{"id":15051,"date":"2021-10-15T06:00:06","date_gmt":"2021-10-15T10:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/?p=15051"},"modified":"2021-10-25T18:48:32","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T22:48:32","slug":"blog-tour-once-upon-a-wardrobe-by-patti-callahan-excerpt-bookstagram-giveaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/blog-tour-once-upon-a-wardrobe-by-patti-callahan-excerpt-bookstagram-giveaway\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog Tour: Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan (Excerpt + Bookstagram + Giveaway!)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ubb-blog-tour-banner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\" target=\"_blank\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Once-Upon-a-Wardrobe-Banner.png\" alt=\"Blog Tour: Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan (Excerpt + Bookstagram + Giveaway!)\"><\/a><\/p><p>Happy Friday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ONCE UPON A WARDROBE by Patti Callahan! I&#8217;m so excited because today I have an excerpt of the book to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I&#8217;m so excited to for you to find out more about it, PLUS enter for a chance to win a print copy!<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13897\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"645\" height=\"50\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png 645w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider-300x23.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px\" \/><\/p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/once-upon-a-wardrobe-cover.png\" alt=\"Blog Tour: Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan (Excerpt + Bookstagram + Giveaway!)\" title=\"Blog Tour: Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan (Excerpt + Bookstagram + Giveaway!)\" class=\"ubb-cover-image alignleft\"><strong>Once Upon a Wardrobe<\/strong> by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/reviews\/authors\/patti-callahan\/\">Patti Callahan<\/a> <br><strong>Published on<\/strong>  October 19, 2021 by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/reviews\/publishers\/harper-muse\/\">Harper Muse<\/a> <br><strong>Genres:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/reviews\/genres\/adult\/\">Adult<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/reviews\/genres\/fantasy\/\">Fantasy<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/reviews\/genres\/historical-fiction\/\">Historical Fiction<\/a> <br><strong>Pages:<\/strong> 320 <br><strong>Add to <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/57099601-once-upon-a-wardrobe\" target=\"_blank\">Goodreads<\/a> <br><strong>Author Links:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patticallahanhenry.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Website<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pcalhenry\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Twitter<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AuthorPattiCallahanHenry\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Facebook<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/17718525.Patti_Callahan\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Goodreads<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/pattichenry\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Instagram<\/a> <br><blockquote class=\"ubb-synopsis\"><p>Megs Devonshire is brilliant with numbers and equations, on a scholarship at Oxford, and dreams of solving the greatest mysteries of physics.<br \/>\nShe prefers the dependability of facts\u2014except for one: the younger brother she loves with all her heart doesn\u2019t have long to live. When George becomes captivated by a copy of a brand-new book called <em>The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe<\/em> and begs her to find out where Narnia came from, there\u2019s no way she can refuse.<br \/>\nDespite her timidity about approaching the famous author, Megs soon finds herself taking tea with the Oxford don and his own brother, imploring them for answers. What she receives instead are more stories . . . stories of Jack Lewis\u2019s life, which she takes home to George.<br \/>\nWhy won\u2019t Mr. Lewis just tell her plainly what George wants to know? The answer will reveal to Meg many truths that science and math cannot, and the gift she thought she was giving to her brother\u2014the story behind Narnia\u2014turns out to be his gift to her, instead: hope.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n\t\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n\t\"@type\":\"Review\",\n\t\"datePublished\": \"2021-10-15T10:00:06+00:00\",\n\t\"description\": \"Happy Friday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ONCE UPON A WARDROBE by Patti Callahan! I'm so excited because today I have an excerpt of the book to share with you! This book is truly a\",\n\t\"publisher\": {\n\t\t\"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t\t\"name\": \"Kait Plus Books\"\t},\n\t\"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\\\/books\\\/blog-tour-once-upon-a-wardrobe-by-patti-callahan-excerpt-bookstagram-giveaway\\\/\",\n\t\"itemReviewed\": {\n\t\t\"@type\": \"Book\",\n\t\t\"name\": \"Once Upon a Wardrobe\",\n\t\t\"author\": {\n\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\t\"name\": \"Patti Callahan\",\n\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.patticallahanhenry.com\\\/\"\t\t},\n\t\t\"isbn\": \"0785251723\"\t},\n\t\"author\": {\n\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\"name\": \"Kaity\",\n\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\\\/books\\\/\"\t},\n\t\"reviewRating\": {\n\t\t\"@type\": \"Rating\",\n\t\t\"ratingValue\": false,\n\t\t\"bestRating\": \"5\"\n\t}\n}\n\n\n\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13897\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"645\" height=\"50\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png 645w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider-300x23.