Stone Marshall's Blog, page 168
November 8, 2015
Flynn’s Log 5 news
Starting an email with “Dear Reader” feels lame. I’d rather say, Hello Andrew and Rachel and Ryan and Ava and, well, I think I’m making the point to myself. With each new book, I can’t exactly write an email to every one on the team, but I can reply to each email I receive. I don’t always reply and I’m sorry for that. But I’ll keep trying!
So, as I write this email, I’ll write to my son, Nabru Marshall.
Hi son,
Nice job at the Pokémon tournament on Saturday! No, I can’t play Pokémon now. Why? Because I’m writing you a letter. Let’s play tonight, 8pm, but you’ve got to give me a couple of Megas or else I have no chance. Ok, sure, we’ll build on our Studio Minecraft server for a bit and then play Pokémon.
Should we open the Stone Marshall Studio MC server to our readers? I think it makes sense to do that. They’ll get it. We’ve built the Legends & Heroes world they know from the books. Right, Jesse built most of it, but you’ve got your secret area that only you and your buddies know how to get to. Doh, it’s not a secret area now that I told everybody, but the entrance is still a secret.
How should we open it? We’ve got to keep the world intact. We can’t have Greifers destroying the Kingdom or parts of the Beyond. We can change the game mode to protect it. I think it would be cool to have a certain time each week where we login and create groups (Heroes vs. Legends) and have battles. I’m not sure how to set that up. I wonder if one of our readers knows how to admin an MC server?
You know what else I’d love? To have a reader-created world that we can write stories about. Make it part of our Legends & Heroes series.
Your buddies want me to finish Flynn’s Log 5. Yea, I know. I get email every day from readers, our friends, who want the same thing. I’m working on it. I distracted myself early in the year. We started the Stone Marshall Studio and the Legends & Heroes series to give me more time to write Flynn’s Log and keep up with our friends’ demands for more books, but it backfired. We spent tons of time working out the Legends & Heroes story arc and creating characters and illustrations and the world. And the whole time we left Flynn in limbo.
I need to tell you about Flynn.
What’s taking so long? Yikes, that’s a tough question. I love Flynn, but his mind is a bit mixed up right now. He doesn’t realize what’s really happening. So I’m trying to help him, but he’s not listening to me. He’s only listening to Zana.
Why don’t I tell Zana what to do, you ask? Right, have you tried talking to Zana? She’s way too logical. I can’t get anything past her. I try to explain “life” to her and she destroys my logic. I use the definition of life and she tells me how her version of life is more accurate. I can’t convince Zana to tell Flynn anything that I want him to hear.
Whose cap did Elle grab in Flynn’s Log 4? Wait just a minute, I’m not giving spoilers here, but I think you know what happened, if you look deep within.
When will the next book be out? If Flynn and Zana cooperate, then we’ll have a Christmas release. Elle is being helpful, but right now I need to listen in on Flynn’s mind. I also need to intercept Zana’s transmissions (her encryption is becoming more difficult to break).
I’ve not yet told you anything about Flynn. That’s because you keep asking questions. Flynn is, well, he’s where we left him. What’s he been doing? We’ll find out soon enough. But, I need to warn you. His emotional state might be unstable. He’s facing some questions that we all face, questions about his very existence and what it all means.
Does he find the answers? No more questions!
Until then, our friends can read the latest Legends & Heroes issue. Yes, our friends can get free codes for iBooks. I can’t get codes for the other ebook stores, it’s like Apple “gets it” with codes and the others don’t. But I can still get the issue to our friends who read on Kindle, Android, etc., if they know how to load an ebook onto their device.
So, if your friends want the latest issue for free, ask them to email me. If they read iBooks (Apple devices), I’ll send a promo code. If they use another device, I’ll send a link to the file for side loading.
But I need the right information, so be sure they send this to me:
Subject Line of Email: Legends & Heroes Issue 8
Type of eReader: iBooks, Kindle, Google Play, NOOK, Kobo, online, other
Or, if they don’t want the hassle of side loading and don’t mind paying a buck, they can get it here: http://stonemarshall.com/l&h0008. Be sure they ask their parents if it’s OK to buy the book and download the file!
With Love,
Dad (Stone Marshall)
October 31, 2015
October 27, 2015
Kobo readers save 50% – limited time
The Kobo team was nice enough to offer 50% off sale for all of my ebooks for the next couple of days! This is great news that I wanted to share with you!
If you don’t read of Kobo, sorry, but this offer won’t be very useful to you. 
If you’ve been waiting to buy your next Flynn’s Log or Legends & Heroes ebook, your wait is over. Kobo is offering my readers 50% savings on every ebook, for a limited time. Go to StoneMarshall.com , click the book you want, click the KOBO button and buy your book from the Kobo website. When you checkout, use the Promo code listed below. Each country has it’s own promo code and ending date, so check the details and save on your next ebook now.
Canada October 28th – October 31st Promo Code: CA50SALE
United States/Australia/New Zealand October 27th – October 30th Promo Code: GET50SALE
United Kingdom October 30th – November 2nd Promo Code: UK50SALE
Be sure to use your Kobo promo code.
