The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer Omnibus Edition

JUST PUBLISHED! Perfect summer reading! The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer Omnibus Edition collects the entire trilogy: The 25th Hour, The Tomorrow Paradox, and All the Time in the World in this Young Adult Coming-of-Age science fiction series.

Mackenzie Mortimer is a typical junior high geek. He’s shy, awkward, a bit clumsy, late with his homework, and always late for class. There’s never enough time to do everything he needs to do; after all, there are only 24 hours in a day. But when Mac finds his grandfather’s pocket watch buried deep inside a trunk, he discovers his days have an extra hour. According to the eccentric inventor’s journal, the pocket watch can add up to 60 minutes to a single day by freezing time around whomever holds the watch and presses its button.

"Time is running out... fortunately, Mackenzie Mortimer has a few more minutes than anyone else!"

Available now on Amazon

All the Time in the World

Mackenzie Mortimer just wants to go home. An accident had flung him into the far future where he had an incredible adventure in The Tomorrow Paradox yet now he longed to return to present-day Serenity Valley, USA. But something had gone wrong. He looked around. This wasn't Serenity Valley, or even America. Mackenzie found himself in occupied Belgium in-between the Nazi invaders and the Belgian Resistance. Lost in a dangerous world where life is cheap and death lurks around every corner, the 21st century teenager finds his modern suburban values at odds with a world at war. He arrived as an innocent boy but, if he survives, can he leave unchanged by the horrors of war?

🔻     🔻     🔻     🔻     🔻     🔻     🔻     🔻     🔻 

She knelt, pulling a knife from her boot, and pressed the sharp blade against Mackenzie’s neck. “Or, I can slit your throat now.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

“Don’t get any ideas. I’m a light sleeper and I sleep with my knife under my pillow."

*        *        *        *       *       *

The tip of a black leather shoe poked Mackenzie in the shoulder. He awakened, chilled by the cold floor beneath him. Mackenzie’s eyes followed the black patent leather up from the shoes, along the black trousers, and up to a brown shirt accented by a black scarf secured through a leather knot and a black cross strap running from the right shoulder down to the left hip. A badge displaying the black Lion of Flanders on a yellow shield adorned the shirt’s left cuff, and above it was an armband emblazoned with an intimidating swastika.

*        *        *        *       *       *

"He’s not a spy. He’s a young boy who will blunder right into the hands of the Nazis if he isn’t helped.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

“I didn’t ask you to come. This isn’t a game. If someone describes us to the Gestapo, they will hunt us down and kill us.

*        *        *        *       *       *

“You didn’t have to kill him. I would’ve found a way to get us out of here.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

“You have a lot to learn. I hope you live long enough to learn it.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

“In this war, we are all soldiers... not everyone wears a uniform.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

"He’s been like a brother to me for my whole life, yet he’s so brainwashed that he’d believe it was his duty to send the girl I love to her death.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

Flora gazed at her with hardened eyes. “There is no such thing as childhood. Not in Belgium since the Occupation. Not in Europe since the war began. Childhood is a time of innocence; the Nazis destroy innocence wherever they find it. They trample it beneath their jackboots as they march across the continent.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

“Innocence, once lost, can never be restored. My childhood is gone forever, as is the childhood of every boy and girl who hears the sound of a storm trooper’s boots.” Flora shook her head. “No, Monique, we fight for their unborn children so they might grow up in a different world, in blissful innocence, unable to imagine what we are living through. We fight for the future; the present is damned.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

"Maybe where you come from, people can stand on a street corner and say whatever they want. But not here; not in occupied Belgium. Here, there are consequences for speech; serious consequences. People who say the wrong things disappear. These are scary times."

*        *        *        *       *       *

Flora looked away. “There are times I try to recall what life was like before the war... those mundane days, when the littlest of things would seem like the end of the world. We got upset over the most unimportant matters, yet I know there were times of unbridled happiness... even if I can’t remember what such joy felt like. Each day the war goes on, it steals the joy from our lives until we have nothing left.” She stood behind his chair and placed her hands on his shoulders. “I’m sorry, Mac.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

“Oberführer Trommler, I am Finn Peeters and this is my friend, Jan Martens. We’ve uncovered a suspected Resistance member in our midst. He is an American teenager living in Antwerp. His name is Mackenzie Mortimer.”

🔺     🔺     🔺     🔺     🔺     🔺     🔺     🔺     🔺

All the Time in the World: Some people have it, and some don’t. Available now at these fine retailers:

Amazon Kindle

Barnes & Noble Nook

iTunes

Even better: Get all 3 books! The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer Young Adult SF trilogy in paperback, Kindle, and EPUB:

The 25th Hour (Book 1)

The Tomorrow Paradox (Book 2)

Have You Got A Minute?

