The Desert Queen: The Sundial Odysseys

By C.L. Van Liew

Do your kids love adventure stories?

 

Do they want to explore new cultures?

 

Are you looking for something you know is family-friendly?

 

Then you'll love The Sundial Odysseys...

 

Similar to books like I Survived, A to Z Mysteries, and The Magic Treehouse, The Sundial Odysseys take you on quirky adventures through the past, where historical figures who shaped the world we live in today receive help from three young cousins.
 

Amelia, Dave, and Luther's grandfather is the world's most famous explorer; and the kids are about to find out why. When they knock over his antique sundial one afternoon, they're suddenly transported to the other side of the world…and 3,000 years into the past!

They find themselves in a dangerous and strange world. Everyone carries a spear, and dresses in bed sheets; there are enemies at every turn. No one can tell them how they got there, or how to get back. Soon they're accused of being spies and taken captive. To make matters worse, the sundial is now counting down their time left, and that it's running out fast.

Can the kids figure out how to get back home, or will they be trapped in the past?

Join Amelia, Dave, and Luther in the first Sundial Odyssey, The Desert Queen, a family friendly adventure exploring cultures through history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: C.L. Van Liew
• Release date: Nov 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223986140

C.L. Van Liew

As the great-great-grand nephew of P.T. Barnum, C.L. Van Liew tries to keep a low profile. So far, it's not going well. It all started with that time he flew a plane over the Mozambiquan border, right into the middle of a civil war. Once there he took up competitive pepper eating and learned how to corral pigs. Later, things got really wild that time he got stuck in a cave in China that was supposed to grant anyone who entered with a hundred years of life. And then he turned ten. It was all downhill from there. Visits from the FBI, rock climbing the Tunisian Colosseum, and saving the lives of multiple children (mostly his own), C.L. Van Liew just can't keep his head down. Then for some reason a narrator started following him around, writing everything about him down in the third person. He decided he'd had enough. So he settled down and became an author... ...Sort of... When he's not pounding away on his keyboard for stories, he's working with his wife as a consultant building out business process improvement systems, travelling worldwide, and writing marketing content. He currently splits his time between his home in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and a hamlet in the foothills of the Italian Alps.

Book preview

The Desert Queen Images

Chapter 1

Vampire? Amelia asked . No, I don’t think so."

You’re kidding, right? Amelia’s cousin, Luther, said. Have you ever seen Grandpa Joe? Pasty white, dresses like he’s a thousand years old, has a weird accent. How does that not scream vampire to you?

Um, maybe because he’s the nicest person in the world? Amelia replied as she inspected a display case that held several ceramic bowls.

Luther leaned over her shoulder. And you don’t think that’s a trap to lure us in?

"You weren’t here for Thanksgiving. He cooked with a lot of garlic. I don’t think a vampire could have handled that," Amelia said as they wandered down one of the halls in Grandpa Joe’s mansion.

The house was large and old, made of stone and dark wood that Luther said reminded him of castles in England. Display cases lined the walls, filled with treasures from all over the world. The house smelled of mothballs and old books and felt like a smaller version of the nearby museum where Grandpa Joe worked. The hall the cousins were in now had beautiful dishes from China, suits of armor from Europe, and even the tusk of a wooly mammoth.

One of their older cousins, George, stepped into the hall, stopping Amelia and Luther in their tracks. He was dressed as a caveman.

This is quite a birthday party Grandpa Joe’s throwing, George said, leaning against a display case filled with stone age tools. What costumes did your families pick for the festivities?

Well, I’m a tall, skinny Nepali kid with shaggy black hair in a fake monk’s costume, Luther said in his thick British accent. I look like an orange peel with nothing inside and the rest of my family looks about the same.

A little grin tugged at George’s mouth. Even though he was seven years older than Amelia and ready to leave for college, she had always liked him. What about you, Amelia?

Amelia looked down at her own costume. The light dress hung loosely on her, except around the waist where it was pulled tight with a belt. I’m Cleopatra; we’re ancient Egyptians.

Nice! You both look great! George said, winking at Luther. My mom was telling me earlier that they used to do this kind of thing all the time at the museum when they were kids. They’d give tours and pretend to be different people from history. But hey, I’ve gotta get back downstairs. There’s a few people I want to see before they leave.

Our family is so weird, Luther said once George was out of sight. Hey, do you have any idea what happened to your little brother?

Amelia sighed. Dave’s probably pretending to be Grandpa Joe. If I had to guess, he’s waist deep in artifacts from a thousand years ago. Let’s try my dad’s old room first.

They made their way to the bedrooms, passing a cluster of gemstones, a small library, and a dozen old wooden puppets on strings whose blank stares always made Amelia’s spine tingle. They were just outside the door to her dad’s old room when they heard a creak in the hardwood floor behind them.

Amelia, Luther! There you two are! Grandpa Joe called from the other side of the hall. I suggest you stay up here. There are half a dozen gnomes searching for you downstairs.

Luther leaned in and whispered to Amelia. I know I haven’t been in America long, but is it normal for grandfathers to call their grandkids gnomes?

Amelia giggled, her long, curly brown hair swishing across her cheeks. No, just Grandpa Joe. He called me a gnome until last year. I think he stops when you turn ten. Well, except for Dave, who has never been called a gnome. Dave’s always been his favorite. He calls Uncle Albert’s son, Declan, a ghoul.

Amelia’s voice trailed off as she watched Grandpa Joe step past, his hands full with several old-looking things—a flowery hairpin made of jade green stone that matched Amelia’s eyes perfectly, a little wooden cow, a telescope that looked like it once belonged to a pirate, and a few others.

Ah! You noticed some of the treasures I found, Grandpa Joe said in his high voice, following her gaze. As he did, the little wooden cow slipped from his grasp. Quick as lightning he stuck a foot out, catching the wooden cow on his silver-buckled shoe before it could hit the floor.

He peeked over his round wireframe glasses with eyes full of mischief as he balanced on one foot. "That was a close one! This is a 2,800-year-old artifact from Carthage in North Africa, across the sea from where your grandmother and I adopted your father, Amelia. Not a single other one left in the whole world. Luther, would you be so