I'm excited for my next signing at the Layton Barnes and Noble on Saturday December 7th from 1pm to 4pm. There is a big sale going on for teachers that day, and a book fair. It should be a wild ride! I will not have copies of Double Danger yet, but I hope to have a signing for it coming up soon. It is available here on the blog though. Just click on the picture of the book you want to buy. Books make GREAT Christmas gifts! (Was that subtle enough?) I'm working on my next project slowly, due to responsibilities at school. It's shaping up to be for a slightly younger audience. I'm not abandoning Earth Bound. There will be at least one more book, I just have another idea that I want to play with for a little bit.

Double Danger is even more fun than Not Alone was. I hope you enjoy the latest installment from the Quickstep Universe, and that you will introduce your friends to the adventure!

Gearing up for my next two signings. I have official word from the Sugarhouse Barnes and Noble. I am in the store from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. on Saturday November 30. Then, the following week, I'll be at the Layton Barnes and Noble from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. I'll be giving out my new bookmarks at both events promoting the Quickstep Universe!

Keep your eyes peeled for the next installment. Earthbound Double Danger will be making its debut in the next couple of weeks. I'm looking for a place to hold a release event in Utah County. It would probably have to be on a Saturday. Let me know if you have any ideas!

I think my least favorite part of writing is the editing. It's important, I know, but sometimes I wish I could just do it right the first time so when I'm finished with my story, I can just publish it. Alas, I have to admit that I have had some great ideas come to me while I was editing. I am putting the finishing touches on my second book. I have a fantastic cover, but I am still wondering about the subtitle. I am thinking of changing it to Double Danger. Let me know what you think.

I spoke with someone at the Sugarhouse Barnes and Noble today. The decision maker was not in at the time I called, but they took down my info and said they would pass it on. It would be great to have a signing in SLC! Keep your fingers crossed!

Remember, my next signing is on December 7th at the Layton Barnes and Noble. Watch out for my second book coming soon!

Great news quickstep friends, book two of my Earthbound series is nearing completion! I have a working cover put together, thanks to my brilliant designer, Misty Choate, and I have people picking their way through the manuscript as I am writing this, helping me get things ready for release. I'm not sure if I can get it into stores by Christmas, but it should be available at my Estore, which you can visit by clicking on the image of the book here on the blog, and on Amazon within the next couple of weeks! I'm thinking of changing the subtitle of this book. Let me know what you think about Double Danger, Twice the Trouble, or any other thoughts.
Here is the cover as it sits today.

As always, thanks to the readers who have already joined the Quickstep Universe!

John

Making Progress

I have been swamped since school started which is exactly why I wanted to finish the rough draft of book two before school began. I came close. Just the other night I was up until one in the morning binging my way through another chapter. Things are coming together nicely. I have people proofing what I have completed, and I have already sent in my ideas and some Picts to my cover designer. It's a whirlwind of a hobby right now. I am looking forward to another signing at the Layton Barnes and Noble on Dec. 7th at 1:00.

I met with the manager of my hometown B&N (Orem) and she turned me down flat. She was mildly condescending in her tone as she told me she just couldn't bring my book into the store because it is a print-on-demand book and "that's just not the way we do signings." Oh well, I'll take my business elsewhere.  Check out my Facebook page for Earthbound for more updates! If you liked my book, pleas write a review on good reads, amazon, and anywhere else you can, and point someone else in its general direction. The Facebook page has a link to my eStore just like the blog does. It's a store I set up through my publisher so it's perfectly safe and I make better royalties than I do from amazon.

Stay tuned in for more from the Quickstep Universe!

It's a week and a half before my next signing!(Aug. 17th don't forget to come and bring a friend!) I have been working on the second of Quentin's adventures off and on throughout the spring and summer. I am nearing completion. I have to give a shout out to Elaine Francis, and Eric Ashby who are picking their way separately through portions of the book already.

