do so here: https://www.azteccalendar.com. What is your birthday?
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Ben Gartner is the award-winning author of The Eye of Ra time travel adventure series for middle graders. His books take readers for a thrilling ride, maybe even teaching them something in the meantime. Ben can be found living and writing near the mountains with his wife and two boys. https://BenGartner.com
WEBSITE
https://www.facebook.com/BenGartnerAuthor
https://www.instagram.com/BGartnerWriting
BUY LINKS
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/People-Sun-Eye-Ben-Gartner/dp/1734155280/https://www.amazon.com/People-Sun-Eye-Ben-Gartner/dp/1734155280/
Local bookstore: https://indiebound.org/search/book?keys=author%3AGartner%2CBen
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/people-of-the-sun/id1578394762
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/people-of-the-sun-ben-gartner/1139909512?ean=9781734155280
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/people-of-the-sun-2
Everywhere else: https://books2read.com/people-of-the-sun-ben-gartner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY
One randomly drawn winner will receive a $50 Amazon/BN GC.
a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js
Thanks for hosting!
Sounds like a great read.
Thank you for hosting my guest post about the Aztec Sun Stone!
Ben, your guest posts are always so interesting.
Well, thank you kindly! 🙂
I like the excerpt and cover.
Pingback: Author Interview with Ben Gartner, People of the Sun
I enjoyed reading The Sun Stone and I enjoyed the excerpt, People of the Sun sounds like an exciting adventure for the kids to enjoy! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a sunshiny day!