Mackenzie Mortimer does. And you'd be amazed at what he can do in a single minute with a pocket watch that can freeze time.

The final novel in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer Young Adult SF trilogy has just been published! Click here to learn all about the series, and for links to order the books in multiple formats (paperback, Kindle, EPUB, Nook, iTunes, and more!)

Available in paperback, Kindle, and EPUB! Order the whole trilogy now:

The 25th Hour (Book 1)

The Tomorrow Paradox (Book 2)

All the Time in the World (Book 3): order from:

• Amazon Kindle
• Barnes & Noble Nook
• iTunes

All the Time in the World

Mackenzie Mortimer just wants to go home. An accident had flung him into the far future where he had an incredible adventure in The Tomorrow Paradox yet now he longed to return to present-day Serenity Valley, USA. But something had gone wrong. He looked around. This wasn't Serenity Valley, or even America. Mackenzie found himself in occupied Belgium in-between the Nazi invaders and the Belgian Resistance. Lost in a dangerous world where life is cheap and death lurks around every corner, the 21st century teenager finds his modern suburban values at odds with a world at war. He arrived as an innocent boy but, if he survives, can he leave unchanged by the horrors of war?

🔻     🔻     🔻     🔻     🔻     🔻     🔻     🔻     🔻 

She knelt, pulling a knife from her boot, and pressed the sharp blade against Mackenzie’s neck. “Or, I can slit your throat now.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

“Don’t get any ideas. I’m a light sleeper and I sleep with my knife under my pillow."

*        *        *        *       *       *

The tip of a black leather shoe poked Mackenzie in the shoulder. He awakened, chilled by the cold floor beneath him. Mackenzie’s eyes followed the black patent leather up from the shoes, along the black trousers, and up to a brown shirt accented by a black scarf secured through a leather knot and a black cross strap running from the right shoulder down to the left hip. A badge displaying the black Lion of Flanders on a yellow shield adorned the shirt’s left cuff, and above it was an armband emblazoned with an intimidating swastika.

*        *        *        *       *       *

"He’s not a spy. He’s a young boy who will blunder right into the hands of the Nazis if he isn’t helped.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

“I didn’t ask you to come. This isn’t a game. If someone describes us to the Gestapo, they will hunt us down and kill us.

*        *        *        *       *       *

“You didn’t have to kill him. I would’ve found a way to get us out of here.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

“You have a lot to learn. I hope you live long enough to learn it.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

“In this war, we are all soldiers... not everyone wears a uniform.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

"He’s been like a brother to me for my whole life, yet he’s so brainwashed that he’d believe it was his duty to send the girl I love to her death.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

Flora gazed at her with hardened eyes. “There is no such thing as childhood. Not in Belgium since the Occupation. Not in Europe since the war began. Childhood is a time of innocence; the Nazis destroy innocence wherever they find it. They trample it beneath their jackboots as they march across the continent.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

“Innocence, once lost, can never be restored. My childhood is gone forever, as is the childhood of every boy and girl who hears the sound of a storm trooper’s boots.” Flora shook her head. “No, Monique, we fight for their unborn children so they might grow up in a different world, in blissful innocence, unable to imagine what we are living through. We fight for the future; the present is damned.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

"Maybe where you come from, people can stand on a street corner and say whatever they want. But not here; not in occupied Belgium. Here, there are consequences for speech; serious consequences. People who say the wrong things disappear. These are scary times."

*        *        *        *       *       *

Flora looked away. “There are times I try to recall what life was like before the war... those mundane days, when the littlest of things would seem like the end of the world. We got upset over the most unimportant matters, yet I know there were times of unbridled happiness... even if I can’t remember what such joy felt like. Each day the war goes on, it steals the joy from our lives until we have nothing left.” She stood behind his chair and placed her hands on his shoulders. “I’m sorry, Mac.”

*        *        *        *       *       *

“Oberführer Trommler, I am Finn Peeters and this is my friend, Jan Martens. We’ve uncovered a suspected Resistance member in our midst. He is an American teenager living in Antwerp. His name is Mackenzie Mortimer.”

🔺     🔺     🔺     🔺     🔺     🔺     🔺     🔺     🔺

All the Time in the World: Some people have it, and some don’t. Available now at these fine retailers:

Amazon Kindle

Barnes & Noble Nook

iTunes

Even better: Get all 3 books! The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer Young Adult SF trilogy in paperback, Kindle, and EPUB:

The 25th Hour (Book 1)

The Tomorrow Paradox (Book 2)

The final novel in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer Young Adult SF trilogy has just been published! Click here to learn all about the series, and for links to order the books in multiple formats (paperback, Kindle, EPUB, Nook, iTunes, and more!)

