Hunger Games will undoubtedly make big money in the box office for the first couple of weeks. The premise is shocking, the marketing is haunting and the YA book market is buzzing about it. The film even manages to hit every story beat that a good story should. All of these are great signs for initial sales to be strong, but here’s my prediction…a steady drop. Why? Because this movie is a $6 cup of coffee served luke warm. It has no heart and leaves one unimpressed.

Allow me to explain.

When I go to a movie I expect 2 things to happen:

1. I expect to be entertained and leave the theater with memorable scenes I can replay in my mind and share with friends.

2. I expect to see our protagonist grow from the start to the finish. In other words, I want the story to change our hero in some way and for them to change the story.

Hunger games misses on both levels for me. It’s not my cup of tea…er…coffee (since we’re sticking with t hat analogy).

Like clockwork the first half of the film builds up to the inevitable “fight,” and the second half is meant to unveil the “thrill of the hunt” as we watch the promised fight play out. The trouble is both halves are lackluster in their delivery of these story beats. Its the execution of the story that fails…not the story itself.

Want to know why?

Never once did I actually believe what I was watching was real enough to worry about. I couldn’t connect with our heroine enough to fear for her life. She didn’t matter to me. She just wasn’t likable. Granted this is part of the storyline that even Katniss wrestles with. After all, “how can an unlikable girl possibly win enough sponsors to survive the games?”

The trouble isn’t so much the fact that SHE is unlikable as it is we never see her start to open up to anyone throughout the film in any way. As a matter I fact, she doesn’t seem to ever really like anyone other than her sister Prim (which she is willing to trade her life for at the beginning). Beyond this, we are left to wonder if she is capable of real love.

This brings me to the crux of the problem. She doesn’t change in the film. She remains, for the most part, unlikable and only focussed on survival. Yes…she teams with Peeta, but only after the annoying rule change gives her permission to. You might think she cared for Rue, but this is more of an extension of her love for her sister…it’s what she gets from the relationship that leads her to embrace Rue. Don’t believe me? Try this out…is there ever a point in the movie where your emotions were tugged? Tears in your eyes? No? I thought not. It was all forced.

Apart from this major flaw I found the rest of the film to be a bit frustrated with itself and its inability to deliver on its potential. In some ways this is necessary…these are kids battling to the death, after all. We cant very well show them kill each other off without receiving an R rating so we get a toned down version of the story. The result is a shakey camera effect that disguises the battle in vague off screen struggles. It didn’t pay-off for the story genre because of this. It was an arena battle without much of a battle.

I can already hear proponents of the film disagree with me. They’ll claim this is actually a morality tale about a girl who doesn’t want to kill. Instead she spares the life of her fellow game players when she can, only inadvertently killing then when she herself is under attack. But this is what annoyed me the most. Not because she didn’t kill people, but because she didn’t really fight the system on her own. If she is the icon of the revolution, she is an uninspiring one. She was reacting to everything and never took action on her own.

There were a few high points. The mentor played by Woody Harrelson being one. He was a pretty fun character and dId a good job at interpreting the role. The talk show host was another…but they were relatively minor roles.

I’m not a curmudgeon when it comes to popular films, honestly I’m not. I loved the Matrix, Inception, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. I even liked Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” despite its story flaws. You know why I loved these films? Because they were entertaining and managed to convincingly steal me away to another world. This is the first fail of Hunger Games. There was no “movie magic” here.

There, I’ve said it.

If you enjoyed this film…and $6 coffee…more power to ya

I don’t begrudge the masses for their taste in coffee, or films, but I do question what all the fuss is about. It’s certainly not deserving of the attention it is getting.

Then again…I could be wrong. Time will tell.

My email inbox is full of opportunities and amazing offers. Some are big…some small…many of them are missed…and a few of them might actually be legit. There are event invitations, coupons, loads of “you can work at home” schemes, teleseminars on how to be like Seth Godin and/or the occasional chance to help a millionaire in Nigeria (has anyone actually done that?).

Incidentally, this is also why much of my inbox goes unread these days.

