Writing About Magic

Next: The Twin Jinn in the Land of Enchantment

It’s time to channel your 11-year-old selves as I share news about my next book, The Twin Jinn in the Land of Enchantment, third in the series. I wrote this book for middle-grade readers when we lived in New Mexico aka the Land of Enchantment. The book has been percolating in my computer, and now, it is getting its final edits and a cover.

The main characters in the Twin Jinn Series are Jute and Fina Jinn, twin brother and sister, who have magical powers I covet such as having the ability to disappear, fly, and cast spells. They are sweet, well-meaning 11-year-olds, who are also competitive and a bit mischievous. The twins and their parents, Elwin and Mira, are magical beings aka jinn or genies.

Before the series started, the family managed to trick their evil master, Dann, into freeing them, and now he is possessed trying to get them back.

In the first book, The Twin Jinn at Happy Jack’s Carnival of Mysteries, the family hides out at a traveling carnival, where they perform a magic act.

In the second, The Twin Jinn and the Alchemy Machine, the family lives in a small town, where the twins attend school to learn more about humans

In The Twin Jinn in the Land of Enchantment, the family visits Cowboy Roy, a friend from the carnival, at his Buena Vista Ranch. The family helps him created a horse refuge. The twins also learn new powers — the ability to see and walk through walls. And as they did in the other books, they help a child be a better human.

In this excerpt from the first chapter, Jute and Fina show off their riding skills to Cowboy Roy as they ride bareback on a horse named Daisy.

Cowboy Roy raised his white ten-gallon hat and whooped. “You twins are natural riders,” he said. “Come on. Show me what else you can do.”

Jute and Fina grinned. The twins being jinn, or genies as many humans called them, could do most anything. Jinn could disappear and reappear. They could get bigger and smaller, fly high in the air, and cast spells. They could do remarkable tricks with ease like ride a bareback horse while standing up and not holding on, which is exactly what Fina decided to do.

Fina bent forward to speak in her brother’s ear.

“Jute, what do you say?”

Her brother glanced around.

“Are Mama and Papa here?” he asked.

“No, it’s okay. Jute, stop being such a baby jinni.”

“Baby jinni! I just don’t want to get in trouble again,” he said. “You heard what Mama and Papa said about using our powers in front of humans. We both know you’re the one who always starts it.”

“Me? I wasn’t the one who came up with the idea to build an alchemy machine for a science fair project,” Fina said. “Remember?”

Jute closed one eye.

“Okay, it was my fault one time. What about all the others? How about when you shrunk the goat, Resa, or stuck that boy, Brian, to his chair?”

“Hey, you stuck his feet to the floor.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Cowboy Roy is the only one here, and he’s our friend even though he doesn’t know who we really are,” Fina said.

Jute thought. Yes, Cowboy Roy always looked out for the twins at the carnival’s midway. He helped their family escape when their former master, Dann, showed up on the last day of the season. Besides, he and Fina were only using a teeny bit of their jinn powers when they rode Daisy.

“All right, what do you want to do?” Jute asked.

“Oh, something like this.”

Fina barely finished her last word when she stood on the horse’s back. She spread her arms as if she needed them to keep her balance. It wasn’t necessary, however. Jinn have perfect balance. Fina could stand on tiptoes and not fall off. She could even do it on one toe. Instead, she waved at Cowboy Roy, who hooted from his spot in the corral.

Jute shook his head. He couldn’t let Fina show off without him.

“Ta-da!” he shouted as he copied his sister.

Jute and Fina rode on Daisy around the corral. The twins had the same round features, browned skin, black hair, and silvery blue eyes. They wore loose black pants and a vest over a white silky top, and curly shoes with bells on the tips.

Fina spoke in her brother’s ear.

“What do you think? One more?”

“Go ahead.”

“Okay, I’m going to stand on your shoulders,” Fina said. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

Just like that, Fina hopped onto her brother’s shoulders. The bells on her shoes tinkled in Jute’s ears. Her long braid slapped against her back as Daisy pranced in a circle.

“Hold my ankles, Jute, to make it look like we’re human,” she whispered.

Cowboy Roy waved his hat and hollered, “Way to go, buckaroos!”