This Week’s eBargains 4/19/13

How I Won The Radio Controlled Model Zeppelin War, by Justin Ball, is an action/comedy for middle grade boys with a price tag of just .99. Here’s the blurb off Amazon:

James Wynard is the leader and top ace of the suburb of Worralson. His arch rival is the leader of Hebblewaite, Sherman Dacey. They attend the same school where a truce is observed but every afternoon both sides’ radio controlled model zeppelins take to the sky to fight an all-out drone war game. Controlling their craft from their bedrooms using tiny on-board TV cameras, they attack each other’s zeppelins with paintball-style sticky missiles. 

The heated contest to become the greatest ace of all is abruptly halted when a mysterious interloper arrives causing wide spread havoc. An unlikely alliance must be struck between the bitter rivals, Worralson and Hebblewaite, to deal with the menace but will it be enough to save their game?

Rest In Peace, Bookworm Blather

You may have noticed I’ve been playing around with my blog’s appearance again. I’ve been trying out some ideas because I’ll be “WordPressing” my author website soon. After an ongoing internal debate about whether to continue maintaining Bookworm Blather as an independent blog or combine it with my author site into one big granddaddy, I’ve reached a difficult decision. I’m a little sad to announce I’ll be retiring Bookworm Blather in the next few weeks.

Let me weigh out the factors that went into this decision. My foremost reason for combining sites is, I want to blog less and write more. I started my blog primarily as an author platform. I’ve had a lot of fun with it, but it hasn’t sold books. Writing more books, particularly in series, and advertising them sells more books. That will now become my primary time focus. Since fall, I’ve only been writing new posts once a week. Yes, I’ve been posting three times a week, but most of my book reviews (Monday) were written last summer and fall except for a few I read for homeschool. My Friday posts have simply been chapters from my novel Song of the Mountain, which has been on autopilot for months. Since November, I’ve only been writing Wednesday posts, and it’s given me so much more time! I was able to complete a 60,000 word novel in 12 weeks! I’d like this productivity to continue.

One major factor against combining sites was that I’d lose all my incoming links. But I figured that if building a fair audience really hadn’t affected sales, neither would starting over. All I really accomplished by building up Bookworm Blather was building up Bookworm Blather. In that light, the decision to simplify was easier to reach.

So what’s the plan? Instead of being a driving force for a writing career (which turns out it wasn’t) my blog will now take on a much smaller role. Look for similar content but far fewer posts.

So I’ll be saying farewell to Bookworm Blather, but not really, as most of my content will move to my own domain (michelleisenhoff.com). Once I get the newbie up and running, I’ll tack up one final change of address notice and lay Bookworm Blather to rest.

Taylor Davis—Submarine Technology

The research for my new book, Taylor Davis and the Flame of Findul, was very minor compared to what goes into a work of historical fiction, but the quest for information still took me down some interesting and varied paths. Along with learning about medieval weapons and Victorian capital punishment, I also discovered something about the history of submarine technology. I didn’t realize it dated back so many centuries!

1580-1800

In 1580, William Bourne, an Englishman innkeeper and scientific dabbler, was the first man to write out an explanation of how water displacement keeps a ship afloat. He also theorized that a vessel could be taken under the water and back to the surface by expanding or contracting the structure of the boat, varying the amount of displacement.

A Dutchman named Cornelius Drebbel, who worked for King James I of England, built the first submarine. It was simply a type of covered rowboat propelled by oarsmen that made an underwater voyage down the Thames River in 1623.

The next century and a half boasted a number of new designs, most of which didn’t really work. Some were manned vessels that only submerged and reemerged after a length of time with no means of propulsion. Of all the propulsion systems that were built, none proved effective. But during this time men began to assign to submarines what would become their primary purpose. They would develop into weapons to wield against the warship, the most advanced armed forces technology of the era.

The “Turtle,” the sub used in the 1776 attack of a British warship.

In 1776, two months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a submarine designed by American David Bushnell was used to attack a British warship. The attack failed, but it was ingenious. The submarine sounds like something out of a steampunk novel. It was towed near the ship, submerged by opening a valve with the feet that let in water, and propelled forward with hand-operated screws. A foot pump would remove the water, allowing the vessel to resurface. The plan was to drill a hole in the ship and attach a bomb made of a 150-pound keg of gunpowder and a clockwork detonator, but the drill couldn’t penetrate the warship’s hull. (It’s thought the drill struck a metal rudder support.) The operator, American Sergeant Ezra Lee, was unable to combat the turn of the tides and gave up the attempt. He was spotted by British lookouts but managed to dock several hours later.

