Monday, December 22, 2008

THE SWORD AND THE FLUTE by Mike Hamel--Teen FIRST


It's the 21st, time for the Teen FIRST blog tour! This is the very last Teen FIRST tour as Teen FIRST has merged with FIRST Wild Card Tours. If you wish to learn more about FIRST Wild Card, please go HERE.




and his book:



Amg Publishers (January 22, 2007)




ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Mike Hamel is a seasoned storyteller who has honed his skill over theyears by telling tall tales to his four children. He is the author of several non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles.

Mike and his wife, Susan, live in Colorado Springs, CO. Their four children are now grown and their two grand children will soon be old enough for stories of their own.

From His Blog's About Me:

I am a professional writer with sixteen books to my credit, including a trilogy of titles dealing with faith and business: The Entrepreneur’s Creed (Broadman, 2001), Executive Influence (NavPress, 2003), and Giving Back (NavPress, 2003). I also edited Serving Two Masters: Reflections on God and Profit, by Bill Pollard (Collins, 2006).


My most enjoyable project to date has been an eight-volume juvenile fiction series called Matterhorn the Brave. It’s based on variegated yarns I used to spin for my four children. They are now grown and my two grandchildren will soon be old enough for stories of their own.

I live in Colorado Springs, Colorado with my bride of 34 years, Susan.

As you read this blog, remember that I’m a professional. Don’t try this level of writing at home. You might suffer a dangling participle or accidentally split an infinitive and the grammarians will be all over you like shoe salesmen on a centipede.

BTW – I have been diagnosed with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, an aggressive but treatable form of cancer.


Mike's Blog, Cells Behaving Badly, is an online diary about Wrestling with Lymphoma Cancer.

To order a signed edition of any of the 6 Matterhorn the Brave books, please visit the Matterhorn the Brave Website!

Product Details

List Price: 9.99
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 181 pages
Publisher: Amg Publishers (January 22, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0899578330
ISBN-13: 978-0899578330


AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Emerald Isle


Aaron the Baron hit the ground like a paratrooper, bending his knees, keeping his balance.

Matterhorn landed like a 210-pound sack of dirt.

His stomach arrived a few seconds later.

He straightened his six-foot-four frame into a sitting position. In the noonday sun he saw they were near the edge of a sloping meadow. The velvet grass was dotted with purple and yellow flowers. Azaleas bloomed in rainbows around the green expanse. The black-faced sheep mowing the far end of the field paid no attention to the new arrivals.

“Are you okay?” the Baron asked. He looked as if he’d just stepped out of a Marines’ recruiting poster. “We’ll have to work on your landing technique.”

“How about warning me when we’re going somewhere,” Matterhorn grumbled.

The Baron helped him up and checked his pack to make sure nothing was damaged. He scanned the landscape in all directions from beneath the brim of his red corduroy baseball cap. “It makes no difference which way we go,” he said at last. “The horses will find us.”

“What horses?”

“The horses that will take us to the one we came to see,” the Baron answered.

“Are you always this vague or do you just not know what you’re doing?”

“I don’t know much, but I suspect this is somebody’s field. We don’t want to be caught trespassing. Let’s go.”

They left the meadow, walking single file through the tall azaleas up a narrow valley. Thorny bushes with loud yellow blossoms crowded the trail next to a clear brook. Pushing one of the prickly plants away, Matterhorn asked, “Do you know what these are?”

“Gorse, of course,” the Baron said without turning.

“Never heard of it.”

“Then I guess you haven’t been to Ireland before.”

“Ireland,” Matterhorn repeated. “My great-grandfather came from Ireland.”

“Your great-grandfather won’t be born for centuries yet.”

Matterhorn stepped over a tangle of exposed roots and said, “What do you mean?”

“I mean we’re in medieval Ireland, not modern Ireland.”

“How can that be!” Matterhorn cried, stopping in his tracks. “How can I be alive before my great-grandfather?”

The Baron shrugged. “That’s one of the paradoxes of time travel. No one’s been able to figure them all out. You’re welcome to try, but while you’re at it, keep a lookout for the horses.”