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13940\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Read-an-Excerpt-Fall-2021.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"200\"><\/p>\n<h1>chapter three<\/h1>\n<h2><strong>welcome to the kilns<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Three days have passed since I promised George I would ask his question of Mr. Lewis. And this is my third time trespassing on his property, which is called the Kilns. December snow reflects sunlight like sequins. The frozen lake behind the house is a silver-gray disc of light and shadow. I sit on a large boulder, which from just a few yards away looks like the head of a giant buried in a mound of winter white. Cold seeps through my trousers, and I don\u2019t care. I\u2019m enchanted by the hushed and mystical quality of the woodlands smack in the middle of Oxfordshire. I\u2019m captured by the closest thing to magic\u2014which I don\u2019t believe in\u2014that I\u2019ve ever known.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve done just as George has asked\u2014well, almost\u2014and I\u2019ve tracked down C. S. Lewis, the tutor of English literature at Magdalen College. I\u2019d have gone straight to Magdalen, but it doesn\u2019t admit women as students. I am more often seen as a girl, not a woman, reminded constantly of my youth and diminutive size. They call me \u201clittle lady\u201d and \u201cdarling\u201d and \u201ccutie.\u201d Let me see them undo an equation as long as their arm; I doubt they can.<\/p>\n<p>So instead of storming Magdalen\u2019s gates, I\u2019d decided to attend one of his famous talks. Although the event interfered with my study group, I found myself in the Examination Schools on High Street for a lecture on Edmund Spenser\u2019s tales, something I cared little for, but I wanted to hear Mr. Lewis and try to ask him the only question that mattered to me: George\u2019s question.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Lewis entered the dusty, crowded lecture hall in a flurry of black coat and hat and cold air. The room was crowded to its edges with enthusiastic students, some sitting on the windowsills and others standing at the back of the hall. While Mr. Lewis settled in at the lectern, still unwrapping his scarf, and now standing in his black gown, he at once commenced speaking in a bass and booming voice about Mr. Spenser and his book <i> The Faerie Queen<\/i> . \u201cYou may hear angels singing\u2014or come upon satyrs romping . . .\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He lectured with such enunciation and clear speech that I heard every word. When he was nearly finished, he reached over and donned his coat and hat, then wound his scarf around his neck, lecturing all the while until he walked out the door.<\/p>\n<p>By the end of his lecture, I did care a bit more about Edmund Spenser and his work and the revival of medieval motifs and how a poet ought to be a moral teacher.That\u2019s how Mr. Lewis is; he captures the mind as quick as a heartbeat.<\/p>\n<p>After the lecture, I followed Mr. Lewis at a long distance as he walked nearly to a run through the town\u2019s streets, his walking stick swinging to a secret rhythm. From behind Magdalen he hurried onto a path that ran parallel to the London Road called Cuckoo Lane. I tried to keep up with him on a secluded and walled passageway through gardens, then up the hill toward Headington. I followed at a safe distance, out of breath and carrying my books. It was a charming hidden route, and we passed under an arched stone overhang connecting wall to wall, ivy growing wild and giving me a feeling of the world being made of nothing but stone and vines and hidden crannies. The narrow Cuckoo Lane connected Headington to Old Headington and seemed meant for only a secret few; now I was one of them.<\/p>\n<p>From there I trudged up the long hill to his house. I Tried to find my words, to cough out the only question that mattered, but nothing happened. He was oblivious to me, his thoughts wherever an author\u2019s thoughts might go. Before I knew it, he had walked through the gate of the Kilns and was gone.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been sitting in these woods behind his brick house for three evenings in a row, trying to screw up the courage to speak to him. So far that screw hasn\u2019t turned far enough. I\u2019ve nearly decided to invent a tale and answer for George, tell him that Narnia came from a great box of stories that Mr. Lewis keeps in his study. I will tell George that Mr. Lewis is magical and has his own sources that he refuses to reveal.<\/p>\n<p>But I can\u2019t lie to George. I never have, and I\u2019m not about to start now.<\/p>\n<p>This afternoon I rode the bus to the Kilns, and now I stare over the rolling and hilly acreage, thick with fir and alder, lumpy with boulders and tree stumps. The Kilns feels a world away from university. It isn\u2019t Narnia\u2014I\u2019m not so deluded to believe I can walk onto the author\u2019s property and find a spired castle and a white witch. But there is a lamppost or two along the way, and the trees do indeed appear as if they might house sleeping dryads. The frozen lake might be where Lucy ran across with Mrs. Beaver. That is, if you look at it just right through squinted eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Through the still air, I\u2019ve heard the voices of the people who live in the author\u2019s house and I\u2019ve come to differentiate them. There are two Lewis brothers and a man named Paxford, who has such a quick-drilling sound I can barely distinguish his jumbled words. Paxford keeps the land, planting and cutting and cleaning. Twice he\u2019s walked near me and hasn\u2019t seen me hiding. His hands are large, and I was mesmerized by their size as he cut down a branch that blocked the view to the small lake.