Serafina is courageous, curious, and talented at performing unusual tasks. It’s fun for readers to learn details of the famed Biltmore estate and the rural area where it’s located. She also finds her first friend in Braeden Vanderbilt, nephew of the owners, who has experienced tragedy of his own. As Serafina finds out about who she is and where she came from, she finds courage to face a supernatural force. Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty combines a bit of history, a bit of mystery, and a bit of magic to create a page-turning story for young readers. When Serafina encounters a man in a black cloak who takes children, she decides to come out of the shadows to stop him before he entraps her as well. Her dad keeps her a secret, and she knows there’s something different about her, but she’s not sure what. The castle has lots of places to hide, and Serafina knows all of them. Serafina lives in the basement of the enormous Biltmore estate in North Carolina, where her father tends to the electrical equipment. Also, you may want to check out the book trailer. Answering a question about the inspiration for his book, Robert said, “Serafina’s journey grew out of my desire to write a story about an unusual and heroic young girl for my three daughters.” Visit him on the Web at. In 2007, he was named an Entrepreneur of the Year. He writes full-time now, but in his past lives, Robert was one of the early pioneers of cloud computing, the founder/CEO of Plex Systems, the co-founder of Beatty Robotics, and the chairman/CTO of Narrative Magazine. Robert’s Disney Hyperion novel Serafina and the Black Cloak will go on sale July 14, 2015.

He loves to explore the grand Biltmore Estate and the darkened forest trails where his novels take place. Robert Beatty lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina with his wife and three daughters, who help create and refine his stories.

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