Matterhorn soon gave up on paradoxes and became absorbed in the paradise around him. The colors were so alive they hurt his eyes. He wished for a pair of sunglasses. Above the garish gorse he saw broom bushes and pine trees growing to the ridge where spectacular golden oaks crowned the slopes. Birdsongs whistled from their massive branches into the warm air. Small animals whispered in the underbrush while larger game watched the strangers from a distance.

The country flattened out and, at times, they glimpsed stone houses over the tops of hedgerows. They steered clear of these and any other signs of civilization. In a few hours, they reached the spring that fed the brook they had been following. They stopped to rest and wash up.

That’s where the horses found them.

There were five strikingly handsome animals. The leader of the pack was from ancient and noble stock. He stood a proud seventeen hands high—five-foot-eight-inches—at the shoulders. He had a classic Roman face with a white star on his wide forehead that matched the white socks on his forelegs. His straight back, sturdy body, and broad hindquarters suggested both power and speed. A rich coppery mane and tail complemented his sleek, chestnut coat.

The Baron held out an apple to the magnificent animal, but the horse showed no interest in the fruit or the man. Neither did the second horse. The third, a dappled stallion, took the apple and let the Baron pet his nose.

“These horses are free,” the Baron said as he stroked the stallion’s neck. “They choose their riders, which is as it should be. Grab an apple and find your mount.”

While Matterhorn searched for some fruit, the leader sauntered over and tried to stick his big nose into Matterhorn’s pack. When Matterhorn produced an apple, the horse pushed it aside and kept sniffing.

Did he want carrots, Matterhorn wondered? How about the peanut butter sandwich? Not until he produced a pocket-size Snickers bar did the horse whinny and nod his approval.

The Baron chuckled as Matterhorn peeled the bar and watched it disappear in a loud slurp. “That one’s got a sweet tooth,” he said.

The three other horses wandered off while the Baron and Matterhorn figured out how to secure their packs to the two that remained. “I take it we’re riding without saddles or bridles,” Matterhorn said. This made him nervous, as he had been on horseback only once before.

“Bridles aren’t necessary,” Aaron the Baron explained. “Just hold on to his mane and stay centered.” He boosted Matterhorn onto his mount. “The horses have been sent for us. They’ll make sure we get where we need to go.”

As they set off, Matterhorn grabbed two handfuls of long mane from the crest of the horse’s neck. He relaxed when he realized the horse was carrying him as carefully as if a carton of eggs was balanced on his back. Sitting upright, he patted the animal’s neck. “Hey, Baron; check out this birthmark.” He rubbed a dark knot of tufted hair on the chestnut’s right shoulder. “It looks like a piece of broccoli. I’m going to call him Broc.”

“Call him what you want,” the Baron said, “but you can’t name him. The Maker gives the animals their names. A name is like a label; it tells you what’s on the inside. Only the Maker knows that.”

Much later, and miles farther into the gentle hills, they made camp in a lea near a tangle of beech trees. “You get some wood,” Aaron the Baron said, “while I make a fire pit.” He loosened a piece of hollow tubing from the side of his pack and gave it a sharp twirl. Two flanges unrolled outward and clicked into place to form the blade of a short spade. Next, he pulled off the top section and stuck it back on at a ninety-degree angle to make a handle.

Matterhorn whistled. “Cool!”

“Cool is what we’ll be if you don’t get going.”

Matterhorn hurried into the forest. He was thankful to be alone for the first time since becoming an adult, something that happened in an instant earlier that day. Seizing a branch, he did a dozen chin-ups; then dropped and did fifty push-ups and a hundred sit-ups.

Afterward he rested against a tree trunk and encircled his right thigh with both hands. His fingertips didn’t touch. Reaching farther down, he squeezed a rock-hard calf muscle.

All this bulk was new to him, yet it didn’t feel strange. This was his body, grown up and fully developed. Flesh of his flesh; bone of his bone. Even hair of his hair, he thought, as he combed his fingers through the thick red ponytail.