I am attempting to streamline this novel. I was not in the mood to take five years to write this one, like the last one took. I have also begun a draft of the cover. I can't tell you how much fun it is to have an idea, and then see that idea turn out! This second book has been so much fun to write, and I'm excited to get it ready for publishing. Hopefully I will have it out in time for Christmas!

As promised, I am posting a small portion of book two, Earthbound: Twice the Fun. Let me know in the comments or on my facebook page what you think!

           It was the twenty-seventh of December—less than a week after the world almost ended. Quentin Robinson and Jason Mackenzie were running a few after-Christmas errands for Jason’s mom. The Robinson family had returned home from their vacation to Oceanside, California on Christmas Eve. It had been a short four days for Quentin, yet it seemed as though a lot had happened.

            Jason was riding shotgun, rather than driving because with his broken arm, it was just easier to be the passenger. He had to catch himself all the time as the two boys jabbered back and forth with the usual small talk. Topics ranged from school, to Christmas, to Quentin’s girl problems, to Jason’s lack of the sublime agony that arises from such problems.

It wasn’t easy to stay on mundane topics. Jason, of course, still remembered the events that led to Quentin and the P’yunae foiling the Hwanai plot to kill everyone on Earth. He had so many questions he wanted answers to, yet he knew it would be futile to ask Quentin.

During the day, Quentin lived the normal life he had requested that Alexander and the P’yunae let him have. It was only at night that a high frequency signal, sent from the Suntek reconnected the parts of his brain that contained his secret memories. At the moment, Quentin was talking about his argument with Brinley just before school let out for winter break.

To Jason, it seemed strange to hear his old friend complaining about his latest act of stupidity with regards to Brinley. It wasn’t as though it was the first such happening. Both boys had a knack for saying the wrong things at the wrong time to girls in general. As a result, Jason often felt it best to say nothing at all.

            Better to be thought a fool, then open your mouth and remove all doubt.

            “What did you say?” Quentin asked.

            Jason jumped a little. “I didn’t say anything.”

Jason had forgotten that Alexander said he would be working with Quentin on his aura discernment as part of his training. He had trouble understanding exactly what was meant by ‘aura discernment,’ but he guessed it had something to do with telepathy. Hearing what others were thinking might be a useful skill, but Jason had no doubt he did not want to hear everything the people around him were saying.

The two teenagers finished their business on behalf of Mrs. Mackenzie, and Quentin dropped Jason off in front of his house. Jason turned to go inside when he heard a sound coming from his open garage. He trudged through the remnants of the last snow storm still piled on the side of the driveway. As the inside of the garage fell into view, he was startled to see Quentin standing there just out of sight from the street, grinning widely.

“You just left.”

“Yes, I just left,” Quentin replied. “I remember feeling like there was something you wanted to talk about, but wouldn’t bring up. So I came here to find out why.”

“Can’t you just read my mind and figure it out, or remember what I was thinking while we were in the car together a second ago?”

“Naw, my telepathy isn’t quite as focused when I’m in real time. Alexander says it’s because my conscious mind is in control and tells my subconscious that what it’s trying to do by reading auras isn’t possible. So tell me what’s on your mind, Jase. I have access to all the pieces of my mind at the present, so now’s the best time.”

“Yeah, well,” Jason wasn’t sure how to begin. “We just haven’t had any time to talk since everything happened. I’ve got a thousand questions.”

“I have some time before Edgar is expecting me.”

Jason suggested the two of them go inside to his bedroom so they could talk in relative privacy. Quentin flopped down on the beanbag chair in the corner where he usually sat when he came over, and Jason paced a bit as he tried to decide which question to ask first.

“I did wonder if I was on a hidden camera tv show at first.”

“Really?”

“Yep, until Sarah mentioned time travel, I totally thought I’d see a camera come out at any moment. Even after that I still had doubts until I saw the Suntek.”

“Could she read your mind?”

“Not exactly, she can interpret what people are thinking, using energy that we put out.”

“Energy?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of like, when you can tell someone is angry because they are putting out bad vibes, and not because of anything they do or say.”

“Well, I’m not very good at that, but I get what you’re saying.”

