Move over vampires. The wizards that graced the pages of popular children’s books in the early 2000s may have taken a short break from casting spells and traveling between different realms, but one local author is bringing them back. Cris Pasqueralle has written an exciting young adult fantasy book titled Destiny Revealed: The Destiny Trilogy (Volume 1). It is the first book to be released from the electrifying three- part series that will soon be coming to a book store near you.
Destiny Revealed tells the story of a pair of twins whose parents are captured by an evil wizard on their 13th birthday. The twins’ Uncle Benny informs them of their true identities. It just so happens that they are actually wizards from another realm of existence. They must now return to the magical realm to rescue their parents and ultimately have their destinies revealed.
“My two daughters were big Harry Potter fans and that was what inspired me to write my first book ever about wizards,” said Pasqueralle. “If I could get kids to start reading it would really be a great thing for me. Too many children these days are into their video games, iPads and things of that nature, so if they put those devices down and start picking up 300-page books and reading them, well then that would be pretty excellent.”
Pasqueralle grew up in Hicksville, graduating from Hicksville High School in 1984. As a teenager Pasqueralle played lacrosse and wrestled for Hicksville High School. He attended Nassau Community College and graduated from SUNY Old Westbury with a degree in philosophy in 1992.
After retiring from the NYPD in 2008, Pasqueralle decided to spend more time pursuing his passion for writing. “I have been writing for years,” he said. “It has been my hobby ever since high school. I was big on writing and just being creative.”
After self-publishing his book on Amazon’s Kindle service to rave reviews, the CEO of Cosby Media Productions, Braxton Cosby, took notice. “He read the book and told me that he liked it and he wanted to do something with it,” explained Pasqueralle. “They have really been great about it and they have stood by me every step of the way. My family and friends have been very excited about the news and also really supportive. My older daughter Toniann has already read the first book and she loved it. The main character in Destiny Revealed is named Maddie and she is modeled after my younger daughter Deanna.”
Pasqueralle himself is an avid fan of classic literature like John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. When asked what he loved most about the writing process, Pasqueralle said, “I love the unexpectedness of it. The characters really steal the story. Even though you have something planned when you sit down to write, it’s really the characters that write the story themselves. They are the ones that tell me what they want to do. They say yes I want to do this or no I don’t.”
The second book is in the editing phase and Pasqueralle is already working on the third. Destiny Revealed is available as an eBook, paperback, and in audio on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites.
