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HOW I BECAME A TEENAGE SURVIVALIST
Bracken is a typical teenage boy, more interested in the angles of the girl’s exposed back teasing him from the seat ahead of him than in anything the geometry teacher could present. His life is filled with school, video games, and thoughts of girls, not necessarily (or probably not) in that order. Life just flows along uneventfully and unacknowledged, like the electricity that courses through the power lines — until PF Day. On PF (Power Failure) Day, the sun strikes Bracken’s world with an unseen surge of electromagnetic fury, which cripples power stations and burns transformers to crispy nuggets of regret. No one in Bracken’s world had ever thought about how much they depended on electrical power but now, without it, they are plunged into survival mode. Without electricity there is no communication, no modern conveniences and soon, no modern means of transportation, as the reserves of refined gasoline run dry. Worse still is the failure of the water and sewer systems, the impossibility of getting food and supplies to people living in cities, and the deaths of millions of people from starvation, disease, and lack of medical care. Bracken soon realizes how lucky he is to live on a farm in the Midwest. What seemed like a dull and backwards life before is now the greatest chance for survival in what seems like a powerless world. Food, water, and heat are readily available, although hard work is required to make use of them. Bracken and his family must learn to survive like their ancestors, who settled their land.
Bracken is a typical teenage boy, more interested in the angles of the girl’s exposed back teasing him from the seat ahead of him than in anything the geometry teacher could present. His life is filled with school, video games, and thoughts of girls, not necessarily (or probably not) in that order. Life just flows along uneventfully and unacknowledged, like the electricity that courses through the power lines — until PF Day. On PF (Power Failure) Day, the sun strikes Bracken’s world with an unseen surge of electromagnetic fury, which cripples power stations and burns transformers to crispy nuggets of regret. No one in Bracken’s world had ever thought about how much they depended on electrical power but now, without it, they are plunged into survival mode. Without electricity there is no communication, no modern conveniences and soon, no modern means of transportation, as the reserves of refined gasoline run dry. Worse still is the failure of the water and sewer systems, the impossibility of getting food and supplies to people living in cities, and the deaths of millions of people from starvation, disease, and lack of medical care. Bracken soon realizes how lucky he is to live on a farm in the Midwest. What seemed like a dull and backwards life before is now the greatest chance for survival in what seems like a powerless world. Food, water, and heat are readily available, although hard work is required to make use of them. Bracken and his family must learn to survive like their ancestors, who settled their land.
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TIME LOST: TEENAGE SURVIVALIST II
Ben's 13th year was when his family fell apart, but his 14th year is when his whole world, or more precisely, the whole world, collapses. He had thought 13 was his unlucky number, the year that Time turned its back on him, but he was wrong; that year, it was he who had turned his back on Time. The following year, the fury of the sun turns back Time for everyone in the world. On PF (Power Failure) Day, a huge electromagnetic surge from the sun destroys the power grids and civilization as we know it. Living in the middle of downtown Kansas City makes survival near impossible. Starvation, dehydration, disease, freezing temperatures, and out-of-control fires imperil the desperate population. After facing unimaginable losses, Ben finds hope in for the future when he meets Sara, who has endured her own share of agonizing loss. But when a murderous gang threatens to take away everything Ben has left, they flee to a wilderness area of a large city park where they learn to live off the land for survival.
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ICE QUEEN: TEENAGE SURVIVALIST III
Taylor knows what it takes to survive. She’s been surviving on her own as long as she can remember while her parents went from drug-induced catatonia to rehab to jail. But does she have what it takes to survive the failure of the world's power grids, her parents' and older brother's painful withdrawal from drugs and the emergence of the mental diseases the drugs had been masking for years? Unlike her friends from books I and II — happy-go-lucky Bracken and brooding avoider Ben —Taylor analyzes each aspect of her harsh new reality with candor and quirky observations.
Published by Amazing Things Press.
Click here to go to the book's website.
DEFENDERS OF HOLT
Orion enjoys his uncomplicated life hunting deer and bison, using only his wits and extraordinary speed to run down his prey, until a girl of a different sort and the invasion of another tribe threaten to change his way of life forever. Orion lives five centuries in the future, in a village called Holt on the Missouri river, in the middle of what used to be the United States of America. Life has drastically changed for the entire world after a series of solar superstorms destroyed the power grids, decreased the sun’s energy output, and plunged the Earth into an ice age. Three quarters of the Earth’s human population has been decimated, while many of those who survived have evolved into a race of people with superior genes. Orion belongs to one group of these evolved people called Tall Ones, possessing enhanced genes for strength, speed, and stamina, along with increased height. Sage, the girl he falls in love with, is a Brain, an evolutionary mutation that has greatly enhanced cerebral capacity. The Tall Ones and Brains have lived in unity, although rarely intermarrying, and have successfully used all the knowledge of science and history accumulated to date to make their simple, pastoral lifestyle comfortable and enjoyable.
Yet, not all people have been so successful, and one such tribe, the Outliers, threatens to usurp Orion’s village
and way of life from them.
Published by Amazing Things Press.
STOP BEATING THE DEAD HORSE
People like to blame someone for problems. Many people blame the president, Congress, local school boards, administrators, or teachers for the shortfalls of the public school system. The problem is not that the educators and lawmakers aren’t trying to improve the system; it’s that they just haven’t realized the proverbial horse is dead. If the basic system doesn’t work, all the money and strategies and dedication in the world will not help unless the system itself is replaced.
One of the most crucial things the system has failed to do is differentiate between equal educational opportunity for all and equal (or identical) education for all. Instead of trying to make everybody the same, an educational system must ensure equal rights for everyone while still allowing them to develop at their own rate and in their own way. Only then can we have the diversity, creativity, and ingenuity needed to compete in the world today.
Published by Amazing Things Press.
Click here to go to the book's website.
People like to blame someone for problems. Many people blame the president, Congress, local school boards, administrators, or teachers for the shortfalls of the public school system. The problem is not that the educators and lawmakers aren’t trying to improve the system; it’s that they just haven’t realized the proverbial horse is dead. If the basic system doesn’t work, all the money and strategies and dedication in the world will not help unless the system itself is replaced.
One of the most crucial things the system has failed to do is differentiate between equal educational opportunity for all and equal (or identical) education for all. Instead of trying to make everybody the same, an educational system must ensure equal rights for everyone while still allowing them to develop at their own rate and in their own way. Only then can we have the diversity, creativity, and ingenuity needed to compete in the world today.
Published by Amazing Things Press.
Click here to go to the book's website.
IN DADDY'S HANDS
Sara and Todd had no idea that the death of Todd's stepfather would cause so much drama. They were totally unprepared for the crazy events that would unfold in the days following his death. They were also surprised by the personality change that these events would elicit in Todd's mother, Gladys. This humorous novella, which is based on actual events, explores western culture's attitudes toward death and funerals.
Published by Amazing Things Press.