Thursday, January 22, 2015

Meet the Volcano Giants!

I've just posted an excerpt of the first appearance of the super wicked Volcano Giants, as they're christened by Peter Perkins.

Take a look via this link to CreateSpace:

Volcano Giants preview: Son of Thunder

And yes, I'm still waiting for the Kindle version, I hoped by this week but not yet. Maybe next. And the price should be very reasonable.




Sunday, January 18, 2015

Preview of first chapter of Son of Thunder

Although I've posted the first chapter (excerpt) from Book Two of The Spear of Odin, The Cloak of Freya, I've now posted an excerpt of the first book Son of Thunder, Book One of the The Spear of Odin trilogy.

The Cloak of Freya excerpt will only make sense - or make more sense - after reading the first book in the series.

In any event, I hope you enjoy these excerpts and that they stimulate your interest. Feel free to comment, as I've included some questions on the CreateSpace site. 

Note that you only see the Greek, Norse and Chinese protagonists in the second excerpt from The Cloak of Freya. The size of the post is limited, otherwise I'd have included the entire chapter for each book.

The latest revision of Son of Thunder should post to Amazon shortly. The paperback's price (with really high quality paper, not like the newsprint in most bestsellers that you buy nowadays) was raised to the minimum to allow greater distribution, i.e. Independent Bookstores, libraries, etc.

And without further ado (Kindle edition on its way!) here's the link:

Chapter One excerpt from Son of Thunder

BREAKING NEWS!!! UPDATE!

I've posted the rest of Chapter One, Son of Thunder, plus a sneak peak of Chapter Two.

ENJOY!

Here's the link:

Son of Thunder conclusion of Chapter One and Chapter Two preview 


 

Saturday, January 17, 2015

On bullying...

My coming of age story concerns a young man who's been bullied. I think bullying is a topic that is relatively common in the mainstream media, meaning one can see stories on large outlets like the U.K.'s Daily Mail, and news pages and sadly all too common in every day life.

Yet the perspective I present in my story is of a young man who's life is changed - at least initially for the worst, then later for the better having survived an attack. Since Son of Thunder is a work of fiction, principally set in a world where Norse gods are common and active, nothing in the writing proposes a solution, other than the changing understanding my young hero has for himself, and understanding his true nature.

I suspect that targets of bullying are frequently of better character than their attackers. Yet when we consider bullying, we should think of the cost.

There are no easy answers; the environment in schools isn't always focused on education and developing good character. Parents must be sympathetic and supportive, yet not every child will reach out, sometimes unaware.

Unlike the character in my story, the typical young person can't journey to other worlds and fight monsters; instead I think he will have to find the inner strength to endure and prevail.

And in drawing upon that inner strength potentially within each and every one of us and describing it, that aspect of my novel isn't as "fantastic" as the fantasy elements.