All in all, I think I’ve done a pretty good job of filtering out the wheat from the chaff. After all, there is only so much time in a man’s life and I couldn’t possibly help all the Nigerian millionaires in the world if I tried. Still, from time to time I get that nagging feeling that I’ve been too quick to click ‘delete’ on an email. You know, that feeling that makes you think you might have just missed out on something really amazing (like a $4 pizza coupon).

Sound familiar? Well read on, worry-wart, because this post is for you. A true story that proves sometimes a really good opportunity can’t be missed even if you try.

Case in Point: Our latest book “Mech Mice: Genesis Strike”.

Confession time – I nearly missed the boat on this one. You see, that inbox of mine was full to the brim with offers when an email arrived inviting me to attend an event in Oregon called the Christian Game Developers Conference (CGDC). I was “in the zone” and hardly even glanced at the email before deleted it. After all, I was broke…I had a writing deadline to meet…and I wasn’t particularly interested in attending a conference for gaming geeks (geeks are cool, nerds aren’t…just saying). Three stikes…DELETE!

A few days later Allan and I were in the office, throwing spaghetti at the wall in our latest attempt to create a completed manuscript when out of nowhere this guy drops in. Normal drop-in guys are either ninjas or salesmen, but on this particular day it was neither. It was our good friend (and networking guru) Seth Croften (not Godin). He asked if I had seen his invite to the CGDC conference. I said yes (I didn’t have the heart to tell him I had deleted it shortly thereafter). He explained how they were looking for conference speakers and that many of the developers in attendance would be interested in hearing about our experience with reatail publishers. “Who knows,” he suggested in an off-handed manner, “one of the developers might be interested in producing our books into a game.”

It sounded like a long shot…but somehow I eventually agreed to attend. It was a good thing I went.

At the conference, I was introduced to a man by the name of Lance Priebe (don’t worry, I had no idea who he was at the time either). Turns out, in the gaming world, he’s a pretty big deal. Lance is the inventor and co-founder of Disney’s Club Penguin – the biggest online world for young kids (like over 150 million players BIG). We talked over lunch, the conference came to an end and he took home a copy of one of our Codebearer books for his kids to read.

Several months later he scheduled a trip to the Seattle area and asked to meet up again. Apparently his wife loved our writing (and his kids too) and he wanted to learn more about what we were working on. We talked at length about the Codebearers property and other ideas we were pursuing. He encouraged us to continue to think differently about the retail industry and to take big risks. The meeting ended, and he went happily on his way again, however a relationship had begun to take root.

The next time he was in town we arranged to spend a bit more time together. This time, he had an idea to share. He began to reveal his plan to create a new entertainment property, one for slightly older kids than his Club Penguin audience. He wanted it to be a military tactical strategy game with heart – a sort of “Band of Brothers” with animals in the leading role. His hope was to inspire kids with the virtues of what it meant to be a true warrior; honor, integrity, camaraderie, self-sacrifice. It sounded great, it sounded like the kind of project Allan and I would have enjoyed as kids (heck, even as adults). Then the offer came, “how would you guys like to help me build this world?”

After a bit of explaining, Lance expressed his desire to build Mech Mice into more than just a game. His desire was for it to be a book and a game and a tv series and toys. In short, he wanted to help us learn what it was like to build a brand from the ground up and he needed great writers to help him explore the potential of this world. It was a dream job and an opportunity to gain valuable experience we wanted to have for expanding our own projects as well.

It has only been a little over a year since that meeting, but so much has taken place it is almost unbelievable. The first book is completed (and you can buy it now), the game is well underway, toy companies are buzzing with excitement and an animated series of shorts is already in the works…and we’re just getting started.

Working alongside Lance and his team to develop the Mech Mice universe has been a creatively stretching and rewarding experience. Some might read this email and say, “Whew, you almost missed a great opportunity when you deleted that email.” But did I?

See, I believe in divine providence – that is, that all things happen for a reason. Life would be insane if I didn’t. Think about it for a moment. I’d be stuck in life, forever second guessing everything I did or didn’t do. What other opportunities might I be missing by taking the wrong train to the Seahawks game? What if that email from the Nigerian millionaire was actually true?