Available in paperback, Kindle, and EPUB! Order the whole trilogy now:

The 25th Hour (Book 1)

The Tomorrow Paradox (Book 2)

All the Time in the World (Book 3): order from:

• Amazon Kindle
• Barnes & Noble Nook
• iTunes

Action-Packed Adventure!

I’ve authored many books and short stories and I’m often asked which is my favorite. I usually answer whatever I’m working on at the moment, because that’s where my enthusiasm will be. But there’s one book that may well be my best; I believe it’s certainly the most important I’ve written. If you have a moment, I’d like to tell you about it.

The book is part of a three-book series I crafted for teenagers and young adults. I wanted to re-create the adventure series of my youth but tailored to the modern reader. Anyone who grew up watching HBO and cable TV, and exploring the nether regions of the Internet, would find books from my childhood too tame and rather boring. So I sought to create a poignant adventure series, packed with action and cliffhangers, that would deal with issues relevant to young people today.

Our protagonist – I won’t call him a hero because he doesn’t want to be one – is a teenage boy; one part Peter Parker, one part Archie Andrews, and one part Marty McFly. It’s a coming-of-age story told in three books. In the first novel, The 25th Hour, 13-year-old Mackenzie Mortimer finds a pocket watch made by his long-missing inventor-grandfather. He discovers the watch can freeze time around him, which comes in handy dealing with bullies and school lockdowns. Of course there’s a girl: not Vanessa,  the one he’s infatuated with from afar, but his BFF Marlene who’s struggling to free herself from the friend zone.  Mac learns his first coming-of-age lesson: With great power comes great responsibility.

In the second book, The Tomorrow Paradox, Mac learns the hard way that the watch can be used to travel through time. Life in the future is very different but some things never change: Mac still finds action and adventure at every turn; and of course, there’s a girl: Gemma, a clone who’s legally considered property, not a person. Didn’t we fight a civil war over that? Mac learns the second coming-of-age lesson: If you have the power to make a difference when no one else can, then you have a moral obligation to do so.

But it’s in the just published conclusion, All the Time in the World, that Mac learns his most important coming-of-age lesson. Mac experiences fascism firsthand in occupied Belgium; encountering the Resistance, the Hitler Youth, the SS, and a concentration camp. These experiences change Mackenzie Mortimer, just as writing about them had a profound impact on me. I hope it’s the best book I’ve written; I know it’s the most important. You can order All the Time in the World now from these vendors:

Amazon Kindle

Barnes & Noble Nook

iTunes

Even better: Get all 3 books! The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer Young Adult SF trilogy in paperback, Kindle, and EPUB:

The 25th Hour (Book 1)

The Tomorrow Paradox (Book 2)

Time's Up! The Adventure Starts Today!

The final part of The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer Young Adult SF trilogy will be published April 29!

Available in paperback, Kindle, and EPUB! Order the whole trilogy now:

The 25th Hour (Book 1)

The Tomorrow Paradox (Book 2)

All the Time in the World (Book 3): pre-order from:

• Amazon Kindle
• Barnes & Noble Nook
• iTunes

All the Time in the World

I’ve authored many books and short stories and I’m often asked which is my favorite. I usually answer whatever I’m working on at the moment, because that’s where my enthusiasm will be. But there’s one book that may well be my best; I believe it’s certainly the most important I’ve written. If you have a moment, I’d like to tell you about it.

The book is part of a three-book series I crafted for teenagers and young adults. I wanted to re-create the adventure series of my youth but tailored to the modern reader. Anyone who grew up watching HBO and cable TV, and exploring the nether regions of the Internet, would find books from my childhood too tame and rather boring. So I sought to create a poignant adventure series, packed with action and cliffhangers, that would deal with issues relevant to young people today.

Our protagonist – I won’t call him a hero because he doesn’t want to be one – is a teenage boy; one part Peter Parker, one part Archie Andrews, and one part Marty McFly. It’s a coming-of-age story told in three books. In the first novel, The 25th Hour, 13-year-old Mackenzie Mortimer finds a pocket watch made by his long-missing inventor-grandfather. He discovers the watch can freeze time around him, which comes in handy dealing with bullies and school lockdowns. Of course there’s a girl: not Vanessa,  the one he’s infatuated with from afar, but his BFF Marlene who’s struggling to free herself from the friend zone.  Mac learns his first coming-of-age lesson: With great power comes great responsibility.

