Barry Trotter (Book 1)
The Hogwash School for Wizards was the most famous school in the wizarding world, and Barry Trotter was its most famous student. His mere presence made sure that every year twenty candidates applied for every open spot, no matter how rapacious Hogwash's tuition became. As a result, Barry and the school had come to an unspoken agreement: regardless of his grades, Barry could remain at Hogwash for as long as he wished. He had just begun his eleventh year...Freshman
Sleepy with boredom and gassy from lunch, Hart Fox sat in the hard plastic chair outside his dean's office. A kid walked in the door, pink detention slip in hand, bobbing his head a little so that the purple spikes of his mohawk didn't get bent on the transom. He slumped down next to Hart. Hart nodded--he remembered tis joker from sophomore American History, constantly arguing in favor of anarcho-syndicalism. Was his name Henry?...Sophomore
Arcing lazily through the air, the Frisbee smacked against the window. “Ooo-oo!” a chiseled and shirtless boy teased as it wobbleplummeted to the ground. “Sarah's in troub-le!”The beauty-boy was righter than he knew: Of all the windows on campus to hit, this one was the worst. It belonged to Stutts’ Professor of Clandestine Affairs, Glenbard North, who had destroyed more students than there were blades of grass on the freshly resodded Old Quad below...Coming Soon!
All you really gotta know is, I'm writing new things constantly and the more I write, the better my books get. So if you've read my earlier work--and millions of you have--we should keep in touch. This fall, at least one and maybe two new books will be available: a Dickens parody AND a comic mystery loosely based on The Beatles. Drop me an email at mikesnewbooks[at]gmail[dot]com, and I'll be sure to let you know release dates, special deals, etc.Thursday, December 27, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Merry Xmas!
Gifts received, Beatle flexi-discs listened to, all is well here, hope you can say the same.
Jon decries the commercialization of the decrying of the commercialization of Christmas here. Some of Jon's humor pieces threaten to rend the fabric of time/space. This is one of them.
If you need visuals, try the video below.
Jon decries the commercialization of the decrying of the commercialization of Christmas here. Some of Jon's humor pieces threaten to rend the fabric of time/space. This is one of them.
If you need visuals, try the video below.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Mike's 80s Dance Party
So I've finished the umpteenth draft of this Lennon/Beatles novel, which will be going out to editors after the first of the year. Positive mental imaging is, as always, welcome.
For reasons much too complicated to go into here, I found myself browsing YouTube for songs I first heard at Chicago's late, lamented Medusa's, an all-ages dance club at the corner of School and Sheffield, which I frequented in the mid- to late-80s. (Yes, I was by far the squarest guy in the joint; but one of the club's many virtues was how it accepted every kind of person, from skinhead, to punk, to sailor on leave, to chino-rific suburban kids like yours truly.)
Anyway, here were a few tunes I rediscovered:
I enjoyed being 17 again--a lot more than I liked it the first time around! Extra points to anyone who knew all the tunes.
For reasons much too complicated to go into here, I found myself browsing YouTube for songs I first heard at Chicago's late, lamented Medusa's, an all-ages dance club at the corner of School and Sheffield, which I frequented in the mid- to late-80s. (Yes, I was by far the squarest guy in the joint; but one of the club's many virtues was how it accepted every kind of person, from skinhead, to punk, to sailor on leave, to chino-rific suburban kids like yours truly.)
Anyway, here were a few tunes I rediscovered:
I enjoyed being 17 again--a lot more than I liked it the first time around! Extra points to anyone who knew all the tunes.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Beatles AND Christmas, could it get any better?
For reasons that must be all too obvious, the Xmas tradition around these parts includes unwrapping the presents to the accompaniment of The Beatles' Christmas albums. For some reason, no above-ground source exists for these tracks, which were end-of-year gifts to all members of The Beatles' Fan Club. (Apple released a vinyl LP in 1970, but no CD version exists.) It's a shame; they're fun, in a Goon Show sort of way.
For those similarly inclined--or attempting to mimic my life in every detail (in which case rest assured I keep the truly crappy parts to myself--there's no reason YOU should go through those too) I've unearthed a place on the 'net where the Fabs' Christmas records can be snagged. I believe this is the same compilation I got in digipak form down in the Village in 2003.
You'd be wise to stop and take a look around. Gonzo runs a great blog; lots of Beatles, and some interesting Prince, too.
For those similarly inclined--or attempting to mimic my life in every detail (in which case rest assured I keep the truly crappy parts to myself--there's no reason YOU should go through those too) I've unearthed a place on the 'net where the Fabs' Christmas records can be snagged. I believe this is the same compilation I got in digipak form down in the Village in 2003.
You'd be wise to stop and take a look around. Gonzo runs a great blog; lots of Beatles, and some interesting Prince, too.
Monday, December 10, 2007
This just in: video games are art
Jon turned me on to a new game called "Portal," raving about how sharp and entertaining the main character (a malevolent passive-aggressive supercomputer) was. Here's a YouTube video of the ending to give you a taste of how excellently it's both written and performed.
But that's nothing compared to the song that plays over the credits, which I've embedded below.
UPDATE: In this post Jon reveals that the song was written by Jonathan Coulton, truly a beautiful mutant if there ever was one.
But that's nothing compared to the song that plays over the credits, which I've embedded below.
UPDATE: In this post Jon reveals that the song was written by Jonathan Coulton, truly a beautiful mutant if there ever was one.
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