Reminiscing about my favorite girl…

Sometimes people come into our life and have such a profound impact in such a short time with just their “being”, that – even though we may not get to spend as much time with them as we would like or even get to know as much about them as we would like – at some point, we just have to sit back, accept, and appreciate that somehow, for some reason, we were deemed special enough to be blessed by someone truly special – even if just for a moment that is quite fleeting in the whole scheme of things.

In the Fall of 1980, when I started 1^st grade, just such a special person came into my life only to exit far too soon when I moved away in the Summer of 1983 after the end of 3^rd grade.  She had long brown hair; big brown eyes; a beaming smile that could light the darkest of Grinch souls; and an angelic niceness tempered with a heaping helping of sass and cleverness to keep one in line (which I needed at times).  Her name…Melissa VanOsdol.  Such a powerful, unbridled joy I felt with her that I’ve never felt since – oh, I’ve searched for that same feeling…through many avenues – but, 30-plus years later, it’s remained elusive.

She was the first girl to tell me I was “cute” (hello, ego boost!).  She was the first girl to say the words “I love you” to me who wasn’t my mom or grandma.  Obviously, the expression/meaning of those words when you’re the age of a 1^st grader are comprised of a far lesser complexity than when you’re an adult – but – it still evokes a special feeling just the same.  Along these lines, she made this birthday card for me in class which I’ve kept in a safe place after all these years:

Outside of card

Inside of card

I do regret, as innocent as those three words were at the time, that I never said them back (to be fair, I’ve never said those three words as an adult either – they’re powerful words, more valuable than gold, so I keep them locked in a box labeled: “Open only in case of an extraordinary woman who is cool with my nerdiness”).

Anyway, that 1^st grade year was pretty calm.  I don’t recall doing anything stupid, thus, I don’t recall Melissa and I ever being mad at each other – it was just a really special friendship…but always a bit different from the norm (I’ll explain later).  A lot of my memories of that year have faded away, but there are two that still stand out quite vividly. 

In the latter half of that grade (early 1981), Melissa was talking and giggling a bit too much for the teacher’s taste.  Well, back then, teachers still took us out in the hall and paddled us for misbehaving (I was never paddled…thank you).  She was taken out to the hall; our class got silent; and soon we heard the SMACK of the wooden paddle.  A few moments later, she came back in with tears in those big brown eyes…it devastated me.  I wanted to run across the room and give her a comforting hug and kiss right then and there.

The second memory happened after the school year was over and we were on Summer break – I’m pretty sure anyway – the event timing is fuzzy now, but the details are forever (I hope) engrained into my brain.  Well, I received an invitation to her birthday party (I was the only boy invited).  I wasn’t able to go on the day it was being held, so my mom drove me over to her house a couple days before the party to give her a birthday card.  When she answered the door, she was eating little powdered sugar doughnuts and had powdered sugar all over her face – sporting her patented beaming smile the whole time.  It was so funny!  I never mentioned to her that she had powdered sugar all over her face – I just gave her the card, shyly blurted out a quick “Happy Birthday!”, and just as quickly, turned and went back to the car.  I heard her say “Thank you!” as I walked away and the door shut soon after.  To this day, when I see those little powdered sugar doughnuts in stores, I think of that moment and get the biggest smile on my face.  That memory is one of my most prized possessions.

1^st grade class photo

UPDATE 3-18-2015:  Out of respect for the privacy of my old grade school classmates, whom I've always cherished (even the ones I didn't always get along with way back then - haha), I have removed my old classroom photo.  If I knew for sure that people would be respectful, then I would keep it up - but for now, it will stay down.

2^nd grade: 1981- 1982

2^nd grade began the series of “tug-of-wars” in our relationship. 

We've lost a visionary genius...

Ralph McQuarrie has died at the age of 82. 

More than anyone - yes, perhaps even more than George Lucas himself - Ralph McQuarrie was responsible for bringing "Star Wars" to life and changing millions of lives around the world...mine included.  "Star Wars" sparked my creative fire back in 1977 as a 3-year old, and from that point for many years to follow, I spent many an hour drawing pictures and conjuring up stories of all kinds - not just "Star Wars"-related.  So, to find out many years later as a teenager that this grand cinematic vision really sprang from a technical artist from Boeing was a bit of a surprise.  I bought every "Art of Star Wars"-related book I could find just so I could take in every detail of McQuarrie's works of art.  There were many times I wished that a version of "Star Wars" could have been made that looked identical to the style of the paintings he created.  My personal favorite is his depiction of Luke scanning the far-off Mos Eisley spaceport atop a high cliff - I can sit and stare at that painting and just get lost in it...you can almost feel the heat from the twin suns and hear a desolate wind blowing through.

