Visit With The Monster Squad and Christian Page

You don’t have to have children to enjoy reading YA books so I’m delighted to welcome author Christian Page here today to talk about the first installment in his new kid’s book series.

Here’s a brief synopsis:

Monsters. Mad Scientists. Danger.

        Dark forces are converging on the sleepy town of Autumn’s Hallow. Monsters in the woods, mad scientists on the loose and sinister minions lurk. Four young friends must band together to uncover a secret plot that threatens them, the town they live in and the people they love. It’s up to Blaine Davis, Daschle Gaunt, Shelley Merry and Drake Harker, heirs to fantastic powers to stop an evil that threatens to consume the world. Can the Monster Squad thwart the evil Victor von Frankenstein in time? Find out in Book 1 of an exciting new series!

I’ll let Christian explain further and he has a treat to share with you as well. Welcome, Chris.

Hi, my name is Christian Page and I am the author of a new kid’s book series called The Monster Squad. Book One is the Monster Squad: The Iron Golem and is now available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and other popular sites and book stores from my publisher New Generation Publishing. I’m guest posting today to provide an overview on the book and an exclusive excerpt from the story! I hope you’ll enjoy it.

The Monster Squad follows a group of small-town friends who discover they are heirs to frightening and mysterious powers. There’s quiet and shy Blaine Davis who is the invisible woman reborn; the jock, Daschle Gaunt, who has the strength and speed of the wolf man; the mystery man, Drake Harker, who has the mind control powers of the vampire; and the brain, Shelley Merry, who is the heir to a terrible and fierce monster. 

The kids must learn to master their powers while grappling with a group of nasties led by the nefarious Victor von Frankenstein who threaten their town, families and themselves in a race against time. The book combines the action and adventure of a popcorn sci-fi movie, introduces readers to the rich cannon of sci-fi, gothic and horror movie characters with a new and fresh modern spin, and breaks up the action with a ton of fun pop culture references and one liners to make sure readers of all ages get a breather and not take the action too seriously.

We have a trailer posted on You Tube that gives a quick 60 second run thru of the high points of the story. You can check it out here.

You can also read a “look inside” preview on Amazon by clicking here.

Now for Thoughts in Progress readers, an exclusive excerpt from the story…

Kevin raced with Shelley thru the crowds. They ran from the field, to the front entrance, and into the grassy area surrounding the stadium. Long shadows from the football field lights crisscrossed the grassy knoll, extending to the nearby wall of trees. Few people were outside and most were up to no good or couples sneaking away for some privacy. Kevin tripped over two surprised seniors attempting a half-time smooch.

“High Schoolers…” he murmured, as he ran past the surprised girl and her irate boyfriend.

“Aaaoooo!”

They skid to a stop at a long, low howl from the woods. Inside, they could see bobbing cell phones acting as impromptu flashlights. There were dozens of them running this way and that.

“Which way?” Shelley asked, breathing hard.

A Grimm student came flinging thru the underbrush landing hard on the grass. He fell in a broken heap, skipping across the lawn, landing in the bright glare of the stadium. 

Kevin looked closer. It wasn’t Heinz, Frederick, or Carlos but the kid looked like he could have been a relative; snow white hair, fair skin, and the same perfectly pressed clothes. Except this one looked broken. His head and legs were pitched at odd angles and he lay still on the ground. A swarm of tiny, odd-looking insects rose up around him glinting metallic in the light. 

Shelley gasped as the swarm congealed on the Grimm student and his body contorted. The strange bugs melted onto the boy, reshaping his broken limbs and injuries, while emitting a soft greenish light. The Grimm picked himself up from the ground and looked at Shelley and Kevin with a sneer as a gash on his forehead closed. A final metallic bug flew into his mouth and he bit down, licking his lips. He ran back into the underbrush toward where he had been thrown.

“That way!” Kevin said, pointing at where the mutant Grimm had run off to.

“After you…” Shelley said with a gulp.

“Thanks…” Kevin whispered, running into the woods after the boy, Shelley close on his heels.

Darkness closed on them fast as they entered the woods. The trees were tall and the underbrush was thick. Bright stadium light stabbed thru the branches and trunks but most of the woods were pitch black. Kevin pushed forward, following the trail the Grimm student had paved. He caught sight of him thru a gap in the trees jumping ten feet in the air over a thick bramble patch.

“Holy cow!” Kevin said. “That kid moves like Spiderman!”

