Book excerpt: The Legend of the Snow Monster is a coming-of-age fiction fantasy thriller about a village surrounded by tall, looming mountains plagued by a horrific monster that filled them with dread. Each night they offered food to appease the monster, which has been going on for centuries. No one has seen the monster, but they have heard his roaring through the mountains, and they run into their houses and board their doors and windows against the sound that fills them with terror.