What an amazing talent Mr. McQuarrie was - he may be best known for his "Star Wars"-related work, but it's really just one piece of an incredible portfolio.  Check out his website and be amazed.

Next stop - Mars!

The Mars Curiosity rover began it's journey to Mars this morning and I couldn't be happier...well, actually, I guess if it's propulsion system instead utilized a combination of light/solar sail and plasma rockets to cut it's 8 1/2 month journey to 8 1/2 weeks or less, I'd be absolutely ecstatic.  Some day...some day.

Here's hoping that it lands safely and begins the next phase of Mars discovery - thus paving the way for man's next foothold in the solar system (of course, there's that little hurdle of protecting astronauts from extreme radiation - but - we'll get there).

Be sure to check in on the official Mars Curiosity Twitter feed (which I've also added to the bottom of my blog).

As an aside, it's my humble/un-researched opinion that if we made colonization of Mars the top goal of our country, we could easily cut unemployment in half in the near-term; and eliminate it, not just for our country but for all countries on Earth, in the long-term.  Not to mention the technologies surely created for such a goal could also be used to clean up our own planet and make it a better place to live.  But - *sarcasm alert* why attempt such a revolutionary evolution for our species when it's soooo much easier to spend our time destroying things, stabbing each other in the back for material possessions, and policing others' morality here on our tiny blue marble.  *Here's where I kick the dirt and do my best grumpy old man "Bah-humbug!" spat*

Keep looking up.

Nice shootin' SEALS!

With a well placed shot to the head and chest, the words "Bad Mother Fucker" will be replaced on wallets all across America with "SEAL Team Six". A ballsy mission pulled off with spectacular gusto. OBL sleeps with the fishes.

Way to go fellas! I hope you all get a "Drink Free for Life" card good in every bar & pub across the nation.

I also hope this will speed the process of bringing our brave military men and women back home to their family and friends.

I know the death of one piece of hairy feces won't completely shut the door on ancient ignorance, but perhaps now we can truly begin to move forward and make the 21st Century that giant leap for mankind we envisioned it could be in the 20th: advanced space travel technology; colonization of Mars and moons; wide-scale renewable clean energies; cheap & efficient de-salinization of water for all; new farming techniques and philosophies so that all will have healthy food in abundance; but most of all - widespread acceptance and appreciation for each other and this gift of life we've all been given.

Oh, and hover cars! We were supposed to have hover cars by now, dammit!...but I digress.

We've spent way too much time and money taking out the trash - let's get back to creating/improving/inspiring.

The Candy Bar Adventures available as an ebook!

Well, looks like it's time for a little shameless self-promotion - *shame-filled sigh*- so, here we go...

The first two books in my "The Candy Bar Adventures" series are available in ebook format for the Amazon Kindle; Barnes&Noble Nook; iBooks app/store for iPad (and other Apple products); and you can even go to Lulu.com (the self-publishing site I use) and get them for various other devices. With the exception of Amazon, the ebooks are in the epub file format. Now, here's the exciting part - each book is available for just $2.99! Yes, you just read that right - $2.99! That's less than $3!!! (no, really, it is - I did the math and everything).

How 'bout some helpful links to facilitate that purchase, hmmmm? No pressure or anything...(for the love of God, just buy a couple copies!!! *uncontrollable sobbing begins...followed by holding of breath*)

The Candy Bar Adventures books at Amazon.com

The Candy Bar Adventures books at Barnes&Noble

The Candy Bar Adventures books at Lulu.com

The Candy Bar Adventures books at iBookstore...well, ok, I don't have a link for this one - you gotta have an Apple device that can download and run the iBooks app...I think you can download the app through iTunes too.


Anyway, still working on the third book in The Candy Bar Adventures series (3 years and counting now - I'm a little embarrassed) but it'll be completed eventually.

Enjoy!

Atlantis Rising - Cool mag; how about a TV show?

Doing a little catch-up reading on my latest issues of Atlantis Rising magazine and I got to thinking - man, this would make for a cool, little, weekly TV series. For those unfamiliar with this magazine, the tag line on its covers' read: "Ancient Mysteries - Unexplained Anomalies - Future Science"...basically a lot of supernatural/new age/alternative explanations type stuff that you have to take with a big grain of salt - but damn if the stories aren't entertaining as hell.

