MIRACLES COME AT A HIGH PRICE

"Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it." -Michelangelo

But what if an unscrupulous sculptor could trap someone inside a block of stone, just so he could carve them? And can miracles come from tragedy?

Threatened with the loss of the only home she's known, Laurel listens to a proposal from Master Gimpel, a deformed stone carver. He intrigues Laurel when he offers a path to untold riches. Master Gimpel explains that his Troll's Eye, a red jewel, is a doorway into the stone world where a treasure cave awaits. From the moment Laurel looks through the Troll's Eye, she and her gypsy companion enter a dangerous race for their lives.

This is a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of gargoyles, and those who carve the creatures from solid stone. There's darkness in this cautionary tale, that nevertheless pulls off not one, but two miracles, and brings Laurel home to stay.

Follow Laurel's harrowing journey toward miracles.

WHERE DID YOUR IDEA FOR THIS STORY COME FROM?

Sometimes you run across a line about a mythological creature or object and the description grabs at you. In mythology about trolls, I learned that they are creatures of the night. If they are caught out after dawn, a single ray of light can change them into stone. That made me think of gargoyles and I went searching for more about the carved stone ornaments on cathedrals. Did you know that they were originally used as a way to decorate the end of a rain spout or gutter?

But the art form developed far past that. It was interesting to read about contemporary stone carvers in Marjorie Hunt's book, The Stone Carvers: Master Craftsmen of Washington National Cathedral.

About the same time, a character came to me. "She was small, like a hummingbird." I liked the contrast between a small girl and a massive stone cathedral.

Last, but certainly not least, there was another part of the troll's myth that fascinated me. When sunlight turns them to stone, it was said that their eyes became rubies. One obscure reference said that you'd be a fool to look through the troll's eye because what's good would become bad, and what's bad would become good.

Those three threads--gargoyle carvers, a tiny girl, and a cursed ruby--came together in this story.