Carnal press release

Carnal

GRAPHIC NOVEL SERIES FROM

SEA LION BOOKS

ATLANTA, GA - October 5, 2011 – Sea Lion Books announces the release of John Connell's graphic novel CARNAL.

Created by award winning artist, John Connell, CARNAL is a world where humans are a simple, nomadic species, at the bottom of the food chain. The animal kingdom has evolved and they can speak, walk upright and they fight for dominance. "Breathing life into the Carnal story has been a passion for most of my life. The idea originated from a nightmare that I had years ago – with Carnal, we really aim to create a graphical story that is as unique as it is intense," said Connell. "CARNAL is a completely unique concept. The book, the artwork and the story pulls the reader into this world of intense mood filled art that will draw them back to the series over and over again."

Lion prides have forged massive cities, hyena clans burrow deep into the earth, and the water buffalo race has walled themselves off from the rest of the kingdoms. Remnants of humanity fight for survival amid the warring animal societies.

The first of five graphic novels in the series, PRIDE OF THE LIONS, follows a female tracker named Omi as her inexperienced hunting party is sent to rescue a missing warrior. What they find is something that will unravel the very foundation of life for all species.

"In this war-torn world of carnage and survival, the balance of nature has been ripped apart.

Humans are left at the bottom of the food chain and it is the beasts that freely roam the land."

Writer Jason Bergenstock's says "working on the Carnal project is an honor. John's ideas and designs are incredible. I have been involved in story creation for about five years and when I look at how far we've come since the beginning sketches I'm truly amazed." "Being given the opportunity to work with John and Jason to bring Carnal to life has been very exciting.  You can feel the love these guys have for the project in every single page. It adds an extraordinary series to an already amazing lineup of books we are producing here at Sea Lion Books."

About The Creators: John Connell is a graduate of the Art Institute of Boston. He is a freelance artist working in many mediums, from oil paintings to digital art. His clients include numerous Fortune 500 companies. He lives with his family in Massachusetts. You can visit John Connell on the Internet at www.uglydogart.com or www.nightmarerhino.com Jason Bergenstock  has a BS degree in Business Administration & Management and currently attends graduate school at the University of Rhode Island for Digital Forensics. You can visit Jason Bergenstock at www.nightmarerhino.com About Sea Lion Books: Located in Atlanta, Georgia, Sea Lion Books LLC is a newly established publishing house which specializes in all formats—hardcover, trade paperback, and mass market and in urban fantasy and young adult genres. Sea Lion Books LLC recent roster of authors include: International Bestselling author, Anne Rice, Paulo Coelho, New York TimesBestselling authors, Richelle Mead, Richard A. Knaak, F. Paul Wilson and Becca Fitzpatrick.  You can visit Sea Lion Books at www.sealionbooks.com

FITZPATRICK SPEAKS UP ON "HUSH, HUSH

This October, Sea Lion Books brings one of the most popular Young Adult novels to comics with "Hush, Hush," the first of three graphic novels adapting the New York Times bestselling YA novel by Becca Fitzpatrick.

"Hush, Hush" follows the story of average teenager Nora Grey, a good student and writer for the school paper whose routine life suddenly goes off track when a new student named Patch becomes her lab partner and turns her entire world upside-down. While Nora finds herself inexplicably attracted to Patch's bad-boy image, danger begins following her at every turn. As the story progresses, Nora learns more than she bargained for about her past and her dark connection to fallen angels, becoming embroiled in an ages-old conflict. Along with her best friend Vee, Nora has to sort out who she can really trust between Patch and new arrivals Jules and Eliot.

Becca Fitzpatrick took time out of her busy schedule to break the silence to CBR News about the "Hush, Hush" graphic novel adaptation, the process of designing her characters from prose to illustration, the style of the book, the challenges of adapting her work for comics and the special 18-page story that bridges the gap between "Hush, Hush" and its sequel, "Crescendo."

CBR News: Becca, tell us about "Hush, Hush" as a graphic novel. What's in, what's out and what's new?

