A Book for All Seasons
Excellent Back-to-School Reads
Even before I started writing about books and doing videos and whatnot, I got in the habit of picking certain things to read for a mood, or for ambience. Cold weather stories in the winter, camping stories or beach stories in the summer, haunted plots in October…you get it.
Well, what do you do when school’s about to start? August kind of sucks. It’s hot as hell and you have to spend money on pencils and notebooks. Football is only “technically” back, but preseason games are like veggie burgers and tofurkey. The best days of summer are behind you and you’re more than halfway to the fall equinox. There aren’t many books you’d want to read that capture that feeling.
Fortunately, you are not forsaken in your hour of need. Simply answer the call…of Trucker Man Reads.
It’s my goal to have a book for you to read at every time of the year. HEARTLANDERS is my 4th of July book. SLEEPLESS HOLLOW is for Halloween. KILL THE BEAST has your back in the winter. And for those dog days of Back To School, you’ve actually got two options: FOSSIL FORCE (for middle school), and THE HERO NEXT DOOR (for high school.)
Fossil Force
Patrick Keller and his family have just moved into his grandfather’s ranch in rural Utah after his father’s accident forced them to sell their home. He’s tired, he’s the new kid, and the barn out back is stacked with his late uncle’s belongings.
Parents and educators: this is a grounded, contemporary story with no romance and no crude language. What’s present from page one is a boy quietly choosing patience and helpfulness over the resentment his older siblings feel — a steady model of family loyalty under real hardship.
FOSSIL FORCE is on sale this month.
The Hero Next Door
Nick Stavros has a plan for his senior year: if he plays his cards right, his parents will help him get into a good college (far from home.) But things get tough when Penny Tarkanian moves into the house right behind his, and he accidentally learns that she’s an Amazonian warrior princess. Even more important, she’s stupid hot.
After failing to break the ice a few times, Nick learns why Penny and her friends are actually in town: they’re hunting invisible rage monsters. And somehow, Nick can see these monsters. Even better, he’s immune to their effects. Soon he realizes that if he can help Penny stamp out the infestation, she’ll probably have time for more important things, like the boy next door.
In order to protect his identity from Penny’s nine-fingered, scar-faced, bounty hunter father, Nick adopts an alter-ego and becomes: The Spartan.
And it all goes horribly wrong from there.
Available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats.
Check both of these out. I’m stoked that FOSSIL FORCE is doing a sale run, and I’ve been cooking up plans for a HERO NEXT DOOR sequel soon. Wheels are turning. Now is a good time to pick it up.
And as always, let me know what you think.