“What are they? That Grimm kid is like some kind of monster,” Shelley said.
Kevin grabbed his cell phone and punched in some information. “Cyborgs,” he replied grimly, as he handed over his phone.

Shelley took it and looked at the screen. Kevin had launched his phone’s Gothic app and pulled up an entry from the Gothic Monsterpedia. A 3D picture of a scary half-man, half-machine revolved in the foreground with a table of attributes and brief description to its side.

“Machine augmented humans, usually controlled by a remote source. Very high strength and constitution. Low charisma. Proceed with caution. Best dealt with range weapons, ideally a high grade plasma cannon.”

“I forgot my photon torpedoes at home,” Shelley quipped, giving back his phone. “Any suggestions?”

“Do you know any friendly, time travelling Terminators?” 

From out of the gloom two Grimm students stalked forward. They were perfect reflections of each other. They walked through a bright shaft of stadium light, revealing their harsh jeers and robotic blue eyes.

“You will come with us, heir,” the first said to Shelley. The second moved forward to grab her by the shoulder.

Kevin pushed him. “Hey! Leave my friend alone!”

The second boy regarded Kevin with disdain. The Grimm grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him in the air.

“You are the one who evaded the Heinz unit,” he said, leering at Kevin who dangled from the ground, struggling against the boy’s grip. “You are no heir.” He flung Kevin to the side who landed in a nearby bush.

“Kevin!” Shelley shouted, shirking away from the Grimm students.

“You will come with us now, heir,” the first Grimm boy said, approaching Kevin and picking him up by the hair. “Or we will break your companion’s neck.”

Shelley raced forward and tried to tackle the Grimm kid holding Kevin. The second pushed her away. She fell in a heap on the ground near a large tree trunk. She looked up woozily.

“Get her,” the first said to his companion.

The second stepped forward. 

BOOM!

The trees shook.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Grimm student scanned the nearby trees. The earth and lower limbs shook. 

“What is that?” the second Grimm asked.

From out of the bushes, a giant metal fist smashed into the Grimm student nearest Shelley and slammed him into in a tree, hitting it at fantastic speed. The student evaporated in a swirling puff of angry, buzzing, metal insects. The insects fell to the ground, dying with a soft green light.

The first Grimm dropped Kevin who looked up to see a giant metal man walk from under the shadows of a nearby fir tree. The Grimm student crouched into a fighting position as the giant robot raised to its full height, towering over him, its harsh emerald eyes glaring down. The Grimm cyborg sneered and launched himself at the robot.

The giant iron creature grabbed the student in midair with one hand and whipped him around, smashing him into a nearby tree. Like his companion, the Grimm exploded into a million tiny pieces. A cloud of glowing lime-hued metal buzzed angrily and then fell helplessly to the ground, turning to a dull grey dust.

Kevin scrambled to Shelley, staring at the giant robot in fright. The creature was huge, easily ten feet tall. Its body was smooth and metallic with large iron fists and feet which carved deep impressions in the soft forest earth. It had no features on its body or face except for two bright green slits that served as eyes. 

The creature turned its head and regarded Shelley and Kevin. The harsh green of its eyes softened and the slits angled down to a neutral expression. It turned its body and stood still before them.

“Holy cow!” Kevin muttered.

Shelley got up on her elbows and looked at the glistening steel robot. “What does your phone say about this one, Kevin?” she breathed.

Kevin shakily took his phone from his pocket. He gulped. “Robot,” he whispered, “infinite strength, unknown weaknesses, intentions unclear.”

*****

Liked what you read? Then go to Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Good Reads or Kobo to find out more!

Thanks so much for taking a look at my story! I hope you take a few minutes more to explore it on one of the sites with reviewer and purchase information. I check these regularly and hope to see your feedback soon!

Thanks – Chris

Chris, thank you for visiting with us today and sharing this excerpt. You definitely make reading fun. I like the pop culture references.

Now here’s a bit of background on Chris.

Christian Page loves stories that combine fun, action and adventure. A father of two, he lives in the Pacific Northwest of the United States with his wife, son, daughter, overly plump cat and under-behaved dog. 

You can visit the author to learn more about his stories and upcoming work at www.chrispage.com or follow him on Facebook (Chris Page) or Twitter. 

Thanks everyone for stopping by today. We’re getting close to the end of the year. Are you ready for 2015? Do you enjoy reading YA books? If so, what do you enjoy most about them?