Becca Fitzpatrick: The first "Hush, Hush" graphic novel will cover one third of the "Hush, Hush" novel. [Publisher] Sea Lion Books are determined to make it as close to the novel as possible. The big surprise with the graphic novel will be the original bonus story. It reveals what happens to Patch and Nora between "Hush, Hush" and the sequel, "Crescendo."

The first "Hush, Hush" graphic novel adaptation covers one third of the original novel

So much of a novel involves readers imagining setting and how characters look and move. How closely are you working with the creative team of the graphic novel in order to help smooth the transition from text to image?

In the early stages, there was quite a bit of back and forth as I provided character and setting descriptions to artist Jennyson Rosero and he, in turn, translated my input into sketches. It was such a fun process, and rewarding too -- with each round, I felt that we were getting closer to nailing the artwork. I also posted several of the sketches on my blog, and we got an incredible amount of feedback from readers. They've definitely had a hand in shaping the graphic novel.

By the same token, how involved have you been in character design work? How do you feel the character designs reflect your descriptions of Nora, Patch, Vee, Eliot and Jules?

While I understood going into the project that the images in my head couldn't be perfectly replicated on the page, I've been very pleased with the designs. I also think it's important to note that I didn't want to dictate every last detail. Part of what I think will make the graphic novel successful is the blending of my suggestions with Jennyson's creative energy.

How long is the graphic novel and how does it compare to the level of detail provided in "Hush, Hush?"

The first graphic novel will be 120 pages. Sea Lion Books are working hard to capture the essence of the "Hush, Hush" novel. All important events, characters, settings, etc., are included in the graphic novel. The first novel, "Hush, Hush," will be adapted into 3 graphic novels.

While many other young adult novels have been adapted into graphic novels, most of them (notably "Twilight") have taken the route of the manga-inspired art. What is the art style like for "Hush, Hush" and how do you feel it reflects the story you're trying to tell?

"Hush, Hush" will be done in an Amerimanga style. Manga definitely appeals to young adult female readers, but I believe by going with the Amerimanga style, the graphic novel will capture both male and female readers.

Why do you think the graphic novel format is a good medium to adapt your story?

Fitzpatrick hopes the graphic novel's Amerimanga style will capture the attention of male and female readers

"Hush, Hush" is a very pacey and plot-driven story, and I think because of this, it translates well into a more visual medium. Readers often tell me they can see scenes playing out in their minds -- almost like watching a movie. Many of them are anticipating "viewing" the story through the graphic novel.

Sequential narrative is very different than prose. Did you find the art in line with the vision in your head when you're working on the novels?

I've been really impressed by the transition. I feel the pages are following the novel closely. At one point during the process, Sea Lion Books sent me a picture of the farmhouse where Nora lives and it was drawn to be a single story. Since quite a bit of action down the road in "Crescendo" takes place on the second story of the farmhouse, I did ask the artist to redraw the house.

What are you most excited about for the release of the graphic novel?

Fans' reactions! Since announcing the graphic novel, there has been an amazing amount of enthusiasm for the project. I hope my readers feel as though they're experiencing Patch and Nora's story again for the first time.

Sea Lion Books Bring Anne Rice’s ‘Christ The Lord’ to Comics

When I first heard that novelist Anne Rice had agreed for her work to be adapted into a graphic novel, I must confess I groaned. More vampires? Really? Isn’t this trend done yet?

But I had not reckoned on publisher Sea Lion Books going against my expectations, for as it happens the book in question is Christ The Lord: The Road to Cana. I can remember the initial controversy following the book’s publication. What was this horror writer doing writing about Jesus Christ?

Writer Anne Elizabeth, who is adapting the novel for Sea Lion books.

However, like Nikos Kazantzakis before her and Philip Pullmanafter, Rice confounded critics by producing a deeply personal work articulating her feelings about Christianity and its legacy. It is also worth pointing out that her most famous book, Interview With The Vampire, contains numerous musings on damnation and the existence of God bound up in amongst all the melodrama. Perhaps it simply took the writer some years to come to the point where she was comfortable directly addressing these ideas?

