Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Book 2 Prologue Preview

Here is the prologue for Book 2, nearing publication. Quick, grab some coffee or a hot beverage of your choice. Ready? Okay, you may begin.



Dear Pen Pal,

Marcus Welborn, here. Just like you, I’m in fourth grade. Unlike you, I’m not ten yet. I’m nine and a half years old. You think you’ve got exciting things going on, well, I’ve got a superhero for a best friend! Isn’t that cool? His name is Jimmy, but most people call him Jimmy the Super Powerful. Maybe you’ve heard of him, even though you live on the other side of the world.
Jimmy once lived down the street from me and was in my class before getting sent away to a foster home in Bellevue, Michigan, which I think is like an orphanage for kids. The child welfare people are sure that his parents are dead. Even though he’s far away, I still get to see him nearly every day.
He has another best friend who’s a girl, although I think they’re in love since he kissed her on the lips once. Just don’t tell him I told you because Marcus Welborne never gives away embarrassing secrets. Her name is Annie Marshall. She still lives on the same street as me, Appletree Lane right here in Battle Creek. Because Jimmy can run and fly at super speeds, he just zips on over even though he lives far away. One day when they both were in the Sahara Desert, Jimmy accidently turned Annie into a superhero by changing her DNA or something like that. That was when they kissed. Kissing helped to change her, he said. Don’t ask me how . . .
Wait! Before I tell you about her super powers, I had better explain Jimmy’s first. Okay, Jimmy can transform into an adult for six hours at a time and he can turn into a giant over fifty feet high. His powers are different for each form he takes. When he stays a kid, he can run, fly, and swim way over the speed of sound but under the speed of light. However, he can move as if traveling the speed of light, but he does what he calls a run-warp and he leaves regular time and space. It, like, freezes up for him, scrambling up everything around him.
He can control atoms and molecules. What I mean is that he can cause things to change their states of matter. You know, it’s when things are gas, liquid, or solid. He can also change the hardness and density of stuff or make something metal into plastic or paper or anything he wants. Because he can control atoms and molecules, he can heal people from even the most severe injuries, but once they’re dead, he can’t make them live again. And boy is he strong. Lifting two thousand pounds is a cinch for him. Walking through solid objects is another power of his which he calls phantoming. It’s weird because “phantom” isn’t even a verb.
As an adult, Jimmy can still fly and run quickly, but slower . . . only up to one hundred miles an hour. However, he becomes way stronger. He cannot do his phantom power or control matter, except for changing its state. When he grows into a giant colossal man, he can’t fly at all and has super strength and that’s about it. Oh, whether he’s a boy, a man, or a giant, his body is pretty much invulnerable to injury and most illnesses.
Jimmy got these powers from a corporation named Etyouth. They fed him special genetically modified food, whatever that is, in an experiment. The food was created by Jimmy’s dad, who had worked there. Anyway, Jimmy went into a coma for a month. After the coma, Jimmy bounced back to normal—or so it seemed. Oh yeah, his mom died back when he was four of a type of cancer that only affects women. At least everyone thought that she passed away.
As soon as Jimmy’s father found out about what Etyouth was doing, he tried to quit. However, Etyouth locked them in an apartment to prevent Jimmy and his dad from leaving. They escaped, though, when Jimmy discovered he now had super powers. That’s when Jimmy and his dad found a house to live in on Appletree Lane.
I first met him while in third grade, but I never knew he had super powers. None of the other students did—well, except for Annie. He started going to Cherry Orchard Elementary, and he was sort of a dorky kid. Luckily, he and I became friends so I could teach him how to be cool. Before coming to this school, Jimmy had never attended one. While he lived at Etyouth, he had a teacher all to himself, which I guess is called a tutor. There weren’t any other kids there, so he grew up all weird being around just grown-ups.
Well, after nearly a full year, Etyouth tricked Jimmy and his dad into a battle in Arizona and captured them. In charge of Etyouth, William McDonnell convinced Jimmy that they killed his father and planned to do the same to him. Only, Jimmy fled the Etyouth compound once again back to his home. It was kind of stupid because they knew where he lived. He was afraid, though, Etyouth would hurt Annie because she knew too much about him and he wanted to protect her. It was only a matter of time before Etyouth would come after him—and her!
Like I said, while in the Sahara Desert, Jimmy turned Annie into a superhero. He was just trying to make it so she wouldn’t get hurt while flying with him. If they had crashed or turned too fast, Annie could get killed. So, he changed her body so that it could be just as indestructible as his. He hoped to turn her back to normal but failed. Now, they are both a super powered team.
These are Annie’s powers. Just like Jimmy, she can morph into an adult and a giant. Her powers are different for each form. As a girl, Annie has telekinesis so strong that she can hurl objects like boulders weighing megatons for miles! When in contact with any computerized device, her mind will hack into it and even surf the Internet if it can connect in any way. Once on the Internet or any Intranet system, she can bypass all security features on any site.
While Annie is a grown woman and in her giant shape, she has a wicked hair-power and can throw it out like a rope and control each individual strand. Her hair is like steel cables! In these two forms, she can fly and she does have some exceptional physical strength, but not like Jimmy when he’s grown up. She does have some powers she can do in any form. Annie has something called super empathy in which she can read other peoples’ emotions, even their most buried feelings. Then, she can talk them into doing whatever she wants them to do. Before I forget, I have to tell you that she does have super eyesight. You know, she can see through things, spot objects at a far distance, and locate stuff in the dark. However, her most terrifying ability is that she can spit acid, but she has more quantities of it as an adult or a giant.
Annie and Jimmy have super abilities together. Like, they have telepathy and when their spits combine, an explosion happens. Jimmy can fuse his body into Annie’s so that they only look like one person or they can merge into him. When they’re merged, they can use all their powers regardless of the form they take.
Well, Etyouth finally took action and kidnapped Annie’s brother and grandma and Jimmy’s grandparents. They distracted Annie and Jimmy by sending this dude in a robot suit to our school’s playground and there was this battle with explosions and stuff. He even picked me off the ground and I almost pooped my pants.
Anyway, my super-powered buds rescued their families and demolished the Etyouth complex out in New Mexico. It was there that the truth about Jimmy’s parents was found. Neither one had died! Etyouth messed with their brains somehow and now they have entirely new identities complete with two other kids, meaning Jimmy has two younger brothers. One day, Jimmy is hoping to reunite with his parents and help them to remember their true selves and more importantly—their firstborn son.
Meanwhile, Etyouth had managed to create their own military and for a time took over Washington, D.C. Jimmy and Annie went on to rescue the whole city and the U.S. after fighting a giant ape, a rat, and a dog-cat beast while dodging a poop-throwing enlarged orangutan. In the end, the world was safe from Etyouth, and their leader, William McDonnell, went to prison.
Jimmy had to go live in a foster home while Annie made friends with her archenemy at school. My mom and I are working to lose weight, although since Jimmy healed me from that gunshot wound, I started dropping pounds without even doing anything.
Well, that’s all of my exciting news. So far, Jimmy and Annie haven’t battled anything new. Everything is peaceful. If anything else happens, I’ll let you know.

