THE SOPHIA FREEMAN SERIES
by T.X. Troan
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GENRE: Middle-Grade Fantasy Mystery
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BLURB:
What begins as a special trip for eleven-year-old SOPHIA FREEMAN and her billionaire father, leaves her trapped on a mysterious island with a tree boy and other fantastical creatures.
The moment Sophia thinks her situation can’t get any crazier, she is shocked to learn the island is under a deadly eternal curse. All living things are rapidly decaying and soon nothing and no one—including herself—will be left alive.
From competing in a three-round yearly held competition to reviving a long-lost magical spell, Sophia and her new companions must gather every ounce of courage, wit and skill as they are stepping closer to breaking the 150-year-old curse. But will they make it in time while surrounded by enemies and traitors aiming to stop them at any cost?
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EXCERPT FROM BOOK 1:
“So, what’s on your agenda today, my dear?” Grandma asked.
“Dad and I are going to explore his new island after this,” she replied, sitting on the edge of her seat.
“Oh, yes, your father told me about that on the phone last night,” said Grandpa, then gave Sophia a serious look. “My girl, do you know why all the previous owners vanished?”
Sophia shook her head slightly, but kept watching him without blinking.
“Rumors say the place possesses some sort of magical energy. As dusk arrives, the island comes to life: boulders begin to quake, monstrous trees uproot themselves, and mysterious creatures crawl out of their homes. They will do
anything to protect their island … especially from humans.”
Sophia’s eyes widened and her hands began to sweat.
“Joe, that’s enough!” Dad ordered. “You’re scaring her.”
“That was very mean of you, Joe,” Grandma added.
Grandpa chuckled. “Well, it looks like I haven’t loss my touch. You’re still that innocent girl that I used to know.”
Sophia sighed with relief. He must have been teasing.
When she was a lot younger, Grandpa used to tell her ghost stories and it would frighten her every time. The all-time best story was about an invisible spirit that watches us from behind since the day we were born. It would one day transfer our soul to a magical place when
we are ready to go. He told the little girl it was time for him to go and would never return. She burst into tears and tried to convince him it wasn’t time yet. She stayed with him that whole night and never let him out of her sight.
Excerpt from Book Two:
“So, Wondnair, what happened back there?” Tim asked, picking at his food. “Why did the arbiters put our victory on hold?”
Sophia hung her head in silent shame.
“Sophia’s body was taken over by, uh … someone,” said Wondnair.
“You mean … T-Tombermon? Why would he help us win?” Tim shook his head. “No, it can’t be true—”
“Look, no monster of that size would simply drop and let you two pass,” Wondnair continued. “Sophia was like its master back there.”
Holding her bowl tightly, Sophia watched her teardrop fall into her earthy soup.
“So, she broke the rules?” Tim couldn’t eat any more. “It’s over—we’re disqualified.”
Wondnair said, “We don’t know that ye—”
“I am so sorry, Tim,” cried Sophia. “We lost because of m-me.” She wiped her eyes. “You shouldn’t have come with me to fight that fountain guardian. Then this n-never would have h-happened.”
“Sophia.” He slid closer to her on the bench.
“I’m n-not the Ch-Chosen One!” She slammed her fist on the table.
Tim gently placed her head against his shoulder and wrapped his arms around her. “Sophia, listen to me. The fight isn’t over.”
Excerpt from Book Three:
Another flaming whip slashed between Sophia and Tim, and they swiftly dodged it. Who could possibly be using Dark Art spells? They looked over and saw Allen’s smoking wand in one hand and Sophia’s scroll in the other.
“S-sorry, guys—I got curious,” said Allen, trembling.
Tim roared, “Curious? You’re not supposed to—”
Sophia raised her hand like Dad did to her, to silence him.
“Allen, can I have my scroll back?” she asked calmly, easing toward him.
Staring at it, he said, “Um … yeah,” and handed it to her.
“Did you hurt yourself?” Sophia asked. “Do you feel any different?”
“I’m fine—actually, I feel good,” said Allen, with a tiny grin.
“Interesting—could you show us how you did that spell?”
Allen gave her a puzzled look. “You mean I’m not in deep trouble? Uh … sure.” He shifted into the attack position and shut his eyes.
“Sophia, I don’t understand—why are you wasting our time?” Tim demanded.
“Shh … Mona was right—you should really work on your temper.” She kept staring at Allen without blinking. “Just watch.”
A moment later, a strong gust howled past them as his wand lit up.
“Allen, break that tall boulder with roots wrapped around it!” Sophia shouted.
He struck with an aggressive roar. “HELLFIRE LASH!” The third flaming whip was unleashed, and it was much bigger than the previous two. It struck directly at the target.
KABOOM!
The spell left a hole through the boulder the size of Allen’s fist.
“Wow, that was impressive,” Tim mumbled.
Sophia handed him the scroll and turned to Allen. “Do you feel any different this time?”
Admiring his wand, he said, “Yes, I felt … confident. Something I didn’t think was possible.”
I get it—he’s attracted to Dark Art spells! At that instant, an absurd idea came to her mind.
Excerpt from Book Four:
With most islanders in the water, a menacing laugh halted them.
“Going somewhere?” said Arbiter Scarlon, standing next to Bolrock, the monstrous boulder creature and dark guardian leader who almost killed Sophia when she first came to Pandilone Island. Iron-masked guards stood behind them.
“Scarlon, after what the island has given you—how could you betray us?” Arbiter Nulon snapped telepathically.
“In order for all of us to have a better future, we must make a change to this place,” Arbiter Scarlon pointed out. “I am just … speeding up the process.”
Tim clenched his fists and barked, “You just want more power for yourself!”
“We are such fools for trusting you.” Arbiter Nulon lowered her head.
“You are not the only fools here,” said Arbiter Scarlon, glaring at Allen. “Boy, I thought you were smarter than this. You could’ve had so much more, but instead you decided to leave with these pathetic weaklings.”
“I never wanted anything to do with you or the new era,” Allen revealed. “I only got close to you guys to destroy Tombermon.”
“He was just pretending this whole time?” Tim whispered, staring at Sophia.
She nodded with a grin.
Arbiter Nulon stepped past her guards. “Scarlon, you can have the island. We just want to leave in peace.”
“Ah, that is very generous of you,” he said sarcastically, waving his hand to command his army to surround them. “Unfortunately, no one is leaving this place.”
“Why not?” Sophia demanded, shifting into her attack position. “You already got what you were after.”
“The reason is very simple: to ensure a long-lasting new era, there must not be any kind of rebellion,” Arbiter Scarlon explained.
“You think we will return one day and take everything back?” Allen guessed.
“The risk is far too great,” Arbiter Scarlon continued. “But if you remain here, the chance of that happening is extremely low.”
“So, what you’re telling us is staying on the island is our only option?” Allen asked.
He sneered. “Well, it’s your only living option.”
“Enough with your nonsense!” Arbiter Nulon thrust out her hand and shards of ice appeared from her palm, forming an oversized sword. “BLIZZARD BLADE!” She flung her sword over fifteen feet, snow flying everywhere.
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Fun Facts about T.X. Troan
- Favorite Color is blue.
- Sophia Freeman and the Mysterious Fountain (book 1) was originally supposed to be a children’s picture book.
- Favorite Christmas movies are Rise of the Guardian and Polar Express.
- Favorite subject in school was Art.
- His very first job was farming.
- He has 3 younger brothers and they all live in Ontario.
- He loves playing soccer, but doesn’t like watching it.
- It took 5 years to write and publish his first book.
- It takes about 6 to 10 hours to complete each illustration for his books.
- In high school, he was 3 times regional chess champion.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Thuan Doan is an award-winning author of the Sophia Freeman series. He conceived his first middle-grade fantasy novel, Sophia Freeman and the Mysterious Fountain, during a trip to Gabriola Island, British Columbia in the summer of 2013. Then he took his work and settled in a small town of Enderby, where it’s peaceful and quiet.
Thuan is writing under a pen name of T.X. Troan. “X” stands for Xu, his grandmother’s name who passed away. And “Troan” is a combination of his parents’ names.
“No matter how this turns out, I want my family to be a part of this wonderful journey.”
T.X. Troan married Sarah, his original fan and longtime love, in 2016. They live in Enderby with their pack dogs!
Book Links:
Author Website: www.txtroan.com
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B5M559C1
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/t.x.%20troan
BookShop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/sophia-freeman-and-the-mysterious-fountain-book-1-t-x-troan/9222735
Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TXTroan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/txtroan/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18815756.T_X_Troan
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GIVEAWAY
T.X. Troan will award a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
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Thank you so much for featuring today’s author.
Thank you for hosting! I will be outside most of the day, but all questions will be answered. Thank you for your patience. Enjoy the series! 🙂
This looks like a great novel. Thanks for hosting this tour.
Thank you, Sidlaw0425. Have a great day!
Sounds like a good series.
Thank you, Marcy. Have a good day!
This looks like a great read.
Thank you, Sherry. Enjoy the series!
How do you stay motivated to write?
When you’re discipline, you don’t really need much motivation.
So very true and most important for an author!
Sounds like a great series. Love the fun facts about the author. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Thank you so much, Nina. Have a wonderful day 🙂
If you could live in the world of your book, would you want to? Why or why not?