<\/p>\n<p>S. Lewis is called Jack. His brother is called Warnie; I don\u2019t know his real name. I suspect these brothers, despite being quite old to me, would understand why I sit on their land and huddle on their rock, because they seem to love each other the way George and I love each other. They would understand my grief and fear. But maybe they will never really know how I feel, because trespassing does not seem the best way to begin a friendship. I\u2019ve only seen them once.<\/p>\n<p>The first two times I came, I stayed for hours. Each hour my courage grew only the tiniest bit, as my toes got colder by quite a lot. Soon I would become brave enough to call out their names and blab the question I have come to ask: <i>Where did Narnia come from? My brother, he needs to know. He must know. <\/i><\/p>\n<p>But I\u2019m a coward, unable to approach them.<\/p>\n<p>The afternoon sun moves behind a bank of clouds flat and low, and the woods start to turn to shadow-shapes. Trees, bushes, and rocks on the white ground appear like cutouts in lace. I think of how the author must\u2019ve found some of his fantasyland in this place, because I think I can see it too. I can almost imagine Mr. Tumnus ambling from behind a rock, or the great Aslan setting his huge lion paws on the ground as it shakes with his majesty. My attention wanders. I let my vigilance flag, and a voice shocks me from my reverie.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, hello there!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I startle and slip from the rock, landing softly and with a grunt in the deep snow. My legs askew and my arms thrown behind me, I must appear to be quite crazy. A man\u2014I see it is the author\u2019s brother, Warnie\u2014is looking down at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m so very sorry,\u201d I say as I rearrange my limbs to stand.<\/p>\n<p>The man holds out his leather-gloved hand and I take it. He pulls me up. \u201cAre you all right?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am. Please don\u2019t be angry. I\u2019m sorry I\u2019m trespassing. I\u2019ll leave. I was just . . . sitting here thinking. I wasn\u2019t doing anything . . . wrong. I promise.\u201d My words tumble out on top of each other.<\/p>\n<p>He bursts into a laugh so wonderful that the trees seem to shake with his shoulders. \u201cI doubt you are here to do harm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now that he\u2019s up close, I can see him clearer. He\u2019s tall with a jowly face and a shaggy moustache. Above his ruddy nose are twinkling brown eyes. A tweed hat sits low, tilted over his forehead, and his body is covered with layers of coats and sweaters. All about him is the enticing aroma of pipe smoke and wood fire. He looks at once both jolly and sad.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t be so sorry. I\u2019m Warren Lewis. And you are?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am Megs Devonshire.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs there something you\u2019re looking for? Are you lost?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. I know where I am. I\u2019m here on purpose. I was looking for . . . Narnia.\u201d It is the stupidest thing to say. A grown woman\u2014well, almost that\u2014claiming such a thing. The heat of embarrassment crawls beneath my woolen coat and up my neck. \u201cI mean\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, we\u2019ve had this happen before.\u201d His voice radiates kindness, and he doesn\u2019t seem to be chiding or humoring me at all.<\/p>\n<p>I brush the snow from my coat and clap my hands together to remove the snow from my mittens. My hair falls from its clasp and into my eyes; I brush the dark curls away. \u201cI\u2019m not a fool. I know there\u2019s no real Narnia. It\u2019s for my brother . . . he wants to know how it started. He\u2019s sick. He\u2019s . . .\u201d Nothing is coming out right. If I had made plans, if I\u2019d thought it all through as I did my math problems, this wouldn\u2019t be happening.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour brother is ill?\u201d His eyebrows drop and his lips form a straight line.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVery.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m so sorry. Is there anything I can do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, there is actually.\u201d I dig up the brave light hidden deep inside my fathoms of awkwardness and tell him. Because what if there won\u2019t be another chance?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wants to know where Narnia came from. He needs to know. George is eight years old, and he won\u2019t see nine, sir. He asked me to find out. I\u2019m his only sister and he asked <i> me <\/i> . I have to find out for him, but I don\u2019t quite know how, so I\u2019ve been sitting here\u2014on this cold boulder on your land\u2014 listening and hoping to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, I know just the man who can tell you: my brother, Jack.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Laughter bubbles up from under my tamped-down fear. \u201cI know who your brother is, of course. But I hesitate to bother him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen how, Miss Devonshire, will you ever have your question answered?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s just it: the whole of my problem. Do I just make up an answer for my brother? Imagine where such a land as Narnia came from? Or do I become a nuisance and ask the author? That has been my dilemma, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWill you come with me and we\u2019ll ask him together?