Your Pen Pal in the USA,
     Marcus

Friday, January 23, 2015

Boxy

Here's Boxy:
Kaleb runs one fan at a time at night. Our fan parade is going in the order he uses for each night. Standy is always first, then Osy, and  third is Boxy.

Can you identify the brand name?

There once was a Kaleb who liked fans. He also liked automatic garage doors, iPhones, and ceiling suspended basketball hoops. Without them, his brain can't stand the world. It's as if the Universe itself collapses.

Be good to yourselves!

Friday, January 16, 2015

Osy

Next up on the fan parade is Osy the Oscillating Fan. My son Kaleb has autism and he's high-functioning. However, he has many fascinations. Fans are among them. His favorite are of the ceiling variety, but he'll take other types. Roller coasters are another big deal, but Cedar Point probably wouldn't let us stash their coasters in our backyard and we don't have the space anyway. So, here's Osy the Oscillating Fan.
Well, there you have it. Don't forget, this blog is enjoyed better with a cup of coffee or a hot beverage of your choice and I forgive you if it's not coffee. Normally, this blog has more to do with my adventures as a super powerful author. This is a glimpse in the more personal side of me.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Another storytelling video

Enjoy a reading of Food Chase. Head to the video directly on YouTube here! Or watch it below.



Friday, January 9, 2015

Let the Fan Parade Begin

My son Kaleb has a fan collection or building one. His most prized fan is "Standy" the Oscillating Stand Fan. Let me introduce you to Standy:
I have a new website (a free deal for me). It is very small, only three web pages. I have a working contact form with a link from this blog for the free Crazy Adventure deal. So far, it works. Click here to go to it.

I, the Super Powerful writer, wish you well.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

New Contact Form

For anyone interested in a free version of Crazy Adventures, I now have a contact form that I'm trying. I'll respond as soon as I realize someone has filled out the information. Must have a valid e-mail address.


Friday, January 2, 2015

Storytelling Video

Happy New Year! To celebrate, I'm posting a video of me telling the story of  "Time Marches On," found in Crazy Adventures: Preteen Stories and Fantasies. So, enjoy the story. The video is a bit out of focus. Watch it below or on YouTube here.