Most of these early submarine scientist and inventors were English or employed by the English. This worked out very well for the plot of my book, as much of it takes place in England, and the timing meshed with my villain, who was born in the mid-1600’s. He operates in the present day, however, so I kept researching.

1800-1914

In 1800, an American named Robert Fulton (remember the guy who invented the steamship?) designed a submarine for French use against the British navy. It reached a top speed of four knots which, unfortunately, was not as fast as his elusive prey. The ship, named the “Nautilus,” was dismantled, but its memory was forever immortalized by Jules Verne in his masterpiece 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea seventy years later.

A few more experiments were made in the following decades, but it was the American Civil War that would prompt a rash of new (and mostly failed) attempts at submarine warfare. In 1864, the famous Confederate sub H.L. Hunley, named after its designer, destroyed the Northern warship Housitonic but was swamped in the attack lost with all hands. (The sub was located in 1995 and is now being studied and preserved.)

The next fifty years saw the development of torpedoes; larger sub designs; propulsion systems featuring steam power, battery power, and combustion engines; and huge amounts of money awarded to designers by governments interested in improving their navies. And of course we all know how Germany’s diesel U-boats of WWI propelled the submarine into today’s modern era.

Like my other research, these facts provide mostly background detail for my plot, which is fantastic and very unrealistic. But I had to know this stuff to make a few scenes believable. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of discovery.

The Secret DMS Files of Fairday Morrow, by Jessica Haight and Stephanie Robinson

MMGM is a weekly meme hosted by middle grade author, Shannon Messenger.

This is a fun chance for me to review a book that hasn’t been published yet. Jessica Haight and Stephanie Robinson run a popular blog that goes by the same name as their book. After keeping in touch for a year or so, I decided to read The Secret DMS Files of Fairday Marrow over Spring Break. I rarely volunteer for something like this with friends, virtual or not, because of the high pressure to give a good review, but I was curious. And I’ve been impressed by the creativity and professional quality of their blog, so I took a chance. I figured I didn’t have to post my review if I didn’t like the book.

I’m posting.  :)

Jessica and Stephanie have written a really fun middle grade mystery. Honestly, the story didn’t draw me in until I was about one third of the way through. The prose reads clearly and precisely, but it feels just a little plain. For example, “Fairday was ecstatic that they were having chicken cordon bleu for dinner.” There are lots of other ways to communicate that excitement aside from narration. It’s also a little heavy on the adverbs, and the dialogue doesn’t have the snappy drive of an experienced writer. At the risk of sounding snobbish (I really don’t mean to!), reading this one reminded me very much of when I reread my own first novel several years after writing it.

**Note: After sending this review to the authors, they mentioned that they were in the midst of a revision with dialogue and adverbs among the offenders on their hit list. That’s awesome! I love to hear of writers practicing, stretching, improving their skills.

However (and that’s a big however), I got caught up in the story anyway. Because these two ladies came up with a real humdinger of a tale!

Eleven-year-old Fairday Morrow (love the name!) has moved to the Begonia House, a huge, creepy old place with lots of local legends surrounding it. Years before, an old man died mysteriously at the foot of a high balcony. Homicide had not been ruled out. And twenty years before that, the same man’s daughter suddenly went missing in the house the day of her wedding. But Fairday doesn’t know all these details when she sets about investigating the contents of an upper room. For you see, Fairday heads up a detective agency (the DMS—detective mystery squad) with her best friend Lizzy. And the upper room is laden with mystery.

Where is the strange bagpipe music coming from? What was that glimpse of red shoes in the mirror? What does the brass key open? And how did Fairday’s baby sister get inside the mirror?! Join Fairday, Lizzy, and their new friend Brocket the Rocket as they uncover the answers and tie them into the house’s perplexing past.

This one is full of imagination and kid-pleasing details. The drawings above each chapter heading, while not professional, are nicely stylized and add a pleasing element to the tale (see the cover image). It’s clean aside from a few omg’s and one minor profanity. If you like an entertaining mystery, this one is worth picking up. I’ll be watching to see if it goes to print. Meanwhile, they freely give away copies to reviewers.

