Princess Sophie and the Magic Elixir is the story of a young girl who loves Christmas. When she sees that the people of Melodica are losing their Christmas spirit, she sets out to help them rekindle their magic...
Title: Princess Sophie and the Christmas Elixir
Author: Mike Martin
Publication Date: October 15, 2024
Pages: 24
Genre: Mezzo Publications
Princess Sophie and the Magic Elixir is the story of a young girl who loves Christmas. When she sees that the people of Melodica are losing their Christmas spirit, she sets out to help them rekindle their magic. At the end she finds that all we really need is to believe in the power of love.
Princess Sophie and the Magic Elixir is available at Amazon.
Book Excerpt
Princess Sophie lived in the tiny kingdom of Melodica with her father King Olav and her mother Queen Bianca. She loved her friends who were the birds and the rabbits and the squirrels who lived in the nearby forest. Princess Sophie especially loved Christmas. In fact, she loved everything about Christmas.
She loved the jingles and jangles. She loved the horns and the hooters. She loved the lights, the wrapping, the singing and clapping. She loved everything about Christmas. What she liked most was that warm, comfy feeling that you got just before Christmas. That something really good was going to happen. That feeling lasted for 12 whole days while Christmas went on in Melodica.
But this year something was just not right. There were still sparkles and sprinkles and lights all around. There was even a giant Christmas tree in the middle of the town square. Yet, Princess Sophie did not have that feeling, that special Christmas feeling. In fact, it felt a bit sad. She asked her mother, her father and her teacher but nobody knew what had happened. Worst of all, no one knew how to fix it.
“Oh, no,” said Princess Sophie to her favourite rabbit friend, Hopper. “We have to do something. We can’t have Christmas without that special Christmas feeling. What can we do?”
Well, Hopper was a great friend, but he couldn’t speak human. So, he started hopping instead. He hopped and hopped and hopped until Princess Sophie got tired of all the hopping and asked him to stop. But the hopping somehow had given her an idea.
“When I am sick, nurse gives me special medicine to help me feel better,” she said. “Maybe we can find a medicine that brings back the Christmas spirit. But where we would find a medicine like that? Princess Sophie asked her mother, her father and the nurse but nobody had ever heard of a medicine like that.
Now Princess Sophie was getting sad herself. “There must be somebody who can help us, but who? Hoppy didn’t have that answer so he hopped and hopped and hopped until Princess Sophie finally told him to stop hopping. “Your hopping has given me another idea,” she said. Christmas is magical, so the Christmas spirit must be magical, too. Who should we talk to about magic?” The rabbit just looked at her.
“A magician, of course,” said Princess Sophie. She asked her father who was the best magician in Melodica.
“Why, it’s Lady Ariana,” said King Olav. “She is absolutely the best.”
– Excerpted from Princess Sophie and the Christmas Elixir by Mike Martin, Mike Martin, 2024. Reprinted with permission.
Mike Martin was born in St. John’s, NL on the east coast of Canada and now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario. He is a long-time freelance writer and his articles and essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online across Canada as well as in the United States and New Zealand.
He is the award-winning author of the best-selling Sgt. Windflower Mystery series, set in beautiful Grand Bank. There are now 15 books in this light mystery series with the 2024 publication of Too Close for Comfort.
He is also the author of 3 Chldren’s Christmas books. The Christmas Beaver, A Friend for Christmas and now Princess Sophie and the Christmas Elixir.
Interview:
Where are you from?
I am from Canada’s capital city, Ottawa
Tell us your latest news?
My latest book is Princess Sophie and the Christmas Elixir, the charming story of a lovely princess who discovers the magic of Christmas.
When and why did you begin writing?
I have been a writer for a long time, ever since I was a kid. Graduating from short stories and very bad poetry into books and much better poetry.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I became a ‘writer’ when I said it out loud. From that moment on, I just wrote and wrote and wrote. First as a freelance writer and then on to a mystery series and now children’s Christmas books.
What inspired you to write your first book?
My first fiction book was The Walker on the Cape, the first book in the award-winning Sgt. Windflower Mystery series. The inspiration was that I desperately wanted to write and publish a book. It took me a long time to do it, but I did it.
Do you have a specific writing style?
I have a simple and kind of soft writing style. No bad language or explicit violence. That made the transition to children’s books much easier.
How did you come up with the title?
The titles always come after the story is finished. I knew the main character’s name but didn’t find the title until it was done.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
The magic of Christmas is actually inside of ourselves and not about anything that comes from external sources.
How much of the book is realistic?
I think that while it is magical, it is realistic. That happiness does not come from anywhere but inside of us.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
No.
What books have most influenced your life most?
I love the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
I don’t have one.
What book are you reading now?
I am reading The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris by Jenny Colgan
Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
No
What are your current projects?
I am working on a new Sgt. Windflower mystery and thinking about a new children’s books
Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members?
Several writer’s groups including the Ottawa Independent Writers and Crime Writers of Canada
What would you like my readers to know?
That readers are just as an important part of a book as writers. That readers make a book come alive.
Let’s Connect!
X ➜ https://www.x.com/mike54martin
Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552604938333
Goodreads ➜ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220363612-princess-sophie-and-the-christmas-elixir
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