In the second book, The Tomorrow Paradox, Mac learns the hard way that the watch can be used to travel through time. Life in the future is very different but some things never change: Mac still finds action and adventure at every turn; and of course, there’s a girl: Gemma, a clone who’s legally considered property, not a person. Didn’t we fight a civil war over that? Mac learns the second coming-of-age lesson: If you have the power to make a difference when no one else can, then you have a moral obligation to do so.

But it’s in the soon-to-be published conclusion, All the Time in the World, that Mac learns his most important coming-of-age lesson. Mac experiences fascism firsthand in occupied Belgium; encountering the Resistance, the Hitler Youth, the SS, and a concentration camp. These experiences change Mackenzie Mortimer, just as writing about them had a profound impact on me. I hope it’s the best book I’ve written; I know it’s the most important. You can pre-order All the Time in the World now from these vendors:

Amazon Kindle

Barnes & Noble Nook

iTunes

The e-books will be published on April 29 and the paperback will be available on Amazon.

Even better: Get all 3 books! The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer Young Adult SF trilogy in paperback, Kindle, and EPUB:

The 25th Hour (Book 1)

The Tomorrow Paradox (Book 2)

The final part of The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer Young Adult SF trilogy will be published April 29!

Available in paperback, Kindle, and EPUB! Order the whole trilogy now:

The 25th Hour (Book 1)

The Tomorrow Paradox (Book 2)

All the Time in the World (Book 3): pre-order from:

• Amazon Kindle
• Barnes & Noble Nook
• iTunes

You’re Dead Meat!

We hear a lot about bullying these days. It’s trending in the news and the media and the Millennials act as if they’ve just discovered it. The truth is, bullying has been around for a very long time. As a kid, I was bullied in school just about every day. I had two perennial bullies who were the bane of my school years, but there were others who came and went— predators who recognized weakness when they saw it and who took gleeful pleasure in causing pain in those they knew wouldn’t or couldn’t fight back.

Most of them were little boys my age who didn’t look particularly terrifying to any adults, who wouldn’t have recognized them as bullies. In the world of kids and grown-ups, they were the Eddie Haskells of our world – the unctuous troublemaker teen on TV’s “Leave It toBeaver” who would always say “yes sir” and “you look lovely today, Mrs. Cleaver” to the parents, never hinting at his true nature. I say most: some were girls and they could be just as cruel as the boys. Worse, back then we were taught never to hit a girl – that would be a cardinal sin, so girls had carte blanche to bully as much as they wanted without fear of any consequences.

I was thinking about my grade school classmate Joseph today. I wish I could call him a friend, but in truth, I didn’t really have many friends growing up. I didn’t hang out with other kids, I didn’t go to parties with them, I didn’t go to their houses after school, I didn’t do the things friends do, so when I met Joseph I really didn’t know how to be a friend. But I was always pleasant to him and I even looked up to him. He was one of the Italian boys at our school and back then that meant he was a decent kid who came from a family steeped in strong morals and values. It also meant he knew how to take care of himself, if he had to, in a fight. I, on the other hand, was an avowed pacifist. I was against the ongoing Vietnam War and all wars in general. I thought fighting was wrong and rational people should be able to solve their differences peacefully. That made me a wimp in the eyes of many, with a target painted on my back.

One day, Joseph observed a boy bullying me. He told me at lunchtime, the next time the bully did that, I should tell him “Joseph said that if you do it again, you’re dead meat.” I had no idea what “dead meat” was, but to my 12-year-old ears it sounded awesome. Later, in the schoolyard, the bully approached me and I relayed Joseph’s message to him, word for word. He looked up, glanced across the yard, and saw Joseph nodding at him. I think Joseph even smacked his fist into his palm one time. The bully released my shirt collar and slowly backed away. That particular bully never bothered me again.

I don’t recall if I ever thanked Joseph. I probably did, but if not, I’m doing it now, 45 years late. I’m sure Joseph doesn’t remember that day, and probably doesn’t even remember me, but I never forgot him or his act of kindness. He didn’t have to fight the bully or even say a single word to him, yet he made a difference, eloquently and powerfully. When I wrote The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer coming-of-age trilogy, one of its defining precepts was “If you have the power to make a difference when no one else can, then you have a moral obligation to do so.” It’s one of the most important things I’ve ever written. A 12-year-old boy named Joseph understood this; if we can teach this to other kids and maybe even to their parents, we can make the world a better place, beginning by eliminating bullying.

THE TOMORROW PARADOX

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY OF THE TOMORROW PARADOX TODAY!

Mackenzie Mortimer is back!  Sort of...

