books by members

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Have opened this forum up for discussion on any books written by members here.

greg parker wrote:

terlin wrote:

greg parker wrote:No. And you have 10 penalty points for missing two Cohen quotes.

Where did the penalty points come from? ...(checking the forum rules again)... Nope, not a word.   

It's in the vibe of it.

But, yes, I did miss those quotes. Haven't heard those in more years than I care to think about. (not much of an excuse, I know, but its all I got!)

So, how do I get rid of the alleged penalties and...

You can't erase alleged penalties that exist only in the vibe of a rule book. Sorry.  

Hey, doesn't giving you first billing on the book cover mean anything!?!

Yes it does. Someone else gave me a book cover and look how that ended! 

You have now been warned (in the vibe of this post, allegedly).

Oh-h-h-h... the "vibe", is it?
I sometimes forget this is a '60's-oriented site.
So, vibe it is. Far out... and, uh, outtasight! I guess.
And I am groovin' to your "warning vibes"... uh, man.
Jeez! Did people really talk like this?
So, what do these alleged vibe penalty points mean, just so I'll know for future reference... or,
I mean, lay it on me, man, I can dig it.
 
(????)

I thought I would add mention of my other books even though I have no idea if any members have an interest in any of them.

Non-fiction fare

The Plot to Kill John Wilkes Booth has already been mentioned as well as the forthcoming The Plot to Kill Lee Harvey Oswald so I will not go on about either of those again.

First, a note I should make about writing... and how much I really feel for Greg in his undertaking:

Years ago I read an article about writing and the professor noted that most writers seem to become productive after age forty-five. He took that to mean that authors did not develop enough wisdom and perspective until that age in life to really become good.

The guy must have lived in that ivory tower. On the ground it looks a little different.
I wrote six books in my late teens/early twenties, and that was while penning several hundred poems and over five hundred songs.

Then I got married and had kids.

After that, I was lucky if I had enough spare time to get ten thousand words on paper in a YEAR.

Since the last of the kids left home four years ago, I can generally get ten thousand words a DAY.

You think it has much to do with maturity? With wisdom? Heck, no! But it certainly has a lot to do with time and priorities. Plus, having a day job (or two, at times) kind of puts a crimp on all that spare time as well.

I could always write fast and - had I not had and raised five kids - I imagine I would have published volume 300 already. As it is, I will probably be closer to ninety when I hit that mark.

Personally, I am amazed Greg can do as much as he does do with all he has to juggle.
And, I should note, writing non-fiction is very much more difficult than fiction as there is a set of facts that others may be very familiar with. In fiction you can make it up as you go and no one can question the details.

Anyway, on to Other non-fiction fare

12•20•2012; Our Last Golden Sunset?


Having studied Mayan history with especial interest in their marvelous calendars since I was fourteen, I was a bit astonished to discover in 2004 that the fact was creating quite a stir. Many were claiming it was a prediction of the end of the world - I suppose since Y2K did not accomplish the feat - while other New Age gurus such as John Major Jenkins and Jose Arguelles promised rather that it meant the dawning of a new and golden age.

Sensing both sides were vastly misinterpreting the ancient Mayans' intent, I revisited the data to assure myself what was really going on. The Maya and their culture did not support either view.

What the Maya were actually noting by the interactions of their calendars was something quite different. There was no big secret and they told us right up front what it was all about: the beginning of a "new Sun" and the death of the old. Moderns may have mistranslated the term but the ancients were quite specific and their legends corroborate the correct view.

I also go into problems with the calendar and why their end date is probably off by a few decades, at least.

If the World's a Village, I'm Its Idiot


This is a humorous look at the rate technology is advancing, seemingly much faster than my age.

At some point my capabilities hit the wall but technical advances continued onward without me.

Then I have a couple of books of poetry:
Mechanical Mouse

Satirical and cynical poetry. Offensive to some perhaps, but meant to be so.
…not to be.

Romantic poetry... for what its worth.

and some Scripts:
Assault on Hell
A science-fantasy military adventure. There is a rupture between the Earth and a parallel dimension which turns out to be the place we call Hell.

They say "war is hell" but why would anyone knowingly choose to march into purgatory? The idea has "wrong" written all over it in seventeen different languages. There is more than meets the eye in this "coincidence" and, of course, there will be hell to pay.

Since the script did not sell in Hollywood, I self-published it and am turning it into a novel, literally, as we speak.

the Lycron Scripts

This was a television pilot and two episode scripts for a science fiction tv series proposal created in 1974.

It banged around Hollywood for a time but Roddenberry, Hamner, and others rejected it and it wound up gathering dust in the shed.

The basic storylines are being updated but this is a bit of nostalgia for those living in the past.

endnotes


There are other non-fiction I have not been able to convert into digital format yet. But give me time...

