First Steps for a Hero

Escaping from the local bully is part of David Eldwick's life, but when the bully threatens his sister, the peaceable young school-leaver must turn into a hero as best he can. He is helped by an enigmatic man from a parallel universe. But with the man comes a danger which could threaten the safety of Earth, and only David can deal with it. David is a farmer's son, living in the north country of England in 1969. He has finished high school and will enter agricultural college in the Autumn. Martin Horner, who lives on the farm next door, is jealous of David and has made his life at school as unpleasant as possible. Although David resists Martin's bullying, he avoids fighting with his tormentor. Martin and his father intend to seize ownership of the Eldwick land by forcing David's sister into a future marriage with Martin. David warns Martin off, but Martin wants Jenevieve and goes ahead with his plans. David has no idea how to handle his adversary, but a stranger comes to work on the Eldwick farm, and things begin to change. The stranger, known as the Captain, comes from Arrath, an Earth-like world, existing in a parallel universe. He teaches David how to defend himself against Martin, and David begins to develop in skill and character. The young man grows to like and admire the captain. He discovers that people from Arrath have been visiting Earth for a long time and he becomes curious about the other world. Martin decides to force David into a confrontation, and at the end-of-summer ball, he kidnaps Jenevieve. Knowing that finally he will have to fight, David confronts Martin. He saves Jenevieve, and the captain invites him to visit Arrath. The captain warns David that malevolent creatures from yet another parallel universe may have found their way onto Earth, intending to infect it with evil. But David learns that on Arrath, he can train to become a warder, a skilled guardian against the darkness. Before David can make the crossing into the parallel universe, he detects the entry into Earth of other beings. His Arrathan companions discover that the intruders are the evil creatures who threaten both Arrath and Earth. Because the presence of Arrathan humans on Earth must be kept secret, David volunteers to draw the enemies away, so that his companions can return to their world undetected. Alone and pursued, he meets the greatest danger of his life, but he must overcome his fear and protect both Arrath and Earth. What will be David's path into his future? Does he truly believe that the other universe exists and that it can affect the lives of people on Earth? Will he become a farmer or a warder of Arrath?
About the Author: Judith Rook was raised in rural Yorkshire in the UK, but now lives in Western Australia. After some years as a teacher and music journalist, Judith began to write novels as full-time as possible. She has completed three sci-fi books, a fantasy romance and a young adult novella. Two of her sci-fi novels, "Planet Woman" and "Man of Two Planets" are about Circe, a planet which has a mind. For hundreds of years, Circean humans have been almost completely isolated, but in a time of great danger which threatens the whole system, Circe decides to open her doors. Although science fiction and fantasy are her first writing favourites, Judith believes that one day she will write crime novels. For reading, Sci-fi is Judith's favourite genre, but it is followed closely by the great classics, and she has shelves of fantasy books mixed with top crime writers. Judith also writes short stories and has published a few in anthologies. She finds that the challenges of short story writing refresh and strengthen the techniques which she uses in her novels.