Month: August 2013

Book Brief: Dog Water Free

Dog Water Free
A Memoir
by Michael Jay
Genre: Young Adult – Coming of Age
Word count: 70,000

Meet Joe Black visits The Wonder Years in the true story of Dog Water Free. It chronicles the journey of a boy named Mikee, whose coming-of-age search for emotional truth lands a dumbstruck orphan from the unlikely side of Detroit front and center before England’s Queen, America’s Maestro, and the first non-Italian Pontiff in more than 400 years.

A family saga at its core, Dog Water Free is an uplifting story of discovery that celebrates a remarkable hero in the person of an ordinary mom who is thrust into an extraordinary situation, the likes of which few could imagine.

Mikee is eleven when his world turns upside down. His mom is sharing news from her doctor. She has a year to prepare her family for her death. Her passing will leave the man she loves and the four children she cherishes alone to fend for themselves. “At least you’ll always have your dad,” she comforts.

Still on her mission fifteen months later, her focus heightens when her husband drops dead.

With that, Mikee’s improbable coming-of-age journey begins.

This book is available from Amazon, Apple iTunes, and Barnes & Noble.

Continue reading “Book Brief: Dog Water Free”

Flash Fiction Challenge: Freedom Jump

Photo by K. S. Brooks

The prison was on an island with vicious impenetrable jungle on one side and on the other, a 200 foot cliff that stood above a savage surf. The inmates called it the Freedom Jump.

No one had ever escaped from the island, but that didn’t mean it was impossible to find freedom. Death is, after all, a kind of freedom.

Ramone had managed to tunnel below the walls of the main prison and had made his way to the Freedom Jump. But he had a plan that involved something other than death.

In 250 words or less, tell us a story incorporating the elements in the picture. The 250 word limit will be strictly enforced.

Please keep language and subject matter to a PG-13 level.

Use the comment section below to submit your entry. Entries will be accepted until Tuesday at 5:00 PM Pacific Time. Continue reading “Flash Fiction Challenge: Freedom Jump”

This Week’s Flash Fiction Star: Matt J. Pike

Matt J. Pike is the readers’ choice in this week’s Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Challenge.

The winning entry is recognized with a special feature here today and a place in our collection of winners which will be published as an e-book at year end.

Without further ado, here’s the winning story:

Continue reading “This Week’s Flash Fiction Star: Matt J. Pike”

Book It, Kiddo!

Ah, August. Back-to-school sales are in full swing and parents are counting the days until classes begin. So the start of this year’s Pizza Hut Book It! program can’t be far behind.

Book It! began in 1985, when a Pizza Hut executive was looking for a way to encourage his son to read. Here’s how it works: Elementary-school teachers set reading goals for their students – maybe they have to read a certain number of books of their own choice, or maybe they have to read for a certain number of minutes. The kids keep track of their progress on materials furnished by Pizza Hut and emblazoned with the restaurant’s logo. At the end of the month, every student who met his or her goal gets a coupon for a free personal pizza. The program continues all year, and if the class meets its annual goal, then all the students get a pizza party. Continue reading “Book It, Kiddo!”