The Witch and the Gnome
by Maria Trinchi

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The Witch and the Gnome is a magical children's book series unlike any other. What happens to books when we close them? The characters inside books come to life whenever a book is shut or the library closes for the night. The inhabitants of the books (including heroes, villains, dragons, pirates, fairy tale friends, and myriads of other fictional characters) courageously and freely step outside the confines of their respective books to visit one another, share adventures, and enjoy the magical world hidden within every story. But not everyone uses this freedom for good. The Witch and the Gnome are clever, selfish, and determined to mess up every story and manipulate it to satisfy their own selfish and capricious desires. They sneak and slither from book to book, changing plots, stealing magical treasures, deceiving the heroes, helping the villains succeed, and even stealing the thunder from the villains themselves. Every change creates confusion for the characters and chaos for the story. The magical world of books is built on one foundational rule that must never be broken, namely: every story must remain exactly as it was written. If a single page, sentence, or word is changed, the story begins to unravel. Characters forget who they are, adventures lose their meaning, and the magic connecting all books starts to disappear. Together, heroes from many different stories must set aside their differences and work as one to restore each tale to its original plot before the damage spreads and destroys the book’s timeline. Their courage, friendship, honesty, and selflessness stand as a stark contrast against the greed, deception and power hunger of the Witch and the Gnome. At its heart, “The Witch and the Gnome” series is a collection of adventures that typifies the timeless and quintessential battle between good and evil. It celebrates the importance of courage, teamwork, integrity, and protecting the stories that inspire generations of readers. Every book has a purpose, every character has a role to play, and every story deserves to be told exactly as it was intended to be told by its author.

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Maria's love of reading lead her to work for the Toronto Public Library for over ten (10) years. She then chose to retire from the library to devote her life to raising her two (2) wonderful daughters. Her experience working with the public, and specifically young readers, inspired her to write her own book. She wanted to pass the joy of reading down to her children by creating a story rooted in the classic dichotomy of good vs. evil. When Maria is not wrestling with the witch and the gnome in her own readings, she loves spending time with her friends and family, playing with her daughters, baking cookies, watching her favourite TV shows and movies and enjoying the best restaurants that Toronto has to offer.

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Contributors

Author

Maria Trinchi

Illustrator

Blake Marsee