He took the Sword hilt from his hip. The diamond blade extended and caught the late afternoon sun in a dazzling flash. This mysterious weapon was the reason he was looking for firewood in an Irish forest instead of sitting in the library at David R. Sanford Middle School.


Saturday, December 13, 2008

Last Day of SuperGeek Week!! Don't Miss It!

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Today is the last day for the CFRB's celebration of Geek Week. In other words, the last of the reviews are up on League of Superheroes by Stephen L. Rice. The reviews have been enthusiastic; I believe Mr. Rice's tale has struck a chord with many of us. I will be giving away one copy of League of Superheroes, choosing a name on Monday, the 15th, at 10:00PM EST. The names will be taken from the comments left on ALL the blogs in the CFRB tour for the novel. This includes several great blogs that Mr. Rice has written himself giving more of the back story. If you don't read the reviews, I urge you to at least read Stephen Rice's comments. Some are pretty funny; some should help you see into the series he is writing.

Each comment counts as one entry, so the more blogs you visit, the more chances you have of winning! If you want this for a Christmas gift, it should reach you in time.

Visit Stephen Rice's blog: Back to the Mountains and his League of Superheroes Series wiki at ansric.pbwiki.com.

Product Details:

List Price: $ 9.95
Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: Writers Cafe Press, The (October 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 193428405X
ISBN-13: 978-1934284056

League of Superheroes is available through the publisher, The Writer's Café Press (can be autographed), Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.com.


Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

In a League of Their Own--LEAGUE OF SUPERHEROES by Stephen L. Rice

The world is full of turmoil and evil. There are scheming powers that want to destroy humanity and take control of the world. Where can the people of the world turn for help? Look! Up in the sky! It’s . . . geeks!?! Make that Teenage mutant ninja geeks. Okay, so they are neither mutants nor ninjas. But they are teenage geeks, and they are definitely pretty cool once they get their super suits. Suits that are designed and created by a seven year old genius that they met online, no less.
PhotobucketLeague of Superheroes is the book that many a geek (teenage or older) and many a comic book aficionado has been waiting for, whether you knew it or not. I know this from the reaction of several self-proclaimed geeks and comic maniacs when I described the book to them, a reaction that has been further promoted after said geeks and fans read the story. Myself included. Oh, and by the way, this has a really important added dimension: the League is made up of extraordinarily committed Christians who desire to live according to the way that Jesus would want them to. I know: that’s the hardest to swallow of all in this story, right? But Stephen Rice makes it all work, and he does so in a most entertaining way.
Briefly, there are four teenage boys who call themselves the Mad Scientists. They each have certain special talents and gifts; each is extremely intelligent. And, as I mentioned, each is unapologetically Christian. They all attend different denominations (except Tom, who is part of a nondenominational church), they tease each other about their differences, but they really respect each other and share a love for certain comic superheroes. One day Allen’s chatty sister Clarice introduces them to her new online friend, Genie. It appears that Genie isn’t in any bottle, but she is able to grant wishes. One by one, super suits start arriving for the guys that equip them with unheard-of technological means to “become” their favorite superheroes. First is Titan for Rod; he’s kind of like a human tank. His strength is incredible, but Rod’s first attempts at controlling his powers and ability to fly are hilarious. As are his first efforts to thwart crime. Within a short time Allen becomes Tachyon, apparently reaching super speeds by distorting time, Tom turns into Darklight with invisible tendencies, and Charlie shrinks into the role of Micromegas (for you DC Comic fans, think the Atom).
The guys are on cloud nine, but to whom much is given, much is required, and life as crime fighters isn’t all fun and games. There’s the kidnapping which ends rather unhappily and alerts the guys to something very sinister behind the people that have Genie under their thumb. Her whole story is strange, and as they all get more acquainted, it becomes all too clear that she is involved with really dangerous people. Is Rod correct in his belief that this corporation has to do with the antichrist and the mysterious Troika? And what about Genie herself? Is she using the guys for her own purposes, revenge and some definitely unchristian activities?
This book is just the introduction to a whole series that Stephen Rice is developing using his characters, but for my vote it is a great beginning. Lots of action, lots of fun and humor, and some deep issues to ponder. Stephen says there is a lot more action and adventure in subsequent tales, leading me to expect a dynamite series!


