Eyes of the Enemy by Kelly Hess

Eyes of the Enemy

BlackMyst Trilogy

By: Kelly Hess

Genre: YA/MG Fantasy
Publication Date: August 26, 2014
Published By: Booktrope Publishing

When a rogue band of the dreaded Sorak attacks his village, twelve-year-old Beynn Firehand escapes into the darkness of BlackMyst Forest to find help. During his quest, Beynn discovers his own powerful magic abilities.

The price of his newfound powers, however, may be higher than he ever imagined.

  

Excerpt

It was late afternoon when they finally reached the clearing. This was where Beynn and his father had always camped during their travels to his uncle’s house. Beynn set up camp while Fritz went to gather wood for a fire. Beynn was pulling blankets from his pack when he heard a scratching sound. He looked up, thinking Fritz had returned with firewood. Instead, he found a six-foot long gorkin staring at him from the middle of the clearing. Gorkins were large grayish-green lizards that inhabited BlackMyst. They were fast runners and packed a viscous bite. Although not poisonous, they were well known to bite off people’s limbs with their razor-sharp teeth.

Beynn stayed crouched and continued to dig in his pack blindly, unwilling to take his eyes off of the gorkin. Finally he found his knife, and gripping it firmly, he stood up and backed away from the predator. He moved slowly around the edge of the clearing until he faced the area of the forest where Fritz had gone to gather wood. The lizard turned in place, matching Beynn’s every step. He and his father had encountered a gorkin once before, and Beynn tried desperately to remember his father’s tactics to kill the great lizard. He knew better than to try to attack the beast head-on. There were rumors that, because the lizard’s eyes were on the sides of its head, it couldn’t see forward very well. This faulty bit of information had led to a great number of travelers’ deaths over the years. Beynn knew that the gorkin’s only blind spot was directly behind. The problem became how to get behind a gorkin. For one person, this was virtually impossible. But maybe not for two.

And now the 'Eyes of the Enemy' Book Soundtrack-

This is an interesting exercise. I love music but have never considered what songs would work with my story. I guess something obscure with a mysterious flair to it. A few that I can come up with are:

I’ve always been a big fan of The Police, and the tracks,

Behind My Camel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bZAErXVSQ4

and Voices Inside My Head https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV9JM7vMv6M are ones that come to mind.

Also Cake’s Arco Arena might work.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfBLJdq_sm8

Then fill it with a mix of songs about Eyes:

In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel

Eye Of The Tiger - Survivor

Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons

Angry Eyes - Loggins & Messina

Eyes Without A Face - Billy Idol

About the Author-

Kelly Hess grew up with a love of reading science fiction and fantasy that inspired him to write his own fantasy trilogy. He lives in Vacaville, California with his wife and son, and is putting the final details on the last two books of his BlackMyst Trilogy: The Green Dagger and The Third Power.