Doug Dillon's Blog, page 135
April 10, 2014
Free Young Adult eBooks For Teachers and Counselors
Sliding Beneath the Surface, Book I of The St. Augustine Trilogy
Stepping Off a Cliff, Book II of The St. Augustine Trilogy
Both are paranormal, historical, multicultural, coming of age and soft science fiction.
Premise of the trilogy: You Create Your Own Reality. (Book III comes out in 2015)
This is my gift to fellow educators anywhere in the world. After spending 30 years working in schools, I’m now able to live my dream of writing novels for young adults and adults young at heart. For that reason, this is simply my way of spreading some happiness through generosity to other educators who love books as much as I do.
NOTE: These books are available to any educators, public or private schools, K – University, including those who, like me, are retired. Oh, administrators and district level personnel are welcome to participate as well.
You might be interested to know that Book I of the trilogy, Sliding Beneath the Surface has been reviewed well over 100 times on Amazon.com and is starting to be used in middle and high school Intensive Reading classrooms. Click here if you would like to see a post I did on the first teacher who ventured into those waters.
How to get one or both of the books above:
Decide which eBook version you would like, PDF, EPUB, or Kindle/Mobi.
email me – doug@dougdillon.com and tell me
What eBook version you would like
Tell me what school or school system you work in. Or if you are retired, just let me know your last school assignment.
I will then email you the approriate book. That’s it. Simple.
Just a few more things:
I can always use some more reviews on Amazon.com. That’s not a requirement, it is a request for you to consider. If you haven’t done a review before, just look the book up on Amazon and click on customer reviews. That will bring up a a box that says “Create Your Own Review” and you are ready to go. The wording doesn’t have to long and involved. Most folks just do a paragraph or two. Oh, and you have to have an Amazon account.
You have my permission to share the eBook(s) I send you with a colleague – or you can just share this post with other educators.
If you are currently teaching students and you think one or both of my books would be of interest to them, you have my persmission to share your eBook(s) – regardless of the humber of students. That’s my other gift to you, a resource for your kids. And besides, it spreads the word about my books, right? Oh, and if your students need a different eBook version than you one you have, let me know and I will send you what you need.
And lastly, if you would like to see the trailers for each of these books, you will find them below. Happy reading!
Free Young Adult eBook on Amazon
Stepping Off a Cliff, Book II of The St. Augustine Trilogy – Paranormal, historical, soft science fiction.
April 9 – 13, 2014
An otherworldly, evil and dangerous force infests America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. Everyone living there, or visiting, is at risk in ways too horrible to imagine.
Standing between this invader and the people of St. Augustine are teenagers Jeff and Carla, the mysterious Native American shaman, Lobo, and Lyle, the homeless guy.
In their quest to save themselves and all the inhabitants of this ancient Florida city, Jeff and Carla uncover lost parts of St. Augustine history, push past the limits of space and time, and come face-to-face with what they come to realize are the true walking dead.
See the book trailer below:
Historic Monster Threatens Oldest & Most Haunted City in U.S.
St. Augustine, Florida – teen novel - Stepping Off a Cliff – paranormal, historical, romance & soft science fiction.
The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book II is finally published! First check out the description below and then the trailer:
An otherworldly, evil and dangerous force infests America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. Everyone living there, or visiting, is at risk in ways too horrible to imagine.
Standing between this invader and the people of St. Augustine are teenagers Jeff and Carla, the mysterious Native American shaman, Lobo, and Lyle, the homeless guy.
In their quest to save themselves and all the inhabitants of this ancient Florida city, Jeff and Carla uncover lost parts of St. Augustine history, push past the limits of space and time, and come face-to-face with what they come to realize are the true walking dead.
Click here to check out how Book I of the series, Sliding Beneath the Surface, is being used in school reading classrooms.
April 9, 2014
Stepping Off a Cliff Review # 21
Awesome YA Fantasy Book. The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book II, for Young Adults and Adults Young at Heart.
A review placed on Amazon by mmbear.
“This is the 2nd book in a trilogy, but I didn’t read the first book either and it really didn’t matter as this book can be a stand alone read.
“I am really serious that you don’t need to read the first book to understand this 2nd book or the story. They do briefly here and there along the way talk about a few incidents from the first book, so enough is said that you get the gist of what happened and who the characters are.
“I have been to St. Augustine, although a very long time ago, but I do remember it and loved visiting there, so it made this story even better for me because I can imagine the town and the scenes from the descriptions in the book. And it’s the perfect city to set up supernatural things along with ghosts because of the attention to detail that has made St. Augustine famous, which is the old Spanish style buildings and streets, it’s like walking down a living ghost town from the past!