Visit Stephen Rice's blog: Back to the Mountains and his League of Superheroes Series wiki at ansric.pbwiki.com.

Product Details:

List Price: $ 9.95
Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: Writers Cafe Press, The (October 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 193428405X
ISBN-13: 978-1934284056

League of Superheroes is available through the publisher, The Writer's Café Press (can be autographed), Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.com. OH! And by the way, I will be giving away one copy next Monday (December 15). To be eligible for my drawing, just leave a comment on one of the League of Superheroes blogs here or on the other CFRB sites listed below. To read the other reviews and interviews, just click on the buttons!

I highly recommend the novel as a Christmas gift!!




Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Dragonwriters from Firestorm of Dragons


So you want to know about dragon writers?

Editors:

Michele Acker: Michele writes articles and short stories for various online 'zines and newsletters. Her stories have appeared in the anthologies A Time To..., the Stygian Soul, Chimeraworld #2, and F/SF. She's a contributing author for The Complete Guild to Writing Fantasy.

Kirk Dougal: Kirk owns and operates his own business consulting firm by day and struggles mightily to help raise his twin two-year-old daughters by night. During the scant few minutes of free time he can grab each day, he is an avid reader and writer of science fiction and fantasy.

Contributors:

(Not a Complete List)

Richard Bray: Richard is a 26-year-old editor at a newspaper just outside Houston, Texas. He has been published alongside Hugo Award-winning author Neil Gaiman in the anthology “Fantasy Readers Wanted – Apply Within,” and fantasy legend Piers Anthony praised his short story “Five Minutes Longer” as one of his favorites in the fantasy anthology “Enchanted Realms.” Bray’s short story “Tell Me, Lover, Are You Lonely?” will appear later this year in “Strange Stories of Sand and Sea,” published by Fine Tooth Press. He runs a 2,100-member online fantasy writing forum at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fantasy_Writing.

Eric Diehl: Eric likes to make stuff. Tangible things—those that you might hold in your hand, and ephemeral things—those that elude form. He’s built furniture and guitars, he’s screen-printed t-shirts, and he’s written software and designed websites. He harbors a life-long passion for motorcycling—occasionally teaching a safety class to newbies both young and old—and he persists in being confounded by the acoustic guitar. But it remains that most powerful and elusive of creations that he stands most in awe of—the story. Ink on paper, black on white, a collection of simple syllables woven into an infinitely complex journey. He's written travel articles and reviews in Rider, RV Companion (since demised), and Adventure Motorcycle magazines. Also a short in the Florida Horror anthology by Carnifex Press. A SFF novel is in final editing stages, and several other shorts are making the rounds. Learn more at www.ericdiehl.com.


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Karina Fabian: After being a straight-A student, Karina now cultivates Fs: Family, Faith, Fiction and Fun. From Nuns in Space to a down-and out Faerie dragon working off a geas by St. George, her work takes quirky twists that keep her amused--and others, too. Winner of the EPPIE award for best sci-fi and the Mensa Owl for best fiction, she writes stories and novels about Vern, the dragon detective. (learn more at www.dragoneyepi.net.) In addition to juggling the stories from at least three different universes, Karina is President of the Catholic Writers' Guild, owner of Catholic Writers Online, and teaches writing seminars on-line. She and her husband Rob are also the skillful editors of Infinite God Infinite Space and Leaps of Faith (also being toured in November, just released). For more about Karina and her worlds, go to www.fabianspace.com.