Taylor Davis–Tyburn Tree

The research for one particular scene in my new novel, Taylor Davis and the Flame of Findul, took me back several hundred years to a time when a little crossroads town named Tyburn had become synonymous with capital punishment. Built in 1571, the massive triangular gallows known as the Tyburn Tree became one of the main places of execution for the criminal population of London. It was large enough to accommodate mass hangings, such as on June 23, 1649 when 24 prisoners—23 men and one woman—were hanged at the same time.

Monday was hanging day. Condemned prisoners from London’s Newgate Prison were carried in open carts the few miles out of town to the crossroads in the country where the massive structure stood. Public hangings drew tens of thousands of spectators. One enterprising property owner even built risers on her property and charged admission!

It is estimated that as many as 60,000 people lost their lives at Tyburn between 1196, the year of the first recorded hanging at the site, and 1783, when public executions were moved to Newgate Prison. It has also been estimated that 90% of those executed were young men under 21.

Interestingly enough, two people survived their executions. One fellow named John Smith dangled for fifteen minutes before the crowd began to call for a reprieve. He was cut down and taken to a nearby house where he revived. A second young man was cut down and taken to the Surgeons’ Hall for dissection but began showing signs of life. He was revived and his sentence changed to transportation out of England. These two stories form the basis for the tale of the hanging of the pirate Bartholomew Swain in my book.

Today, the site of the Tyburn Tree has become a London traffic island. It is marked by a round stone plaque.

Willy Heath, You Brush Your Teeth

This is a silly story I wrote years ago when my daughter was learning to read. This year I polished it up and read it in my son’s class. He and his classmates illustrated it for me. I created a pdf for the kids including all their artwork. A smaller file size version is free on Smashwords if you want to see a sampling of their pictures. Just for fun, here’s the text of the story.

Willy Heath, You Brush Your Teeth!

Willy Heath is six years old. He likes to drive his trucks. He likes to dig in the sandbox with his friends. He likes to ride his bike and play on the swings at the park. But Willy hates to brush his teeth.

At the end of the day, Willy puts on his pajamas and crawls into bed. His mom calls up the stairs, “Willy Heath, you brush your teeth!” But Willy won’t brush his teeth.

By morning, they have all turned green. Willy’s big sister joins him at the breakfast table. When Willy bites into his toast, his sister makes an ugly face. “Willy Heath, you brush your teeth!” But Willy won’t brush his teeth.

By the time he leaves for school, little tufts of grass have grown in Willy’s mouth. The bus driver stops the bus and opens the door. Willy climbs in with a cheerful hello. The driver shakes his head. “Willy Heath, you brush your teeth!” But Willy won’t brush his teeth.

At school, Willy enters his classroom and smiles at his teacher. Little pink flowers fall from his lips. His teacher sighs and makes him sweep them up. “Willy Heath, you brush your teeth!” But Willy won’t brush his teeth.

During recess, little twigs with bright shiny leaves sprout from Willy’s mouth. His friends dance around him and laugh. “Willy Heath, you brush your teeth!” But Willy won’t brush his teeth.

By noon, the twigs have grown into tall branches. Noisy birds swoop over the tables in the lunch room and roost above Willy’s head. The lunch lady points her spoon at him. “Willy Heath, you brush your teeth!” But Willy won’t brush his teeth.

In gym class, squirrels play hide-and-seek among the leaves and drop acorns on the children’s heads. The gym teacher blows his whistle. “Willy Heath, you brush your teeth!” But Willy won’t brush his teeth.

In the library, monkeys swing from branch to branch. When they climb the shelves and start throwing books, the librarian asks Willy to leave. “Willy Heath, you brush your teeth!” she whispers. But Willy won’t brush his teeth.

In the hallway, a leopard roars from Willy’s highest limb. Nervous monkeys leap and chatter. Squirrels play tag. Birds chirp and flutter. And little pink flower petals litter the carpet. The principal frowns. “Our school is not a zoo. Willy Heath, you brush your teeth!”

But Willy can’t brush his teeth. He sits down in the hallway and cries.

The principal phones the dentist. “Please hurry!” she says.

When the dentist arrives, he chases away the animals, cuts down the branches, picks the flowers, mows the grass, and hands Willy a toothbrush. “Willy Heath, you brush your teeth!” he orders.