“Jeff and Carla are fearless as our heroes along with the help of Lobo, the Native American Indian who has a lot of secrets that Jeff and Carla finally learn about in this book. From what I understood of this book, they did not know in the first one that he is hundreds of years old. Jeff, in a confrontation with evil, slips back thru time and lands back in the good ole West and there he sees Lobo with another man.
“From there the story gets even more freaky as Jeff starts seeing his dead mother come back and she is trying to tell him something or warning him about something that is coming. At this point, Lobo has to start training Jeff and Carla so that they will be ready to do battle with this evil that is heading their way. And yes, Carla has certain abilities herself that will aid them all in this fight.
“But, will they be ready for whatever’s coming?
“Like I said, it’s a really good YA Fantasy book and there aren’t any bad scenes or really bad languages gaps, so it’s okay for your young teens to read or even yourself. I know I am getting to where I don’t want to read all that filthy language and it’s really not necessary to tell a good story. Good stories can stand on their own without all of that nonsense and I am glad this one chose to go down the path of showing good character and tell an amazing story at the same time! Great job!”
To see this review on Amazon, click here.
See below for the book trailer:
April 8, 2014
Haunted Teens Fight for Their Lives
St. Augustine, Florida - Sliding Beneath the Surface - a teen novel – paranormal and historical, Book I of The St. Augustine Trilogy.
Description
In America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida, teenager Jeff Golden is in trouble. Horrible dreams won’t let him sleep, and he is up to his eyeballs in terrifying, paranormal experiences.
Finally, Jeff turns to his girlfriend Carla, and Lobo, the mysterious Native American shaman, for help. But what he discovers is a lot more than he bargained for.
A ghostly presence linked to a local historic cemetery is not only threatening Jeff’s sanity but his life as well. And before he knows what’s happening, Jeff finds both himself and Carla pulled into one of the nastiest and bloody events in Florida history. It is a place from which they may never escape.
See book trailerbelow:
Click here to see how this book is being used for motivation and skill building in school reading programs.
Click here to see more about this series.
April 7, 2014
Stepping Off a Cliff Review # 20
The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book II, for Young Adults and Adults Young at Heart.
A review placed on the student review website, Litpick, by Neschick.
“This time it’s not only Jeff that’s in danger, it’s all of St. Augustine, and then if the P.B. succeeds……. the whole world!
“The P.B., or particle being, is something scientists have studied for a long time. A long time ago, a part of it washed up on the shore of St. Augustine. The Scientists thought it was either whale blubber or octopus.
“It had been in suspended animation for 200-ish years put there by Lobo and Lyle. But, it’s breaking out of it’s prison and attaching itself to other human beings.
“The only way to protect yourself is silver, but pretty soon that won’t be enough.
“And if the P.B. breaks free completely and attaches enough particles to each human being the P.B. could control all of the minds of the people of St. Augustine and then the world.
“Jeff, Carla, Lobo and Lyle’s goal is to put it back into suspended animation.
“This is a very good descriptive sequel to the first book Sliding Beneath the Surface in which Jeff and Carla visit Jeff’s great great great grandfather’s dream world.
“If you haven’t read the first book I would recommend it. The second book will make much more sense if you read the first one.
“Sometimes this book can be a bit confusing but keep reading the author clears it up. The way Doug writes, he puts you in the characters’ shoes. When you’re confused they are confused. When they understand something you understand it too.”
To see the review on Litpick, click here.
See below for the book trailer:
April 6, 2014
Walking Dead Threaten Oldest & Most Haunted City in U.S.
St. Augustine, Florida – teen novel - Stepping Off a Cliff – paranormal, historical, romance & soft science fiction.
The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book II is finally published! First check out the description below and then the trailer:
An otherworldly, evil and dangerous force infests America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. Everyone living there, or visiting, is at risk in ways too horrible to imagine.
Standing between this invader and the people of St. Augustine are teenagers Jeff and Carla, the mysterious Native American shaman, Lobo, and Lyle, the homeless guy.
In their quest to save themselves and all the inhabitants of this ancient Florida city, Jeff and Carla uncover lost parts of St. Augustine history, push past the limits of space and time, and come face-to-face with what they come to realize are the true walking dead.
Click here to check out how Book I of the series, Sliding Beneath the Surface, is being used in school reading classrooms.
April 5, 2014
Ghost War Threatens Teen’s Life & Sanity
St. Augustine, Florida - Sliding Beneath the Surface - a teen novel – paranormal and historical, Book I of The St. Augustine Trilogy.
Description
In America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida, teenager Jeff Golden is in trouble. Horrible dreams won’t let him sleep, and he is up to his eyeballs in terrifying, paranormal experiences.
