Tara Duncan and the Forbidden Book (54 page)

W
illiam Rodarmor
is a journalist, editor, and French literary translator. In addition to the Tara Duncan books, his young adult translations include The Book of Time trilogy by Guillaume Prévost (Scholastic, 2007–09), The Old Man Mad About Drawing by François Place (Godine, 2003), Catherine Certitude by Patrick Modiano and Jean-Jacques Sempé (Godine, 2001), Ultimate Game by Christian Lehmann (Godine, 2000), and The Last Giants by François Place (Godine, 1993). His translation of Tamata and the Alliance, by famed sailor Bernard Moitessier, won the 1996 Lewis Galantière Award from the American Translators Association.

William has traveled all over the world but has a special fondness for France, about which he edited and translated two anthologies in Whereabouts Press's Traveler's Literary Companion series: French Feast (2011) and France (2008). He is especially proud of two things: sailing solo from Tahiti to Hawaii in 1971 and winning the cartoon caption contest in the New Yorker in 2010. William lives in Berkeley, California, and often travels to New York City.

T
o my tender and luminous family, my husband Philippe, and my daughters Diane and Marine, who continue to valiantly support their wife and mother with humor and lucidity. Thank you, darlings. Without you, this book would not exist.

It took seventeen years for my girl wizard Tara Duncan to see the light of day. I wrote Tara Duncan and the Spellbinders (Tara Duncan et les Sortcelier) in 1987, the year my daughter Diane was born. That is the first book in this series. But at the time, I couldn't get a single French publisher interested. I waited, kept writing, and sometimes cried my eyes out. But my very sweet husband Philippe kept saying, “You have so much talent. You'll see; one of these days Tara is going to take off.”

That day came thanks to a boy wizard with glasses and a scar on his forehead. Harry Potter's success had such an impact in France that when I sent out my manuscript for the nth time, three publishers suddenly wanted options on it. Since then, the Tara Duncan books have been published in eighteen countries, adapted for television by Disney and Moonscoop, and sold some eight million copies.

Thanks go to my marvelous family, which has supported my stories about dragons for some twenty years now—you are heroes! To my publisher Tony Lyons, who gave me the chance to be published in the United States, the eighteenth country in which Tara Duncan has been translated. Let's hope we conquer the world together!

Thanks to Jennifer Lyons, my wonderful and dynamic agent; to my translator William Rodarmor, who ties his brain in knots rendering my improbable wordplay; to Karissa Hearn, who is publicizing my book in the United States; and especially to my marvelous American fans who write me (and whom I answer!) at [email protected].

To everyone, thanks for reading my books. You are true friends.

Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian
Paris, Winter 2013

Tara Duncan and the Spellbinders

by HRH Princess Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian

Translated by William Rodarmor

Though only twelve years old, orphaned Tara has developed strange telekinetic powers that allow her to bend space and levitate others high above the ground, as if they are lighter than air. Her two best friends, Betty and Fabrice—often the victims of Tara's uncontrollable abilities—are the only ones who know about Tara's secret. Even her grandmother and caretaker, Isabella, doesn't have a clue. That is until Tara learns that she is a spellbinder, descended from a long line of powerful magic-wielders born on the planet OtherWorld. Forced to flee her Earth home when Magister, the Master of the Bloodgraves, attacks, Tara escapes to planet OtherWorld, where she finds loyal friends and learns about her mysterious powers. But when Tara discovers that her mother is alive and being held captive by Magister, will she be able to save her?

Tara Duncan is an inspiring heroine, whose adventures and personal struggles will captivate readers already hooked by fantasy adventures and characters like Harry Potter. This is the first installment of the Tara Duncan series—an epic adventure full of magic and bravery that is sure to cast a spell on young readers!

$16.95 Hardcover