I have five genealogical books - four based on the Holy Bible and one on the rulers of Britain - as well as three other stage plays I wrote ages ago. But, like I said, those are not published yet.

These are fictional works...

Non Sci-oriented stories

Forgotten Cross


After losing most of his family to the Twin Towers, the war in Afghanistan, and cancer, Frank feels life has betrayed him. Being and only child of an only child, he planned on having a large, boisterous family. But the fates have reduced his kin to himself and a younger son.

A mysterious legacy from his late mother renews an old family mystery. The search for legacy draws father and son closer and extends their family circle wider than either could have expected.

Prisoners of Eden


In a top secret government lab, an imminent threat to the planet is discovered. Avoiding public chaos, they call in a group of top scientists to try and develop a solution or some safeguard. Failing in that, the government begins secretly moving the best and the brightest hopes for survival into the massive shelter at Mount Weather. It is hoped these few can ride out the holocaust and survive to rebuild America.

Horrified that they have not been informed of the predicament sooner, several scientists try and brainstorm a solution to stave off the destruction of 99% of the planet. They are told to quiet down and not disturb the other hopeful survivors.

Aided by a military officer who thinks their plan has a certain better chance of success than doing nothing, they escape sanctuary and race to put their defenses into operation.

Not only are they working against time bu against some government officials who do not want their plans disrupted by someone actually saving the planet. The scientists are able to find help in the stranges places.

a couple of Historical fictions

Eighteen Pages


A narrative version of the events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the search for the supposed conspirators, especially one John Wilkes Booth.

The story follows the parallel adventures of a reporter in the capital who was at Ford's Theater that night and the much sought after Mister Booth.

The political machinations are a far cry from what you read in the history books of the event. [a sequel, Eighteen Pages More, is nearing completion]

Longshanks


This was my first novel. It presupposes a rather strange friend of Edward Longshanks, heir to the throne of England, when they were teenagers. Their friendship is strange in that Robert Hood is a commoner. If the name looks familiar, it is because this fellow is the grandfather of the "historical" Robin Hood - who is featured in later volumes of the series.

In this volume, the two journey south to Spain where Edward marries his bride, Isabella of Castile. [future volumes also include the Baronial Wars of Simon de Montfort, Edward's crusading adventure, a slight diversionary trek into China with Marcvo Polo, as well as a voyage to the New World and a tour of Vinland and the home of the Mandan Tribe, as well as political intrigue in the Scots Wars and one William Wallace.)

Young Hellions


I'm not certain if this should be included in historical or urban fantasy. It is set in Nevada Territory in the 1880's but the children have rather strange abilities. A local teacher discovers their secret and attempts to assist them in learning how to use these bizarre gifts. And what their purpose may be.

Then, of course, they have to deal with one of their own who feels the gift allows him the right to lord it over the common folk.

and now for the largest genre of my stuff...

Science Fiction / Fantasy / Science Fantasy

I don't know if anyone here reads science fiction but this is the primary genre I was raised in. With a father employed by NASA and raised during the beginning (and seeming ending of) the "Space Race", it was an immediate draw. Verne, Wells, Clarke, Heinlein, Leinster, Asimov, Bradbury, Vonnegut, Laumer, etc. My father and brother also published sci-fi.

Even though my reading interests broadened considerably in the years since, most of my scribblings have fallen into this category.

July 57th


This is the only science fantasy yet completed (Assault on Hell will be here as well, when completed). This differs from sci-fi in that some elements of the story are not in our universe as defined by science. So there is some fantasy element - even if not "magic" - in the story.

This is a time traveling murder mystery. An agent of the Martian Intelligence Service is sent to Earth to uncover several strange deaths. The odd thing about the case is the three victims are alive and well today, but their corpses were buried ten years ago while the current victims were still children.

As the agent digs for clues, he uncovers another "John Doe' from the past: himself. And the picture looks as if it could have been taken today. Which means he better get busy and figure this thing out quickly.

Just Another Dead Martian


This is a sort of doppelganger of July 57th. A friend was disappointed that the book was sci-fantasy and challenged me to re-write it as true sci-fi.

So here that version is and it is pretty much the same story though a lot of the details had to be re-worked.

Fountable 1


A group of math savants wind up on the Emperor's wrong side and get themselves exiled. One of the group had the temerity to marry one of the Emperor's daughters and doesn't take too kindly to being separated from his very pregnant wife. Working on some math equations during their exile, they uncover a method to accomplish interstellar transport.

Using their device, they return home and reunite the couple and spark a revolution that unseats the bad-tempered fellow. Their sudden appearance does nothing to stop another revolution by a band of other exiles bent on revenge.

Having assisted the new government, the math whizzes are exiled yet again but use their talents to escape yet again. This time they do not head home but rather go looking for another place to leave in peace.