The truth is, I don’t think I could have “missed” this opportunity if we tried. I’m grateful for the friend who convinced me that attending the CGDC event might be good for me. I’m grateful that Lance decided to have lunch with me at the conference. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s really God who has put this opportunity on my plate. I’m grateful to Him for using dopes like us – dopes who still delete emails from Seth Godin and the occasional offer to fly to Hawaii for FREE.

Wait a sec…where did that email go again?

———-

DON’T MISS OUT!  The Miller Brothers’ latest book “Mech Mice: Genesis Strike” is out now! FREE patches are available for the first 500 people who order the book from Amazon.com and/or post a review of the book during the next 2 weeks! (Offer expires 4/17/2012)

The process is simple:

1. Order a copy of the book here > http://amzn.to/AAO5sf  AND/OR  Post an honest review on Amazon.com for the book.

2. Fill out the form below and be sure to post a copy of your Amazon.com receipt or book review in the appropriate box. 

3. Tell your friends to do the same. (you can share the book for FREE at SpearheadBooks.com)

On a sun-scorched afternoon, an ice cream truck parks outside an international school in the Philippines drawing dozens of kids to flock around it in hopes of buying a tasty treat. The driver steps out of the truck, laughing and joking with the kids as he opens the side window where the goodies are kept. A woman seated in the back begins to serve the students. Among the crowd, a US Ambassador picks up his son from school. The driver of the truck, having done his job, walks hurriedly away without so much as a glance back. The camera follows him around a corner as the truck he left behind violently explodes killing all around it.

This is how our movie begins. In one cowardly act of terror dozens of innocent lives are lost. This is our ordinary world – a world plagued with evil. As the audience sits in stunned silence we are left to wonder; who will save us?

Enter the heroes. The brave men who will set things right, or die trying. Except this time we’re not watching polished actors…it is the real deal. Loving husbands and expectant fathers sharing in the joy of their families on the eve of another mission. For them, there is no such thing as an easy day at the office. Duty calls and they respond, rushing into danger when others retreat. Even the wounded soldiers are more worried about the mission than themselves.

That’s right. In “Act of Valor” we are privileged to be introduced to real-life Navy SEALS and their real-life families playing fictional roles on the big screen. This is not a “reality TV” documentary, but neither is it a big budget hollywood war flick like Saving Private Ryan. Instead, Act of Valor falls somewhere in between the two as a fictional mission inspired by real events these very men perform everyday. It is a brilliant concept and, for the most part, it works very well on screen.

The story follows an elite team of Navy SEALs who embark on a covert mission to recover a kidnapped CIA agent and uncover a deadly terrorist plot against the United States. Their team is quickly re-deployed on a global manhunt in hopes of averting the deaths of thousands of American civilians. Along the way they must balance their commitment to country, team and their families back home.

In some ways, it is hard to be too critical of a film that casts real life heroes in place of actors because these guys demand so much respect. Still, I would be lying if I didn’t say there were lines delivered a bit flatly and I found myself a bit distanced from the heart of the characters being portrayed at times. But this shouldn’t keep anyone from going to see this film. It is a visual feast of close quarters gun fights and daring tactical maneuvers that will leave you in awe of our special forces. It’s not a perfect film, but it delivers on its premise. How these men put themselves through this on a regular basis is beyond me. It made me feel like a wimp and certainly did a great job of getting my patriotic blood pumping.

This film is exactly what our country needs to see. Too often we take for granted the freedoms we have. We forget that freedom isn’t free, and that there are men laying down their lives for you even as you read this review. These guys have kids and wives and friends back home, but they don’t hesitate for a moment to jump on a grenade in order to save the lives of their team mates. It’s second nature. It’s their job. They do it for you.

So, even if you don’t go see this movie (which you should) stop right now and say a prayer for the real heroes in your life. Be grateful for what they do everyday to keep us safe and free. For as the Bible says, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

Keep in mind this feature is rated R for a reason. Violence? Yes…but in no way is it over the top considering the nature of the story. There are some graphic images of torture, battle wounds and large explosions. Strong language is used throughout, but it was likely toned down from reality. I wouldn’t say they were “cursing like sailors”. There was no nudity and the values of honor, camaraderie and self-sacrifice are clearly demonstrated.

