By Author, Karen Kelloway
Keepers of the Pact is about friendship, adventure, and the deepest mysteries of the sea – rumoured to be merpeople! Set in Brigus, Newfoundland and Labrador, a middle-grade novel, Keepers of the Pact, follows Alistair and his two friends, Ben and Sadie, who find themselves caught up in a centuries-old secret. For generations, the Pact of Protection has held, and now everything the townspeople have dedicated their lives to guarding could crumble to pieces.
Author Karen Kelloway, says the idea for Keepers of the Pact came out of a visit to the historic town of Brigus, NL. “I was immediately taken by its beauty, its rolling landscape, and of course, the historic tunnel! While in Brigus I read about tales of giant squid and sea creatures. What I found most interesting, however, was the tale of a mermaid sighting in the St. John’s harbour in 1610 – two hundred years before the tunnel’s blasting. It fit my story’s timeline perfectly.”
Dorothy Lee, former Executive Director of LitWorld and co-creator of World Read Aloud Day, wrote: “Karen Kelloway beautifully weaves together strands of adventure tales, mythology and lore, and the relatable lives and wonderings of young people, creating a fun and rollicking pageturner. Readers of all ages will learn from this culturally and historically rich book and feel like they have taken a plunge into the waters of Brigus Bay with Alistair and his friends.”
Along with writing fiction, Karen Kelloway is the Founder/CEO of the Career Story Project Inc. She works with organizations, executives, and entrepreneurs to create a rewarding career path and believes in the power of storytelling to learn life lessons. Karen lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with her husband, two teenagers, and their fluffy black-and-white Havanese, Chewie. Find her at karenkelloway.com
Keepers of the Pact blends fact with fiction and adds in a supernatural twist. The timelines are, of course, blurred, to bring you this modern-day tale of three friends looking for treasure but finding something else altogether!
Karen is inspired to know that a lot of grandmothers are buying this book for both themselves to read and also for their 9 and 10 year old grandsons who are hard to buy for. One grandmother saw me last week and said she bought Keepers of the Pact for her 10 year old grandson. I asked, “Did he like it?” She said he asked her to buy her more books like Keepers. That put a smile on my face! And then at the Nimbus Word on the Hill event I was standing next to a grandmother who was talking about how excited she was to find a book for her 9 year old son – she was holding my book amongst others she had picked up – but she did not know I was the author! So, she got a ‘surprise author signing’ for her grandson. That kind of thing is fun.
