"Dw arf Story"Professor W. W. Marplot

Waxing Gibbous BooksJune 30, 2020

Middle grade fantasy

Paperback 978-1-64388-321-2 $14.99

For more info:Jenn Vance, publicistjennifer@booksforward.com(615) 576-0078Books Forward3014 Dauphine Street, Suite GNew Orleans, LA 70117

About “Dwarf Story”

Fairy tales are not scientific, but in case you are w ondering whether they are real, I have all my computer notes and data and charts -- Arty stop! This is Emma, and the story Arty and I need to tell is too hectic and magical for scientists to keep to themselves. Arty found a warrior Dwarf, I found a Spriggan, our friends found other fairies, our enemies found us, and that was only the beginning. After that -- w e learned that a Dw arf can climb a 35-foot tree using a 2-foot axe and sw ing at an angle of 34 degrees and -- That doesn’t matter. Soon we learned that our neighborhood was an important place for legendary fairy creatures -- worth battling over, in fact. If you like adventure, and magic and fantasy worlds but still want to be able to use your phone -- and keep up w ith your homew ork --and with a real, live-action fairytale -- w ith maps and ancient spells and people follow ing you -- then we will tell you what it’s like.

By Arty & Emma

Who

is P

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Wel

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Professor Welkin Westicotter Marplot, of Coillemuir, Scotland, is a collector of esoteric tales of global wisdom and curator of ancient manuscripts. He is a recluse and, as he claims, has been collecting and collating adventure and fantasy stories for over a century.

A third-generation descendant, Gertrude Dee Marplot, of the United States, has edited for publication a number of the professor’s texts that she found -- to her surprise -- take place in modern times.

Each tells of normal, young teenagers in strange, terrifying situations -- or of unique kids in worse ones. As she continues to learn more of the stories’ origins, Ms. Marplot has edited these numerous tales from their tattered and disorganized shape for the enjoyment of modern readers.

An interview with Gertrude Dee Marplot

How and when did you discover your great-grandfather's manuscripts? I was very young -- I think 5 or 6 years old -- when I went on an extended family reunion that had us tramping all over Great Britain. All I remember of Great-Grandad is wandering around in this dark old mansion. It looked like a cathedral, with the light inside coming at all crazy angles and through huge colored windows, and everywhere were large bookcases, and bookshelves, from floor to high-ceiling, and with every desk or table piled high with old papers, books stuffed with flattening parchments, scrolls and tube containers -- a musty, dusty maze through the whole house. And they told me not to touch any of it! That experience definitely started my love of books. I don’t think I was even there very long, but those images are burned into my memory, a very happy one.

I don’t remember seeing the professor too much, but he must have noticed me because when we left, he wobbled over to me -- he had a cane, was very old and gray with a stiff, short beard and a pipe sticking out of his fat, fluffy mustache. He said something about me being a good girl and that I should read a lot, or something. I don’t remember much else; it was so long ago and dream-like. But on my birthday every year since, he sent me some old parchment or ancient book with leaves disintegrating off the binder, and they were about very strange things -- supposedly hidden knowledge or stories that just looked like a mess of symbols to me. Some had designs with bright colors and gold and silver etched lines -- and pictures! Very cool.

When I was 13, I asked him to send me something that I could actually read, something a normal girl would like. And in pieces -- large pieces, in big boxes -- I started to receive papers filled with more modern stories. And with very little explanation! I finally convinced him to get a computer and email so we could communicate faster and more often. He wouldn’t want me to say much more, but he did help me get the papers in order, and he told me all he knew of their history -- which honestly wasn’t much.

Great-granddaughter of Professor W.W. Marplot

How did you weave together the story as you sorted the tattered pages, and how long did it take?A long time for “Dwarf Story” because pieces of it arrived in a scattered and disorganized way. And specifics as to the story’s setting were missing -- as if any scenes that revealed specific data were intentionally left out, cut from existence. With some -- very little -- help from my great-grandfather I narrowed down some possible U.S. locations for the story, though it could have taken place almost anywhere. The place names in the tale were hints, as well as the weather and landmarks. I followed clue after clue, the way Arty does in the story, and did the best I could. Interesting that such a modern story could have such a mysterious source. I was just about 15 when the first package with “Dwarf Story” pages came -- marked as “Mary’s letters,” and those scenes from the middle of the book. Because I recently finished it, it was about eight years from beginning to end. A lot of fun! But eight years to tell a story that takes place over one week is crazy!

Oh, yes. In fact, there are pages that didn’t make it into the book, a few scenes that definitely take place in Scotland, but they didn’t fit the main story and still need work. It is a good question I ask myself also: For how long will I keep getting more “Dwarf Story” pages?

in Professor W.W. Marplot’s

Musty Manuscript P iles

-”Stories from Out in the Universe”

-”How The World Will End, according to Wise Old Tales”

-”Travels in Space And Time And Minds”

- “Fairy Migrations and Myths from Prehistoric

Caves, to Ancient Egypt, and After That”

Works in Progress

in Professor W.W. Marplot’s

- “Fairy Migrations and Myths from Prehistoric

Works in Progress

What do you think your grandfather would say, knowing you went through all of this effort to tell his stories? I think he will be proud to see more stories published because, to him, they are the latest link in a long chain. One theme of all his research and investigations concerns stories of young adults and how they cross into the fantastic and legendary. Though he doesn’t communicate much -- or say much when he does communicate -- so it’s hard to tell. But I think he is enjoying it.

Do you think your grandfather left behind more pages that you've yet to uncover?

Did you learn more about your grandfather after discovering his writing? Was anything surprising?Only that he seems more real, sometimes, seeing the work he did to collect these stories, and the writing he did on pulling together all old legends and connecting them up -- like what I did for “Dwarf Story,” now that I think about it! Though his work is much, much greater. The hidden knowledge he compiles and collects and seams together is truly amazing -- and I have only seen a small part of it!

Have you preserved the original manuscripts? Where are they now?I made copies and worked with those. All the originals are in storage. I had to seek some expert advice for how to preserve them. A local university has a Special Collections Department and they helped. My great-grandfather’s working spaces were far from pure -- so much pipe smoke and dust, and that old mansion amid year-round cold, wet weather! What he sent me is now in airtight containers and temperature-controlled rooms. I had a local historical society staff volunteer some time also; they were very interested in the material. controlled rooms. I had a local historical society staff volunteer some controlled rooms. I had a local historical society staff volunteer some controlled rooms. I had a local historical society staff volunteer some controlled rooms. I had a local historical society staff volunteer some controlled rooms. I had a local historical society staff volunteer some controlled rooms. I had a local historical society staff volunteer some controlled rooms. I had a local historical society staff volunteer some controlled rooms. I had a local historical society staff volunteer some controlled rooms. I had a local historical society staff volunteer some