Four stars (out of five) for this unprecedented film and the real heroes who made it.

Act of Valor opens February 24 in theaters everywhere.

For starters, we’re committed to doing things differently. One way we do that is by giving away as many books as possible. To prove it, we present you with the entire White Lion Chronicles (recently re-released with shiny new cover designs by yours truly) without restriction. Not only do we want you to read these books, but we want you to “steal them” – embed them on your blog, Tweet about them, share them on Facebook, read them on your mobile device or pretty much anywhere you have internet access.

Why are we doing this? Because we love readers, and we know our readers love us. We’re willing to bet that by sharing our books FREE OF CHARGE with you,  you’ll be willing to share the links with others or  maybe even go the extra mile to donate $0.99  to the author or (gasp) buy a print copy for your collection at home.

However you read it, we invite you to enjoy our first fruits from Spearhead Books. We are looking forward to giving away more books in the near future.

Happy Reading & Merry Christmas!

Click on a cover to read the book instantly…

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We wrote this short story many years ago and thought it would be fun to share as our gift to you this Christmas. It is a simple reminder of how even though each of us may have different gifts or talents, all of them are meant for the same purpose – to be shared freely for the Gift Giver. Sometimes, we get caught up in measuring and judging each other. We may find ourselves valuing one gift over another, but all gifts are equal if they are shared with an open heart. I hope you are blessed with our simple story this Christmas and that you find joy in the greatest gift of Christmas…Jesus.

Merry Christmas,
The Miller Brothers

———————————————–

THE PARABLE OF THE GIFT FACTORY

In a far away world, not quite like our own,
at the base of a hill is a city that’s known
as the City of Shadow, a rather sad town,
where the colorless people of Shadow are found.

Now, the people of Shadow are really quite busy,
they hustle and bustle themselves in a tizzy.
Too busy to stop, to wonder or ponder,
Far too busy to notice the city up yonder.

For at the top of the hill another town stands,
a City of Light that brings hope to the land,
It’s colorful people share bright colored dreams
and they work hard together in colorful teams.

In the midst of this town is a factory so rare
where gifts are created from out of thin air.
Push a red button here, and a gift comes out there.
It’s a bright colored gift and it’s meant to be shared.

The Gift Giver’s the one who made this machine,
He’s entrusted his work to his gift giving team,
They work hard every day to brighten the faces
of people who live in the Shadowy places.

Now, the gift giving team had already addressed
precisely how often the red button was pressed
One hundred a day was the accepted amount.
No more, and no less. So, one hundred they’d count.

Then it happened one morning, a minute past eight,
The factory foreman showed up to work late,
The building was silent, not a sound could be heard.
No one was working! This was really absurd!

Rushing over to where the red button was found,
the foreman discovered a crowd gathered around.
At the front of the mob there was something quite new
Beside the red button was a button of blue.

“What’s that,” asked the foreman, “and why is it here?”
“We’ve only been one-button pushers for years.”
Nobody answered, because nobody knew.
This new button looked different, what should they do?

The foreman decided to give it a try.
The button was pressed and they watched in surprise
as a gift that was BLUE slid down on the chute.
But this posed a problem – not one color, but two.

“The push-button rule needs changing,” he said.
“We’ll push twenty for blue, and eighty for red.”
This ratio seemed fair to the gift giving team,
so they got back to work pushing buttons and things.

The factory was buzzing with new work to do
Two gifts were being given, first red and now blue.
Everyone was happy with things for awhile
Until numbers were crunched and reports were compiled.

“Our red gifts are fewer than ever before,”
Said a man crunching numbers. “See here, I’ve kept score!”
“It’s true,” said the foreman. ‘This blue gift is fun,
but if we can’t keep up red, something has to be done.”

A small one spoke up with a voice that was meek,
“We have more than one gift we can give, can’t you see…
It’s true that we started with gifts bright and red,
but the blue gift is here for a reason instead.”

The board met and decided, though some with a doubt,
they needed two foremen to sort this job out.
One for the red, and one for the blue,
the factory would no longer be one team…but two.

Then one day something happened that raised quite a scene,
beside the blue button was a button of green.
Three buttons to push – now this was a surprise,
and it meant more work for the push-button guys.