Sea Lion Books are notable for their focus on adapting literarature to comic form, introducing new audiences to both classic and upcoming genre fiction. It is certainly an interesting choice to take on Christ The Lord, especially since religion is a subject rarely tackled in sequential form. Off-hand I can only think of Marvel’sbiography of John Paul II and Mike Allred’s The Golden Plates.

Writer Anne Elizabeth has been given the task of converting Christ The Lord into sequential form and she recently gave an interview on her experience so far to The Examiner. The original press release from Sea Lion can be seen below -

International Bestselling Author Anne Rice’s novel,

Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana, to become Graphic Novel.

International bestselling author Anne Rice’s critically acclaimed novel,
Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana, receives a graphic spin as newly
established publishing house, Sea Lion Books, acquires the worldwide rights
to this graphic novel publication. The novel will be adapted by the author
Anne Rice and comic creator Anne Elizabeth and will feature artwork by Siya
Oum. This graphic novel is scheduled for release in time for Easter 2012.

“Christ the Lord: the Road to Cana, I consider one of my personal
favorites,” said Rice.  ”The writing of it took less time than the research
because I feel driven to recreate authenticity in the narrative.  The
characters must see what people saw in first century Palestine because I
want my readers to see the same.  Any artistic effort short of that fails
not only for me but also for the actual figures I endeavored to recreate in
my novel.  Today this work is being reinterpreted through the marvelous
medium of graphic novels.  The visual imagery will give my characters a new
dimension that cannot be captured in words alone.  Sea Lion Books will
translate The Road to Cana into a format that will do as I have done:
Recreate first century Palestine with the women and men who changed the
course of human history.  The characters you know will be there — Jesus,
Mary, Joseph — in the rich colors and beautiful forms that only artists can
draw.   This is going to be a thrilling adventure for my characters, for me,
and I think for you readers and viewers as well.”

The book is the second within a series dramatizing the life of Jesus Christ.
Based on the four Gospels, current New Testament research, and studies of
Jewish culture, Rice created and described the early stage in Jesus’ life
before his baptism in the Jordan and the miracle at Cana. Faced with a
winter of no rain, endless dust, and talk of trouble in Judea, Jesus must
confront his destiny.  The book’s power derives from the profound feeling
Rice brings to the writing and the way in which she summons up the presence
of Jesus Christ.

“Working on such a spiritually beautiful book is a remarkable experience!
Not only is it an opportunity to work with brilliant storyteller Anne Rice
and talented artist Siya Oum, but it is a chance to explore my own faith,”
said adapter Anne Elizabeth, whose graphic novel The Pendulum is also being
released by Sea Lion Books.

Derek Ruiz, Vice President and Publisher of Sea Lion Books, said, “It’s
an honor to be working with Anne Rice, one of my all time favorite authors.  We
at Sea Lion Books are excited to introduce the Christ the Lord series to the
Graphic Novel Market.  Anne Rice and the Christ the Lord series are great
additions  to the lineup we have been building at Sea Lion Books.  With each
new announcement  we continue to show that we want to bring quality stories
to the visual medium we love.”

The full-color Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana graphic novel edition,
ISBN: 978-0-9836131-4-5, will be available April 2012 and will sell for
$24.99. For more information, please visit http://sealionbooks.com/

Seers by Heather Frost review

Seers by Heather Frost 

Kate changed after the car accident that killed her parents and it nearly killed her to. After that Kate life has been full of other people’s colours because she can see their auras. It’s like she can see everything that people are feeling but her life gets weirder when she starts seeing invisible people is she losing her mind or is this all real. Then Patrick O'Donnell walks into her life his different he has no aura just silver what’s going on and does Patrick hold the answers that Kate needs.