 Mackenzie Mortimer was a typical junior high geek: shy, awkward, and always late for class. There was never enough time to do everything he needed to do; after all, there are only 24 hours in a day. But when Mac found his grandfather’s pocket watch buried deep inside a trunk, he discovered his days have an extra hour. According to his grandfather's journal, the eccentric inventor's pocket watch can add up to 60 minutes to a single day by freezing time around whomever holds the watch and presses its button.

 In "The 25th Hour" (Book 1 of The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer), Mac confronted the mysterious time traveler who had been stalking him and his pocket watch was destroyed. Now Mackenzie Mortimer’s troubles are just beginning! Mac finds himself a stranger in a strange land, surrounded by familiar people he doesn’t really know, with only Gemma, a 15-year-old clone, to guide him through the labyrinth of the future. Will the mysterious black, iron key unlock the secrets to returning him home, or is it a harbinger of his impending doom?

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!  E-book and Print edition of The Tomorrow Paradox  (Book 2 of The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer) will be published on April 30!

7 Reasons Why 2016 Will Be a Banner Year!

2016 is on schedule to be a banner year for myself as an author, and for my publisher, Amber Book Company. January marks the release of a special 10th anniversary edition of Issues in Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law available exclusively on Amazon.com. Two months earlier, the same edition was published in paperback and hardcover mass-market editions, and in digital format from VitalSource. Over the past decade, Issues in Internet Law has grown from an obscure 250-page book to a 586-page book used not only as a resource by business owners, lawyers, and IT professionals but also as a textbook by colleges and universities around the world.

February kicks off the launch of my Fangs & Fur fantasy series with Flashbacks, the first book in the series. Fangs & Fur takes place in the same universe as my previous four-volume fantasy series, Halos & Horns, telling the stories of the vampires and werewolves you only think you know! First introduced in the Halos & Horns fantasy saga, these vampires and lycanthropes have their own tales to tell in Flashbacks, shedding light on their dark pasts while sowing the seeds for the next two books in the Fangs and Fur trilogy. Flashbacks can be enjoyed as a freestanding book of vampire and werewolf stories; or read by Halos & Horns fans to learn more about the characters populating that saga; or viewed as the prologue to the larger story unfolding in the Fangs & Fur trilogy.

March sees the return of Mackenzie Mortimer, the 13-year-old boy with the time controlling pocket watch, last seen in The 25th Hour, published last July. The Tomorrow Paradox is the second novel in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer trilogy and picks up where The 25th Hour left off. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but if you thought nothing could top the cliffhanger at the end of the first book in this young adult science fiction series, think again!

May is National Short Story Month and to celebrate, Amber Book Company is publishing an omnibus edition of Shards, my short story collection from 2011. The original edition was a whopping 540 pages of cross-genre speculative fiction, but the new Shards: The Omnibus Edition contains an additional 210 pages of new stories, weighing in at a mind-blowing 750 pages!

Over the summer, look for More Essays of a Reluctant Blogger, the sequel to 2014’s Collected Essays of a Reluctant Blogger. Like its predecessor, my new book features the best of my blog, from humorous anecdotes to philosophical musings to insightful commentary on today’s societal concerns.

When winter arrives as 2016 draws to a close, one item you’ll want to be sure to include on your Christmas list is my forthcoming novel, All the Time in the World, the final book in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer young adult science fiction trilogy. Of all the books I’ve written, I found All the Time in the World to be the most difficult to write. The conclusion of Mackenzie Mortimer’s coming-of-age story is intense, dramatic, and action-packed. Plan on spending an entire evening reading it, because once you start you won’t be able to put it down.

And the seventh reason 2016 will be a banner year? Next month marks five years of my writing and publishing this blog! To quote the inimitable Mortimer Snerd: “Who’d a thunk it?”

Boom Goes the Dynamite!

An Excerpt from The 25^th Hour (Book One in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer):

The frantic blasts of the car horn and the noise of screeching tires were replaced by the eerie calm and silence of Q-Time. Mackenzie tumbled from his bicycle, landing unharmed on the asphalt road. “Phew! That was close. I could have been killed.”

“Yes, you could have. You should be more careful at intersections.”