The green button was tested, a green gift came down.
It looked a bit different, it was smaller and round.
“Now what should we do?” the red foreman fussed
“If they start making green ones that’s less red for us!”

“And what about blue?” the blue foreman did shout,
“If green’s in production my blue gift is out!”
The two of them met with the board to decide.
How many green gifts would the factory try?

They debated the issue until it seemed clear
There wasn’t much room for the green gift this year
“Let’s make one green gift, at the end of each day.
And we’ll assign a green foreman to give it away.”

So one green gift was made, a small gift at that,
The green foreman carried the gift in his hat
He walked to the City of Shadow each night
to give the green gift that was shiny and bright.

With the following week came a production report
The blue foreman grumbled his numbers were short.
An emergency meeting was called with his team
to address with the board, his concern over green.

“Reconsider our options. Stop making the green!
It hasn’t produced many gifts that I’ve seen
And the cost of production for one gift is high
let’s refocus our efforts and set green aside.”

The small one was puzzled, “Sir, what do you mean?
There are people in Shadow who are glad to have green.
Let’s ask the Gift Giver to help us decide?
If our quota is short, perhaps he can provide.

The Red foreman chuckled at the small one’s request
“I’m the team leader and I know what is best.
We don’t need the Gift Giver to decide what to do
What we need is some action. Cut out green and keep blue!”

They discussed how the gift giving business was tough
and how giving two colors was more than enough.
So they announced a new plan, and with that being said
no green gifts were made; only blue or the red.

Well, the very next day the Gift Giver arrived,
He had come back to hear how the factory had thrived.
“How’s my gift giving team, are you still having fun?
Did you give all the gifts? Tell me, what have you done?”

They presented the numbers, the facts and the figures
for the colorful gifts that had come from the Giver.
They told him of how they had split into teams
About the number of blues and the closing of green.

“But you’re all the same team, there’s no need for two.”
The Gift Giver said, “There’s no red, green or blue.”
“The color doesn’t matter, why just look inside
the gifts are the same there’s no need to fight.”

“Any gift that is opened is priceless to me,
Be it one, five, or ten, or a hundred and three.
And the size or the color doesn’t matter at all,
For my gifts are all good, no matter how small.”

“And what’s this I hear about the closing of green,
I know times are tough but did you think to ask me?
There’s a reason I created the green button for you,
There are people in Shadow who can’t see red or blue.”

The red foreman spoke up, “But the numbers don’t jive,
If you gave us more gifts, green would still be alive.
As it is now the number of reds and the blues
Are less than a hundred – this isn’t good news.”

The Gift Giver smiled, he knew just what to say,
“Why don’t you push on more buttons each day?”
Who told you one-hundred a day was the top,
As long as there’s need, the gift factory won’t stop.”

One-hundred and one? Would it work, was it true?
The red foreman pushed on the button of blue,
At first nothing happened, not even a sound,
Then the bright shiny hundred-and-first gift slid down.

The gift giving team learned a lesson that day
Wherever there’s need, there’s always a way
If they worked hard together as one team not two
Imagine the gift giving things they could do…

WATERTOWN, NY – Young Adult Fiction authors Christopher & Allan Miller and Christopher Hopper will be dining with fans of their nationally published book series for two nights at CiCi’s Pizza in the Stateway Plaza, Thursday December 8th and Friday December 9th from 6pm to close. It’s all part of the trio’s “Discover the Adventure of Reading & Writing Tour” which includes appearances at local Jefferson County schools, including Indian River, Wiley, and South Jeff, as well as some live radio interviews. Everyone is welcome to join and take part in the fun as the authors celebrate the first series to launch under their new collaborative label “Spearhead Books”.

“Visiting schools and meeting students who have read our books is one of the hidden treasures of being a writer,” says Spearhead Book’s co-founder Christopher Miller. “When you see the light go on in the student’s imagination, that’s the best feeling of all.”

“We wanted to take this experience beyond the class room, too,” says Hopper, speaking of the evening activities at his restaurant on Arsenal Street. “Hosting these nights at CiCi’s is a great way to connect with families and have fun.”

