Hello, hello, hello,
It's another Saturday. A cold one at best. And, if you're like myself and live around the Chicago area, we are supposed to get hit HARD. I have a strange feeling that it will actually happen, but I'm hoping otherwise. Lots of things might get cancelled for the big event if that happens. Perfect timing. Spring semester, for me, starts on Monday. In order to keep me from worrying so much about the upcoming semester. I am going to talk to you today about the dinosaur comrades from The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs. Last week, I talked about Rockybado and his friends from....well....Rockybado, so what I am going to talk about today will talk about each dinosaur character. So, sit back. Relax. Here we go. Dacston is a Tyrannosaurus Rex. He is green and very cheerful. This T-Rex cares deeply about the well-being of Galavanti Island and has often contemplated being Vice President to Mario Galavanti, who is the President of Galavanti Island ( who, unfortunately, never makes an appearance and remains a mysterious character). Dacston tries very hard to get along well with his cousin, Selfish Arnie, who is also a T-rex, but whose personality is the complete opposite of Dacston. In the first book, Dacston sets out to find a case of saxophones that Selfish Arnie took with him for his own pleasure, and he is basically considered the leader of this group. His full name is Dacston T. Rex, and the T stands for Timothy. Valpatic is a velociraptor, and he is always the one that assumes everything. His full name is T. P. Valpatic, with the T standing for Thomas and the P standing for Patrick. He has always gone by Valpatic as a request. As Selfish Arnie is Dacston's antagonist, Valpatic's antagonist is Steve. Both characters are velociraptors; however, Steve is the stupid dinosaur, and Valpatic is as smart as Dacston (Their IQ scores were the same, 160, and they disclose this information in the third novel). While Valpatic serves as the main accomplice and sidekick to Dacston, Steve serves as the one who does everything wrong, according to Selfish Arnie. Jokie is a brachiosaurus/brontosaurus. He is very sophisticated and often talks in a sing-song voice. He tends to sing while he is talking, especially when it comes to creating an action plan with his dinosaur comrades. His rival is Bronco, who has no special attributes to him; he mainly serves as a ride to his other dinosaur friends. Jokie, however, is amazing at storytelling, and he is one of the best well-known authors in all of Galavanti Island. Sammy is a stegosaurus who is the quirky one. He is very similar to Valpatic, as he often assumes something that occurs. However, Sammy often goes with the flow, while Valpatic is more uptight. Sammy's rival is Spike, who has the character of a punk musician. He presents himself as one (in the later novels), and he and Sammy eventually become friends. This relationship between the two groups is the only one that eventually becomes a positive one. All of the dinosaurs play the saxophone, among other instruments. Also, each dinosaur often wears a tuxedo collar. However, Selfish Arnie, Steve, Spike, and Bronco wear black toupees. I have talked to you a little about each dinosaur character from The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs. Next week, be on the lookout for a blog post about the creature characters from The Magic Video Game. Today and ONLY today, The Magic Video Game and its sequel, The Tennis Summer, are FREE on Amazon, so check them out! The Magic Video Game: "Summer of 2006 begins in Valparaiso, Indiana, and two siblings acquire a video game that lets them go to the island of Wakahakai to meet a cool polar bear and his friends, including a forensics science fanatic, an athletic walrus, a crazy penguin, a distinguished snowman, a simplistic Eskimo pig, and a beautiful princess. Together, they must keep Darveda, Nelson, and Hilda from taking part of Winderplassic Estate." The Tennis Summer: "It is summer of 2006 in Valparaiso, Indiana, and Levi and his friends have to prepare for the upcoming tennis season as freshmen in high school. With two new boys who join Levi's group of friends, a date gone wrong with his girlfriend, a renovation of his family's garage, and the beginning of many tennis practices, this summer proves to be very eventful." Have a great weekend! B. Levi
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Aaaaand it's Saturday again!