“Usually, I am,” Mackenzie explained. “But I was rushing because…” He stopped when he realized he was still in Q-Time. Whenever he was in Q-Time, Mackenzie had felt like the last boy on Earth, alone after the desolation of a neutron bomb or some natural disaster had wiped out all other life on Earth. It was always eerily silent in Q-Time. For him to hear another person or object, it would have to be moving at the same vibrational frequency he was. He spun in the direction of the voice, realizing if he were encountering another person in Q-Time, it could only be the mysterious time traveler. He wondered if the cloaked figure before him was his future self, his grandfather, or his father? Then, he recalled the time bomb and realized the mysterious stranger might mean him harm. Afraid the man might vanish before he could find out, Mackenzie twisted the larger watch stem all the way to the right. He had read enough in his grandfather’s journals to theorize by expanding his chronal energy field to the maximum to encompass both himself and the time traveler, he could trap the traveler in the field. “Who are you?” Mackenzie demanded to know. He heard a subdued rumbling in the distance.

The figure stepped closer and lifted his hood, revealing a young man in his early 30s. “What have you done?”

“I’ve expanded the chronal energy field as far as it will go. If I’m right, it’ll counter your own field and trap you in Q-Time with me until I get some answers.” What had begun as quiet rumbling grew tonitruous in the usually silent realm of Q-Time. Mackenzie felt the air vibrate and the ground quake. “Are you the same time traveler who gave me the key? He was ancient and you’re young. Either you’re someone else or you haven’t given me the key yet, in your timeline. Which is it? Who are you?”

“Don’t you hear it? Can’t you feel it?” The traveler’s voice betrayed his panic. “You don’t know what you’re playing with… the forces you’ve unleashed. Keep this up much longer and you’ll rip the fabric of Q-Time apart. You’ll destroy us and everything else.”

Available in paperback or Kindle exclusively on Amazon.com. 

Time is running out… fortunately, Mackenzie Mortimer has a few more minutes than anyone else!

Will Someone Pull the Fire Alarm?

An Excerpt from The 25^th Hour (Book One in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer):

Mackenzie rushed in through the doorway moments before the bell tolled the start of history class and sat next to Marlene.

“Good morning, Mac. I thought you might be skipping today when I saw you weren’t in homeroom.”

He gave a sheepish grin. “I had a late start this morning. I had to finish my term paper. You know how important it is to our course grade and Mr. Larson’s not accepting any excuses for being late with it. I’ll fail history if I don’t turn it in today.”

“You shouldn’t have waited until the last minute to write it. At least you completed it. You did finish it, didn’t you?”

“Of course.” Mackenzie’s sheepish expression returned. “Although I did have to use my twenty-fifth hour this morning to get it done in time.”

Marlene was aghast. “Mac, you did it again? Using up your hour at the start of the day? Now you can’t use the pocket watch today, since you’ve sworn not to override its safety feature again, so you don’t end up trapped in the past or the future. I thought you had finally become responsible.”

“Not failing history is being responsible, Marlene. I have become responsible. I was on time for class and I have my term paper right…” Mackenzie’s face turned ashen. “Right on my kitchen table, where I left it.” He struck his forehead with the palm of his hand. “That’s it. I’m dead. I’ll be spending all summer making up history in summer school. Maybe I’ll get lucky and someone will pull the fire alarm as an end-of-school-prank in the next hour.”

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Time is running out… fortunately, Mackenzie Mortimer has a few more minutes than anyone else!

Which Will She Choose?

An Excerpt from The 25^th Hour (Book One in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer):

Marlene’s mother set a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon before her. “Have you thought about what we discussed last night, dear?”

The teenager swallowed a forkful of egg. “I’m still thinking about it.”

Her father looked up from his coffee. “It’s a terrific opportunity, sweetheart.”

Mrs. Prentice shot her husband a reproachful look. “We’ll support whatever decision you make, dear. I realize it’s not easy being uprooted and having to make new friends. There’s a lot to consider. It’s your decision… but it is a tremendous opportunity not likely to come by again.”

Her father nodded. “Like I always say, when opportunity knocks, always answer the door.” He rose from the breakfast table to leave for work. “Whatever you decide, honey, your mother and I are proud of you for having been chosen.”

“I’d better head off to work, too,” Mrs. Prentice said. “Those groceries won’t scan themselves. Marlene, you’ll need to make a decision by tonight. I promised your principal I’d call her tomorrow morning to say either we’re on our way to Ferncrest or to give them time to offer the scholarship to another girl.”

Marlene swallowed her bacon. “All right, Mom. Let me get the last day of seventh grade over, first. I’ll be thinking about it all day and I’ll let you know what I’ve decided at dinner.”

Mrs. Prentice smiled. “I know you’ll make the right choice. Have a great day at school, hun.”

