Monsterland VBT

Blurb:

Welcome to Monsterland—the scariest place on Earth.

Wyatt Baldwin's senior year is not going well. His parents divorce, then his dad mysteriously dies. He’s not exactly comfortable with his new stepfather, Carter White, either. An ongoing debate with his best friends Melvin and Howard Drucker over which monster is superior has gotten stale. He’d much rather spend his days with beautiful and popular Jade. However, she’s dating the brash high-school quarterback Nolan, and Wyatt thinks he doesn’t stand a chance.

But everything changes when Wyatt and his friends are invited to attend the grand opening of Monsterland, a groundbreaking theme park where guests can interact with vampires in Vampire Village, be chased by werewolves on the River Run, and walk among the dead in Zombieville.

With real werewolves, vampires and zombies as the main attractions, what could possibly go wrong?

Excerpt:

What were the interlopers doing here? Billy thought furiously. This was their territory. The humans didn’t belong in the swamp. The moon continued its trip to the heavens, the familiar agony beginning in his chest. Billy fought the demons churning within his body, feeling the pain of metamorphosis. He curled inward, hunching his shoulders, the curse of his nature making his spine pull until his tendons and muscles tore from their human positions to transform into something wicked. A howl erupted from his throat, followed by another, and then another. Grabbing handfuls of dirt, he tried to fight the awful change, but, as the sun dipped to its fiery death, the moon took control of his life, and the unnatural force tore through his unwilling body. Reason fled; his heart raced. Falling on his hands and knees, he let loose a keening cry as his face elongated, his body changing into a canine, fangs filling his mouth. He raced in a circle in a demented dance, knowing his fellow pack members did the same thing. Slowing, he regulated his labored breathing, forcing the icy calmness he needed to keep some semblance of reason. He peered through the dense brush. Lights from the search party bobbed in the distance. The odor, the stench of humanity, filled the clearing.

He turned, digging furiously on the ground, throwing dirt on the flames, hiding their existence. It was no good. Discovery would ruin everything. No one could live with their kind. Humans brought disease, humans brought anger, humans brought hatred. They were there; he could smell them, see their clumsy bodies invading his home. “They’ve found us,” he growled in the special language they used. “Run!” he barked as he turned to his pack, watching his friends’ naked skin transform until it was covered with the same silvered fur. They cried out in unison at the pain, howling with the injustice, and then ran in fear from the interlopers threatening their habitat.

Do you have any tattoos?  Where? When did you get it/them? Where are they on your body?

Yes, I have a massive tattoo of Marvin the Martin on my back. On the front, I have a huge Yosemite Sam pointing guns at my enemies. I got them in 10th grade. I’m obviously kidding. No tattoos, nor do I plan to get one.

Is your life anything like it was two years ago?

Not. At. All.  In two years, I have received the following:

I have a literary agent,

An entertainment attorney,

A film agent

A publicist

A two-book publishing deal with a commercial publisher

Film interest with a very well-known producer

How long have you been writing?

Since I was 15, albeit poorly. I loved creative writing, then moved my game into screenplays. I wrote dozens and dozens of scripts that went nowhere, so I started converting them to novels. I began self-publishing and then received everything in the last question.

What advice would you give a new writer just starting out?

Write every day. Research the hell out of your subject. Don’t write what someone wants you to write. Write what you want. Write every day.

Tell us something about your newest release that is NOT in the blurb.

I always wanted to write a monster book, but couldn’t come up with something catchy. I wanted to write something completely brand new, but still have a primal theme that audiences could connect with.  During the summer of 2015, my son and I were watching an 80s and 90s movie marathon one weekend. It popped into my head after watching The Goonies and Jurassic Park. “What about a theme park with zombies?” I immediately called my brother to tell him about this nugget I conceived, and, to my surprise, he said “No.” I told him it would be like Rollercoaster Tycoon– a game he and I used to play when we were kids where you build your own theme park and manage it. My brother said, “It can’t be just zombies. It’s gotta be werewolves, vampires, AND zombies.” Right then I knew every single ride that each creature was going to be showcased in. I started beating out the story that night with my characters. Fast forward three months later, Monsterland (the self-published version) arrives on Amazon and becomes an instant hit with audiences. Fast forward two years later and (see question 2).

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Author Bio and Links:

Michael Okon is the award-winning and best-selling author & screenwriter formerly known as Michael Phillip Cash. His originally self-published book Monsterland was picked up in a two-book publishing deal by WordFire Press. Michael is happily married and writes full-time on the North Shore of Long Island with his two screaming monsters in the background.

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Buy Links:

Amazon     |     Barnes and Noble     |     Kobo