Fountable 2


Realizing they have not been exonerated of any wrongdoing and that their legal status may hinder their freedom, they return to the capital to petition the Emperor for remission of their sentence. The only problem is they cannot locate the Emperor.
Apparently another revolution is suspected, with them as the suspected perpetrators. They have to develop new tools to find the fellow and convince him they do not want the throne.

Then they can return to finding a place to settle down in peace. (Until volume three, due out this fall, when all heck breaks out again.)

When Time Went Mad


Lem likes his farm and cannot understand why a UFO would choose to land in his field. Except that his field is gone as well. Some sort of spaceport seems to have taken its place. And it gets even worse.

Soon travelers from several various time periods are appearing on the tarmac of the spaceport to the consternation of each of them but mostly Lem as his cornfield is missing.

When the dinosaurs arrive, they figure they better speed up the process of figuring out what is going on before someone gets eaten and really messes up the space-time continuums. Fortunately, mankind of differing ages learns to work together and get everyone returned home, a little wiser.

the Evidence for the Existence…


This was the first full length book I wrote. But it is not quite a novel.

It is over a millenium in the future and a historian is attempting to uncover all the evidence for a mythical land called "the United States". Most of his colleagues believe it to be nothing more than a chimera, an ancient "boogey-man" used to frighten or hold up as some marality play.

This historian assembles all the written evidence as well as a couple of archaeological digs he has recently conducted in an attempt to verify the existence of the mythical nation shrouded in obscurity.

[This record also utilizes the historical account of an ancient wizard named Anaboraxus. see next]

the Young Wizard


Coming from a rather large family, young Anaboraxus appears to fall short on the distribution of lands. He is sent to apprentice as a goldsmith in the Imperial capital at Vriamidon. The family cannot afford passage for him so they find a band of poets heading that direction for him to travel along with.

One night in their journay finds them set upon by highwaymen and the group is dispersed into the dar forest. Lost, Anaboraxus runs in circles until he collapses in total confusion. A young man finds him there and offers him assistance. He takes the refugee down into their cave.

It turns out this group in hiding is a tribe of magicians who were persecuted and fled into the area, hiding for many years. Thoughts of goldsmithing vanished, the young man wants to train in magic.

Unfortunately, his presence has alerted the tribes enemy of their whereabouts and they come in force. Guilt drives Anaboraxus to find a safe resolution for his new family and a plan for peace in the future. [the sequel is planned for this fall]

the Beamish Boys


Based on Lewis Carroll's poem, Jabberwocky, the juvenile tale follows the young hero into the dark and tulgey woods to find the Jabberwock and rid the area of the loathsome beast. Well, sort of.

Over the Wall


Three young companions are afraid their village is falling on hard times. Their singular and lofty circular encampment had been created by the gods to keep them safe from the wilds of the demons below. But the crowding was getting worse and the food was running short.

Though many claimed the gods would come to their aid, history had shown that such help had never arrived in the past and these "trying times" usually decimated the population until the numbers remaining were at a sustainable level. But that prosperity would only lead to the next "trying time" just as before; history would repeat itself, seemingly without the intervention of the divine.

The three companions decide to take their chances in the realms below. They cannot see anything beyond their walls but they have seen birds flying into the distance. Surely, if there was some home for the birds, they might survive as well.

Then sneak out in the dead of the night and find the edge of their plateau and see forests and seas beyond rather than the desolation they had anticipated. After achieving their freedom and meeting the inhabitants below, one of the group wonders how this strange situation came to pass and how he could help save the others from the coming troubles.

His companions feel no need to assist those left behind who hadn't the guts to go over the wall.

the Stones Will Tell


An epic fantasy about the search for a prophesied hero. Though it has the trappings of epic fantasy this volume is primarily about political intrigue, warfare, conspiracy, and the ocassional reference to magic. The trilogy, when complete, will be named A Hero for Ryl.

Telepaths, genetics, and history play a large part in the narrative as the beleaguered and isolated land of Ryl attempts to maintain its existence against a confederation of enemies.

When the ancient Duke of Yenthorol - titular head of the government while finding a new king - discovers the reasons behind the lengthy invasion, he cannot believe anyone would succumb to such ancients myths about an alleged hero as a reason for invasion. And yet it seems to be so.

But the forces amass again and it appears the land of Ryl will not withstand the attack even with the aid of a few very old wizards.

Flyers of Condor


Carl and Rachel meet by chance - supposedly - until they find themselves awakening prior lifetimes and ancient mythic beings just in time to renew a very old war whose time has come again.

Serendipity aides them but the galactic gameskeepers play no favorites, ensuring that both side in the conflict maintain the rules of engagement.

How many times had they done this before, and failed? More times than either want to count. [This was co-authored with my father, he passed on before we got to the sequel.]

********************************

And that brings us to an end of all the stuff I have currently on the market.