<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t strike me as the bothersome type.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCome with you? To the house?\u201d I glance down the hill toward the shingled roof and chimney pot, where smoke coils out and rises to the sky. I\u2019ve memorized the lines of the house, the windows like eyes and the green side door.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes. You are invited by me\u2014and I, too, live in the house. Let\u2019s have a cuppa and warm you up. You are covered in snow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He doesn\u2019t speak another word but tramps toward the house and assumes I will follow. I place my feet into his footprints and make my way past the lake frozen, silver with ice, past the dock covered in snow with tiny footprints of an animal I can\u2019t identify, past a tree stump so large it might seat four for dinner, and onto the pathway to the green door behind a low stone wall.<\/p>\n<p>Warnie stops, stamps his feet on the brick entryway, and opens the door. A pale lemony light falls out, and even if I\u2019ve changed my mind, even if I\u2019ve second thoughts, there is no turning back now. Golden light beckons me into the home of Jack Lewis and his brother, Warnie.<\/p>\n<p>The hallway is covered in dark wood making it feel like a cave with a bench that runs along the herringbone wood floor. Coats and hats dangle from metal hooks on the wall. Dust motes float and sink in the light until Warnie closes the door and turns to face me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWelcome to the Kilns, Miss Devonshire. Follow me.\u201d He takes a few steps and enters a room to the left, where the first thing I see is the source of the chimney smoke: a crackling fire on the back wall of the hazy room. I blink to clear my eyes and step back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJack,\u201d Warnie says, \u201cwe have a guest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That booming voice I heard in the lecture hall is no different here and it fills the room. My sight finds the man with that beautiful sound. He looks up with a beaming smile. C. S. Lewis sits in a large leather chair with a book on his lap and a pipe dangling from his mouth. His eyes are clear and cheerful as he looks right at me.He stands and places his book on a side table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHallo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He has the same look as Warnie, though perhaps a bit shabbier, if anyone asks me. His brown felt slippers are half on, half off with the backsides turned down; his shirt mussed and wrinkled; his jacket elbows worn almost clear through. \u201cWelcome to the Kilns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJack,\u201d Warnie says. \u201cThis is Miss Megs Devonshire. She has a most important question for you.\u201d Warnie holds out his hand to me. \u201cDo take off your coat and mittens, and while you ask my brother your question, I will go make us some tea.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I unbutton my blue wool coat and remove it, slip off my mittens, and Warnie takes them from me.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Lewis smiles at me as if we\u2019ve been friends all our lives. \u201cWell, Miss Devonshire, it\u2019s a pleasure to meet you. Do sit down. Now, what kind of question do you have for me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Lewis\u2019s voice is so welcoming that again I find myself telling the truth as straight up as if I\u2019ve practiced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy little brother, George, is eight years old, sir. He\u2019s very sick and he asked a favor of me. He asked me to find out if Narnia is real. When I told him that of course it wasn\u2019t, he insisted on knowing where it comes from. I\u2019m sorry if I am ruining your lovely evening\u2014Mum does say I can be a pest. But I\u2019m willing to be a pest for this undertaking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDear Miss Devonshire, whoever told you Narnia isn\u2019t real?\u201d He taps his pipe onto a tray. He leans closer. \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one, sir. I attend Somerville College reading maths.I\u2019m smart enough to know your story is made up. I just want to be able to explain to George where it comes from. When I suggested your imagination, that wasn\u2019t good enough for him. He wanted to know how and . . . sir . . .\u201d My eyes fill with tears threatening to run down my face. \u201cI don\u2019t know what to tell him. It feels like both life and death to me, and I don\u2019t know what to say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHave you read the story, MissDevonshire?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, and I know it\u2019s a children\u2019s book.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Lewis laughs with a bellow that startles me.\u201cOur mother had a mathematics degree herself in a time when women didn\u2019t do such things. But she was never above a good story, myth, or fairy tale.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Embarrassment floods my mouth with a metallic taste, like I bit my tongue, and I can\u2019t find the words to defend myself. He waits. Finally I speak with a stutter. \u201cSir, I\u2019m not above it. It\u2019s just . . . it\u2019s a children\u2019s book.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, well. It seems you are poorly informed, but sit,sit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPoorly informed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs I say in the front of the book, \u2018maybe someday you&#8217;ll be old enough to read fairy tales again.