The Castle Comes Into View
I looked at the stack of well-worn books about rabbits, shapes and trains...and I put them aside. I grabbed a pillow, sat back next to my son’s crib and closed my eyes. Maybe I’d see spaceships, a baseball field or amusement park.

But no, I saw a beautiful castle nestled in seaside mountains with green fields and forests nearby. Words began to form in my head and I spoke as the story came to me. My imagination was awash with knights, treasure, dragons, pirates, creatures, secret passageways and magic.  My own favorites became instant inspiration. But I'd have to start slow. This would be Adventure 101—a prerequisite or introduction to adventure.

Six years later, the ad-lib version of the story remains an almost nightly affair. His younger siblings have entered the fold. Hundreds of stories later, it has much matured, just as they have. 

Breckenfall has lived only in the minds and hearts of a dad and his children. As we lay together in a modern bedroom in Georgia, the carpeted floor becomes rough wood and the walls turn to stone.  We sense the smell of salt air rising from the sea beyond the fields below. We feel the sprawling castle just outside the door, and can almost hear the sounds of distant fiddles and flutes.

Not a single word has ever been written down.  Until now.  :) -DR