It's a really well-assembled magazine for the most part (I get a little annoyed that a majority of the articles start on such-and-such page, and then you have to skip ahead 20+ pages for the rest of the article so that entire pages inbetween can be devoted to some wacky new age product...but, hey, they gotta pay their bills somehow so, I understand) with a lot of cool graphics to go along with the great stories, and though a little heavy on the ads, even the majority of those are pretty entertaining to peruse.

What makes this magazine so cool is that some of the stories are actually 99 - 100% factual - it's just that it's odd type stuff that may not be known to most people - for example, in Issue 81, they had a neat story on "The John Dee - 007 Connection" in which it was explained that Ian Fleming used a 16th Century alchemist/magician by the name of John Dee as a major inspiration for his James Bond character, as well as various other aspects in his 007 series of stories. As a fan of the James Bond series, I thought this was pretty interesting info.

Then there are the many stories dealing with archaeological/historical themes that aren't exactly in line with the traditional scholarly thinking - thus any rational person would need to take the info. in with a healthy dose of skepticism - BUT - there always seems to be just enough there to make you ask "what if?". As far as I'm concerned, "what if?" is the one question that adds a real spice to life, so I love these type of stories. I mean, it's a couple of Europeans from the middle of the last millennium who are credited with proving that the Earth is round and revolves around the Sun when, in reality, scrolls from the famed Ancient Library of Alexandria showed that it was already proven in ancient Egyptian times - a full 1700 - 1800 years earlier!

Anyway, I would like to see the folks who run this magazine make a pitch to the folks at the History channel, or SyFy channel, or even the Discovery channel, to see if they would be interested in creating a weekly, hour-long show featuring stories from the magazine. Like I said, it all comes back to asking that great, entertaining, question - "what if?".

Top 10 Favorite Albums of the 2000's first decade

Compiling this list was harder than I thought it would be - two of my favorite bands during this first decade have been the Black Keys and White Stripes, whose entire catalogs were released during this time (with the exception of the White Stripes' debut album from 1999). Also, I was somewhat surprised that just about every year was represented in my personal list. Ah, and that brings me to another point...notice how I included "favorite" in the title because unlike professional critics who think their opinion is the be-all, end-all when it comes to what the top albums are, I realize my personal "top 10" could be somebody else's "bottom 10"...although they would be wrong, of course. :)

Without further ado, let's get this started with number 10 - since counting down backward to 1 is supposed to be more dramatic...I guess. Anyway...

10. The Best Little Secrets are Kept - Louis XIV (2005)

This album kind of makes me think that this could have been what might have happened if Bon Scott hadn't died and then decided to take AC/DC in a "new direction" in the early 80's. This album has a rockin', bad boy (almost a bit revolting at times if you pay attention to some of the lyrics) feel to it like any other traditional rock album...yet, the sound is a little out in left field, so to speak. I only wish they would have added their great instrumental "The Hunt" to this album.

9. Costello Music - The Fratellis (2007)

Fun album that'll have you tapping your toes and bobbin' your head to the beat (though some of the beats are a bit off-time and off-kilter - but they work). "Creepin' up the Backstairs" is probably the most well-known song from the album.

8. Audioslave - Audioslave (2002)

What do you get when you mix Rage Against the Machine with the lead singer of Soundgarden? A kickass album, in my opinion. This group's first album blasted you in the package from the get-go with "Cochise", and didn't let up with the awesomeness throughout the entire album. In fact, the final track, "The Last Remaining Light", is my favorite song on the album. Too bad they couldn't keep the magic going in their subsequent albums.

7. Is This It - The Strokes (2001)

What a great friggin' album! The riffs, the beats, the vocals - everything is put together simply and solidly for an album filled with catchy tunes. I remember first hearing "Last Nite" and thinking "wow, haven't heard a song like this in a long time - I need to hear more!". "Soma" and "Take It or Leave It" are two of my favorites.

6. Contraband - Velvet Revolver (2004)

"Well, awright! GnR is back with a better singer!" is what I thought when I first heard about the creation of Velvet Revolver. I was just hoping the songs wouldn't suck - and, man, they sure didn't! Great, straight-forward, rock-n-roll album - with a few ballad-esque numbers thrown in. In fact, one of those more mellow tunes, "You Got no Right", is my favorite off the album.