“Okay,” Willy agrees. And he does. Then he smiles at the dentist, the principal, the librarian, the gym teacher, the lunch lady, his friends, his teacher, the bus driver, his sister, and his mom with his shiny white teeth.

Divided Decade Trilogy Boxed Set

Now you can read the entire series at a discount. Digital boxed set includes three full novels set within the Civil War decade  plus two bonus short stories that follow the Watson/Jones family from slavery to freedom. Over 135,000 words. Series nominated for the Michigan Reads Award.

The Candle Star

After a tantrum, Emily Preston is shipped from her plantation home to her inn-keeping uncle in Detroit. There Emily meets Malachi, son of freed slaves, who challenges many ideas she grew up believing. But when Emily stumbles upon two runaways hidden in her uncle’s barn, she finds that old ways die hard. And Mr. Burrows, the charming Southern slave catcher, is only yards away, lodged in the hotel.

Broken Ladders

Hannah craves excitement, but all local adventures dried up long ago, when her parents unpacked their wagon on the Michigan frontier. Then war breaks out and her father and brother leave to fight the Confederacy. Hannah is left at home chaffing under the boredom of never-ending chores—until the farm is threatened. The one place she longs to leave suddenly becomes the one place she’ll risk everything to save.

Beneath the Slashings

After four uncertain years of war, twelve-year-old Grace Nickerson is desperate to patch together what is left of her community and return to some sense of normalcy. But soon after his return, her father sells the farm and drags the family off to a lumber camp in Michigan’s northern wilderness. Will Grace ever find the peace and security she knew before the war? Or will the winter in the wild drive a wedge between Grace and her father?

Where to Find it:

• Kindle
• Nook
• Kobo
• Smashwords

Prince Caspian (The Chronicles of Narnia, book two), by C.S. Lewis, 1951, Book Review

MMGM is a weekly meme hosted by middle grade author, Shannon Messenger.

In this second Narnian installment, the four Pevensie children return to the magical land they once ruled, called back by Queen Susan’s horn. They land at the ruins of Cair Paravel just in time to free the Old Narnians from the evil, usurping King Miraz and put the rightful heir on the throne. For though Prince Caspian is the descendent of the conquering Telmarines, he wishes to make the land safe once more for Narnia’s magical talking natives. It is the beasts remember that “Narnia was never right except when a Son of Adam was king.”

Prince Caspian has a whole new plotline and a whole new set of wonderful characters (like the vastly endearing Reepicheep), but my favorite thing about it is the nostalgia and wonder Prince Caspian exemplifies when he hears the stories of Old Narnia. It’s the same feeling I get when I return with the Pevensies centuries after their rule. For I, as a reader, remember how good Narnia once was, so I can understand even more than Caspian how tragic the Telmarine takeover was. The heroes and heroines have a reader’s complete support as they, with the help of the good and awe-inspiring Aslan, strive to return Narnia to its rightful state.

Like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, this one also has many Christian parallels. For example, there are those who believe in the old stories and those who have lost their faith. There are those hostile to the old stories who would persecute those who believe and rewrite history to match their own way of thinking. And conversations with Aslan always have a particular depth of meaning. Consider when Lucy first meets Aslan again:

“Aslan,” Lucy said, “you’re bigger.”

“That is because you are older, little one,” answered he.

“Not because you are?”

“I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”

I enjoy rooting out those elements and understanding the author’s hidden meanings. Oddly enough, Lewis also includes “non-Christian” elements in his stories—like Bacchus, other creatures from pagan mythology, and a favorable view of astrology as studied by the centaurs—which I believe give it a greater depth. I, for one, am glad he didn’t feel bound to the limits others may have imposed. This is, after all, magical fiction, not a Bible story.

Unfortunately, the plotline has been thoroughly massacred by the recent movie. In an effort to make it more complex, a good many events are added to the story, Caspian and Peter bicker like little kids, and the kids have to go searching for Aslan, who is taken out until the very end, giving it a bleak, hopeless feel as the children strive to win a war without him. It raises the stakes, I guess, but I much prefer the book. The movie does, however, have some brilliant special effects. I particularly like when the river god rips out the bridge at the Ford of Beruna. The producers also do a very good job giving the Telmarines a distinctively foreign look, sound, and culture. The costuming is also very well done. But I’d recommend the book over the movie any day. It’s a particularly strong second episode in a whole series of good children’s fiction. Highly, highly recommended for ages 9+.