Kate’s life really is an interesting one from the start of the book you really got to see how Kate was feeling even though she was hiding it away from others. She is dealing with so much and it leaves you really caring for Kate. There is so much going on in her life since the death of her mum and dad her life seems to have been turned on its head. She seems auras but she has not told anyone but her best friend and the faceted she living with her grandparents and it’s taking a while to get used to all the changes.  I loved that you got to see all this rather then rushing through into the action it built up and you felt just as on edge as the characters. Then Patrick walks into her life and while she does not trust him she feels that he holds the answers to her problem. Kate soon see’s the true changes that are really happening around her. Her life is in great danger along with the ones she loves.

The book was a mix of highs and lows for the characters. The author really let’s you get to know the characters not only that the story is not rushed and over explained it’s simply and honest. I’m not normal into loved up stories but in this book there was a balance of hard action and romance that was not over done. You could relate to the pain that Kate was going through and the new confusion in her life. The faceted she no longer felt the same way she did before.

I really did fall in love with the story it’s so easy to be sucked into the book and most of all it just a breath taking story the author put together.

I gave the book 4 stars and recommend others read the book.

Best Books review by Annmarie   

Amelia Maylock: book one. The 12th year awakening. By Jay Ellis

Wanda Hart

Amelia Maylock: book one.  The 12th year awakening. By Jay Ellis.

Genre: Young Adults, paranormal.

Basic story line:

This book is the first of a series of books by Jay Ellis.  Amelia, a twelfth year old girl learns that she is special.  Real special. Amelia is a witch.  Not any old witch either.  She is a very powerful witch.  A witch who will need all her powers to face the future destined for her. 

Amelia learns that she, as a witch is the counter to her evil twin, Erryas.  As witches, the two of them together with others can move between dimensions.  This is cool right?  Not always!  Amelia gets drawn into dimensions she is unfamiliar with and in which great mortal danger resides.  She survives these exploits at first due to her friends and later due to the fact that this girl is built out of guts and determination.  She is only twelfth though and unlike her sister she is new to her powers.  It becomes a race against time to get Amelia first to accept her true calling then to get her to accept her powers and train for a battle against the ultimate evil. Erryas. 

Amelia learns that she and her evil twin, Erryas were born during a massive evil thunder storm.  She was taken to the earth dimension where she grew up loved, wanted and protected.  What happened to Erryas is a mystery.  It becomes clear that only person knows what happened during that storm.  Only one person can answer Amelia?s questions.  But that person is dead. 

Amelia needs to learn how not only to protect and defend herself, but also to protect those dimensions opposed to evil.  But will she live to be able to do that, and is she powerful enough to go up against the greatest evil in all dimensions - her twin?

Amelia's friends include an old Hag; Ellis' description of this old woman had me laughing out loud.  You cannot help but love her. Anin is Amelia's primary trainer.  And not a women to be messed with. I loved the fact that she is a strong character who cares so deeply for Amelia and that she is not scared to make her feelings known.  Apart from the evil and unknown forces Amelia also has a voice that keeps popping up, instructing her.  Guiding her.  The question is; can she trust the voice?

Review:

I give this book a 4 / 5 star review.  At first I was skeptical as to the pace the story takes on from basically the beginning of the book. Soon however I discovered that the pace is indicative of the danger lurking and the fact that in the fight between good and evil, time is not on the side of good.  This is brilliantly displayed by the pacing of the story, fast to start with and almost speeding along at the end.  The reader cannot help but be swept along with it.  The sense of urgency of the coming dangers had the reader riveted and the role of time is unmistakably written into each and every page as the story builds from one momentum to the next.  I personally find this technique of Jay Ellis a brilliant one, the tempo?s increase has the reader thinking that this is a fast sweet read in the beginning but soon the frantic feelings of the Old Hag and Anin becomes the readers own.  As the intervals between incidents grow smaller all the time the reader is left with the same urgency of that of the Old Hag and of Anin.  Amelia must be ready.  Or all hope is lost. 

The story line is fresh and not boggled down with any overly long dialogues.  The fast pace of the story lets little time for character development of characters although Ellis' seems to fit in enough information to make the reader not only like the characters but also to have us rooting for the good guys and leaving us in anticipation of the next book in the series. 

