Sunday, April 20, 2008

Teen First Chosen by Ted Dekker



It's April 21st, time for the Teen FIRST blog tour!(Join our alliance!
Click the button!) Every 21st, we will feature an author and his/her
latest Teen fiction book's FIRST chapter!



and his book:

Thomas Nelson (January 1, 2008)


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ted is the son of missionaries John and Helen Dekker,
whose incredible story of life among headhunters in Indonesia has been
told in several books. Surrounded by the vivid colors of the jungle and
a myriad of cultures, each steeped in their own interpretation of life
and faith, Dekker received a first-class education on human nature and
behavior. This, he believes, is the foundation of his writing.

After graduating from a multi-cultural high school, he took up
permanent residence in the United States to study Religion and Philosophy.
After earning his Bachelor's Degree, Dekker entered the corporate world in
management for a large healthcare company in California. Dekker was
quickly recognized as a talent in the field of marketing and was soon
promoted to Director of Marketing. This experience gave him a background
which enabled him to eventually form his own company and steadily climb
the corporate ladder.

Since 1997, Dekker has written full-time. He states that each time he
writes, he finds his understanding of life and love just a little
clearer and his expression of that understanding a little more vivid. To see
a complete list of Dekker's work, visit The Works section of
TedDekker.com.

Here are some of his latest titles:

Adam

Black: The Birth of Evil (The Circle Trilogy Graphic Novels, Book 1)

Saint



AND
NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:



beginnings

Our story begins in a world totally like our own, yet completely
different. What once happened here in our own history seems to be repeating
itself thousands of years from now,
some time beyond the year 4000 AD.

But this time the future belongs to those who see opportunity before it
becomes obvious. To the young, to the warriors, to the lovers. To
those who can follow hidden clues and find a great
treasure that will unlock the mysteries of life and wealth.

Thirteen years have passed since the lush, colored forests were turned
to desert by Teeleh, the enemy of Elyon and the vilest of all
creatures. Evil now rules the land and shows itself as a painful, scaly disease
that covers the flesh of the Horde, a people who live in the desert.

The powerful green waters, once precious to Elyon, have vanished from
the earth except in seven small forests surrounding seven small lakes.
Those few who have chosen to follow the ways of Elyon now live in these
forests, bathing once daily in the powerful waters to cleanse their
skin of the disease.

The number of their sworn enemy, the Horde, has grown in thirteen years
and, fearing the green waters above all else, these desert dwellers
have sworn to wipe all traces of the forests from
the earth.

Only the Forest Guard stands in their way. Ten thousand elite fighters
against an army of nearly four hundred thousand Horde. But the Forest
Guard is starting to crumble.

one

Day One

Qurong, general of the Horde, stood on the tall dune five miles west of
the green forest, ignoring the fly that buzzed around his left eye.

His flesh was nearly white, covered with a paste that kept his skin
from itching too badly. His long hair was pulled back and woven into
dreadlocks, then tucked beneath the leather body armor
cinched tightly around his massive chest.

“Do you think they know?” the young major beside him asked.

Qurong’s milky white horse, chosen for its ability to blend with the
desert, stamped and snorted.

The general spit to one side. “They know what we want them to know,” he
said. “That we are gathering for war. And that we will march from the
east in four days.”

“It seems risky,” the major said. His right cheek twitched, sending
three flies to flight.
“Their forces are half what they once were. As long as they think we
are coming from the east, we will smother them from the west.”

“The traitor insists that they are building their forces,” the major
said.

“With young pups!” Qurong scoffed.

“The young can be crafty.”

“And I’m not? They know nothing about the traitor. This time we will
kill them all.”

Qurong turned back to the valley behind him. The tents of his third
division, the largest of all Horde armies, which numbered well over three
hundred thousand of the most experienced warriors, stretched out nearly
as far as he could see.

“We march in four days,” Qurong said. “We will slaughter them from the
west.”