Full of Suspense

Ato hears the door opening and dashes behind a filling cabinet. He hears footsteps, about three people, he thinks. The room floods with light as someone draws back the curtains. Ato’s heart begins to thump with fear as he inches further behind the cabinet although he knows he cannot be seen. Oh dear! He sees something in the corner of his eye and turns his head sharply. Oh God don’t let it be rat. It is not a rat, it is his hand. His body breaks out in sweat all of a sudden. “Mr Ringo, Mr Ringo. I can see my hand. Why can I see my hand? I am supposed to be invisible.” “This is not good. Where are you now?” “Hiding behind a cabinet.” “Are you afraid, young master?” “Of course I am afraid. What kind of question is that?” “That is the problem. You have to be bold and brave because fear makes you vulnerable and blows your cover.” “You are telling me this now?” Ato can now see his feet. “Mr Ringo, I can see my feet. I can see my legs now. Do something.” “Calm down, sir, try to overcome your fear. They will not find you if you stop being afraid.” “I’m trying, I am trying.” “What is the matter?” Ato hears a man’s voice ask. “I thought I saw something going behind the filing cabinet.” “You must be seeing things. We don’t have rats in this room,” a woman said. “I know, but let me check it out all the same because we can’t have things scurrying about, can we?” the man says. “You worry too much,” the woman says. Ato hears footsteps coming in the direction of the cabinet. He cannot let them find him. His whole body is almost visible now.

Fun and Exciting

The angel begins to giggle loudly as she waves her hands about, her whole body shaking threateningly. She claps her hands sharply, and before Ato can say Jack Robinson, he finds himself buckled fast into what seems like a seat on a roller-coaster ride with a protective cylindrical iron bar that has soft padding on it almost touching his chest. Sunshine sits right next to him, wearing a daisy yellow race car helmet, a pair of safety laboratory goggles with bright green plastic rims, and a bright fuchsia scarf wound twice around her neck, the two frilly ends floating behind her. Ato feels his face and head; he also seems to be wearing a protective helmet, goggles and a scarf.
“Are you ready?” Sunshine asks. The roller-coaster seat begins to purr like a really fat cat which has just had a nice dinner. The purring changes and sounds like a tractor. Ato can tell because he lives in the country and sees tractors all the time.
“Wait!” Ato shouts above the rising din. He raises his right hand and screams, “In the Sunshine mobile, to infinity and beyond. Up, up and away.” Ato winks at her.
“Does it mean you are ready?” Sunshine asks.
“Go, go, go!”
The roller-coaster seat shoots off at an incredible speed in the starry sky and this time instead of a fat cat or a tractor, it roars like a train, a locomotive engine.
“Yuwhuuuuuu!” Ato screams, holding unto the protective bar for dear life with one hand while waving the other above his head like a cowboy getting ready to lasso a stubborn cow.
“Look. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman. Wrong! It’s Ato and Sunshine. Yuwhuuuuuu.”
Sunshine breaks into peals of laughter.
“Sunshine, you rock!” Ato shouts.
“Oh dear, am I turning into a stone?” The angel is worried.
“No, silly. I mean you are the best thing ever.”
“Well in that case, Ato, you are a mountain, because a mountain is a million times bigger than a rock and you are the bestest, bestest, bestest thing ever,” the angel screams.
Ato breaks into laughter.

The Giant Slayers Club

***COMING SOON***

John

Ambivalent in nature, he is sometimes quick to question the actions of his two cousins and other times he is just as horrible as they are. Because of his character, he is the one who gets bullied, especially by Lala.

Kojo

As mean as his cousin Lala and mostly sides with her.

He finds it difficult to forgive and always wants payback for wrongs done to him.

Lala

Tall, lanky and quite mean, she is the leader of the three and is quick to assert her authority. She leads the discussion on Ato’s ‘craziness’, but something she does later in the book makes you wonder whether or not she is as mean as she appears to be, especially to Ato.

