Master Gregory and The Princess Trilogy
Boulder Creek Father and Son Author Fantasy Books
By Julie Horner
How many times have you imagined there is a portal — or several — in the Santa Cruz Mountains to another world? Mystery Spot notwithstanding, perhaps there’s a gateway that leads to a make-believe world filled with spells and magic, giant pink one-eyed monsters, horses with blue manes and protective powers, witch-eating dragons, dinosaurs that curl up in your lap for story time, and bushes that have legs in order to chase the sun. Readers will discover these delightful absurdities and many more in the Master Gregory and The Princess Trilogy, written by Mike Souza and his son Greg Souza of Boulder Creek.
“I started making up stories for my son when he was five years old, about him ten years in the future,” Mike said. Using his 45-minute commute over the hill, Mike recorded whatever came to mind until he arrived at work, creating fantastical short stories that he’d later read to his young son. As Greg grew older, he also began contributing to the stories. Now 17, Greg is a graduate of San Lorenzo Valley High and an incoming freshman at UC Santa Cruz, and he urged his dad to take the six years of short stories and make them into a book. They decided a trilogy would work best. Delayed by covid, job loss, and the CZU fire, which claimed their home, it took Mike two years to put the stories together into three volumes: Protected No More, Veronica, and Pursuit of Agnes. Greg did the cover artwork. Finally back home in Boulder Creek after the rebuild, Mike self-published the trilogy last December through Amazon. Mike said, “These weren’t done to make money. They were done for fun and because my son asked me to.”
Fairyland by Way of Boulder Creek
One summer Master Gregory and his parents stumble upon a portal near a 1500-year old redwood tree in the forest surrounding their home in Boulder Creek. Being curious, the family enters the portal together but are captured by witches. Imbued with prophetic game-changing powers about which only he is aware for now, Master Gregory eventually escapes the witches and finds his way back home only to discover that his folks haven’t returned. Weeks go by and he realizes he must pay the mortgage and do the chores himself and eventually return to school. In the series, Master Gregory is 15. He converts the family dwelling into a “smart home,” which takes care of itself, but realizes that self-employment as a street magician and video producer are not enough to pay the bills. Worse, there is no Magic Studies program at school. Bored and lonely, he decides to return to Fairyland.
In Fairyland there is a kingdom protected from invasion by a magic spell cast by the fairies, who maintain a grudging collaboration with the humans. Complete with a conceited Princess and filled with myriad mystical misadventures, the book combines sci-fi fantasy and classic old world fairytale themes with familiar 21st Century points of reference and vernacular. Hinting at well known Santa Cruz Mountains locations, the characters are selfish and bold, and the escapades in which Master Gregory and the Princess become involved — whether intergalactic, terrestrial, or part of the space-time continuum — are wonderfully preposterous and wholly gallant, laced with romance, powerful foes, and laugh-out-loud observations. Intended for readers age 13 to adult, Mike said, ”We think these books are fun, especially the Princess. She’s extremely competent and evolves over the series. The whole purpose is to escape from this world.”
The Master Gregory and The Princess Trilogy: Protected No More, Veronica, and Pursuit of Ages in hardcopy is available on Kindle and on display at Boulder Creek Pharmacy, 13081 Central Ave, Boulder Creek.
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Julie Horner is Co-Founder and Editor for the San Lorenzo Valley Post. Julie lives and works in Boulder Creek and is an active participant in the county's vibrant music scene. She loves the outdoors and is the go-to expert on Santa Cruz Mountains hiking trails.
