authormelodydempsey Category:  Science Fiction Publisher: Publish America ISBN-10:  1448979005 Type: Fiction Pages: 185 Copyright: Oct 30, 2009 ISBN-13: 9781448979004 This book tells of three teens as they embark on a time traveling journey into the past. They are swept up in an unknown world where they save the life of a rapist, obviously not knowing it at the time. They also save a young woman from being raped by the same man they saved from certain death, but they inadvertently end up ruining the life of the young woman as well as wiping her entire family off the face of the earth! Cameron feels he is responsible for hurting this young woman and her future family. Will he be able to undo the damage that he and the other two teens created? The Forest Portal tells the story of three teens as they embark on an amazing journey through time. Thrilled about the last day of school, Cameron Maine, his younger sister Collette, along with their friend Taden, decide to go to the beach for an afternoon of fun and relaxation, but Cameron has other plans he has not revealed to the other two. He tells them he wants help collecting seaweed, shells, and other seashore items. Taden questions his friend’s request, but reluctantly decides to lend a hand.   Cameron has plans to develop a sealant that turns old wood new again. Taden, feeling doubtful about the plausibility of Cameron new project soon discovers, along with Cameron and Collette that the sealant actually turns out to be a paint that has the ability to turn wood bight, rainbow colors. Excited, the three decide to paint some trees in a heavily wooded area behind Cameron and Collette’s house. The three soon discover, to there amazement that the two freshly painted trees has the ability to transport them into another time, another place. The trio find themselves probing even more into a dimension so bizarre, deeper into the realm of an unknown world that they discovered, sending them on a journey that makes a summer they will never forget! Excerpt From: Chapter 4 Collette woke as the sun peeked through the mini blinds. After dressing in a pair of faded jeans and a tank top with spaghetti straps, she went to Cam’s room. “Cam,” she said as she knocked on his bedroom door. There was no answer. She knocked again. The door came slightly open. She walked in. Cam was nowhere in sight. Collette closed the door and went downstairs. She went into the kitchen. “Cam?” No answer. She went over to the back door. “The woods” she said out loud to herself. There was a knock at the front door. Collette looked towards the living room. ‘Who the hell is that at 8:00 in the morning,’ she thought to herself. She opened the door. “Taden, hi. Gosh, you’re here early this morning!” she said. He smiled. “Yeah, well I left right after mom and dad left for work. I’m pissed off at the both of them. Boy, were they ever mad at me when I got home. I got balled out, then they grounded me for a damn week!” he replied, looking frustrated. Collette looked at him. “Yeah, well you got off easier than us. We’re grounded for two weeks and got balled out on top of that!” Taden went over to sit on the sofa. He rubbed the side of his face. “Well…I guess we pretty much worried our parents. Hell, if I were them, I’d ground us too!” he said, with a slight grin. Collette sighed…”Yeah, guess your right.” Taden looked towards the stairs that led up to the second floor. “Hey, is Cam still asleep?” Collette shook her head. “No, when I woke up he was gone. I was getting ready to go and try to find him when you knocked on the door.” “Were you going to the woods?” he asked. “Yeah,” she answered, as look of concern swept over her face. Taden smiled. “Let’s go!” The two raced towards the woods. Taden looked at Collette. “I’ll just bet you that he’s stepped through those trees.” She smiled. “That’s exactly what he did.” The two looked questioningly at each other. Taden asked, “Are you going through?” Collette looked hesitant, feeling the very edge of her nerves quiver. “I…I don’t know,” she answered, her voice laced with uncertainty. Taden glanced at the trees. “I’ll go then.” Collette grabbed his arm. “No Taden, you’re in enough trouble as it is. You had better go home,” she demanded, giving him a sharp look. Taden jerked his arm away from her, anger filling his eyes. “Look, you and Cam are in deep crap too. Deeper than what I am! Now I want to help you find him,” he snapped, a look of frustration etched on his face. Collette snapped back. “NO, I’ll take care of this! We’ve gotten you into enough trouble! I mean it Taden,” she growled, shooting a him a determined look. Taden grabbed Collette and held her tight to him, her face only an inch from his. She looked surprised. He looked intently into her eyes, his still filled with anger. “Look, I’m not gong to let you go through by yourself!! We’ll just get in trouble together, ok?” “Ok” Collette answered softly, a look of surprise filled