I am doing something slightly unusual for the next few weeks. Normally, I talk about the human characters in my novels, but, for a little while, I am going to talk about Rockybado, Dacston and his comrades, and Marty and his best friends. In case you may not know, Rockybado comes from....well....Rockybado; Dacston and his comrades come from The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs; and Marty and his best friends come from The Magic Video Game. As I have said before, the plot lines are very similar but very different at the same time. The characters, of course are very different in many ways. In Rockybado, Rockybado himself is the robot who is King of Texamilio, a supposedly fictitious island near Hawaii. He assumes full power on his throne, but at least one knucklehead, who goes by the name of Claude McSmith, wants Rockybado's position in order to get even with him. Rockybado was valedictorian of his high school class, and Claude was salutatorian of the same class in the same high school. They were once friends until one day when they both had a heated argument about certain laws of physics. Rockybado, of course, won, and Claude has been mad at him ever since. Rockybado is amused when he finds out that Claude is married to a lady named Susan. This lady is not very smart, and she often takes what Claude says literally, especially when they are both trying to devise a plan. Rockybado is what many would consider a great leader in many ways, and he will never let anyone get in his face about certain problems, including the potential of losing his position to Claude McSmith, which he would never let happen. Rockybado also has two fairy accomplices. One is an actual fairy, and her name is Sparkle. The other accomplice is a frog, whose name is Sassio. They rarely appear in any of the novels, but when they are given orders by Rockybado, they usually take his orders the wrong, but goofy way. Unfortunately, Claude McSmith is not the only one who wants Rockybado's position. As a matter of fact, a horde of aliens called the Naughty Blue Aliens are also thirty for Rockybado's position as King of Texamilio. The Naughty Blue Aliens hail from the south side of the island of Texamilio, where they all live in their own area called Blue World. The place is really called Dumigal, but some Naughty Blue Aliens live in the neighboring suburb called Benjamilio. The main leaders of the Naughty Blue Aliens include Mildred, the only female Naughty Blue Alien to actually have a leadership position among the horde, Lester, who acts as the bouncer, and Roy, who is the only Naughty Blue Alien actually in want of the throne. Among Rockybado's best friends include Mr. Cobado, who is almost exactly like Rockybado in terms of his looks and personality. As a matter of fact, Mr. Cobado was in Rockybado's and Claude McSmith's high school class, and Rockybado and Mr. Cobado have been best friends since elementary school. Another friend who hangs around Rockybado and Mr. Cobado a lot is Alfredo Parmesano Tortellini. He is the founder of Tortellini's Pizza Parlor, a popular pizza parlor in all of Texamilio. Another type of creature that lives in Texamilio include Bobinos, that take the goofy form of a human. Some Bobinos look similar to humans, while others look like personified creatures from children’s books. Many Bobinos resemble puppets in many ways, both by their looks and by how they present themselves. Some also look just like aliens, only they don’t have the same attributes as aliens. As a matter of fact, some Bobinos have been confused for the Naughty Blue Aliens in the past. Other Bobinos look like random objects, such as a hot fudge sundae, a meatloaf, a slice of cheese, and a book. And yet, many other Bobinos look strictly like animals. Despite how different these Bobinos look from each other, they all carry similar personalities in one way or another. They all have at least some sense of humor. Some Bobinos are funnier than others, while a large sum of these weird creatures could be the next best comedians in all of Texamilio. These are the main characters who live in Texamilio. Next week, I will talk about Dacston, his comrades, and other main characters from Galavanti Island (The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs). Also, The Magic Video Game and its sequel, The Tennis Summer, are free on Amazon today and tomorrow, so please check them out! The Magic Video Game: “Summer of 2006 begins in Valparaiso, Indiana, and two siblings acquire a video game that lets them go to the island of Wakahakai to meet a cool polar bear and his friends, including a forensics science fanatic, an athletic walrus, a crazy penguin, a distinguished snowman, a simplistic Eskimo pig, and a beautiful princess. Together, they must keep Darveda, Nelson, and Hilda from taking part of Winderplassic Estate.” The Tennis Summer: “It is summer of 2006 in Valparaiso, Indiana, and Levi and his friends have to prepare for the upcoming tennis season as freshmen in high school. With two new boys who join Levi's group of friends, a date gone wrong with his girlfriend, a renovation of his family's garage, and the beginning of many tennis practices, this summer proves to be very eventful.” Have a great rest of the weekend! B. Levi Hello, and Happy Saturday!
