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    The Caretaker of Imagination: The Caretaker Series, #1
    The Caretaker of Imagination: The Caretaker Series, #1
    The Caretaker of Imagination: The Caretaker Series, #1
    Ebook58 pages44 minutes

    The Caretaker of Imagination: The Caretaker Series, #1

    By ZR Southcombe

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    About this ebook

    Bored with his normal life, John Carroll runs away with his faithful cat in search of adventure. When he meets a real-life pirate, John realizes there is much more to the world than he'd ever thought possible – magic is real, and in desperate need of a hero. 
    John must convince the (once fearsome) Captain Simon Peabody to join him on a fantastic and perilous quest to find the only person who can save magic from being lost forever: the Caretaker of Imagination. 


    This wondrous tale harks back to the style of classic children's literature. Perfect as a read-aloud, it is sure to delight readers of all ages.

     

    FINALIST in the fantasy & science fiction Sir Julius Vogel Awards for Best Youth Novel 2015.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherZR Southcombe
    Release dateMar 21, 2015
    ISBN9789780473297
    The Caretaker of Imagination: The Caretaker Series, #1
    Author

    ZR Southcombe

    Z.R. Southcombe (Zee) is a writer and artist. Her books are written for children, but with their wild sense of imagination, rich vocabulary and emotional resonance they are loved by readers of all ages. A true creative, Zee usually has a few creative projects on the go, but no matter what project she is currently working on, Zee is usually accompanied by a cup of tea. Zee lives in New Zealand with her partner and her cat.

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      Book preview

      The Caretaker of Imagination - ZR Southcombe

      CHAPTER ONE

      Prologue

      Like most children, John wanted to run away. Most children get frustrated when grown-ups insist on wasting their time with trivial matters like room-tidying or homework-finishing, when their time could be much better spent studying old maps for buried treasure or, perhaps organising this week’s tea party with Fluffbutt the cat (who had no say whatsoever in the choice of his name). This leaves the child no option but to grab Fluffbutt and a clean set of underwear, then steal a couple of biscuits for the road.

      They never get very far however, because they soon realise: what would everyone do without them? Dad wouldn’t have anyone to pretend his jokes were actually funny; Mum wouldn’t have anyone to explain her Square Eye Theory to; and Ms Riley wouldn’t have anyone to give ‘the look’ to when the aforementioned homework had the aforementioned tea spilt all over it. And so they head home, conceding that the world would just have to survive another day without them.

      Only John was no ordinary child. In fact, he wasn’t actually a child at all: he was a 42-year-old accountant.

      Previous to this moment, John had lived a quiet life of contentment, alone but for the company of his cat Theo, whom he cherished with the love he might otherwise have wasted on an actual human being (and the occasional visit to his sister). He never dreamed to do anything so reckless as running away, nor had he any reason to consider it. Occasionally, a niggling voice would catch him unawares. A casual inquirer, if you like, of the world unknown.

      … and she almost wore her gorilla slippers to work! his sister said. Her daughter, Lucy, inquired as to why shoes of the fluffy nature were so terribly wrong, as a delicately-balanced piece of apple pie stopped mid-air on its journey towards John’s mouth.

      The young girl had made a very good point indeed! He put his fork down and thought of all the other things he couldn’t do without incurring strange looks, like having a conversation with Theo, or gliding across his polished floors with freshly laundered socks. His mind began to whizz and whirl with possibilities as he fled out the door, leaving the slice of apple pie to survive another day.

      There was much to do before setting out on his adventure – notes to be written, calls to be made, and a good deal of packing to be done. He packed clothes, food, toothbrush, razor, and his Special Edition Hardcover of ‘The Hobbit’. A wild sense of liberty rushed over him – who knew what he would do next? Eat chocolate for breakfast? Only brush his teeth in the morning? Not brush his teeth at all? This was far too much excitement for John, so he lurched to the fridge and took a swig of milk straight from the bottle to calm his nerves.

      It was well past bedtime when John was ready with a large case of his belongings, a small case of Theo’s belongings and a charge-extra-at-checkout case of butterflies in his stomach. He wrote a letter to his sister explaining that he was running away, and to please refrain from calling the police as he was a grown-up and could look after himself. In postscript, he added he was leaving his house and everything in it to Lucy and hoped she’d understand. He decided to give the company car to Steve from HR (whom he knew had always admired it) and left a message on Steve’s voicemail informing him so. John went to bed feeling as if the residing butterflies were celebrating Guy Fawkes early

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