Empty Threat: A Novel of The Black Pages

by Whitton Frank (Narrated by), Danny Bell

Overview

Book one of The Black PagesElana Black has the power to make herself fictional. But when she decides to start saving all the people in books and TV shows who die just for the sake of advancing the plot, she quickly learns that she's not the only one with her powers.All Elana wants to do is save people. But these others don't want the stories to change, and they'll do everything they can to stop her. If you had the power to change fate... to create a happy ending where there wasn't one before... would you do it if it meant risking your own?"An entertaining premise, effective voice, and underlying warmth make a strong start to this fantasy series." - Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781545594827
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	04/27/2017
Series:	Black Pages , #1
Pages:	294
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.62(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

My name is Danny Bell. I want to tell stories and avoid writing author profiles. I read-when I should be interacting with people, I named my cat after a cat I liked in a book, I'm pretty sure I saw a ghost one time-though I'll never admit it publicly, I'm too tall for the earth, and I've never eaten a vegetable. I lied about the vegetable part. Wait... is someone going to read this?

Editorial Reviews

2019-01-29

When a young woman who can enter fictional worlds decides to change their plots, she faces fierce resistance in this debut contemporary novel.

"Sometimes I just want to shout the truth about me and what I'm capable of at the world," says Elana Black, but she knows that's a terrible idea. Who would believe that Elana can depart her current reality and step into novels, TV shows, movies, and even comic books? She can't explain it herself: "There's a lot that I don't know. I don't know most things." In an old sitcom, Elana for the first time meets someone like herself, Paolo, who explains they're not alone; they're "travelers of a kind." They can tap into the Knowing—learning people's tales—and all worlds are real. Thinking of the suffering she's read or seen, Elana is deeply unsettled, and after entering a favorite episode of the Doctor Who-like show Eternity Pilgrim, she prevents a minor character's destruction. This success gives her a new sense of purpose: "I've decided to rewrite history as a full-time hobby." But Elana has dangerous, angry foes who don't want her to upset the balance of things and are willing to use her friends as pawns. Elana must learn more about herself and her abilities to stand up for the principle that every story matters. In this series opener, Bell (Warning Call, 2017) offers a nice twist on the portal fantasy, with Elana able to enter any kind of world that fiction can describe. It's almost too soon that the tale turns to its complications, because the intriguing notion is worth more exploration. Elana is a sympathetic heroine with some challenges (social anxiety, a low-status bookstore clerk job) but a strong moral compass that points true. Friendship, too, is a theme of the novel, and Elana must learn to trust that she can rely on her circle. As she explains, with an appropriate fictional reference, she's not a lone wolf, she's "Buffy Summers, someone who needs a family."

An entertaining premise, effective voice, and underlying warmth make a strong start to this fantasy series.

Kirkus Reviews

In this fantasy, Elana Black can insert herself into a book or television story and engage with all the characters. Whitton Frank narrates this story breathlessly, portraying the characters, both real and fictional. Frank's narration becomes more emotional as Elana flexes her skills, her ability to change storylines and save their characters from death. Unfortunately, Elana is not the only person who can change stories, a situation that forces her to battle for her life. Frank works hard to keep up with the shifting scenes as the line between fact and fiction blurs and the action heats up. Her performance fades into the story as good battles evil and characters chase one another from book to TV and back again. The dialogue is nonstop, the action fast paced, and the story good enough to make listeners willing to suspend their disbelief. - AudioFile Magazine

From the Publisher