Marlene watched her mother dash off to her job at the supermarket. She appreciated how hard her parents worked, but she wanted more for herself than to be bagging groceries when she was her mother’s age. She knew she was smart and now her belief had been validated. She pictured herself sitting behind a large desk in the executive suite of a Fortune 500 business, in a penthouse office overlooking a metropolitan skyline, far from Serenity Valley. And far from Mackenzie Mortimer. She sighed. Her father always said, “You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.” Why did she have to choose? Why couldn’t she have it all? Life was unfair, the 13-year-old concluded.

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Time is running out… fortunately, Mackenzie Mortimer has a few more minutes than anyone else!

The Train is Coming!

An Excerpt from The 25^th Hour (Book One in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer):

Tucker Bryant darted to the rear of this bus and tugged on the lever. He grunted. “It’s wedged in there tight. I can’t move it.”

Vanessa Carlyle screamed. The red crossing gate lights flashed and the warning bell had sounded, signaling the approach of a train. The red and white striped wooden crossing gate swooped down, smashing onto the front of the school bus, before breaking off. “I see the train!” Vanessa cried. “It’s coming right toward us.”

The train’s shrill whistle pierced their ears each time it sounded.

Mackenzie gazed out the window. “It’s half a mile away. He won’t be able to stop in time. That’s why he keeps blowing the whistle. He wants us off the track.”

Tucker grunted, as he pulled the lever. “This won’t budge. Even if we could get it open, there’s no way we’re getting seventy kids off this bus in a few minutes.”

“Break the windows,” Marlene suggested.

“With what?” Tucker asked.

“We can’t squeeze through the windows,” a girl in the row in front of Marlene said. “Besides, the broken glass would slice us up.”

The train whistle blew three more times, momentarily drowning out the ringing crossing gate alarm.

Mackenzie turned to Marlene. “There’s only one thing left.”

“You can’t,” Marlene said. “Your hour’s up.”

Mackenzie gritted his teeth. “I can bypass the safeguard.”

“You can’t risk it, Mac.” There was panic in Marlene’s voice. “You don’t know what will happen. The watch might explode… or age you… or kill you.”

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Time is running out… fortunately, Mackenzie Mortimer has a few more minutes than anyone else!

What Would You Do?

An Excerpt from The 25^th Hour (Book One in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer):

Mackenzie watched the school parking lot disappear in the rear window of the yellow school bus. “You know what this means, Marlene?”

Marlene shot him a quizzical look. “What?”

Mackenzie grinned. “An extra day to finish our English term paper. Field trips are awesome.” He opened his brown bag. “Ham and cheese. What’d you get?”

Marlene peered inside hers. “PB and J.”

“Trade you halves.” He handed her half of his sandwich and she gave him half of hers. Mackenzie eyed her bag. “Chocolate chip cookies? You know, those are really unhealthy for you.” He pulled an apple from his bag. “Since you’re my BFF, I should let you have my apple.”

Marlene grinned. “I suppose you’ll be happy to dispose of these unhealthy cookies for me?”

Mackenzie flashed a boyish smile. “It’s the least I could do.”

Marlene knew he hated fruit and had a sweet tooth. As much as she liked chocolate chip cookies, she liked Mackenzie Mortimer more. She passed him her cookies.

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Time is running out… fortunately, Mackenzie Mortimer has a few more minutes than anyone else!

Dad’s Going to Ground Me Until I’m 40!

An Excerpt from The 25^th Hour (Book One in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer):

Mackenzie looked around the room. “What’s that humming noise?”

Zigs shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never heard it before.” His eyes scanned the bedroom. “Look! The ship in a bottle you gave me is glowing.”

“What’s strange about that? You told me it was solar-powered.”

“Yeah, it lights up, but not like that. It had little lights coming from inside the ship, through the portholes. But now, the whole bottle is shinning like a lamp.”

“The humming is getting louder, too. I think that’s where it’s coming from.”

The bottled ship glowed with a brilliant intensity, as the pitch increased to an ear-splitting level. Zigs covered his ears and Mackenzie grew concerned, fingering his pocket watch.

“Something’s wrong, Zigs. Let’s get out of here.”

The glow from the bottle was so bright, the ship inside was no longer visible. Mackenzie felt his eardrums about to burst and sought relief in the silence of Q-Time. He pushed the watch stem down and turned it clockwise, as the pitch reached a crescendo and the bottled ship exploded. Seeing the explosion as he entered Q-Time, Mackenzie twisted the larger stem to the right, expanding the chronal energy field from around his body to encompass Zigs. “Grab my hand, Zigs, and stay as close to me as you can while we run from the room.”

The boy grasped his hand. “What’s happening, Mac?”