More than just pizza will be for sale at CiCi’s, too; the author’s books, including The Miller Brothers’ CodeBearers series, and Hopper’s newly published trilogy, The White Lion Chronicles, will be available for purchase. PLUS and exclusive sneak peek at art from the Miller Brother’s new book series “Mech Mice” will be on display.

“I’m really stoked about this,” says CiCi’s General Manager Shane Marolf. “I think it’s going to leave a very positive impact with a lot of families.”

Listen to the Event Details here!

Related show

• Author: The Miller Brothers
• Tour: Discover the Adventure of Reading & Writing
• Date: Thursday, December 8th 2011
• Time: 8:30am
• City: The Miller Brothers in Watertown, NY
• Venue: On-air w/ Johnny Spezzano The Border
• Country: United States
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

• Author: The Miller Brothers
• Tour: Discover the Adventure of Reading & Writing
• Date: Thursday, December 8th 2011
• Time: 9:00am
• City: The Miller Brothers in Watertown, NY
• Venue: Wiley Middle School
• Country: United States
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

• Author: The Miller Brothers
• Tour: Discover the Adventure of Reading & Writing
• Date: Thursday, December 8th 2011
• Time: 12:20pm
• City: The Miller Brothers in Watertown, NY
• Venue: ndian River Middle School
• Country: United States
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

• Author: The Miller Brothers
• Tour: Discover the Adventure of Reading & Writing
• Date: Thursday, December 8th 2011
• Time: 5:00pm
• City: The Miller Brothers in Watertown, NY
• Venue: On-air with Glenn Curry AM 1240
• Country: United States
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

• Author: The Miller Brothers
• Tour: Discover the Adventure of Reading & Writing
• Date: Thursday, December 8th 2011
• Time: 6:00pm
• City: The Miller Brothers in Watertown, NY
• Venue: CiCi’s Pizza
• Country: United States
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

• Author: The Miller Brothers
• Tour: Discover the Adventure of Reading & Writing
• Date: Friday, December 9th 2011
• Time: 9:00am
• City: The Miller Brothers in Watertown, NY
• Venue: South Jefferson School
• Country: United States
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

• Author: The Miller Brothers
• Tour: Discover the Adventure of Reading & Writing
• Date: Friday, December 9th 2011
• Time: 6:00pm
• City: The Miller Brothers in Watertown, NY
• Venue: CiCi’s Pizza
• Country: United States
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

Do Chris Schauble and Obama "look alike"?

True Story.

When Grayson Thomas, age 11, attended school last Friday, the last thing he ever expected was to be labeled a racist and instantly (and permanently) banned from his school. What was his crime, you ask? No…he didn’t say any of the words you are thinking, what happened was much more innocent and surprising.

The boy saw local CBS affiliate KTLA NEWS Anchor Chris Schauble in the school cafeteria, dressed in a suit and tie, walking around and shaking hands with teachers and students. Mr. Schauble was visiting the school to have lunch with his daughter, who also attends the school. Upon first glance, the 11 year old believed the man might be Obama then quickly realized he was not. However, thinking the resemblance was worth sharing he told his friend that “Obama is attending our school.” Soon, his friend told another friend, who passed it along and eventually word got back to the daughter of Schauble who took it to be a “racist” comment. When the girl reported to her teacher that that Grayson was telling people her father looked like Obama, and that it made her feel uncomfortable, the teacher passed the news to the principal who told the school superintendent, Dr. Winger.

It was at this point, things took a strange turn. Grayson was attending the school on a waiver (due to a recent move) and the superintendent decided the appropriate action was to “recall the waiver” and send Grayson to another school. He called the parents of the boy and explained the severity of the situation and that Grayson would no longer be allowed to attend school starting on Monday. When questioned why he would not be allowed to attend school, they claimed it was because Grayson was making “racist” comments. When pressed for the details of the racist comments, Mr. Winger replied, “It was racist because Grayson was saying that all black men look alike.” But when questioned further by the parents if indeed Grayson had said that all all blacks look alike Winger’s response was, “No, he only said that the man in question looks like Obama.”

