Terra Linda Elementary School

Hello Friends,


I had a wonderful day yesterday visiting Terra Linda Elementary School in West Jordan, UT. I got to meet a great kid named, River, and his incredible mom, Jolie. They were my special guests at the school visit, along with River's grandfather, Dal. I spoke to two fifth grade classes and then taught them a mini-writing workshop. The kids were fabulous and the teachers, Mrs. Bullard and Mrs. Carrenza were great.

I will definitely be going back to that school again, especially because it's less than a mile from my house. Teaching the kids about writing gives me a chance to make a difference in their lives, and because I don't have any kids, it makes it even more important to me.

Please check out River's mom's blog http://www.doublerjranch.blogspot.com/ to see the pictures from the visit.


Paul Genesse
Author of The Dragon Hunters
Releasing May of 2009
www.paulgenesse.com

German Translation of The Golden Cord

Hello,

I had some great news this past week. A large book publisher in Germany is interested in translating The Golden Cord! They approached my publisher and we’re in negotiations with them now. I would love for the book to be translated into German, and think the audience there would enjoy the novel very much. They love monsters and mayhem, but who doesn't?

I’ll keep you posted.

Best wishes,


Paul Genesse
Author of The Dragon Hunters
Book Two of the Iron Dragon Series
May 2009, Book release party May 22
At the Radisson Downtown in Salt Lake City
www.paulgenesse.com

The Haunted Hospital

I just came back from a ghost hunting tour of the haunted hospital in Tooele, Utah. (That’s TOO-ill-uh)

The hospital has been abandoned for several years—except for the ghosts. Seriously, a lot of people have died there and the haunting activity is truly legendary. I went along because I was the invited guest of Tom Carr, founder of Wasatch Paranormal Investigations, check his group’s website at http://wasatchparanormal.com/

Go to his site, check out the pictures, listen to the EVP’s (electronic voice phenomena), and watch the videos. Tom also does a weekly paranormal radio podcast (online), called Residual Hauntings. I was a guest of his when book one came out. We spoke about my fascination with ghosts, how I use them in my writing, and my collected stories from my years working in hospitals—which are notoriously haunted. The most haunted place I’ve ever worked in is LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City. I worked there for over ten years and that place is so creepy—especially at night.

Okay, if you get a chance and live in Utah, go to the ghost tour of the old Tooele hospital. Listen to the stories and do a little investigating. Wow, you’ll hear some creepy stuff. People often hear babies crying, see patients walking down the halls, ghosts poking their heads out of rooms, women in labor screaming, and the list goes on.

Going on the tour, doing some investigators, and getting to hang out with real paranormal investigators was lots of fun. I learned some cool stuff and got some ideas for my writing. It was also great hanging with my friend, Zabrina. She’s a “sensitive” who went along with me. “Sensitive” means she can see stuff sometimes and perceive things most of us can’t. There was one room, the conference room where they told people about the death of a loved one, was quite intense. The K2 electromagnetic field detector was going crazy when Tom was questioning whatever was in the room. He was also feeling some chest pressure. Whatever it was, indicated that it wanted us to leave, (through the K2), and some people left.

I had my spirit armor up the whole time and never felt threatened. It was more of a sad place for me. There was so much suffering and pain. One of the ER bays was very intense as well. Also the X-ray room had a bad vibe, but the creepiest place was the old labor and delivery room. The story goes that the night shift nurses would put a TV set to static in the EMPTY labor and delivery room to drown out the noises of women screaming . . .

My overall feeling was that I wanted to help those poor spirits and clean that place out. In lieu of doing that, I’m going to write about ghosts and how they can be helped in my books. The main character of The Golden Cord, Drake is very haunted and he must cut the ties to his lost friend. It’s hard to do sometimes. There are lots of other spirits in my Iron Dragon books, most of them with unfinished business.

Well, if you just have to go to the old hospital in Tooele, I would recommend going there during October when the whole place is turned into a haunted house called Asylum 49—voted the second scariest haunted house in Utah. A big chunk of the proceeds go to the new Tooele nursing home, which is attached to the old hospital. I fully support this and hope you will as well. There are a few more ghost tours scheduled in April, and there is talk of doing another. Check out this website:
http://www.asylum49.com/.

I think their tagline says it best: How many people have actually died at the haunted house you’re going to?


Paul Genesse, author and editor
Author of The Dragon Hunters
Book Two of the Iron Dragon Series

Book Release Party May 22 from 3-6 PM
At the Radisson Hotel Downtown in Salt Lake City
www.paulgenesse.com

Celluloid Cowboy

Celluloid Cowboy



I just read Celluloid Cowboy, a novel by Scott C. Rogers. In movie terms, this book is a cross between Pulp Fiction and perhaps Reservoir Dogs. Quentin Tarantino should totally make this into a feature film. It would be very R rated. Mostly for the violence, sex, drugs, chain-smoking, colorful language, and did I mention the violence? The book is really a character story with a very colorful protagonist: Billy. The writing style is bold, unflinching and evocative. I was extremely impressed with the author’s skill at turning a phrase. It sort of reminded me of another amazing character novel I read in college, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey—though I think Rogers wasn’t high, like Kesey was when he wrote Cuckoo’s Nest. Now, this book is not as insane as Cuckoo’s Nest, but it’s out there and not for the faint of heart. Some of the scenes really stuck with me—and made me laugh out loud multiple times.

