Sci-fi/Action Adventure
Middle Grade
Finalist for the 2015 kid-judged Wishing Shelf Independent Book Award (Flame of Findul).
Lauded by kids for its snarky humor, the Taylor Davis series was first published as two six-episode serial adventures tailored specifically to reluctant readers, written in conjunction with two sixth-grade classrooms. Each episode contains high action, crazy predicaments, bigger-than-life characters, and a nail-biter ending that encourages kids to keep reading! Both adventures have been collected into single novels and the series completed with a third and final novel.
Flame of Findul
Lexile score: 700L
Sometimes life gooses you when you’re not looking. You might be happily coasting through days in a little New Jersey suburb, dreaming about Jennifer Williams and making plans to see the new movie showing uptown when–bam!–everything changes in an instant. Your family moves overseas and suddenly you’re hacking at water demons with a four-foot blade…
I was chosen from among all others to complete a task I did not want. I was told I’d have help. I was told I’d be in capable hands. Then I met my guardian angel.
I am so doomed.
- Get a behind the scenes look at some of the fascinating research that went into Flame of Findul.
Clash of Kingdoms
“Why do I have to pay a toll? No one else is forking out dough, you big baboon.”
I wouldn’t recommend repeating those words to anyone who is dangling you a foot off the ground. My face suddenly felt like it had collided with a cement wall at forty miles per hour. I found myself sliding across the tile floor and coming to rest in the corner of the hallway.
“You hit me!” I rubbed my jaw in disbelief. Damian had always seemed a level-headed sort of guy. “I can’t believe you hit me!”
“I’ll do a lot worse than that!”
A handful of spectators scrambled out of the way as he lunged for me. I dove behind a bench outside the high school office. The secretary never even looked up. I hoped word of my death in front of the wide, newly installed security window didn’t leak out to the city’s more violent criminal element…
I just can’t catch a break. Most of my friends only concern themselves with girls and grades, but I have to worry about retaliation from hellish warlords. When three of my classmates succumb to a strange malady, I become the target of irrational violence. Is it a coincidence, as Elena so firmly believes? Or could there be a deeper, more evil explanation?
When the epidemic goes national, my team and I are called on to uncover the root of the problem before violence breaks out on a worldwide stage. Our quest leads us to the heart of Africa, to the underworld, and to a second encounter with an enemy who just won’t stay dead.
- Get a behind the scenes look at some of the fascinating research that went into Clash of Kingdoms.
Quest for the Immortal Blade
“Don’t let it touch you!” Ranofur yelled. He bounded toward Elena with lightning speed, but the opaque, shimmering form was already closing with her. “If it makes contact, it will suck away your Lifeforce!”
His warning came too late. Elena didn’t see the apparition until it surrounded her. She went slack, head and shoulders slumped forward, her body held upright by some invisible force.
“What is it?” I was already running with Emblazon in my hand.
Mike arrived the same moment I did. His skin had turned a sickly white. “It’s a Shade.”
You’d think that after defeating Bartholomew Swain twice, I’d get a shot at a normal life. Instead, my teammates and I are called up to discover why Swain has taken a sudden interest in old graveyards. Our investigation leads us to the medieval Silk Road, to the epicenter of the Black Plague outbreak, and to the Immortal Blade that can command both the living and the dead.
And then the Timekeeper disappears. Time ticks away as we race to keep the Schedule of all future events out of the hands of Hades’ leadership, and I run headlong into a match against that eternal rogue, Bartholomew Swain.
- Get a behind the scenes look at some of the fascinating research that went into Quest For the Immortal Blade.
Praise for Taylor Davis:
“Cool story. It reminded me of Percy Jackson—non-stop adventure.” —Wishing Shelf judge (boy, aged 12)
“I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! It is so action-packed! The plot is totally unique. This is one of those books I think would make a GREAT movie.” —Erik Weibel (age 12), This Kid Reviews Books
“Very funny all the way to the end.” —Wishing Shelf judge (boy, aged 10)
“I am so impressed with the author’s voice, style of writing and character development. Highly recommend for all ages!” —Melinda Matthews, Amazon Reviewer