Finally, Jeff turns to his girlfriend Carla, and Lobo, the mysterious Native American shaman, for help. But what he discovers is a lot more than he bargained for.
A ghostly presence linked to a local historic cemetery is not only threatening Jeff’s sanity but his life as well. And before he knows what’s happening, Jeff finds both himself and Carla pulled into one of the nastiest and bloody events in Florida history. It is a place from which they may never escape.
See book trailerbelow:
Click here to see how this book is being used for motivation and skill building in school reading programs.
Click here to see more about this series.
April 3, 2014
Carl Jung’s Near Death Breakthrough
Jung: Synchronicity, Coincidences and the Paranormal
In 1944, Carl Jung broke his foot. Not only that, he also had a devastating heart attack. Near death in a hospital, he proceeded to have visions that changed his life.
These visions that came and went were so strong he knew he must be close to dying even though no one said this to him . His outlook got reinforced when a nurse told him she saw a bright glow all around his body.
At one point in his visions, Jung found himself high in space, looking down at the earth. Put simply, this is what he saw:
The blue light of earth and the deep, rich colors of the land areas
The continent of Asia below him
Snow on top of the Himalaya Mountains
The Arabian Peninsula
Part of the Mediterranean
Remember, this was 1944, way before the age of orbiting space craft and artificial satellites. When Jung later asked a friend in the scientific community about what he saw, the friend told him that the only way anyone could actual see such things would be from 1000 miles in space.
Into his vision a gigantic, dark chunk of stone appeared. As he stared at it, Jung noticed an entrance. Attracted to the entrance, he went through it and found a room where an Asian man dressed in white was 
meditating. There were little niches in the walls all around the room containing oil lamps.
As Jung approached the man, all sorts of strange things occurred:
His entire earthly existence seemed to wash away as if the essence of who he was had been annihilated.
Everything he had ever done, seen or planned left him completely. An extremely painful experience at first.
Finally, as he realized he had been stripped of his identity, he also understood that he no long needed or wanted anything at all.
At that point, he accepted what was happening and realized the loss of his identity didn’t matter.
Suddenly, Jung’s awareness shifted and he found himself about to enter a huge temple. He knew without a doubt he would soon be meeting people inside the temple who had the answers to all of his questions. Finally, he would truly understand his existence.
Again, Jung had his awareness yanked in another direction before he could actually get inside the temple. Once again, he saw the earth far below him. But as he stared at it, he noticed something odd in the region of Europe.
Something seemed to be between him and that portion of the earth. Whatever the “something” was, it appeared to be getting bigger and coming towards him.
When :it” finally arrived, the object turned out to be the doctor who was treating Jung in the hospital. Immediately, Jung recognized the strength of his doctor’s spirit that allowed him to make the journey all the way from earth.
Instantly, the doctor and Jung began to communicate–telepathically. The doctor told Jung that the earth had asked him to be its representative. This, the doctor said, was a protest against Jung’s impending death.
As soon as the doctor delivered his message, the vision collapses and Jung was back in his hospital bed and back to his very painful illness.
It took three weeks for Carl Jung to really make up his mind that he truly wanted to live. In fact, he initially developed an almost violent resistance to his doctor because Jung blamed the man for spiritually pulling him away from death’s door.
When he was finally able to let that blame go, Jung started worrying about his doctor. He came to believe that the man’s life was in danger because his spiritual trip up into space from Europe had drained so much of his life force.
After listening to Jung’s description of the vision and the possible danger, the doctor dismissed it all as hallucinations. Angrily, Jung argued with the man, trying desperately to save his life. Those discussions went nowhere.
Turned out that Carl Jung was his his doctor’s last patient. Once Jung had fully decided to live and was able to sit on the edge of his hospital bed, his doctor died.
According to Jung, the time after his illness was the most insightful and productive of his career. He died in 1961.
April 2, 2014
Teens Battle Historic Monster in Oldest & Most Haunted City in U.S.
St. Augustine, Florida – teen novel - Stepping Off a Cliff – paranormal, historical, romance & soft science fiction.
The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book II is finally published! First check out the description below and then the trailer:
An otherworldly, evil and dangerous force infests America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. Everyone living there, or visiting, is at risk in ways too horrible to imagine.
Standing between this invader and the people of St. Augustine are teenagers Jeff and Carla, the mysterious Native American shaman, Lobo, and Lyle, the homeless guy.
In their quest to save themselves and all the inhabitants of this ancient Florida city, Jeff and Carla uncover lost parts of St. Augustine history, push past the limits of space and time, and come face-to-face with what they come to realize are the true walking dead.
Click here to check out how Book I of the series, Sliding Beneath the Surface, is being used in school reading classrooms.