Like Shrek said about the donkey, "It's getting him to shut up that's the problem."

My latest venture The Plot to Kill Lee Harvey Oswald is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Amazon - Kindle version

B&N - Nook version

Smashwords - Smashwords edition

terlin wrote:

My latest venture The Plot to Kill Lee Harvey Oswald is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Amazon - Kindle version

B&N - Nook version

Smashwords - Smashwords edition

Excellent!

greg parker wrote:

terlin wrote:

My latest venture The Plot to Kill Lee Harvey Oswald is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Amazon - Kindle version

B&N - Nook version

Smashwords - Smashwords edition

Excellent!

Always like good shit! Looking forward to adding The Plot to Kill Lee Harvey Oswald to my Kindle collection when I return home and have reliable Internet (>60 seconds w/o interruption). Keep pushing my friend.

wonderful. I downloaded this as soon as I saw it. I was unaware a member here wrote it. Look forward to reading it.

casenagell wrote:wonderful. I downloaded this as soon as I saw it. I was unaware a member here wrote it. Look forward to reading it.

I should probably download a copy and start reading it too.

Terry:

My review of your book is live on Amazon. Well done!

Stan Dane wrote:Terry:

My review of your book is live on Amazon. Well done!

Thanks, Stan!!

Glad you enjoyed it.

And thanks to Greg for a review as well.

Terry W. Martin wrote:

Stan Dane wrote:Terry:

My review of your book is live on Amazon. Well done!

Thanks, Stan!!

Glad you enjoyed it.

And thanks to Greg for a review as well.

I just called out a douchebag who "suspects" you engineered the positive reviews of The Plot to Kill Lee Harvey Oswald (I was polite and didn't use any cuss words). It wouldn't surprise me one bit if he's a member at Stinky's forum using a multitude of aliases.

Stan Dane wrote:

Terry W. Martin wrote:

Stan Dane wrote:Terry:

My review of your book is live on Amazon. Well done!

Thanks, Stan!!

Glad you enjoyed it.

And thanks to Greg for a review as well.

I just called out a douchebag who "suspects" you engineered the positive reviews of The Plot to Kill Lee Harvey Oswald (I was polite and didn't use any cuss words). It wouldn't surprise me one bit if he's a member at Stinky's forum using a multitude of aliases.

No, Stan. Mr. Hager is an author in his own right. 

People who dump on someone in a review should at least get their counter facts correct. He has Angleton running "Executive Action" and he thinks he should be taken seriously?

FWIW, a third (3 in number) of my reviews are one star. One admits he didn't read the book, and the other two didn't offer any reasons for the rating apart from "not liking" it. At least this guy gave a reason - even if it is factually incorrect.

greg parker wrote:FWIW, a third (3 in number) of my reviews are one star. One admits he didn't read the book, and the other two didn't offer any reasons for the rating apart from "not liking" it. At least this guy gave a reason - even if it is factually incorrect

The thing about those 1 star "reviews" of your book Greg, is that anyone with two functioning brain cells won't take them seriously. As you said, one of the dickheads didn't even read the book. Secondly, when someone writes "Not worthwhile at all" or "Worst book about Lee Oswald I have ever read. Do not read this book" but doesn't elaborate on why they wrote this, most people will probably think that they are just pricks talking shit; which is precisely what I think they are.

greg parker wrote:

Stan Dane wrote:

Terry W. Martin wrote:

Stan Dane wrote:Terry:

My review of your book is live on Amazon. Well done!

Thanks, Stan!!

Glad you enjoyed it.

And thanks to Greg for a review as well.

I just called out a douchebag who "suspects" you engineered the positive reviews of The Plot to Kill Lee Harvey Oswald (I was polite and didn't use any cuss words). It wouldn't surprise me one bit if he's a member at Stinky's forum using a multitude of aliases.

No, Stan. Mr. Hager is an author in his own right. 

People who dump on someone in a review should at least get their counter facts correct. He has Angleton running "Executive Action" and he thinks he should be taken seriously?

FWIW, a third (3 in number) of my reviews are one star. One admits he didn't read the book, and the other two didn't offer any reasons for the rating apart from "not liking" it. At least this guy gave a reason - even if it is factually incorrect.

Thanks, guys, for responding to the fellow. He claims to be CT but writes just like an LN: side-step the points you've made and attack-attack-attack, especially ad hominem.

I cruised through his blog - a conspiracy blog, of course - and he mentions how he got interested in the Lincoln case and after one week of searching out data online, he had the case solved. With his mental acuity, perhaps we should all just bow out and let him take the lead, huh?

And he left an equally dismissive "review" of the Plot to Kill John Wilkes Booth. Unfortunately it was as unsubstantive as the negative reviews of Greg's book as well.

What can I say? It is something we have to put up with. I guess there are more people up in the Bumfuck environs than I originally suspected.