October 9, 2015
Legends & Heroes Issue 7 is out on Oct 10
Quicksilver – Castle Bound, is out October 10th! But wait, where’s Issue 6?
Ok, so the Stone Marshall Studio has been busy putting together this epic storyline I’ve been working on. We’re creating origin stories, writing epic backstories, developing character relationships and trying to get all the characters together at the right time along the timeline.
And after all this we finished an issue out of order. Doh! But it’s ok, with all the flashbacks that show characters backstories, you can pretty much read these issues in any order you want.
Get Issue 7 the moment it’s available here: http://stonemarshall.com/book-list/legends-and-heroes-issue-7-quicksilver-castle-bound/
That being said, Issue 6 will be out soon!
March 22, 2015
Author Spotlight-Stone Marshall | jessicawrenfiction
Author Spotlight-Stone Marshall
Posted on March 22, 2015 by jessicawrennovels
Ah, the nostalgia. There is nothing like playing the old-school video games. My personal favorites were Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog. Mario, Luigi, Sonic, Knuckles, etc, had to journey through various worlds, battle different creatures, overcome various obstacles, and along the way, collect various helpful items such as coins, mushrooms, stars, and flowers that helped them shoot fireballs. If they touched a monster once, they shrank. Twice, they died in a very dramatic manner (jumping straight up in the air with a look of shock on their face before falling off the edge of the edge of the screen. Goofy synthesizer music plays both during the game and upon the death of a character.
I haven’t played Minecraft (and I’m afraid to start; it might become addictive and cause me to waste a lot of time), but from Marshall’s description of it in his children’s novel Rescue Island: Flynn’s Log 1, it sounds like it operates under the same principles. The characters battle monsters, eat food provided by the digital world to restore their lives, and collect items necessary for survival or extra protection. The novel revolves around a hacker known as Flynn. Flynn has no memory of his previous life as he finds that he is a digital character in Minecraft. He battles giant spiders, hunts and fishes for food, and builds shelter. His only companion is an ocelot named Verve (and later, Verve’s daughter Khan). Soon, he finds out that it is his destiny to connect the digital and the physical worlds, and is unsure of how to do that.
If there is a secret to getting kids engaged in reading, I think Marshall has it. Marshall seems to understand that you have to write around kids’ interest and not try to enforce outdated, archaic material on them. I hope elementary schools are beating down Marshall’s door to buy the book. If there were more novels like Rescue Island, then schools wouldn’t struggle so much to get kids to read. I will be ordering a copy for my daughter. If you have a child age 5-12, I highly recommend this as a must-read. I also think adolescents and adults would enjoy this whimsical but action-packed novel as well.
To buy: http://www.amazon.com/Flynns-Log-Resc...
January 31, 2015
Flynn’s Log 1 featured today, Free on ChoosyBookWorm, get it here: http://StoneMarshall.com/FL1-CBW
Flynn’s Log 1 Featured on ChoosyBookWorm.com
Get the epic story of today, Free! Read it on Kindle, iBooks, Google Play, Nook orKobo. Choosybookworm.com
January 14, 2015
Online Guide to Flynn’s Log Characters
Check out the readers character guide.
See what they look like
Find details and other facts.
Lots of information for fans of Flynn and friends.
Check it out here: StoneMarshall.com/CharacterGuide
January 5, 2015
Flynn’s Log update|New Character Guide and Illustrations!
New Illustrations
Flynn’s new digital styling reflects his evolving and changing game world!
Check it out in the revised series!
You can update the books on your e-reader to the latest version. Find the update button to get the latest version with the new illustrations. If you need help, search your eBook store.
New Character Guide
See what your favorite characters look like
Find details and other facts
Discover new creatures
Get lots of information on Flynn and friends
Check it out here: StoneMarshall.com/CharacterGuide
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Thanks for reading!
-Stone Marshall
November 12, 2014
Flynn’s Log is moving into the future!
I’m finishing Flynn’s Log 4, but to make it work the way I planned, I have to adapt the existing Flynn’s Log series to take place in a near future.
This means more work for me but a more consistent story line for you, plus I’m adapting the game world to be something that doesn’t exist yet! It’s kind of awesome to be able to adapt, just like Flynn does in Flynn’s Log 2. 
So, if you are waiting for Flynn’s Log 4, don’t worry, the changes I’m making in Flynn’s Log 1, 2 and 3 won’t be enough to make you re-read them. Just be open to the idea of a more powerful and flexibility plot that maintains the story line consistency and allows for the series to continue. Be ready for something awesome when Flynn’s Log 4 is finally released!
Thanks for reading!
-Stone Marshall
November 2, 2014
Congratulations to the Book Giveaway winner: Chantel Mc Carthy!
October 2014 Paperback Giveaway!Congratulations to Chantel Mc Carthy of Ireland, winner of Flynn’s Log 1: Rescue Island in paperback, signed by Stone Marshall!
Giveaway Details