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He points to a chair. I sit, cross my ankles, and prepare to be kicked out of the warm room any minute. \u201cI\u2019m not sure I can answer the question for your brother, but I can tell you a story or two.\u201d The warmth of the room begins to make me dizzy andI just stare at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you know there will be more books about Narnia?\u201d he asks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve heard. But right now we only have <i> The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe <\/i> .\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe next will be released in autumn of next year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGeorge probably won\u2019t be able to read that one. Heprobably . . . well, Mum says he probably won\u2019t . . .\u201d I can\u2019t finish, the tears puddling in my eyes .<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, Miss Devonshire.\u201d His voice breaks in half with the syllables of my name. \u201cThat is tragic in a way words can\u2019t contain. He\u2019s only eight years old?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet us give your brother some stories to carry with him on his journey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlease, sir. Anything at all that I can take home with me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A rustling noise interrupts, and we both turn to see Warnie holding a black lacquered tray. Atop it is a brown common teapot with three cream pottery cups and saucers. Nothing fancy here, and that brings me comfort.<\/p>\n<p>He pours us a cup of tea, and the three of us sit in a circle as the fire crackles like a man coughing. I wish for sugar but the rationing prohibits it. Five years after the war, the rationing for flour and chocolate biscuits and syrup has been lifted, but sugar is still a rare treat.<\/p>\n<p>I take a sip of my tea. It scalds my tongue, but I don\u2019t flinch. My skin buzzes with nervousness.<\/p>\n<p>The Lewises\u2019 common room isn\u2019t what I expected at all. I thought that a tutor who is likely the most revered lecturer at Oxford would have a dark-paneled chamber full of books and awards, a musty room with a ladder to the top shelves, and glass cases of rare books. But no! This is a room crowded with well-worn furniture, knitted throws, and books scattered about like toys. Blackout curtains left over from the Second World War are hanging on the windows as if the fighter planes still buzz overhead.<\/p>\n<p>There are masses of books: on the tables, on the floor, on the desk at the far end of the room. The walls must have once been painted a creamy white but are now yellowed from pipe smoke.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Lewis begins to speak. \u201cWho knows where Narnia came from?\u201d He lowers his voice. \u201cWho knows when exactly a story begins? Probably at the start of time. But maybe Narnia had its first seeds in a land that my brother and I imagined as children in our attic. We called it Boxen. What do you think, Warnie?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s quite possible,\u201d replies his brother. \u201cBut there was no real magic in those stories. Maybe the magic came later. In Narnia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPerhaps I was training myself to be a novelist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There is a large wooden desk at the far end of the room below the window, almost glowing with twilight, papers piled everywhere. \u201cIs the original on that desk?\u201d I ask. I\u2019m thinking I want to tell George I saw the pages typed up or written in Mr. Lewis\u2019s house.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe original?\u201d he asks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe original <i> The Lion, the Witch and the <\/i><i> Wardrobe <\/i> .\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, no, no. I don\u2019t have that anymore. When I Finish a piece of work I flip the pages over and start something else on the other side. After it\u2019s all typed up, it\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs that where you wrote it?\u201d I ask Mr. Lewis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. That was my mother\u2019s desk. Mine is upstairs in my study.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His eyes dim, and he looks at Warnie as if they are the only two people in all the world and their mother\u2019s desk holds a secret I can\u2019t know.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to understand, Mr. Lewis. I want to understand how you can imagine something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a difference between imagination and reason,\u201d he says. \u201cYou want to understand with reason; I hear you. And I once believed they battled each other\u2014imagination and reason\u2014that they stood in sharp contrast one to the other.\u201d He takes a draw of his pipe. \u201cBut that\u2019s not why we are here right now, Miss Devonshire. Maybe that shall come to you later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t understand what he means, but I nod anyway.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShould we tell her about the little end room atLittleLea?\u201d Mr. Lewis asks, turning to his brother.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich does, by the by, look like the Kilns, don\u2019t you think?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, I do.\u201d Warnie sips his tea and nods. \u201cAnd yes, tell her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then Mr. Lewis, in his charming accent and thunderous voice, begins a tale of two brothers in an attic in Ireland. He tells me the story as the fire fades and night falls hard against the windows.