The Cat

He is John’s father. He is always well dressed and clean shaven. His suits are made of the finest fabric he can find and his shirts are always well pressed and starched. The slightest sign of fray on the collars or cuffs sees the shirt in an incinerator. He always worries about his health and because of this, he is always careful about what he. His nose is always buried in a book and always has something to say about everything

The Hyena

He is Kojo’s father. He is short, fat and forever stuffing himself with pies, cakes and fatty meat. He is also a bully and a coward and is always picking on the third member of The Pack. His clothes are always too tight. He loves to read a ‘How to Lose Weight the Easy Way’ booklet in one hand whiles the other clutches a big juicy cake dripping with honey. He believes that chewing is a form of exercise and that if he didn’t do it so often he wouldn’t be in such wonderful shape. He is a man who wants everything and gives nothing.

The Shark

She is Lala’s mother and leader of the Pack. She is thin and grey with her hair always done in a neat tight bun. She wears ankle-length dresses with long sleeves and white frills at the cuffs and the hems. The most remarkable features on her body are her rows of vicious looking little white teeth that make her mouth appear longer than ever.

The Pack

It is made up of three siblings and parents of Lala, Kojo and John. Though they are small time crooks, they are making every effort possible to gradually expand their operations and make their mark in the criminal world. It

The Three Cousins

They are mean and mischievous and will look for any opportunity to express these characteristics to anyone, especially to Ato. They are Lala, Kojo and John

Mr. Ringo

An old abandoned telephone booth brought to life. He spots a cheerful but mischievous grandpa-like face and is a bundle of fun. He is always getting his verbal expressions wrong and using words in the wrong context, though he refuses to admit this. He is linked to Ato’s destiny and plays a very important role in his life as a Giant Slayer. Fearing for his life, he prematurely and tactlessly breaks the news about the Giant Slayers to Ato, with unpleasant consequences. He is however instrumental in our little hero’s triumph at the end of the story.

Sunshine

She is an angel and a very wacky one full of tricks, but motherly and quite a sport. She can melt your heart with a smile and make you feel warm and loved. She is a short and plump woman with rosy cheeks, big bright eyes that look like pools of love, a little nose, and a wide white smile. She is the Master’s favourite because she makes him laugh so. The other angels think she is not a proper angel. She is the one responsible for nurturing Ato and helping him to develop his extraordinary abilities. She is his special guardian angel.

Ato

He is a lonely, timid and jumpy little boy who still heavily grieves the tragic loss of his father. He is considered ‘weird’ by many who either taunt or ignore him. In order to be a Giant Slayer, he has to come to terms with the death of his father and leap over the barriers his school mates have built for him. He also has to accept that there is something great inside of him and all he needs to do to bring that out is to be bold and courageous.

The Book

If you like comedy, fantasy, heart-pounding excitement and adventure, then this book is for you.

Ato is a lonely young boy with a world of problems: his father has recently passed away; his horrid mates at school think he is crazy; and to crown it all he is a little frightened of, well almost everything.

His world brightens up for a moment when a weird angel called Sunshine, who dresses like a clown and is giggly, chubby and quite a sport, becomes his friend. She even brings to life his one and only playmate, an old telephone booth, broken and abandoned for years.

However, just when he is beginning to feel happy for the first in months, he is shocked to learn that he is supposed to be a member of a secret organisation called Giant Slayers, which has existed for thousands of years. But in order to assume this great responsibility, Ato must overcome his fears and embrace his fate.

What kind of giants is he supposed to slay? Can this timid boy do it? Is it true that there is a prophecy about a little Giant Slayer who shall mark a new era in the life of the organisation?

Ernest Antwi

Ernest remembers with nostalgia the pure excitement he felt whenever, as a young boy, he went to the library with his siblings to borrow as many as fifty books at a time for as many times as they wanted every year.

It was at this stage that he fell in love with writing. A few of the essays he wrote in his English class during his early years at secondary school were read to the other classes by his teachers who were enthralled by the quality of his work.

At the age of thirteen, Ernest wrote his first book, inspired tremendously by the works of British author, Enid Blyton. He has since written a few more books, which he hopes to publish soon and which include comic plays for young readers and a collection of poems.

Ernest holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Master of Science in Refugee Studies. He presently lives in London with his lovely wife, Laydi-Anis.