“Good, well Sarah, and Alexander too, both have a gift for doing that. I’m still learning, Jacob is okay at it, and Peter’s supposed to be pretty good, but I haven’t seen him do it personally.”

“Crazy,” Jason whispered, then spoke up as he felt his confidence rising. “So, how about the ship? Did you totally freak out when you saw it?”

“Oh man, Jason, it was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. One second I was looking at a vacant lot a few blocks from our condo, and the next, there was this big ship in front of me.”

“What does it look like?”

“It looks like it’s covered in chrome, but it’s lighter and stronger, Skyler says. It’s got at least two levels, and it’s shaped kind of like those flying wing airplanes we saw in that Boeing documentary Mr. Carpenter showed us.”

“How fast did it go?”

“Not sure, but we flew from California to Utah in about fifteen minutes.”

“Dude! No way!”

“I’m serious, Jase. I called you from the ship less than twenty minutes after boarding it in Oceanside.”

“Unreal.” Jason almost didn’t ask the next question, but he really wanted to know the answer. “Do they really look like that or are they using disguises?”

Quentin laughed out loud, but regained his composure quickly. “You know, I really never thought about it that way. I guess that’s a good question because movies always show aliens as bugs or some other kind of strange looking animals. Alexander told me there’s no such thing as unintelligent life evolving into intelligent life on any planet he has ever visited or heard about, and intelligent life always looks pretty much just like us.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah, he said if you think about it, skills like communicating and understanding emotions--especially humor are the fundamental differences between animals and people.”

“I guess that makes sense. I mean, when I tripped and fell, screaming all the way down the stairs a few weeks ago, neither my cat, nor the parakeet did a thing, but my mom about died laughing as soon as she saw I was okay.”

            Quentin sobered a bit as he changed the subject. “You want to know about Hone.”

            “Dude, you gotta stop doing that!” Jason complained. “It’s freaky to hear your thoughts spoken by someone else.”

            “Sorry, Alexander did the same thing to me when we first met. I guess I’ve forgotten how uneasy it made me feel.”

            “So what’s he like?” Jason asked referring to Hone. “I know I saw him that day in the bunker, but all I got from that was that he was, you know, creepy.”

            “Well, I think you nailed it, Jase. He is creepy. But there’s more to it than that. He’s obsessed. He thinks I will somehow be responsible for saving the Hwanai.” Quentin was usually a truthful boy, but he didn’t feel the need to tell his friend that Hone meant to use his blood to fulfill his own prophecy.

            “Grandpa Beck said he thought that Hone was driven crazy by the sheer amount of time-travelling he has been doing.”

            Quentin allowed that that was possible. “What he’s doing isn’t like the quickstepping we do. With him, the light energy pulses and twists and turns like you’re on a fast moving carnival ride with a maniac at the controls.”

            “Do you think he’ll come back?”

            Quentin chewed on the side of his mouth for a second as he considered what he knew about Hone’s threats. “Yeah, Jase, he will. But I’ll be ready for him. That’s partly what Edgar’s training is for.”

            Jason asked about every member of the team. Quentin did his best to bring his friend up to speed on who each one was, and what their responsibilities were. He talked about his relation to Alexander and the possibility that he might live to be very old by Earth’s standards because of his P’yunae DNA, if he survived the mission he was working on.

What Quentin didn’t say was how uncertain he still was that he had any real future. There was no doubt about it. Rounding up the Hwanai agents would be the most dangerous thing he could try to do, and with Jason out of commission for several months, there wasn’t anyone else who could do it. P’yunae law was clear about staying out of the way until a suspect was detained by an individual from the planet being attacked. Only after a formal request for the Union to take the suspect into custody, could the P’yunae step in and take control of the situation. Since Quentin was one of four humans on Earth who knew the P’yunae even existed. He was the lucky one by default. Quickstep’s creator, Red Mackenzie was far too old for combat, as was Avery Beck, the only other man on Earth who knew anything about the Quickstep bunker. As seniors in high school, Jason and Quentin were just entering the prime years of their lives. The duties of safeguarding the widows of time had fallen on their shoulders, and Quentin was the only one still in a single piece.

