KOLD News 13The Keyes Behind - The Rune Of Zachary Zimbalist
By Randy Garsee KOLD News 13 Anchor/Reporter
It's hard enough to get one book in print in the cutthroat world of publishing but two books at the same time?
It’s happened to a Tucson woman, but not before she was inspired by the creator of a certain boy wizard and created a fantasy series of her own.
Imagine for a moment that Harry Potter moved to Tucson, traded in his wand for a talking soccer ball, swapped his lightning scar for an evil tattoo, traded Hogwarts for a school in another dimension that looks a lot like the Grand Canyon, and punted Lord Voldemort so he could stop the Scatterers from erasing history.
Did I say imagine it?
Nevermind.
Tucson architect Pamela Keyes already has.
"Zachary Zimbalist is a twelve year old who lives in Tucson."
And Zachary soon learns his magical task is to save history. 
"I do have a fascination with history,” Keyes said. “I've always been interested in the concept of time travel and what would happen if things didn't happen a certain way."
Keyes has wanted to write since she was nine, but it was reading J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series that finally convinced her to go for it. “She's so good,” Keyes said of Rowling. “She's so good at putting a story together, making kids want to read.”
She hopes her books, aimed at the under 13 crowd, will also be read and enjoyed.
"I do have a couple of moral lessons in there. Believing in one's self," she explained, "and when you make a mistake, like letting somebody talk you into getting a tattoo, that you don't have to hold on to that mistake and let it ruin your life. That you can figure out a way to move on." 
Meanwhile, Keyes is moving on. The first two books in the series are out, she's writing the third and planning six books in all. She’s also signing her books this month. Catch her Sunday, February 20th at Bookman's on Speedway at 4 pm or Sunday, February 27th at Barnes and Noble on Broadway at 2 pm.
