Brianna rolled her eyes. “Okay. You’re hung up on the age thing. Think about it. I was a hedgehog for several months. How many years does a hedgehog age in one human year?” Henry shrugged his shoulders. “Ha-ha! I’ve stumped my brother the nerd! The answer is twelve. So for every month I spent as a hedgehog, I aged one human year.”

“Which means you two are almost the same age!” said Lois. “Isn’t it wonderful? I always wanted twins!”

“No,” Henry said sternly. “It is not wonderful! I’ve ruined her childhood. This is terrible!” The thing was, Henry had actually grown to like being an older brother. Over the course of their adventure together, he felt that, for once in his life, he had done something she could look up to him for and be proud of. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to end.

“You may not like it, young man,” said Coralis, “but there is a threat awaiting all of us. An evil that will make Dai She look like a child with a beach ball. Malachai has resurfaced, and we will need your sister’s help to stop him. The fact that she is older can only serve to benefit our cause.”

“Yes, sir,” he said humbly.

Gretchen burst into the room wheeling a cart laden with fresh-baked bread, delicious cheeses, and succulent fruit. “Ach!” She stopped suddenly at the sight of two more guests. “More mouths to feed. Well, no bother. At least they are old enough to help with the chores.”

“Chores?” Brianna groaned.

“Yeah.” Henry smiled mischievously. “How about that.”

Acknowledgments

Not long after I began writing, about seventeen years ago, I started to fall in love with what would soon become a full-time hobby. Working in a warehouse, surrounded by children’s books, I read voraciously, my brain devouring aisle after aisle of other people’s stories. And I thought … I can do this! But little did I know what I was getting myself into. I was truly a rookie. I had no style and no voice. I wasn’t sure how to fix it—or if it could be fixed.

Liz Szabla, a long-time friend, recommended I do two things: read Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird and join the SCBWI. Smart woman, that Liz. Entering the world of authors and illustrators who approach their craft with dedicated professionalism has been a life changer. Hearing tales of rejection from people whose works I deeply admire, listening to their revision horror stories, and most of all knowing I wasn’t alone in my struggle to make it work gave me hope.