Although this book is primarily aimed at the younger spectrum of the YA market it is soon apparent that the book is a great read for any age kid.  At 38 I myself enjoyed it immensely and did not find that patronizing tone from the author that I have come across previously when reading YA books.  I am about to start the second book in the series and cannot wait to read the next adventures of the young heroin.  So for now, I say goodbye and hope you will read the book.  It is really worth it. 

winner of Shifting by Bethany Wiggins is

Winner of Shifting by Bethany Wiggins is kayla merritt please email me at annmarieager@googlemail.com

bookaholics monthly giveaway

hey best books followers,
check out this amazing blog and enter their monthly giveaway,  both on the blog october giveaway!!!!
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they are a great bunch of ladies so please pop on over and have fun :)
alice

The Fear (The Enemy #3) by Charlie Higson review

The Fear (The Enemy #3)

by Charlie Higson

The fear is book three in the enemy series it follow five days before the last book ends. If you have not read the series DO! This series is like no other. Any way The fear followers the story of a few groups of kids in deep trouble they are all trying to survive in a world where all the grownups seem to have been turned into zombies . While zombies and dead kids is bad enough there is also lots of other things going on that give you chills the way some kids have turned into power hungry cold beings while other seem to really be working for a better future. The series is set in London and as I live close to there you can’t help but feel cold shivers when going by a building that’s been used in the book.

The Author has brilliantly written the book in a way were everything feels so real and downright creepy and scary at times. There was long moments in the book were I held my breath fearing for the characters and willing them to KEEP GOING! It was easy to get hooked into this world that the author has written. The book showed you lots of things you never got to see in the first or second book and if you have read all the books like I have you will see that each book is like a piece of puzzle and they all fit together in a wonderful and perfected way.

I felt that while the book is action packed with more blood and guts then a slaughter house there was so much more going on. David is one character while power hunger and evil to me he also kind of makes the book cool because you’re willing other character to over thrown him. There are lots of other characters that you start to love but you’re always scared that they will not last with all the zombies about.  I loved every moment of the book and by the end all I could think was...please Charlie Higson write the next book fast I’m dying to know what happens next.

I give the book a massive 5 stars

This series just keeps getting better and better. 

Ashfall by Mike Mullin GIVE AWAY

Ashfall (Ashfall #1)

by Mike Mullin

Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.

Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, Alex is determined to reach his parents. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known, and through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and worst in people desperate for food, water, and warmth. With a combination of nonstop action, a little romance, and very real science, this is a story that is difficult to stop reading and even more difficult to forget.

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Well as today is the last day of my Ashfall madness on the blog. i wanted to do something nice so i'm going to give one winner a hard back copy of Ashfall all you have to do is complete rafflecopter form below. 

Winner is picked at random by Rafflecopter so good luck all.

Extra entries available.

bookaholics book club give away

there is a massive give away going on at bookaholics book club. Head over say hello and congrats on reaching 300 followers. 


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Give away on Carolina Valdez Miller blog!!

Another great review for Ashfall by Mike Mullin and massive give away head over to the blog now 


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Mike Mullin interview

This is day 3 of Ashfall madness 

Mike Mullin author of Ashfall release date 10/11/2011

I want to say a big hello and thank you for Mike Mullin for taking the time to do this interview for best books.

You’re most welcome. Thanks for having me on your blog.

1.      Five fun facts about yourself?

1. I keep a pet alligator in the guestroom bathtub. It’s really friendly with my wife’s three cats.
2. I earned a black belt in Songham Taekwondo in April.
3. The broken arm I got in fourth grade was caused by an unfortunate run-in with a grizzly bear.
4. I shelve my books in binary. You can find The Story of Edgar Sawtelle under 010110100101010.
5. I’m not entirely sure what the word “fact” means, but I’ve got fun down to an art.

2.      What most people on best books like to know is what got you into writing?

Until I was eleven, I attended a brick box of a school, antiseptically clean and emotionally sterile. The children marched in files down the halls, mumbled math facts in unison, and occasionally did a craft project about a book.

