Book excerpt: Not all who Wonder are lost... It's 1941.The Big Apple's striking: a glossy, black & white silent film silhouette. The false bottom disguising Magical Society's hub at its core... Darby's just met Robert Baird.He's an Escape Artist & Connoissuer of mechanisms.She's a Witch of Ruby Kindred royalty, with a Charm for song.Fate introduces her to his breathtaking streetmagic, against the storybook backdrop of Central Park.Now Darby's seeing things: magic in the everyday.Darby's the sort of magic Baird would hang up his hat for. But that heart on his sleeve's riddled with padlocks, and how. There's a trick to his reckless trade: Escapologists don't grow old. Especially with a Magician's Duel afoot- a dare of 12 impossible tasks, initiated by an anonymous rival.The Wonderer brews misdirection and intrigue in this Young Adult Historical Fantasy novel, invoking Baum's timeless American Fairytale notion: with a smidgeon of brains, heart, and gumption, we always hold the power. We just have to find it for ourselves.