Michael Selden's Blog, page 15
November 6, 2014
Watch Out for Bears—especially if you are a trash can
A photo I snapped at 11 mile reservoir, just at the beginning of the hiking trails. There are 2 signs, one for bears and one for cougars.
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November 1, 2014
DISOBEDIENCE (Due out in 2016), Patterson Park, and History
Patterson Park is a 137-acre (55.26 ha) park and recreational area in southeastern Baltimore, and a just few blocks from my condo in Canton. The northwest corner of Patterson Park is its highest point and is called Hampstead Hill. This was the site of the American defensive line during the Battle of Baltimore, the war of 1812. The guns at Ft. McHenry held off the British ships (The Star Spangled Banner was written at this time), making it impossible for the ships to support the land invasion from the east. Still the 10,000 American defenders were driven back to the defenses in Hampstead hill and the 100 cannon emplaced there before the British commander decided that—without naval support—the battle could not be won and retreated.
Patterson Park is also the place of an important scene in one of my future books, DISOBEDIENCE. Before I left the city in July 2013, I made sure to walk along the paths, once again, where different scenes I intended would happen in Baltimore. It’s important to get a sense of the feel of where things happen, not just the events themselves.
I attached a few of photos from one of my walks here.
Disobedience takes place mostly in present day Baltimore, although there are parts of the book that happen in Rome, between 1880 and 1920, and in Provence, France from 1920 until the outbreak of World War 2. I spent two and a half months in Rome this past winter, researching the changes that happened in a part of the city and plan a trip to Provence this next spring. There is a part that happens in Boston as well, but it’s short and mostly at night.
Disobedience is a supernatural thriller. I started the novel well before leaving Baltimore, but put it on hold until after I AM is completed next year. I AM, my next book—after The Balance—is a science fiction story, also started some time back.
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October 22, 2014
The Balance is out with beta readers
I've already received one beta reader's comments and expect the remaining comments back by the end of the first week of November. The first review was very positive, but the reader also offered a couple of suggestions for improvement in minor areas. For example: a reduction of the introduction length.
The book is still on track for a January 2015 release. I'm planning to release a softcover print version, a kindle version, and an e-pub version. I'm also debating the release of a hardcover version as well, especially since this will ultimately be a 3-volme story—The Balance is part 1 of a story too large to tell in a single book.
My Neighborhood
I ride my motorcycle around the mountains here in central Colorado pretty often—at least when there’s no ice on the roads. One of the places I go for my regular exercise is Mueller State Park. I like State Parks, they’re as nice as the national parks, but often less crowded. I hiked up the short, but steep, path to Grouse point recently (again), before taking a longer trail (Mueller has about 62 miles of trails) and took this photo. It gives you a good perspective of what the Colorado mountains are like. This point is about 10K ft. (maybe a hair less) above sea level.
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October 7, 2014
The Balance, Coming January 2015—Read the 83 Page Excerpt
THE BALANCE is a novel, set in a dystopian future. It’s 200 years after a global thermonuclear war. The Land is ruled by a theocracy, the Council of God, which drove the Order into exile about eighteen years before the story begins. The Order was an organization that brought advanced technology from the past into the post apocalyptic era. Phoebe is seventeen, and the last Sensitive that was genetically engineered by the Order before they were either killed off or went into hiding. She doesn’t know why she’s plagued by the voices, images, and feelings of people all around her. It’s a constant struggle for her to survive the chaos they bring to her life, and to hide her strangeness so that people don’t say she’s in league with the devil. In the Land, strange behavior is reported, and witches are sent to the Inquisition, to be questioned and then publicly executed. She lives in town, hiding what she is, protected by her adopted father, Daniel.
The Order hasn’t completely vanished. Their ancestors established Sanctuaries before the war, and they retreated to these hideaways, as they plot to restore the historic agreement that allowed them to share the benefits of an advanced civilization with the people and to co-exist in the Land. Their leader, a genetically-engineered Prescient, is aware of Phoebe, but they’ve largely left her alone. Now he sees a danger coming for her and a vision that she might hold the key to re-establish The Balance.
Read the Excerpt at http://michaelselden.com/the-balance
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October 5, 2014
New Interview on Indie Books
Check out the interview with myself and on The Boy Who Ran and The Balance at Indie Books
http://indiebookpromo.com/2014/10/michael-selden/
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October 3, 2014
Epic Book Quest Review of The Boy Who Ran
A review for The Boy Who Ran was posted on Epic Book Quest today. It was given 4-stars and a “Highly Recommended” rating.
http://epicbookquest.com/2014/10/03/the-boy-who-ran-by-michael-selden/
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October 2, 2014
Check out the Interview on Cheryl Carpinello’s Blog
Cheryl Carpinello published an interview with me on her blog. It can be found here:
http://carpinelloswritingpages.blogspot.com/2014/09/meet-mg-author-michael-selden.html
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Chapter 9 Added to The Balance Excerpt.
I added the last chapter that will be included in the sample download this morning. Chapter 9: Daniel.
I’ve got almost all chapters up to level 3 now and will be working to push their maturity to level 5 in October and part of November. The book will go through design in November, proof reading in December, and I plan to release it in January, just after the new year.
I plan to release a soft cover, Kindle, and E-Pub at the same time, although I learned that sometimes they can get a little out of phase with each other, despite my intentions.
The Balance excerpts can be accessed at: http://michaelselden.com/the-balance
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September 22, 2014
Phoebe
Life can be confusing. Sometimes Phoebe can’t tell if she’s living in an old borrowed memory, though another person with whom she’s connected, or if she’s really there, as herself. She’s the last Sensitive created by the Order before they were all killed , or driven into hiding—the only one of her kind—and she’s trying to hide what she is from the Council of God. The curse started for her when she was just two years old, and as she grows older, she grows more sensitive to others around her—but Phoebe has another problem and she doesn’t even know.
The Balance is a Young Adult novel set in a post-apocalyptic future—almost 200 years after a global thermonuclear war nearly wiped out humanity. Phoebe is a product of the Order’s Future Man Project, a genetically-engineered Sensitive, like her mother before her.
The Balance is her story and the story of the clash between the Council of God, with its distrust of technology, and the Order, an organization steeped in science and engineering. The Order sees Phoebe as key to their future, but all she dreams of is to be a normal girl. But Phoebe would have no future if the Council discovered her identity.
The Balance, will be released this winter from Woodland Park Press
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