When I turned twelve, I escaped from that intellectual prison camp and went to a noisy, dirty, chaotic school where I was—gasp—expected to write. Every day. And—double gasp—read. I wrote my first novel in sixth grade—Captain Poopy’s Sewer Adventures. Sadly, Dav Pilkey beat me to publication with Captain Underpants, although I still spell better than him. (You don’t see me typing Mik Mullin, do you?) I’ve been writing ever since.

3.      Where did the idea for your first book Ashfall come from?

Ashfall was conceived in the stacks of Central Library in downtown Indianapolis. Sadly, that’s not nearly as dirty as it sounds. I can’t convince my wife to try that particular trick—she’s smarter than me, as you can no doubt discern.

Anyway, I found Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything and checked it out because it’s way too small a book to be a history of nearly everything. I read the section on the Yellowstone supervolcano and was hooked.

4.      Did you have to do lots of research for your book?

Yes, had a team of 100 monkeys with laptops (they won’t work on typewriters anymore) researching ASHFALL for more than two days. Then I had to fire them because they changed the ash to monkey poo. And flung it all over the manuscript.

So, I spent almost a year researching ASHFALL the old fashioned way. I read every book, website, and journal article on supervolcanoes I could locate. I even consulted with two geologists near the end of the process. If you’d like to know more about the science and research process behind ASHFALL, check out this blog post.

5.      Are any of the characters in the book based on anyone?

Yes, they are all based on the monkeys. Except Target. He’s based on the gorilla I hired to chase the monkeys out after I fired them.

Actually, I had real people in mind when writing most of my characters. Alex, for example, is very loosely based on Ben Alexander, a teenager who trains at my dojang. He can kick my butt up and down Pendleton Pike while sipping a Chai Mocha Latte.

Uncle Paul, Aunt Caroline, Max, and Anna are based on my brother’s real family. They have a small farm near Dayton, Ohio where they raise goats, ducks and kale, just like in the book. My brother taught me everything I know about greenhouse farming. If it’s all wrong in ASHFALL, blame him.

6.      You plain to make Ashfall a series do you have any new shocks and surprises in book two?

Um, yes. I just finished the third draft of ASHEN WINTER, which is the sequel to ASHFALL. It’ll be published by Tanglewood Press in October 2012.

One important character dies. It’s a disaster—if everyone survived it wouldn’t be realistic. Some people are going to hate the huge plot twist about a third of the way into ASHEN WINTER. What can I say, I learned everything I know about writing from Nick Lowe, of “Cruel to be Kind” fame.

7.      How long did it take you to write Ashfall? And was there every a time where you thought you would never make it to the end?

I wrote 5,500 words in the middle of one insomniac night, and then spent about eight months on reading and research before resuming the draft. The drafting process took another six months and then I spent another six months rewriting, editing and submitting the manuscript.

I got badly stuck at one point in the drafting process. Instead of moping, I jumped in the car and took a road trip. I drove every mile of Alex’s route through northern Iowa and Illinois. That provided the inspiration I needed to power through to the end.

8.      I don’t want to give too much away about the book but what I loved most about the book was Alex’s will power to keep going. As the author do you have any favourite parts in the book?

Chapters 37 and 38. They were never part of any outline for ASHFALL. I added those two chapters spontaneously as I was visiting my Uncle Chuck, who was in the final stages of his battle with cancer. The first time my wife read those chapters, we were driving. (Well, I was driving. She was riding along. It’s safer if you don’t read and drive.) I looked over at her and tears were streaming down her cheeks. I thought, yes! Those chapters work! (I’m a really terrible husband.)

9.      Do you have any favourite authors?

Richard Peck, Neal Shusterman, Cinda Williams Chima, M.T. Anderson, Michael Grant, Suzanne Collins, Francisco X. Stork, Kristin Cashore, Cormac McCarthy, E.B. White, Jandy Nelson…. Oh, heck, who am I kidding? I could turn this into a list so long that I’d still be typing the end while you were reading the beginning. Become my friend on Goodreads to see everything I’m reading and talk books.