Mackenzie glanced up at the kaleidoscopic array of shrapnel hanging in the air. “It’s an explosion. But I’ve slowed time, as long as you stay close to me. I’ve never shared the chronal energy field with anyone, so I don’t know how long I can keep it up for both of us. I should be able to do it for the whole hour, but if you slip out of the field’s range, you’ll be trapped in regular time with the explosion. Whatever you do, stay with me and don’t fall behind.”

“How far do we have to run?”

“Far enough that we leave the explosion behind us. We don’t know how powerful it was. It might take out your room like a grenade blast or, if it’s strong enough, it could bring down the mansion.”

“The whole house?” Zigs cried. “My dad’s going to ground me until I’m forty.”

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Time is running out… fortunately, Mackenzie Mortimer has a few more minutes than anyone else!

I’d Hate to See Your Pretty Little Bird Get Hurt

An Excerpt from The 25^th Hour (Book One in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer):

They turned, only to find their path blocked by an imposing figure.

“You!” Tucker exclaimed.

The man chuckled. “Now boy, is that any way to greet your pa? Especially after he’s been away for so long.”

Tucker squeezed Brooke’s hand.

“Let’s go, Tucker,” Brooke said. “Your foster parents will be wondering where you are.”

The man grinned. “Aw, ain’t that cute? You done got yourself a little girlfriend while I was banged up. Pretty one, too.”

Tucker released Brooke’s hand and pushed her behind him. “What do you want?”

“It’s what I don’t want. I don’t want to go back to that jail cell. You should have seen the scum they put me in with. But bad as it was, it’ll be worse if they convict me and send me to state prison. There’s even nastier guys there, serving long sentences, and they do things to the new guys that… well, since your little girlfriend is here, let’s say they’re things you don’t want to know about, let alone experience.”

Tucker cringed. “What’s that got to do with me?”

His stepfather’s lip curled into a crooked smile. “Everything. They’re going to call you to testify at my trial. Probably in the judge’s chamber or in a recorded deposition. Either way, they’re going to ask you a bunch of questions. If you answer them the right way and tell them none of those things happened, then they’ll have to drop the charges and I’ll stay out of prison.”

“You want me to lie to save your butt?” Tucker studied his stepfather. He knew the older man was afraid of what awaited him in prison. Tucker had never seen him fearful; he had always been an intimidating figure to the boy. It dawned on him his stepfather was not a particularly large man, and indeed, placed among other men he might be fodder for the hardened prisoners.

“Smart boy. Make it convincing and I won’t even punish you for the hell you put me through. All I want is to stay out of prison.”

“Don’t listen to him, Tucker,” Brooke said. “Tell the truth and they’ll lock him up for years. Maybe he’ll get what he deserves behind bars.”

“Feisty little thing.” Tucker’s stepfather grinned. “It’d be a shame if anything were to happen to her.”

“Leave her out of this,” Tucker said. “This is between you and me.”

“Then, you’d better be sure to testify the right way. I’d hate to see your pretty little bird get hurt. I remember the last time you brought a sparrow home.”

Available in paperback or Kindle exclusively on Amazon.com. 

Time is running out… fortunately, Mackenzie Mortimer has a few more minutes than anyone else!

I Buried It in the Woods

An Excerpt from The 25^th Hour (Book One in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer):

That afternoon, Tucker walked Brooke home from school. He glanced behind his shoulder. “It’s weird. He could be anywhere. My stepfather might be watching me now.”

Brooke grasped his hand. “Don’t worry. He wouldn’t dare come near you before the trial. And once you tell the court all the terrible things he did to you, they’ll put him away for a long, long time.”

Tucker sighed. “I don’t know if I can. It’s not easy to talk about, especially to a courtroom filled with strangers.”

Brooke gazed into his eyes. “You can do it. I know you can. You told me.”

“That was different. I felt comfortable with you. We were sharing our lives; you told me about your suicide attempt and all your problems at home. You were like a sparrow with a broken wing and I wanted to protect you and help you fly again.”

She smiled. “A sparrow with a broken wing?”

“I found one in the woods, once. I brought it home and kept it in a shoebox. I fed it seeds and worms.”

Brooke frowned. “Eww, worms.”  She laughed. “That was sweet of you, though. Did its wing mend?”

Tucker turned sullen and gazed down. “No. My stepfather found the shoebox in my room and…” He swallowed. “He didn’t think I should have pets.”

A horrified look crossed Brooke’s face. “He didn’t…?”

Tucker nodded. “I buried it in the woods where I had found it.” He brushed a tear from his eye. “It seemed like the right thing to do.”

Available in paperback or Kindle exclusively on Amazon.com. 

Time is running out… fortunately, Mackenzie Mortimer has a few more minutes than anyone else!