Since that time, Grayson has been being bullied via texts by friends of Schauble’s daughter who have taken the “racist” label placed on the boy by the school administration to an entirely new level, calling him a “f***ing racist liar” and a “stalker” among other things. Word of this has also spread to Grayson’s older sister’s school where she is also being taunted about her brother. The bullying texts have yet to be addressed by the school administration.

The father of Grayson, Darren Thomas, contends that his family is anything but racists. “To call my son, and our family, racist is the farthest thing from the truth. Nearly all of his friends are of different races, both at school and in our neighborhood. We’ve even had a black friend live with us, in our house for several months last year. I don’t understand how comparing two people who look similar is a racist remark worthy of this level of discipline. I just don’t get it.”

Frankly, neither do we.

Racism is a serious matter, and should be treated as such. To belittle or make fun of someone simply for the color of their skin has no place in our society. But to say that an 11 year old boy should be expelled from school simply because he believed two people looked alike is ridiculous. One wonders if the same logic could be applied to the long list of actors who are lining up to play the role of the President in a proposed feature film; actors like Will Smith, Harry Lennix and Denzel Washington. Would saying any of these men “look like Obama” enough to play him label you a racist as well. Or how about comparing Donald Trump to a monkey as David Letterman has done many times on his television show? Which of these is worse, I wonder? Has common sense completely left the building in America?

Words have meaning (or at least they used to). As an author, I need them to. I cherish words because finding the right word for the moment is how I make my living. I am a communicator of stories…a builder of worlds based on the words that compose our language. I need words to have meaning or else nobody will be able to enjoy my novels. I could never “whisk” them away to a far away place because “whisking” might be construed to mean “beating” them.

According to the dictionary, a “racist” is “a person who believes in racism, the doctrine that a certain human race is superior to any or all others.”

To use this word in any other way is to rob it of its meaning to suit your desires rather than the truth. Grayson is not a racist…and neither am I. Even though I do think these two men look a little bit alike…Don’t you?

——————-

To voice your frustration with this decision, please go directly to the source and contact Dr. Marc Winger, Superintendent of the Newhall School District: 661-291-4000 http://www.newhallschooldistrict.net/

Newhall School District

www.newhallschooldistrict.net

But before we order a boat load of them, we want to hear from you. Which of the colors below would you like more? The “light” logo or the “dark” logo? Post a comment below with your preference…

Next Thursday, October 27th, we will be posting a YouTube video interview with the developers of the upcoming Codebearers Game: Kaio Interactive.

But we need to know what questions you want answered!

So far, the questions we’ve come up with are:

“Will this game play on Atari 2600 or Comodore 64?”,

“Is it going to pack as much punch as PacMan?”,

“Can I still play the game if my thumbs are broken?”

Of course, we’re counting on your questions being better than ours – so ask away!

Add a comment to this post with your question before Wednesday, October 26th at 9:00am PST so we can consider using it as part of the interview. Then watch for your questions to be answered on our YouTube channel next week.

To self-proclaimed “book purists” even questioning the relevance of the standard book format we have come to know and love is, undoubtedly, unthinkable. I know this because deep down, I’m one of them. I love my books. Besides, the format of books are perfect just the way they are, right! Who in their right mind would even consider looking at alternate forms of publishing and presenting written stories?

As I prepared for the digital release of our first Mech Mice novel (coming in October) it became glaring obvious to me that my first instincts expected the digital book to be as similar to a traditional book as possible. Partly for convenience, but also because I expect to read a book by turning pages. Removing the page flip from my reading experience was uncomfortable at best. Without page flips…I was lost and overwhelmed by the length of a story.

It made me realize pages ARE important. Too much information at once is daunting. Breaking any large task into smaller, achievable, units is good (pages do this).

The ancient peoples of earth once used scrolls, clay and stone to write and record things of interest. To them, the idea of a book must have been both revolutionary and frightening. To be fair, the common man didn’t read scrolls on his own, but they had seen plenty of them and respected those who could read them. So, what will history say of this generation? Will books go the way of the scroll? Will this new frontier of storytelling ever break its bonds to the old medium and find a new way to present written stories?

What are your thoughts on pages? Are there other formats in which to package reading we’ve yet to discover?