5. Parachutes - Coldplay (2000)

In my opinion, Coldplay is a group that defies logic. With each successive album, the quality of their songs have gotten worse; yet they've become bigger and more successful with each successive album. Their debut album is so dang good - full of rich, atmospheric sound and quality lyrics. Their second album also very solid (some may say their best). Third album - crap. Fourth album - even crappier. Oh well, enough of that. This album is a perfect listen on those cold, cloudy, rainy or snowy days - just slap on a pair of headphones and shut out the world around you.

4. Elephant - The White Stripes (2003)

This was an incredibly tough choice for me, as all but one of their albums were released this decade. Do I go with "White Blood Cells", which featured the first song I had heard from them - "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" - a song with such an infectious riff, that it drove me to buy my first electric guitar just so I could play the riff? Do I go with "De Stijl", an incredibly good album filled with bluesy-perfection? No, in the end, I gotta go with the album that combined everything that was great about their first three albums and raised it up another level yet. This really is a behemoth of an album, and I can't think of a more appropriate title than what it was given. The greatness of this album made it even harder to accept how sub-par their next two albums were, but - oh well - the first four albums more than make up for it.

3. Rubber Factory - The Black Keys (2004)

Even harder than my White Stripes album choice was my Black Keys choice. The Black Keys may just be the best group going today. This album was my first introduction to this incredible duo and it instantly blew me away! Is there a more kickass song than "Stack Shot Billy"? Well, sure, but the choices are few. Their cover of "Act Nice and Gentle" is one of my favorites as well. Like I said, this was a tough choice as the two albums that preceded it, and the two albums that proceeded it, are all fucking brilliant! All I can say is that I hope there's more to come from this group in the next decade.

2. Wolfmother - Wolfmother (2006)

This album will punch you square in the clackers and you'll thank them for it! Plain and simple, this album ROCKS!!! Alot of people harp on them and say that they're just recycling old Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath sounds - well, to that, I say "THANK YOU, Wolfmother! More please!". I wish there were more new groups dabbling in the great inventiveness of late-60's and early 70's rock. This album is cosmic, man, cosmic...what an incredible debut album. Favorite song - "Colossal". As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to listen to that right now.

1. Diorama - Silverchair (2002)

I've got one word for this album - "Masterpiece"! This Australian group continued to evolve from it's mid-90's grunge origins with each successive album, but their first release in the 21st century is this century's finest piece of popular music - in my opinion of course. Songs like "Across the Night", "The Greatest View", and one of my all-time favorites from any band - "Tuna in the Brine", sound as if they should be on other classics such as The Beatles' "Abbey Road" or Queen's "A Night at the Opera". If you haven't heard this album, you're missing out on greatness. Don't your ears deserve something great for a change?

Best of the rest (in alphabetical order):

Amy Winehouse - "Back to Black" (2007): She's weird, but this album has a great retro sound.

Belinda Carlisle - "Voila" (2007): Surprisingly good - even though it's all in French. Another underrated gem from the former Go-Go.

Dan Auerbach - Keep it Hid (2009): Solo effort from The Black Keys' frontman. Do not keep this one hid! (that was my clever play on the album title...*ahem*) "Real Desire" is a standout track.

The Darkness - "Permission to Land" (2003): Solid debut rocker. They could have been somebody, they could have been a contender.

Evanescence - "The Open Door" (2006): Great voice, great sound.

Fiona Apple - "Extraordinary Machine" (2005): I love her voice...and her eyes...ok, I'm starting to get creepy. The bootleg version of this album is even better...but you didn't hear that from me.

Franz Ferdinand - "You Could Have it so Much Better" (2005): Catchy tunes!

Green Day - "American Idiot" (2004): Better than "Dookie".

Kylie Minogue - "Light Years" (2000): A girlie album to be sure, this heavily disco-infused gem is a slightly embarrasing guilty pleasure for a dude such as myself.

Metallica - "Death Magnetic" (2008): Just missed my Top 10. Welcome back to greatness, Metallica.

Queens of the Stone Age - "R" (2000), "Songs for the Deaf" (2002): ROCK ON!

Robert Plant/Allison Krauss - "Raising Sand" (2007): Good stuff. This album will surely be on many professional critics' "Best of the decade" lists.

System of a Down - "Hypnotize / Mesmerize" (2005): Essentially a double-album, this melodic, heavy rocker is a must-have.

Tool - "10,000 Days" (2006): A return to greatness after the sub-par "Lateralus" from earlier in the decade.