It wouldn’t have mattered. Quentin knew he didn’t want anyone else to get caught up in the chaos that was his newly acquired secret life. He decided that the fewer people who knew about the Hwanai, the better off everyone was.

“One last question, if it’s okay.”

“Sure.”

“What does it feel like when that thing in your head opens up a window?”

Quentin smiled a little. “It tingles a little bit. I can feel it working with my mind. The  scientists who developed it had hundreds of years of experience working with Light Energy as an aid in artificial intelligence. Originally the implant was only intended to assist those with various kinds of brain damage to live a normal life. It was completely by accident that they discovered that it could be used for time travel. And when their world joined the Union twenty years ago, they handed over the technology to the High Council for safe keeping.”

“And the Suntek just happened to have an extra implant for you on board?”

“Jacob told me there is one on every ambassadorial ship for emergencies. Most ambassadors are several hundred years older than Jacob and many suffer strokes and other medical issues while away from their personal physicians. So the Council allows for an exception. Jacob isn’t likely to have such a need, so he willingly gave me his.”

“So it’s like a prosthetic brain?”

“Um, more like a performance enhancer for the brain.”

Quentin stood. Jason rose from his bed and reached out with his good hand. Quentin gave him a high five. They bumped fists twice, and slapped their own chests, their signature since junior high.

“Go get ‘em Big Q.”

“Take care of that arm. I could use your help Jase.”

“Oh I wouldn’t miss it! I’ll talk to Grandpa about maybe logging a little quickstep time myself to try and speed up my recovery.”

“Sounds good, bro, I’ll see you later.”

Quentin concentrated for a moment to find the correct time and place Edgar had designated for training and quickstepped out.

“Oh man I’m glad I’m not him right now!” Jason shuddered at the thought of his friend in mortal combat. He said a silent prayer. Please God, watch out for him!

Thank you to those of you who have expressed interest in my cover contest. Today I have exciting news. Barnes and Noble in Layton, Utah has invited me back for another book signing. They loved my enthusiasm last time and have ordered twice the books for this go around!

Everyone mark your calendars and tell your friends! The date is Saturday, August 17, 2013 from 1pm-4pm at the Barnes and Noble in Layton. Come in and help me celebrate this wonderful experience!

Sorry to my Utah County friends. The summer has been so crazy, I haven't yet been able to get a signing down there. I have emailed the community relations person, but it's an uphill battle for a self-published author. If this second signing goes as well as the first, it might help convince the Orem store to take a chance on a hometown author even if he's self-published.

In other news, I'm about halfway through with book two in the Earthbound series. The story is telling me it needs to deviate from my original intentions a little. Funny how an idea can change itself as you try to express it. Early indications are that I will have a rough draft ready by the time school begins in late August, but who knows?

Oh, Quentin is calling. I left him in a tenuous circumstance. I'd better go work on it with him.

Keep your eyes peeled for a sneak peek at a rough draft of a chapter from book two on the blog. I'd love to get some feedback.

John Lott

I have had so many people ask about my cover which was designed with help from students and family and perfected by Misty Choate. I have decided to hold a contest to decide what the cover of Earthbound Book two will look like. Remember the cover includes the front and back of the book.

Include the title "Earthbound: Twice the fun" on the cover. If you have more than one idea feel free to send them all! You may send written ideas, scans, or even try your hand at designing it on the computer. To clarify, your specific drawings or ideas will not necessarily appear on the cover. I have a professional who will do the actual design using ideas from the winning entry.

Winners will be chosen from those who enter and will receive a free copy of the book when it is published. They will also be recognized on the acknowledgements page of the book. I can't wait to see all of the wonderful ideas. Please send entries to quickstepuniverse@gmail.com

Thanks,
John A. Lott

Quentin update

Newcomers to the Quickstep Universe are invited to Q and A with Quentin right now about all of his new adventures! Click on the image of Earthbound: Not Alone to buy a copy online.