My name is J. Morgan and I'm a geek!
Before you say I can't believe he said that, I'm proud of
the fact. I've been one my whole life, so if I wasn't proud, I hope I'd have
figured out a way to change my geeky ways by now. But, what is a geek? By my
definition, which may or may not matter, a geek is a person who appreciates
imagination and has no problem living with hope for a better future than the
present we have now. Okay, a geek may or may not practice Jedi mind tricks in
the privacy of his or her own home and may on occasion dream of being bitten by
a radioactive spider or wombat as the case the might be. The point is geeks are
dreamers!
What does any of this have to do with being a Romance
novelist? In case I forgot to mention it, I write Romance. I probably did
forget. Once I get on a roll, my brain tends to wander. Well, to give my
imagination a good old fashioned stretch, I decided to step outside my Romance
Comfort Zone and write a Young Adult novel. Okay, that might not have been much
of a stretch, because my newest novel is all about the things I love
most--Super Heroes.
Why superheroes? Because, everyone one of us, geek or not,
dreams about being Superman or Wonder Woman once in our life. More than that,
part of my fading memory of my teenage years is a vivid picture of being on the
cusp of being a man and being totally clueless of how to deal with it. On one
hand, I was still that boy who loves playing in the sun and being totally
irresponsible. But, I was also a man who sees the future looming ahead of him,
and let's not forget girls. Boys didn't like girls, but I did. So I had to be
something different. It took me a few years to work out the particulars of what
that was, but I got there. It might not have been pretty, but I think I turned
out okay.
Now, back to the above question. Why superheroes? The answer
is simple. The Superheroes genre is the perfect allegory for being a teenager.
Suddenly, all these strange changes are happening to your body. Let's not even
go into hair in funny places. Your mind develops new thoughts, grander visions
for yourself than being the greatest baseball player of all time. And, we're
back to girls. Instead of throwing icky things at them, I wanted to be a hero,
that dashing figure rushing in to save the damsel in distress. Simply put, I
was changing and at times it was downright scary.
In my new series, Scrolls of Eternity, Patrick Hughes is
going through all the normal teenage stuff, but now has something extra thrown
into the mix--super powers. Thanks to an ancient Egyptian deity, Patrick is
tagged to be the only thing standing between Set, the Egyptian god of evil and
humanity. Can he do it while maintaining a B average and getting the girl of
his dreams to notice him? To find that out, you'll have to read the book. Evil,
aren't I?
So, the next time you look out the window daydreaming about
flying through the air or running faster than a speeding locomotive, pat
yourself on the back. You've just let out your inner geek. Be proud. Own the
name, because you're a dreamer and dreamers can do anything once they set their
mind to it.
Scrolls of Eternity
Book One
Rebirth
By J. Morgan
From
Desert Breeze
Publishing
Blurb
Patrick Hughes' idea of field trips didn't include armed
robbers and Egyptian gods, but that's just what he got. Accidently assuming the
mantle of Horus, the Egyptian God of War, he is about to take Superhero 101 for
extra credit. With the help of his substitute history teacher, who just so
happens to be Anubis God of the Dead, Patrick takes a crash course in what it
takes to be a hero. Too bad time is running out. Sutekh the God of Chaos has
his eye on taking over the world. Unless he gets the hang of being a superhero
and quick, getting an F will be the least of Patrick's worries. Will Patrick's
first test at being a superhero be his last, or will he become the hero he was
born to be?
Excerpt
"I
still don't understand." He was shaking all over, not from fear, but true
excitement. Finally, here were the answers that he'd been looking for. Sure,
seeing him morph into Zeppo the Dog Faced Man had been freaky as all get out.
It would have anyone. If his need to discover exactly what was going on hadn't
been stronger than his fear of awkweird, he wouldn't have stayed in his seat.
"That
is why I'm here. The winds of chaos are nearly upon us. Without you as its
champion, this world will not survive the machinations of Sutekh." Anubis
narrowed his eyes, bringing his arched brows down into a bunched knot.
"That
seems a like a lot of pressure on top of mid-terms coming right around the
corner." Patrick squirmed back in his seat. "Not that I don't
appreciate the fact Horus chose me, but isn't there someone else that can, you
know, suit up or whatever it is that happens?"
"Hesmut,
the lord of fate, chose you to be Horus' Knopic. Out of everyone on the face of
the earth, only you can wield the power of the sky lord." Mr. Ubis reached
across the desk and tapped him on the chest. "That means in your youthful
vernacular, you're tagged."
Patrick
double fisted his fingers into his hair. "What if I just, like, tell Horus
to take his powers back? Then he could do it himself."
Mr.
Ubis shook his head. "That is not possible. The gateway to Heliopolis is
closed. Horus can not pierce the barrier. The sole way he can manifest on this
world is through you."
"What
about you? You're here. This Sutekh is here. Can't you stop him?"
Suddenly, Patrick didn't like the sound of this whole set up. He should have
known superpowers didn't come without a price.
"That
is not in my power. I am a guardian, not a warrior." Anubis sucked in a
deep breath.