her face. Taden loosened his grip a little, still looking into her eyes; the anger quickly leaving them as a look of warmth and desire flooded in. He gently touched her face. “I couldn’t take it if something happened to you Collette,” he said softly, then he gently kissed her, pressing her closer to him. Collette put her arms around his neck. She started to run her fingers through his hair. She felt herself liquidate as he pressed her body closer to his; kissing her with more passion. Collette could feel his strong body getting more intense. She started to try to loosen his hold on her, afraid she may completely let her guard down. Taden pulled her closer to him. “Taden, no!” she cried, as she pulled away from him. The sultry look on Taden’s face was quickly replaced with a look of embarrassment. “Collette, God, I’m sorry. I don’t know…” He wished the ground would open up and swallow him. Collette gazed at him, still feeling the heat of his kiss on her lips. Taden was tall and well built from doing work on his aunt’s farm from time to time. He was an excellent horseback rider. “It’s ok Taden. I got carried away too,” she said, trying to avoid looking at him too hard. She noticed that he was aroused, but she didn’t want him to know that she knew. Taden sighed and sat on the ground. He rubbed his hands through his thick dark brown hair. Collette sat down opposite him. Taden found himself melting back into the memory of Collette’s soft, sweet tasting lips; the feel of her sensuous slender curves under his hands as he caressed her delicate body. Collette reveled in the memory of Taden’s sensuous, strong arms holding her; his kisses gently smothering her lips. After a few moments of silence, Taden spoke up. “Well, we had better go and find Cam.” Collette agreed. They both got up and stood in front of the two trees. Taden took Collette’s hand. “Ready,” he asked, giving her a slight smile. “Yeah,” she replied They both stepped through the two trees. Cam was over by the big rock, squatting down. They ran to the rock. “Cam, what the hell did you come back here for?” asked Collette. A very surprised Cam quickly turned around. “Collette! Shit! Squat down!!” he demanded in a loud whisper. Both Collette and Taden quickly squatted down. Cam glared at his sister and his friend. “What in the hell are you two doing here?” he growled, scowling at the both of them. Collette looked at her brother. “What the hell are you doing here Cam, and what’s going on?” she asked. “Shhh! Keep your voice down!” he whispered loudly, the scowl, still on his face. Taden gave his freind a hard look. “Cam, she and I were worried about you,” he snapped in a low voice. Cam looked at Taden, then at Collette, his expression softening. “Listen guys, I just heard that guy standing by the apple tree just threaten someone. I think it’s another man,” he said, pointing towards the big tree. “I didn’t see the other guy. He’s behind that tree somewhere, but I heard him. They were yelling at each other. I heard the man by the tree; see, the one standing there.” Cam pointed to the large apple tree. “I heard him say something about killing some girl the next time. I don’t know what that’s all about, but it sounds serious to me.” The trio looked towards the tree. The two men continued to argue. Suddenly there was a gunshot! The man that was standing by the large tree fell to the ground. They saw another man with a gun emerge into sight. Collette made a sound as she drew back her breath. Cam quickly put his hand over her mouth. “Shhh!” he whispered. They saw the man with the gun kneel down and look at the man he had shot. It seemed as if he was saying something to the injured man. After a few seconds he got up and walked away, leaving the injured man lying beside the large apple tree. Cam, Collette and Taden were shocked at what they had just witnessed. Collette started to shiver. “Oh God Cam, we have to help that poor man!” she cried, as tears streamed down her face. Cam and Taden’s expressions of shock changed to a look of concern. Cam looked at his sister. “I know, but if that guy comes back and sees us, he’s liable to shoot us too!” he replied, a shiver of fear running down his spine. Taden spoke up. “Yeah, and we can’t take that chance right now. Let’s wait a few seconds to see if that jerk comes back.” Collette glared at Taden as if he had lost his mind. “Taden, he could be dead by then!” Cam cast a look of concern at Taden. “She has a point. We got to help this guy now!” Cam grabbed Collette by the hand. “Ok guys, let’s go!! With that, the three sprinted towards the apple tree. Cam immediately leaned down to look at the injured man. “He’s bleeding from his shoulder pretty bad.” Collette got on her knees. Noticing the blood pooling under the stranger’s shoulder, she felt a wave of nausea and light-headedness start to cover her. She struggled to shake it off. “Sir, can you hear me?” she asked. The man barely opened his