November 21 is my birthday, and the Universe has been exceptionally generous to me this year. I thought I'd share these blessings with others by offering a little something to all of you.
Most of you who have read my books are familiar with my romances or gritty dramas, but one of my favorite books that I've written is geared more toward the kid in all of us. It's called COMIC SQUAD, and it features some of my favorite characters ever in a story near and dear to my heart.
Not only is it a labor of love, it's the baby I conceived, labored and delivered thanks to my beloved hubby, @MrGeevie.
My husband, Steven, is a geek. A loud and proud, card-carrying, comic-book-collecting, Doctor-Who-salivating geek. He was going to Comic Con before it was the "hip" thing to do, back when it only cost $45 to go all four days. This was back when he pursued his passion by managing a comic book store. His ultimate dream is to own one.
This is the kind of guy who has spent hours in a darkened theater watching "Star Trek" movie marathons, and has seen almost every comic book movie at its midnight showing.
You wanna talk romance: our very first date was at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood when he saw that the 1982 geekgasmic "Tron" was playing. I indulged him because I'm a geek in my own right (Journey had provided the music for the soundtrack) but I guess I shoulda known then exactly what I was getting into.
When we first moved in together I found myself up to my ears in discarded Magic the Gathering collectible card wrappers. By 1999 I still hadn't seen Star Wars: The Original Trilogy and so he had to correct this grievous wrong by making me watch the original three back to back in one sitting.
(For those who think I'm making you wait for the GROUPIE Trilogy, thank your lucky stars I'm not George Lucas. S'all I'm sayin.)
The ringtone of his cell phone is the Doctor Who theme, and his text alert is a Dalek. If he and Dr. Sheldon Cooper got into a debate over the finer aspects of comic books or science fiction, he'd win and Sheldon would finally short circuit as a result.
Not only is he a geek, he's a carrier. Thanks to Steven I have been sitting right beside him at those midnight showings. I have become versed in things like Doctor Who and Star Wars, and I live for The Big Bang Theory each and every Thursday night.
Essentially, I've become Penny.
After living with him for many years, I decided to dig a little deeper in the geek sandbox to come up with a story that would be accessible to all readers, not just the adults I usually cater to. It was a challenge, because the way my demented mind works I thought for sure I'd end up writing something more Flowers in the Attic than Stand By Me.
But I had a whole lot of fun watching these comic book adventure movies, so I really wanted to flex my muscle past all the angst and drama and write one. More importantly, I wanted to write a story that involved a young comic book fan that was a kick-butt, wickedly smart girl. I knew I could related to her because I know what it means not to fit in with any group. But I wanted to take all the confidence hard won as an adult and stuff it into the fearless mind of an adolescent. As a result, Alice Thornton was born.
Perhaps I say this because I am, in fact, her mother, but Alice is one of the bravest, strongest, most solid heroines I have ever had the pleasure to write. She's quick thinking and fearless, and determined to do whatever it takes to protect the ones she loves most.
She's what I wish I could have been at age 12.
At first, her devotion is saved specifically for a fictional hero named Joe Dakota, who came alive only through panels of an old comic book she used to share with father. These familiar stories bring her comfort in the wake of her dad's death. They also drive a big wedge between Alice and her mother, the over-worked and under-appreciated Barbara Thornton, who learned the hard way there were no such things as superheroes.
Both Barbara and Alice are uprooted from their comfortable existence and thrown into a new town where neither one off them fit in, especially with each other.
Serendipitously, however, Alice happens upon the only other person in her vicinity that would have any use for her or her antiquated box of old comic book memorabilia - an opportunistic little weasel named Dwight. He owns the local comic book store and really, REALLY, wants to get his hands on a piece of her rare paraphernalia. In the world of "Joe Dakota," only five issues of a 3-D comic book were released, to go along with a matching pair of 3-D glasses. Time had scattered the collectibles so that no one owned a matching set, making it Dwight's lifelong pursuit to do just that.
When Dwight sees she has the glasses, he takes it as a cue from fate that he is destined to have them, since he already owns one of those rare five issues. He uses nefarious means to procure the object of his desire and inadvertently tearing open a portal between their world and that of the fictional "Joe Dakota."
This causes quite a hullabaloo in their peaceful little burg as an evil villain gains access to their town and all the unsuspecting adults in it. The only people who know what's wrong - or how to fix it - are a hodge-podge group of geeks who must depend on each other and their individual strengths to subdue the bad guy before he takes over their world.
When I first wrote this book for NaNoWriMo many years back, a Myspace friend who read along as I posted sample chapters asked if she could read it to her class. I, of course, said yes. The kids loved it, and every adult I've shared it with feels the same way. Yet for some reason it is my slowest moving book, which breaks my heart and confounds the hubby. Nearest we can figure, it just hasn't found its audience yet hidden adrift all the other titles for middle grade readers.
So here's the deal. It's my birthday but I'm the one who's gonna be giving the presents. I'm going to give away Kindle copies of Comic Squad. If you have a kid in your life, especially on your Christmas gift list, give it a read and see if it's something you'd like to pass along as a present of your own.
This is a book about finding the hero in yourself - and in your family and friends. I'm extraordinarily proud of it. (It is my baby, after all.) I hope to finish and release book 2 by July, and I've got my sights set on the San Diego Comic Con to premiere it.
(If you're gonna dream, dream big.)
All I need are people to fall in love with it and champion it like Groupie. It's not filled with the adult stuff I normally write, but if you have a young reader in your life, I'm pretty sure he (and especially she) won't be disappointed. There are huge spiders, fireworks, magic potions, evil villains and kids trying to save the day. What's not to love?
So join our party, won't you? This holiday season, free your inner geek!! :D
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