10.  Do you have any advice for people that want to be authors?

Read. Read more. No, read more than that. You read to learn your craft and to learn whether you’re doing original work or not. Read everything you can in your genre, then read some work outside your genre. Carry a book or e-reader everywhere.  The minutes spend waiting here and there during the course of a day add up to a lot of reading time. Unless you’re writing television scripts, turn off the boob tube. Better yet, throw a brick at it. It’s cathartic.

Just to give you an idea, here’s a shot of my to-be-read pile on August 19th:

Before I finish is there anything you want to tell fans on best books page and blog?

Thanks so much for hosting me here, and for all that so many of you have done to support me and my debut novel, ASHFALL. I’m humbled and deeply grateful.

Thank you so much for letting me interview you and I can’t wait to read the next book.

Author Photo

Book Jacket

 Bio

Mike Mullin’s first job was scraping the gum off the undersides of desks at his high school. From there, things went steadily downhill. He almost got fired by the owner of a bookstore due to his poor taste in earrings. He worked at a place that showed slides of poopy diapers during lunch (it did cut down on the cafeteria budget). The hazing process at the next company included eating live termites raised by the resident entomologist, so that didn’t last long either. For a while Mike juggled bottles at a wine shop, sometimes to disastrous effect. Oh, and then there was the job where swarms of wasps occasionally tried to chase him off ladders. So he’s really hoping this writing thing works out.

Mike holds a black belt in Songahm Taekwondo. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife and her three cats. ASHFALL is his first novel.

About ASHFALL

Many visitors to Yellowstone National Park don’t realize that the boiling hot springs and spraying geysers are caused by an underlying supervolcano. It has erupted three times in the last 2.1 million years, and it will erupt again, changing the Earth forever.

Fifteen-year-old Alex is home alone when the supervolcano erupts. His town collapses into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence, forcing him to flee. He begins a harrowing trek in search of his parents and sister, who were visiting relatives 140 miles away.

Along the way, Alex struggles through a landscape transformed by more than a foot of ash. The disaster brings out the best and worst in people desperate for food, clean water, and shelter.  When an escaped convict injures Alex, he searches for a sheltered place where he can wait—to heal or to die. Instead, he finds Darla. Together, they fight to achieve a nearly impossible goal: surviving the supervolcano

Excerpt

The first two chapters are available on my website: www.mikemullinauthor.com. ((read the first two chapters online))

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Favorite quotes from Ashfall by Mike Mullin

Day 2 of Annmarie Ashfall madness! 

One of the things i loved best about this book was some of the things the character thought and said were brilliant. 

Annmarie’s favourite Ashfall quotes

“For the first time ever, I felt ashamed of my species. The volcano had taken our homes, our food, our automobiles, and our airplanes, but it hadn't taken our humanity. No, we'd given that up on our own.” 

“That whiff of smoke was enough to transform my sithere-trembling terror into get-the-hell-out-of-here terror.” 

“But unlike thunder, this didn’t stop. It went on and on, machine-gun style, as if Zeus had loaded his bolts into an M60 with an inexhaustible ammo crate.” 

“I felt bad about dirtying their comforter with my nasty clothes, but who knew what might happen later. If something else bizarre went down and I had to run, I sure didn’t want to do it butt naked.”

“Hunger of choice is a painful luxury; hunger of necessity is terrifying torture.” 

“Condoms instantly shot to the number-one position on my mental list of must-find survival supplies, far ahead of food, water, and a way across the Mississippi River.” 

“The few trees still upright were stripped of their branches, lonely flagpoles without a nation to claim them.” 

“For the first time ever, I felt ashamed of my species. The volcano had taken our homes, our food, our automobiles, and our airplanes, but it hadn't taken our humanity. No, we'd given that up on our own.” 

Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.

Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, Alex is determined to reach his parents. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known, and through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and worst in people desperate for food, water, and warmth. With a combination of nonstop action, a little romance, and very real science, this is a story that is difficult to stop reading and even more difficult to forget.

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