Tina Morgan: At the age of four, Tina's mother recorded her telling a story of an unfortunate princess. Her love of storytelling has not diminished with time and Tina takes great pleasure in creating fantasy worlds and life-like characters. The managing editor for Fiction Factor (http://www.fictionfactor.com) and editor-in-chief of The Fractured Publisher (http://www.fracturedpublisher.com), Tina Morgan enjoys researching and learning more about the art and business of writing. She's a contributing author to The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy, and The Companion Guilde to Writing Fantasy currently available with Dragon Moon Press. She's also contributed to The Complete Guide to Writing Science Fitction which features chapters from Piers Anthony and Orson Scott Card.

Bob Nailor: Bob is a retired government worker who was on the cutting edge of technology as a Systems Manager but now enjoys being an end user. Having raised four sons he enjoys spoiling his six grandchildren and weaving a tale by the campfire to excite, thrill, scare or fascinate them while on travel enjoying the sights of our great country. He still remembers his first critique, 3rd grade, of his poem, Angels and Volcanoes. His first rejection was from Children's Highlights while a sophomore in high school. Today he is published at many websites and is a contributing author to Companion Guide to Writing Fantasy and The Complete Guide to Writing Science Fiction.

He was a columnist for a small, local newspaper when he lived outside of Washington, DC and was the poetry editor and production manager for The Emporium Gazette (www.emporiumgazette.com), an online writer's ezine. He currently is the coordinator for the Northwest Ohio Writers' Conference (www.nwowc.com) which keeps him quite busy.

Kim Richards: Born and raised in the infamous Roswell, New Mexico, Kim now resides in Northern California where she writes full time. Her preferred genres are horror, science fiction, fantasy and erotica, though she has had a children's book published and non-fiction articles as well. When her fingers aren't busy tapping on the computer keyboard, she enjoys reading and movies in her preferred genres. She is a costumer and regularly participates in a Live Action Role Play group called Amtgard (for over 18 years). Her sons are grown men now, of whom she is extremely proud.

Besides editing for Eternal Press, she also edits reviews for MyShelf book reviews and produces the monthly newsletter for the women's online horror community, Pretty-Scary, along with a quarterly newsletter for her local neighborhood association (circulation approx: 3000 members). She also moderates chats for The Writer's Chatroom online. All this is supervised by a Tonkinese cat named Shemay. http://www.kim-richards.com

Sarah R. Suleski: Sarah is a 23-year-old library assistant, which she views as very fitting work for an aspiring author, if not entirely practical for those who enjoy having money. She has lived all her life in Wisconsin, USA, yet exactly 86% of that life has been spent entirely inside her own head. If you would like to know more about this exciting person, you may read more about her personal life than you are ever sure to care for at her blog, http://sarahlitarose.livejournal.com. Also, she is currently the proud owner of two websites where you can read many of her stories: the aptly named http://srsuleski.com and the more curiously named Iridescent Rhinoceri (http://irhinoceri.livejournal.com), for she believes in saturating the internet with her undeniably brilliant storytelling and fair to middling prose. Firestorm of Dragons marks her first time in print, not counting childhood endeavors with friends and their word processors. She is very excited about this, and plans to quite possibly buy more copies of the anthology than anyone, once she discovers the gold that is sure to be hidden somewhere in the basement.

John Teehan: John is a writer, artist, and musician living in Providence Rhode Island. His short fiction appears in a variety of anthologies including Men Writing Science Fiction As Women (DAW) and Low Ports (Meisha Merlin). He was a contributing author for The Complete Guide To Writing Fantasy (Dragonmoon Press), and has published poetry and non-fiction in several SpecFic markets.

He is the current Production Manager and Art Director for The SFWA Bulletin and has also provided layout and cover art for over fifty books including Forgotten Gems From The Twilight Zone Vols 1 and 2, Welcome, Foolish Mortals...The Life and Voices of Paul Frees, The Twilight Zone Scripts of Jerry Sohl, and William Nolan's Have You Seen the Wind?.

John plays the Irish tenor banjo, bodhran, 5-string banjo, mandolin, and guitar.
He's a huge movie buff, goes fishing before dawn, and dabbles in watercolor and cartooning on warm summer evenings. He was recently married to a wonderful woman who puts up with all of this.

Now Available at Amazon.com!