The Book
Classification: Visitor Approved
If you should happen upon an old blue journal bearing a faded gold “S,” do not assume you’ve found an ordinary diary. The Book will reveal its contents to the curious.
Also known as: “The Book, capital T, capital B.”
The late Daniel Swift’s travel journal was delivered unexpectedly to his daughter Emily Swift on her 30th birthday.
The journal is five and a half inches by seven inches and three inches thick. The blue cover features well-worn fabric, with a gold embossed ‘S’ on the front. There are no marks on the spine, and there is no other embossment or lettering anywhere on the outside of the book. It’s sealed shut by a small brass lock—one that is very old and tarnished, and yet, the lock is a sturdy one.
There are blank pages at the beginning of the journal—no publisher or copyright information to be found.
The pages are aged, and some are yellowing, but nothing appreciable. The pages are not brittle, and they are made from cotton fibers.
In Door to Door, Emily describes her father’s journal:
…The old book was heavy and thick. The bluish cover was worn with a faded, gold-embossed ‘S’ pressed into the center. Then I noticed the lock. It reminded me of those old drugstore diaries with a tiny lock and key designed to keep out snooping siblings and nosy mothers.
The journal was a treasure trove of sketches, hand-drawn maps, and a lot of departure and arrival dates. Some pages consisted of nothing but strings of numbers or handwritten notes about the places my father traveled to, the people he met—or planned to meet—and even some of the items he picked up on these trips. The word ‘Delivered’ was written by shipments ranging from tea to jewelry. Other pages contained lists with cryptic notes jotted in the margins such as: ‘Not available after The Split’ or ‘Available to Senior Salesmen only.’
In a fascinating scene from Through the Door, the second book in the Door to Door Paranormal Mystery series, Emily shows The Book to her new friend, Lucie Bellerose, a witch living in the Salesman Empire.
Fun Fact → Lucie ends up playing a BIG role in the last book of Emily’s mystery trilogy before getting her own adult dark fantasy series: the Bellerose Witchline.
Retrieving the hat pin key from the tiny wooden box I kept it in, I opened the lock holding the covers together. I laid my hand on the cover. “I don’t show this to everyone, Lucie. Only a few people have seen it.”
“I understand,” she said. “I wouldn’t let many look at it if it were mine. Can I feel around it a bit? You don’t have to open it.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant but nodded. “Sure. What do you want to do?”
“It’s fine there on the countertop.” Lucie hovered her right hand over The Book’s cover. Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath. She let it out slowly and stilled, her lips parted. Her chin lifted slightly, and I could see her eyes moving under closed lids. A small smile crept across her lips. “There it is.” Her voice was soft.
“What? What is it?” I asked.
“The spell attached to your father’s journal.”
Another Fun Fact → The Book can take care of itself. When it falls into the wrong hands, to Emily’s relief, the pages turn blank.