This weekend is going to be extremely busy, so I am going to keep this week's post short and sweet. Today, I am just going to give you ten more random facts about Rockybado, so....here we go! 1.) The names of the kids (with the exception to Toby, of course) are in the pattern of D, B, D, B. This happened purely on accident. 2.) The Ingram's dad was born in London, England and moved to the United States with his family when he was 13 years old, in 1969. They lived outside of Stamford, Connecticut until the early 1980's when they moved to the Chicagoland/Northwest Indiana area. 3.) Every year, Mr. Ingram, Uncle Alan Wickes, David, and Brody go to a basketball game in Chicago. They consider that to be the best day of the year. 4.) In college, Brody Ingram, Andrew McCalsky, and Andrew Grzedek (The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs) become very close friends. 5.) Even though Mr. Ingram has lived in the United States since the 1970's, his British accent is still pretty thick. However, he is half-English and half-Italian. 6.) David and Brody have similar ways of spending Friday nights with their friends. They often order pizza or Chinese takeout and play video games until as late as two o'clock in the morning. 7.) Even though David Ingram, Adam Levistad, and John Garfield go to different colleges, they still remain close friends. David goes to a college in North Manchester. Adam goes to the same college that Brett graduated from, on the north side of Indianapolis. And John goes to a college in Muncie. 8.) Andrew McCalsky goes to the same college as his parents and older brother. 9.) At the beginning of The Revenge (or Invasion) of the Naughty Blue Aliens, David gets a job at a business firm where he can apply both marketing and finance. He also coaches tennis. 10.) David plays tennis, soccer, and basketball. Brody, however, plays tennis, soccer, basketball, baseball, and is a black belt in tae kwon do. Now, without further ado, The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs and its sequel, The Sound of a B Flat, will be free today and tomorrow on Amazon, so I have the summaries of both novels for you to read. The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs: "It is June 2006 in St. John, a town in Northwest Indiana, and five siblings find out about the existence of dinosaurs through their neighbors who actually visited them. At a swimming party, the neighbors give the three younger siblings a book with a T-Rex's number on it. When all five kids visit Galavanti Island, they help Dacston, a T-Rex, Valpatic, a velociraptor, Jokie, a brachiosaurus, and Sammy, a stegosaurus, locate a case of saxophones that Selfish Arnie, Dacston's cousin, has taken from all of the citizens of Galavanti Island." The Sound of a B Flat: "Summer of 2006 commences in St. John, a town in Northwest Indiana, and Caleb Grzedek's band is starting to get known. Andrew, his older brother, starts his first tennis season in high school. He also spends time with his girlfriend and best friends, and Caleb finally comes up with the band's name with his best friends. And, coming from a big family, the Grzedek's are often visiting their relatives, and the five kids are always learning new things. Therefore, summer is off to a good start." Please check out The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs and The Sound of a B Flat this weekend! Have a good one! B. Levi Hello, and Happy Saturday, friends!
We are now headed into the second full week of January of 2015 (I can hardly believe it), and I am very excited about what this year has in store for me. As I have said before, I am currently working on The Revenge of the Naughty Blue Aliens, which is part of the Rockybado series. I am going to finish up on a chapter today, and I will have five chapters left of this novel! Then, as I have also said before, I will either work on Rockybado 4 (I don't know what I will call it yet) or work on either The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs 3 or The Magic Video Game 3. As I'm sure many people have noticed, the three series have similar plot lines, and they even take place in Northwest Indiana (in different places, though), and they also take place in the same year. The first and second novels of each series, plus The Crazy Chicken Escapade, take place in 2006. The third and fourth novels of each series, plus the sci-fi compilation, take place in 2014. That is what I have at the moment, but I'm sure I will have plenty of ideas eventually. With the third novel of Rockybado in mind, I will give you ten facts that you probably don't know at the moment. 1. David Ingram, the third oldest of the five boys, ends up playing acoustic guitar after much encouragement from Brett, his older brother of one year. Although he practices with Brett's band, he doesn't actually perform in any gigs. 2. Brody, David's younger Irish twin brother, believes that baklava can go very well with wine. 3. Brett plays in two bands, but his main band is The Hawaiian Geeks. His other band is Mr. Morton, and he performs only part time with them. 4. Toby has had much interest in Brett's band, and he hopes to eventually play the piano with The Hawaiian Geeks. 5. Dawson gets married to Daniela Cardis, who is originally from Matteson, Illinois, which is only about forty-five minutes away from Crown Point. They met in college. 