"Not
to keep asking questions that probably sound lame, but if this gateway is
closed, why are you still here?" Patrick knew he should have focused on
the important stuff, but he sensed a story in this. He loved a good story too
much to let one slip through his fingers.
"I
watch over the dead. They are my dominion, my purpose. There is no death in
Heliopolis. When the gateways closed, I remained. I could not abandon my post,
as they say. I am not the only one of the Ancients to stay behind. Across the
globe others exist beside humanity, hidden in plain sight." Mr. Ubis
smirked. "Until Sutekh's return, I had just done a better job than the
others."
"So,
there's more of you old Egyptian gods running around?" See, he knew this
would get good.
"No,
Sutekh and I are all that remain from that lineage. Remnants of the Greecian,
Norse and a couple other less savory races kept guardians in place. There are
rumors of some evil loosed that they watch over, but I can't be sure if that is
true or idle gossip to make their sacrifices sound worthwhile." He clapped
his hands. "But, that is not our concern. Sutekh is. We don't have much
time. By now, he knows that Horus has found a way to breach the barrier.
Unfortunately, that means he will also be searching for the Knopic that Horus
is currently using to ground himself to this world."
"Knopic?"
That word had kept popping up, and it sounded important. He figured it behooved
him to find out what it was, because he had a sinking feeling it meant him. Bad
guy looking for him. Nastiness to follow if he found him. His guts were
handling worrying about that. As soon as this mystery was out of the way,
Patrick was sure his head would start sending him enough dire images to make up
for the oversight.
"A
human who is able to host the essence of my people. They are rare. In the
ancient times, a Knopic would have been revered. In the eyes of my people, they
ranked as high as any pharaoh. We cherished and protected them. When the gates
closed, we did our best to erase all knowledge of their existence from our
lexicon. Many monuments were destroyed or defaced to ensure your coming would
not be hampered. Many of the remnants of the Ancients would have used you, and
those like you, to affect change on this world from their own. Only those of
Heliopolis knew the secrets of its working, and we guarded it jealously. Still,
in the intervening lifetimes you are the sole Knopic I have seen in so long, I
feared the ability had been bred out of the line." He sighed.
"Instead, of many, we have but an army of one to face the lord of
chaos."
"I
still don't get how I'm supposed to do that. Will Horus just bodynap me every
time, like he did at the museum?" That idea was a whole lot more appealing
than him figuring out how to work the superhero thing.
Ubis
shook his head. "That is no longer an option. Your mind is too fragile for
prolonged exposure to his essence. As I said before, if this had been the days
before, you would have been trained, strengthened by our priests to withstand
the stress of hosting one of my race. To defeat Sutekh, Horus has done
something unheard of in our history. He has gifted you his power. My cousin has
accepted mortality to ensure our worlds will survive." He reached over and
took Patrick's hand. "Whether you are prepared or not, you are this
world's only hope."
"Then,
the world is screwed! There's no way I can get a hang of these powers. I'm
barely passing phys-ed class. Heck, I don't even know how to power up!"
Patrick threw his hands into the air, knocking away Mr. Ubis' hold on him.
"You need to send Horus a clue and tell him to come up with another
plan."
"You
are the plan, Mr. Hughes." Ubis smiled, sending a comforting warmth
through Patrick. "And, I am your textbook. I make no promises this will be
easy. In fact, it will be the hardest thing you have ever done, and the
greatest." He thumped Patrick in the center of his chest. "In you, a
time that is both old and new shall be reborn. The age of heroes has returned
to mankind."
Desert Breeze
Publishing
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Where in the net can
you find J. Morgan?
My Yahoo Newsletter
My Website
Facebook
My Blog away from
home
To sample some of my
books, you can find me at either of these fine places on the internet.
Desert Breeze
Publishing
Amazon.com
9 comments:
This sounds like a terrific book, Jmo...I'm not usually a big fan of YA, but this one has you...shall we say unique...voice and humor. I'm a real sucker for your books, and also for anything that touches on Egyptian stuff, so I'm thinking I need this.
Thanks Nancy. Hope you enjoy it. I've gotten started on Book Two, which will feature my second favorite figures of mythology, the Norse.
JMo, I laughed at your definition of Geek and loved it. Go Geeks, if they are dreamers and see bright light. You certainly write with humor and your books sounds like a fun read. The best.
Vonnie, this is such a well done site and I love what you did with all the cartoons in J. Morgan's post. I have read this book and can honestly say it is one of J. Morgan's best. I don't usually read YA's but this one has something different, something special about it. Thanks! :)
Nancy, I'm so glad you enjoyed the excerpt. It's always good to see you. I'm already working on book 2, which will feature my second favorite myths, the Norse gods.
Awww.. Paisley, thanks for stopping by and being a constant inspiration to me.
I couldn't focus on anything else but that adorable "geek" baby.
Wow! This sounds outstanding! Vonnie, as usual, you have introduced me to a new author I must purchase. I've always been and always will be a super hero fan. Can't wait to read this one J. Morgan! Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks for stopping by Angela and AJ. So glad you enjoyed the blog. That baby is pretty awesome. AJ superheroes are my kryptonite, too. Can't pass up anything to do with them.
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