Book excerpt: It is a well-known fact that fairies are born from a baby's first laugh. What is not as well documented is how monsters come into being ... This is the story of a creature who is both strange and unique. When he hatches in the underground lair where monsters dwell, he looks just like a human boy – much to the monsters' dismay. Even the grumpy gargoyles who take him under their wings and nickname him "Imp" only adopt him to steal chocolate for them from nearby shops. With feet in both the monster and human worlds, Imp doesn't know where he fits. But little does Imp realize that Thunderguts, king of the ogres, has a great and dangerous destiny in mind for him, and he'll stop at nothing to see it come to pass. . . With rich, atmospheric writing, debut author T.C. Shelly weaves a story of unlikely friendship, family, strange magic, and finding one's place in the world.