<\/p>\n<h6>Excerpted from <i>Once Upon a Wardrobe<\/i> by Patti Callahan. Copyright \u00a9 2021 Patti Callahan. Reprinted with permission from HarperMuse. All rights reserved.<\/h6>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13897\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"645\" height=\"50\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png 645w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider-300x23.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13959\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/About-the-Author-Fall-2021.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"200\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ubb-about-author\"><h3>About Patti Callahan<\/h3><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Patti-Callahan-Headshot-350x350.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"alignleft ubb-about-author-photo\"><p>Patti Callahan is the New York Times, USA TODAY, and Globe and Mail- bestselling novelist of sixteen novels, including Becoming Mrs. Lewis and Surviving Savannah, out now, and Once Upon a Wardrobe, out October 19, 2021. A recipient of the Harper Lee Distinguished Writer of the Year, the Christy Book of the Year, and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year, Patti is the cofounder and cohost of the popular web series and podcast Friends &amp; Fiction. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ubb-author-links\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patticallahanhenry.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Website<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pcalhenry\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Twitter<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AuthorPattiCallahanHenry\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Facebook<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/17718525.Patti_Callahan\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Goodreads<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/pattichenry\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Instagram<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13897\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"645\" height=\"50\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png 645w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider-300x23.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13967\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Bookstagram-Fall-2021.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"200\"><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">coming soon!<\/h3>\n<p><b><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13897\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"645\" height=\"50\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png 645w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider-300x23.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px\" \/><\/b><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13960\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Enter-the-Giveaway-Fall-2021.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"200\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rafflecopter.com\/rafl\/display\/641ce75c15\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Enter here for a chance to win a print copy of <em>Once Upon a Wardrobe<\/em> by Patti Callahan!<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>(US Only)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13897\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"645\" height=\"50\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png 645w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider-300x23.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13968\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Questions-and-Answers-Fall-2021-1.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"200\"><\/p>\n<p>What do you think about <em>Once Upon a Wardrobe<\/em>? Have you added it to your tbr yet? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous day!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13969\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Kait-Plus-Books-Signature-Fall-2021.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1322\" height=\"881\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Happy Friday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ONCE UPON A WARDROBE by Patti Callahan! I&#8217;m so excited because today I have an excerpt of the book to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I&#8217;m so excited to for you to find out more about it, PLUS enter for a chance to win a print copy!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[484,1597,1001,27],"tags":[537,1414,651,540,462,3367,3567,3568],"reading-challenges":[],"class_list":["post-15051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-tours","category-bookstagram","category-excerpt","category-giveaways","tag-blog-tour","tag-bookstagram","tag-excerpt","tag-giveaway","tag-kait-plus-books","tag-october-2021","tag-once-upon-a-wardrobe","tag-patti-callahan","book-author-patti-callahan","book-publisher-harper-muse","book-genre-adult","book-genre-fantasy","book-genre-historical-fiction"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Once-Upon-a-Wardrobe-Featured-Image.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15051"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15265,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15051\/revisions\/15265"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15051"},{"taxonomy":"reading-challenges","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reading-challenges?post=15051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}