My other reviews:

• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
• The Silver Chair
• The Horse and his Boy
• The Magician’s Nephew
• The Last Battle

Another Perspective

(This is just an oldie that got an updated cover and a paperback version over Spring Break. I noticed I didn’t have a link to info from the image on my “books” page, so I created one.)

I publish my religious titles under my pen name, Shell Isenhoff, just to keep the genres separate.

“I’ve heard that story a thousand times…” Perhaps it’s time for another perspective.

Fifteen Bible stories for kids, written from the perspective of lesser or fictional characters. Stories include Jonah and the Whale, Noah and the ark, the birth of Jesus, Esther, David and the Giant, Elijah and the prophets of Baal, the boy with five loaves and two fish, and more.

Read the first story free.

Where to find it:

• Kindle
• Nook
• Smashwords
• Kobo
• Paperback

Taylor Davis–Medieval Weapons

Today I want to share a few things I learned while researching my new novel, Taylor Davis and the Flame of Findul. The topic—medieval weapons! Each of my four main characters have been matched with a primary weapon that fits their strength and personality.

But first…

The free preview is here!

Read the first 10,000 words (“episode one”) free with a Smashwords download. I’m still working on dropping that .99 Amazon price to free.

Okay, on with the weapons…

Broadsword

The Flame of Findul, the crowning weapon of the story, has been given to Taylor. It was forged of the finest Raybold steel–the only metal that can destroy supernatural beings and remain completely invisible to human detection devices. It was first used by Findul the firesmith to guard the Tree of Life, but in the course of history, the flame went out. It is Taylor’s job to find the forge of Findul and rekindle the sword to stave off those who would destroy the tree.

There’s an awful lot of overlap when you start distinguishing between different kinds of swords, but a typical broadsword had two cutting edges and was held with both hands. It could weigh four or five pounds and was about four feet in length. It was actually used for slashing, not thrusting. The Scots had their own distinct version of the broadsword, a two-handed beast that could weigh over eight pounds. I didn’t figure thirteen-year-old Taylor could manage one of those, so I gave him a more traditional design. The problem is, Taylor’s skill in battle leaves room for improvement!

Mace

What I think of as a mace is technical called a flail and traces its origin to an agricultural tool that was used to thresh grain. In a pinch, it was called upon as a weapon. Originally it was just a wooden rod attached to a handle by two or three links of chain, but the design began to improve. Wood was changed to iron, and spikes were added the business end. The spiked ball used by Ranofur, a dauntless angel with a physique like Superman, is a variant design called a morning star. These spiked balls were also sometimes mounted on the end of a club.

Throwing Knives

Throwing knives came in all sorts of designs, from sleek and streamlined to wickedly curved to oriental star designs. I made the somewhat cowardly angel, Mike, proficient with knives because he’s not fond of closing with the enemy.

Hunga Munga

Though this little beauty is never called by its name, nor is it specifically assigned to a character, it is described in the scene when Ranofur first spreads out his arsenal. This was an African throwing knife, though it could be used in hand-to-hand combat. It wasn’t introduced to Europeans until the Colonial period, but it was too cool not to include with the more typical swords and daggers.

Crossbow

Elena received a crossbow so she wouldn’t have to engage in any hand-to-hand combat. She wields it well. In fact, she proves so adept in battle, Taylor grows a little jealous. A crossbow is an improvement on the traditional longbow in that it packs more power and it’s deadly silent. Elena was also given a leather pouch treated with a multiplying agent so when she fires her one bolt, another will automatically appear. Cuts down on the equipment she needs to carry.

Trebuchet

The trebuchet, or catapult, is just a wickedly awesome machine that warrants mentioning even though I haven’t found a use for it in the series—yet. With the use of counterweights, for the first time it gave armies long range and heavy ammo.

Flamethrower

Yes, the flamethrower originated in medieval times, though only the Byzantines had the technology. Pressurized siphons sprayed a flaming liquid called Greek Fire on the enemy. It was generally used for naval battles. There was, however, a hand-held counterpart. They guarded the secret so closely it has since been lost. Again, I didn’t use this one, but how could I not throw it in here?

Now before you assume I’m some kind of wacko sadist, please keep in mind our heroes hunt only monsters who turn into green goo upon their demise. Taylor Davis remains, for the most part, fun and bloodless. At least it’s been a riot to write. I hope kids enjoy the adventure as fully as I have!