The most heartbreakingly brilliant moment of The Twilight Zone

One of these days I'm going to do my own personal "Top 10" list of favorite Twilight Zone episodes. Until then, the following can be thought of as a preview of sorts to just such a list, as The Trouble with Templeton is securely locked into my personal "Top 10" of Twilight Zone episodes.

The reason? A four-star story, with four-star acting, featuring the single most heartbreakingly brilliant moment of the series, and to be honest, of any TV series that I've ever seen.

The Trouble with Templeton, written be E. Jack Neuman, aired during the second season of The Twilight Zone back in 1960. The episode starts out with an aging stage actor named Booth Templeton (played with four-star caliber by Brain Aherne) peering out the window of his house, depressingly witnessing his young wife clearly enjoying the company of another younger man. His depressed outlook is further darkened as his assistant brings him pills which presumably are being taken to stave off some sort of serious illness. At one point, Booth even notes - "Perhaps she's waiting for the day when these won't do what they are designed to do...perhaps I'm waiting for that day too."

Mr. Templeton then notes that he wasn't always in such a depressed state. No, back when he was a young man himself, married to his first love, Laura, things were different. "The freshest, most radiant creature God ever created," Booth says, and then lamentably continues - "18 when I married her...25 when she died". It is at this point when you realize the source of his unhappiness - so many empty years lived without the fulfillment of his one, true love.

Booth Templeton then makes his way, albeit a little late, to the first day of rehearsals for a new play in which he is to star. Before making his way into the building, he is notified by the play's financial backer that his long-time director had been fired and that a new, younger director was to take that guy's place. Another insulting blow from the "winds of change", to a man that yearned for days gone by.

As Booth enters the building, he is greeted with much disdain from the new, young director, as this new whipper-snapper is not at all happy with the old actor's tardiness. Booth begins to feel a bit uneasy and grabs near his chest as if, indeed, his pills are no longer doing what they are designed to do.

Booth races out of the building, and it is at this point when he, and we the viewer, enter...The Twilight Zone.

Now, different people may have differing opinions on what Booth is experiencing in the next segment of this episode. Myself, I believe Booth to be having some sort of near-death experience..."near-death" I say, because though Mr. Templeton may be entering what may be his own slice of Heaven that he has long yearned for, Heaven is not yet ready for him, and will do what it needs to do to send him back among those filled with life.

As Booth leaves the building, he suddenly finds himself among a crowd of cheering fans. The crowd disperses, and obviously a bit confused, he becomes even more confused when he sees a theater marquee advertising a play he starred in back in 1927 that was directed by an old friend. An old man then comes up to him and assures Booth that it is in fact, 1927; and that he is supposed to meet his long-deceased wife, Laura, the love of his life, at the old speakeasy they often patroned during that time.

Booth is greeted at the speakeasy by the same doorman from back during that time, a doorman that has long since been dead. Upon entering the speakeasy, however, though some things are the same, he'll quickly learn that the wicked winds of change have hit this place too.

First, he finds out that Laura is not sitting at their usual table that they always sat at back during those years. A very minor change that does little to prepare him for the very major change to come.

It is at this point when he sees her - his first wife Laura - sitting at a table with his old director buddy - two people that had been nothing but memories for so long. To see the expression on Booth's face when he sees her for the first time since her death, and when he sits down next to her, you can't help but be happy for the old guy. I gotta tell ya, he has a lot to be happy about because Laura (played with four-star caliber by Pippa Scott) is pretty damn good-looking!

Well, Booth quickly realizes that his Laura is not the same Laura that he remembered. The Laura that he is sitting with now, though just as beautiful as she was when they were married, is rude, crude, crass, and lewd. This is a situation that quickly becomes frustrating and confusing to him. During one of these frustrating exchanges, Booth snatches a script out of Laura's hand that she had been using to fan herself with, and stuffs it in his coat pocket - this later proves to be a key point in the episode.

The shenanigans continue until Booth can bare it no longer. He is so frustrated and appalled by Laura's behavior that he is ready to storm out of the place. Then, Laura puts the final nail into it when she slaps him and cries, "Why don't you go back where you came from? We don't want you here!" At this point, Booth dejectedly leaves the speakeasy, and as a viewer, I felt similarly dejected. I mean, you really feel bad for the guy and you're also wondering, just as the character of Booth Templeton is, just what the hell happened? This was supposed to be the great reuniting with his one true love! Shit.

