Through the Dark Wood - Paperback

by Zachery Kraft (Illustrator), Geno Allen (Author)

An Ancient Land An Unknown Evil An Unexpected Journey

Seventeen year old orphan Zam Windwater lives a humble shepherd's life until a mysterious messenger brings news that Zam is in terrible danger. Now he must leave his home and shepherd's life behind, taking up the adventurer's mantle on a perilous quest, the full purpose of which remains a mystery to be discovered.

Zam will encounter a motley assortment of creatures, warriors, and supernatural beings as he travels the forbidding path through the "Dark Wood" of Darlandis. Evil seeks to end his life before his call can be fulfilled. Dragons, Grimmals, Shadow Vermin, and Seritheen pursue, as Zam moves beyond his fear into the battles he must face in hopes of freeing a friend, finding a love, and discovering a life larger than he ever dreamed possible.

Author Biography

February, 1975: Geno Allen was born in a small-town hospital in a rural community in Oregon under extraordinary circumstances. The doctor's expected neither he or his mother would survive. In a moment that was later described as "miraculous", both came through unscathed. Geno spent his childhood years on a small farm nestled beside a little river in a tiny valley. It was an idyllic place to inspire imagination. Any number of days his artist mother would keep him home from school for some "quality time" (which usually involved working on art projects or listening to her spin yarns about children living in the sea, or fairy's, or everyday animals doing uncharacteristic things). Geno credit's his gift of story to those times with his mother. At 21 he decided to sit down and write the story he had in mind for years. He wrote four pages and that's where it sat until 2006. When asked about the ten year gap he said, "I'd just written something better than I ever had. I felt it had the potential to be profound. And, I had no idea what to write next or how to write dialogue for a novel. So, I let my inexperience in life scare me into putting it on a shelf." December, 2006 he began again. The years between 2006 & 2012 carried a number of challenges and rewards and little time to write. One of his deep desires is to see his books take off, affording him more time to write. Regarding why he chose to write a series, Geno said, "I didn't really decide. The story decided for me. Back in 2006, I thought this book'll be 285 pages tops... give or take a few. When I hit 578 pages and saw I was finally near the middle point... that's when I realized I was writing a series." November 26th, 2012: Geno published Treasures of Darkness - Treasures of Light, Book One: Through the Dark Wood. When asked to sum himself up, Geno shook his head and said, "How to sum up me? I love helping people when I can. I love to make people think and probably more to make them laugh. I'm always hoping to help people understand how valuable they are. I didn't always understand that about myself and it produced some pretty dark times. I'm a pretty serious person--not that I'm pretty, just pretty serious--wrapped in an exterior that often behaves a little goofy. (Here he smirked) Or... a lot goofy. Like both my parents--and possibly the Transformers--there's more to me than meets the eye." Sum it up in one sentence. He raised an eyebrow and smirked again. "I'm a character."