eyes. He started to move his lips, but his head drooped to one side and his eyes stopped moving. Collette touched the man’s face. “Oh God Cam, is he…d-dead?” she asked, her stomach turning somersaults. Cam felt for a pulse on the man’s wrist. “He has a faint pulse,” he replied, fearing that perhaps the stranger’s life may ebb away, right here, under this tree, three strangers surrounding him. Taden was on the other side of the injured man. “We got to see if we can get this bleeding to stop.” Cam took his shirt off and started tearing it into strips. He then started to tie several strips around the top part of the man’s shoulder, making a tourniquet. Taden took his shirt off, balled it up and stuck it under the man’s head. The injured man suddenly started to slowly open his eyes. He started to speak. Collette started to attempt to get the injured man’s hair out of his eyes. “Shh, don’t try to talk. We’re going to try to get you some help.” Cam looked at the makeshift tourniquet. “I sure hope that I did that right.” Taden shrugged. “It looks fine to me.” Cam scanned the open field. “Let’s get him behind that rock. Taden, I’ll get him under the arms and you get his legs. Collette, you help to support his middle.” Taden examined the tourniquet, noticing the blood slowly leaking through it. “Boy, I hope that your tourniquet holds out. The blood has already started to seep through.” Cam glanced at the stranger’s shoulder. “We’ll just have to take it slow.” The trio started to pick the man up. “God, he’s a load!” exclaimed Cam as he struggled to lift the injured man’s shoulders. Taden picked up the man’s feet. “Kind of heavy down here too,” he affirmed, a slight grin on his face. Collette struggled to support the injured man’s midsection. When the three got to the big rock, they carefully set the man behind it. “There,” said an exhausted Cam, as he plopped on the ground, leaning against the rock. Collette and Taden wearily sat down beside him. Collette looked at her brother. “Cam, what the hell are we going to do now?” she asked, looking somewhat scared. He rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know, but we sure can’t leave him here.’ Taden peered over the rock. “I wonder where that jerk went. I’m glad that he didn’t come back here.” Collette carefully peered up from behind the large rock. “Well he was mad as hell, that’s for sure! I wonder what they were arguing about?” Cam rubbed his chin. “I don’t know. It must have been pretty bad, but shooting someone? What the hell is that?” he asked, tossing a small pebble he was picking at, wondering what the injured man meant when he said he would “kill the girl the next time.” Suddenly they heard a young woman’s voice calling for someone named Jamison. Collette froze. Cam slowly peered over the rock. “What the hell? Oh my God!” He looked at the other two with a petrified look on his face, his pulse pounding hard against his veins. “You guys, he must be Jamison, and that woman! She’s the one I saw when I first stepped through the trees! She must be looking for him!” Taden glanced towards the young woman. “Cam, what do we do now?” he asked. Cam looked scared. I….I don’t know,” he stammered. The woman was moving closer.

Review by BK Walker.
The Forest Portal by Melody Dempsey was a great read! The title is perfect for the plot within the pages.
Cameron Maine is about to graduate high school. On the last day of school when the bell rings, Cam and his sister Collette and friend Taden head to the beach for some last day of school fun. Cam being the inventor type, decides he is going to gather some seaweed and shells to try and concoct a serum to turn old wood to look brand new. Much to his dismay, what Cam actually invents is a glowing rainbow paint. Disappointed with failure, Cam, Collette, and Taden take the paint to the woods, intending to make the trees more colorful. When painting the trees in the woods, he finds it doesn't glow like it did back at his house. As Taden steps between two trees that were standing close together and both wearing Cam's paint, the kids are stunned as the glowing neon colors surround Taden and he disappears. After a few seconds of Cam and Collette standing in awe, the colors reappear and Taden is back. They discuss what happened and realize Cam didn't invent a serum to restore old wood, but a serum that created a time portal. Follow Cam, Collette, and Taden on their adventures through time travel. Where they go into a time of the past, meet ancestors all the while trying to maintain their secret. Will they change the future by altering past events? Find out in The Forest Portal.

Dempsey did a fantastic job of keeping the intrigue alive. This story has a great plot with some unusual twists. I can't wait to see what the next adventure will be. I give it ****1/2 (4.5) Stars, BK Walker, reviewer for BK Walker Books, Author of "Near Suicide" and "Dares And Dreams". http://bkwalkerbooks.weebly.com/