But then - ah, but then! As Booth leaves the speakeasy we, the viewer, stay there and see the expressions of the patrons all change to one of loud revelry to quiet somberness. Then, it happens. The most heartbreakingly brilliant moment of The Twilight Zone happens. The camera pans to Laura and her expression changes to one of such heartbreaking regret, you clearly see that the rude act she put on was not something she wanted to do - but unfortunately, had to do. The whole scene then fades to black. Man, I had never seen anything like that, ever. With just that one expression, everything in the episode was made clear. Absolutely beautiful.

We then cut back to Booth who is hurrying back into the same building in which he had exited earlier, entering the "Zone". As he shuts the door behind him, Booth finds himself back in the present day building he had left. Feeling hot and flustered, he takes that script out of his coat pocket, the same script he took from Laura while in the "Zone", and fans himself with it. He then opens the script up and as he browses through it, he too realizes what had just happened to him. The entire ordeal he had just found himself in while in the "Zone", was all written out in screenplay form; it was titled "What to do when Booth comes back". Booth Templeton then realizes that his wife had been acting. Acting for his benefit. Telling him that he still had a life to live, and that he should live it.

Man, that episode is just amazing. Easily in my "Top 10".

Would you like to see this episode for yourself? Watch "The Trouble with Templeton" at fancast.com - they have a Twilight Zone section there where you can watch full episodes!

Great YouTube find: Richard Dawson's "Family Feud" farewell

For whatever reason, I got to thinking about the game show Family Feud. Not the new version that is on now; not even the older Ray Combs' incarnation; but the true Family Feud - the Richard Dawson years (1976-1985). Man, I always wanted to be on that show back then. Dawson was cool as hell (the effortlessness in which he hit on virtually every chick on that show - it was, and is, quite impressive to a dork such as I); and who among us at that time didn't covet the opportunity to pick out a lucky Tootsie Pop with the black tape-covered stem (worth a cool $100 in cold hard cash!)?

So, I got on YouTube to see if, perchance, anyone might have posted some funny moments from those old, "King Richard"-era, episodes. Well, of course there were some - it's YouTube!

There were a few hilarious clips, the best being the one where a lady answers the following question - "During what month does a woman start to look pregnant?" with "September". Richard Dawson totally loses it. However, I unexpectedly found a clip so much better than any funny clip, that I just had to post it here in my blog...and precede it with a few paragraphs of my own ramblings.

The clip in question features Mr. Dawson's farewell speech at the end of Family Feud's initial run of shows in 1985. For about the first minute and a half, it's pretty much your standard semi-tearful "thank-you"-filled farewell. But then he goes into a story about something his mother told him when he was younger; and then in some even rarer footage, tells the story of a young cancer patient. Both stories are very moving, very inspirational, very impressive. I've watched this clip a couple of times now, and it is quite something. Enjoy.

The next exciting book in The Candy Bar Adventures series is here - March of the Evil Mard!

Though it took me a year longer than I had originally planned, my second book in The Candy Bar Adventures series is now available - March of the Evil Mard!!!! This book picks right up where The Battle of Caramel Castle left off, and I gotta say, you're going to be in for one twisting, turning, wild literary ride!

Initially, my new book will only be available through Lulu.com, but within the next few weeks or so, it should start showing up on the major sites such as Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com, etc.

FYI: You can buy my first book through those sites now...just sayin'.


From the Back Cover of March of the Evil Mard:

The Candy Bar Adventures continue...

The "Battle of Caramel Castle" has ended, but a bigger battle is brewing!

While Carmelot rebuild Caramel Castle and mend fresh wounds, Zangela and Zongel return to Yumchewz to find that old wounds are about to reopen. Perhaps no greater wound will be suffered though than by our Hero Squad (Hersh, Mick, and Snick) when a sweet, mysterious confection enters their lives.

Meanwhile, Mard's unquenchable desire to be the richest, most famous, and most admired, will lead to a creation that could devastate the entire candy world - the Cookie Cutter!

New adventures will begin for all - and all will be shook to their candy core!

Our Hero Squad march toward an unseen danger...a danger formed from within.

Zangela and Zongel march toward hope...a hope wrought from despair.

And naive masses from every land in the candy world march toward a shared fate...a fate "cut" from a "common" mold.

The march toward a new battle has begun - deception, jealousy, and greed will lead the way...

MARCH OF THE EVIL MARD

UPDATE APRIL, 2022: Please disregard the website noted in the watermarks on the front and back cover images for this book - As of April, 2022, I got rid of it; so neither I, nor my books, are associated with that website any longer.