6. Brett works full-time in a finance firm as well as perform with The Hawaiian Geeks and Mr. Morton. Brett has been playing with the idea of leaving Mr. Morton entirely so that he can focus mainly on The Hawaiian Geeks. He eventually gives his position to David McCalsky, Andrew McCalsky's (Brody's best friend) older brother. 7. David gets a job in a business firm where he can apply both marketing and finance (both of which he studied in college before graduation), and he also coaches tennis for young kids. 8. Brody is almost always the victim of Brett's wake-up pranks. Many of Brett's pranks include throwing a flying monkey at him, banging pans in the room, playing the music player at full blast, playing his electric guitar in the room, and using a random microphone to record Brody's heartbeat. Yes. That has happened before. 9. Although David was not involved in music in high school, he proves to be a good singer when Brett and his band once encouraged him to sing something for them. Brody, however, is not a good singer. And neither is Toby, for that matter. 10. You all know this one already. Video games are what make up at least 50 percent of David's and Brody's lives. So, that is what I have come up with while writing Rockybado 3. Also, Rockybado (the original) and A Run in the Game (the sequel) are on Amazon for 99 cents today and will be until Monday January 12th. With this in mind, I will give you the summaries of each novel, and please feel free to check both out! Rockybado: "It is June 2006, and, after school lets out for the summer in Crown Point, Indiana, five boys find out about a robot in Texamilio, a fictitious island due west of the eight Hawaii Islands. When they meet Rockybado and his two close Bobino comrades, they are all confronted by Susan and Claude McSmith, who are both out to steal Rockybado's position as King of Texamilio, after a sour debate regarding physics in high school." A Run in the Game: "It is the summer of 2006 in Crown Point, Indiana, and Brody Ingram and Andrew McCalsky make it on the Watsons baseball team, and the team must try hard to defeat the Pratts team, their opponent, from Hebron, Indiana, that plays rough. In the meantime, Brody's older brother, Brett, must come out of his shell in order to communicate effectively with his love interest. Everyone is faced with different challenges throughout the summer." Have a great weekend! B. Levi Happy Saturday and Happy New Year!
Today marks the last day of my Christmas Break, and....for that matter, my last Christmas Break ever. At least for a few years before I go back to graduate school to receive my MBA in a concentration that I don't know. Meaning....I'm not quite sure what I would concentrate in yet. But that is several years down the road. Even though this is technically my last Christmas Break for a while, I am not graduating this year. I am graduating next fall, so I am looking forward to what the real world has in store for me. While I was not thinking about all that, I have been working on the third novel of Rockybado, which is titled The Invasion of the Naughty Blue Aliens. It will either be "Invasion" or "Revenge." I don't know yet. I am still thinking about ideas for this novel, as well as the fourth novel of Rockybado. I'm not quite sure what I plan to name my fourth novel yet; however, it is currently called The Cat, and, quite frankly, I don't know why. As I've said in previous posts, I have decided that I am probably going to write the third and fourth novels of each series before making the transition to another series. Right now, I am adding to the Rockybado series. Then, I will decide from there. So, with this in mind, I will probably not publish anything again until August. However, I might still try for May or June, so keep your fingers crossed. Even though my mind is flowing with ideas, I am already over halfway done with The Invasion (or Revenge) of the Naughty Blue Aliens, and I am excited to see how it turns out once I'm finished with it. I have basically started diligently writing chapters since the beginning of my Christmas Break, (which started on December 12th) and, if I write one chapter a day (it may or may not be possible since I am returning to a busy work schedule come Monday), I will be done with that novel in a week (besides proofreading). Then, I will decide what I do after that. While I am talking about Rockybado, I have decided to do a new promotion that is not too expensive. As a matter of fact, my novels will be on Amazon next Friday, starting at 99 cents. The promotion will go until January 12th, and I will post the summary of both Rockybado and its sequel, A Run in the Game. Rockybado: "It is June 2006, and, after school lets out for the summer in Crown Point, Indiana, five boys find out about a robot in Texamilio, a fictitious island due west of the eight Hawaii Islands. When they meet Rockybado and his two close Bobino comrades, they are all confronted by Susan and Claude McSmith, who are both out to steal Rockybado's position as King of Texamilio, after a sour debate regarding physics in high school." A Run in the Game: "It is the summer of 2006 in Crown Point, Indiana, and Brody Ingram and Andrew McCalsky make it on the Watsons baseball team, and the team must try hard to defeat the Pratts team, their opponent, from Hebron, Indiana, that plays rough. In the meantime, Brody's older brother, Brett, must come out of his shell in order to communicate effectively with his love interest. Everyone is faced with different challenges throughout the summer." Have a great rest of the weekend! B. Levi |
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