If you’ve seen Pulp Fiction and loved it—read this book. Please. You will thank me later.

Overall, Celluloid Cowboy is gritty, edgy, violent and filled with mayhem that kept me turning the pages from cover to cover. I read the whole thing in about two sittings. It’s only 171 pages, so it’s a quick read and easy to commit to. The main character has been a slacker, but he has some redeeming qualities that made me like him—despite his extremely poor lifestyle choices. It was cool to see Billy grow throughout the book. I loved the ending as well.

You know the writer did a great job when you should probably hate the main character, but you actually end up loving him. Get Celluloid Cowboy on Amazon.com and be glad you don’t live in Detroit, drive a Gremlin, have some really screwed up friends that get you into major trouble, and that you didn’t just have the kind of week that would kill most people.

If you did just have the kind of week that Billy has, write it all down, the movie will be awesome.


Paul Genesse, author and editor
Author of The Dragon Hunters
Five Star Books May 2009
www.paulgenesse.com

WIN A FREE COPY OF THE DRAGON HUNTERS

WIN A FREE COPY OF THE DRAGON HUNTERS
Book Two of the Iron Dragon Series

What you’ll find below:
1. Contest rules to win a free book.
2. An offer for free stuff for anyone interested.
3. An invitation to the book release party, May 22, 2009.
4. Reviews of book two, The Dragon Hunters.


Hello,

I’m having a drawing for an advanced reader copy of The Dragon Hunters, Book Two of the Iron Dragon Series releasing May 22, 2009.

To enter, please email me a link to a review that you wrote of book one, The Golden Cord, and you are entered. If you post the same review in five places, send the five links and you have five chances to win! Sweet!

ALL ENTRIES will receive a free autographed Dragon Hunters poster and bookmark. If you’d like more free stuff, I’ll send enough bookmarks and posters for your whole class or for all your best friends and family! Just let me know how many you want.

If you haven’t written a review yet, or haven’t read the book yet, now is a good time. The deadline to enter is Monday, May 5 at 9:03 AM, sharp!

Send the links and your mailing address, (plus how many extra posters/bookmarks you want).

The drawing will be on May 5 and I’ll mail out the book and all the free stuff the next day. You’ll be able to read The Dragon Hunters a few weeks ahead of anyone else.

Places to post your reviews: Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Goodreads.com, Shelfari.com, your blog or blogs, Facebook, and MySpace. Amazon.com is the most important place to post the review.

Thanks for reading book one. Your first chance to get book two will be at the . . .

The Dragon Hunters Book Release Party, Friday May 22, from 3:00-6:00 PM
Where? The Radisson Hotel Downtown, Salt Lake City, 215 West South Temple in the “Con Suite” located in the back of the lobby. The ConDuit Science Fiction and Fantasy convention is there that weekend and anyone can go into the art show or dealers room for free.

If you can’t come to the party you can now pre-order a book from Amazon.com. Please forward this email to your friends who love books.

Best wishes,

Paul Genesse
www.paulgenesse.com


Here’s what the reviewers are saying about book two:

Advance Praise for Paul Genesse’s
The Dragon Hunters:

“Genesse stresses the necessity of trust between races and cultures and the perils of bias and dissention, and he keeps the plot moving quickly . . .”
—Publishers Weekly

“Paul Genesse is a talented writer with two rare gifts: the ability to create wonderful worlds, and the skill to share them with his readers. Through his deft handling of magic and mythic creatures, Paul Genesse transports us into a realm of wild imagining. Taut suspense and fantastic imagery make The Dragon Hunters a tale no fantasy fan will want to miss.”

Michael A. Stackpole, New York Times bestselling author of the Star Wars novel I, Jedi

“In The Dragon Hunters, Paul Genesse continues the epic saga that started in The Golden Cord. With vivid world-building, he sets his characters on paths that wind and twist through the world as they try to reach their almost impossible goal—the death of the Dragon-King. The characters are driven, each for their own reasons, united by their desire for honor, and vengeance for their kin. In the midst of a fantasy, Paul weaves in realistic themes of family and honor, prejudice and hate, love and redemption.”

Elizabeth Vaughan, USA Today bestselling author of The Warlands trilogy and Dagger-Star

Praise for The Golden Cord
Book One of the Iron Dragon Series:

“This is a story that’s worth your time. It’s almost like going back to that first fantasy novel that totally captivated you and you read it over and over again. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.”

Russell Davis, author, editor, and President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America


Paul’s contact information: