Friends! Today is the official release date of TRY LOOKING...
Friends! Today is the official release date of TRY LOOKING AHEAD, my collection of Sci-Fi shorts for young adults. It will be in some bookstores, but it is also available on Amazon for the low price of $7.95 ($3.99 for the Kindle).
I would greatly appreciate any shares you can give, especially if you’ve already read the book. This is a book that I really believe in, one that started out under the working title, “Stories I’ll Tell My Future Kids.” The stories are ultimately about time and history, and how they can sometimes hold back our progress as individuals and as a society. I believe in the future, the book believes in the future - but it’s sometimes easier to let the past dictate the present, and this collection aims to inspire people to look ahead, instead.
The final title comes from the TWILIGHT ZONE episode, “Walking Distance.” In this episode, the main character’s car break downs and, while it’s being repaired, he walks to his hometown only to find himself transported into his own past. He realizes how happy he was as a kid and how unhappy he is as an adult and decides that he doesn’t want to go back to the future. His father has a heart-to-heart with him and tells him, “Maybe when you go back, Martin, you’ll find that there are merry-go-rounds and band concerts where you are. Maybe you haven’t been looking in the right place. You’ve been looking behind you, Martin. Try looking ahead.”
The stories for this volume include:
1 - The Boy Who Could See Through Mountains: A young kid is able to see through the mountain that separates his village from their vile and evil enemies.
2 - Reggie & Becky: A boy can’t accept the fact that his dog is getting older, and wants to be an old dog.
3 - Detective Know-It-All and the Glittered Up Glue Stick: The world’s youngest detective knows the answer to every question and will work your case if the price is right (usually three candy bars, full size).
4 - Rocket Ruiz Builds a Warp Drive: Rocket Ruiz has competition at this year’s soapbox derby race, the son of Precision Automobile’s founder. His racer is rumored to be better than her’s, so her only hope to retaining the title is to build a warp drive.
5 - The Monster Hunter: A kid learns how to stop the monsters coming out of his closet, by shooting them with his finger gun. But when he journeys into his closet to kill the remaining monsters, he learns what it means to truly be a monster.
6 - The End of Stars: Only one girl in the village realizes that the sky is falling, but can she convince her neighbors in time before everything is destroyed?
7 - Anita’s Dreams: Anita is able to travel through time when she dreams and learns that sometimes the future is more hopeful than the past.
8 - Try Looking Ahead: A story about gender, identity, gravity, and family.
Thank you for your consideration, and please let me know what you think if you decide to pick-up the book.
