Son Gets Second Chance to Know His Father in Compelling Family Story, Fool’s Errand
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If you could spend one day with anyone at all — past or present — who would it be? For those who’ve lost a parent, the answer is obvious. This popular, introspective ice-breaker was the inspiration for Fool’s Errand, a clever blend of humor, mystery and complex family dynamics from award-winning author Jeffrey Stephens.
In it, a straight-arrow son uncovers an enigmatic letter left behind by his father, who passed away six years ago. In life, his father, “Blackie” Rinaldi, was a charming rogue with ties to the mob, and the younger Rinaldi has been doing all he can to avoid the pitfalls of his father’s chosen path. The letter hints at a cache of stolen money, but at its core, it represents an opportunity worth more than any treasure: a second chance for Blackie’s son to journey through the past, reconcile it with the present and finally get to know who his father really was.
Blackie’s son embarks on an international quest, following a series of clues from his father’s letter. He travels from the mean streets of New York to the Las Vegas Strip, and ultimately to the South of France. Along the way, he is confronted by dangerous mobsters, dishonest relatives, suspicious friends, a mysterious woman, and the risks of a journey his father may or may not have planned for him.
With surprising twists and relatable characters, Fool’s Errand offers a masterful balance of humor and heart, adventure and romance. Ultimately, it’s an entertaining, fast-paced story of family ties and a parent’s never-ending influence that will keep readers guessing as each new secret is revealed.
Author Jeffrey S. Stephens lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. He is also the author of the Jordan Sandor espionage thrillers, beginning with Targets of Deception and, most recently, Rogue Mission. He is also the author of the recent thriller, Crimes and Passion, the first in a planned series featuring Lieutenant Robbie Whyte.
Impractical Jokers Star Survives Shark Attack at New Virtual Theme Park
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James “Murr” Murray, one of the stars of TV’s Impractical Jokers, told his social media followers in a new post that he recently visited Sea Monster Cove, a spectacular, five-star aquarium-themed resort as a guest of friend and fellow bestselling author Steve Alten, when things “got out of hand.” “I was in the Devonian Aquarium watching a 10-foot prehistoric shark circle by when this massive 30-foot Dunkleosteus comes out of nowhere and rips the thing in half! Thank God the tank wasn’t made out of double-paned glass like the one in JAWS 3D.” The incident was recorded and posted on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1vbrZNyoK8.
Visitors can expect the unexpected at www.SeaMonsterCove.com, a revolutionary new multimedia entertainment concept. The site will serve as the central hub for several prehistoric shark and sea creature ventures, including a remote learning platform and museum, and will soon add a video game where members piloting submersibles can track and capture apex marine predators inhabiting a 380-million-year-old prehistoric aquifer located 2.1 miles beneath the Pacific Ocean. The website will feature an original episodic TV series called Where Sea Monsters Roam, written by Steve Alten, the website’s creator. If you saw the blockbuster movie, The MEG, starring Jason Statham, then you may be familiar with the author’s work. Of his soon-to-be 20 published thrillers, eight are part of his best-selling MEG series and three more are from a Loch Ness trilogy (Alten is currently working on book 3, The LOCH: Heaven’s Lake which can only be purchased by pre-ordering signed hardbacks at www.SteveAlten.com). The LOCH movie as well as MEG 2: The TRENCH are expected to go into production in 2021. All of the action and virtual visits at SeaMonsterCove.com take place on Maug, a remote (and very real) island in the Western Pacific. Maug’s volcano erupted 5 million years ago; today all that remains are three uninhabited islets that had been the volcano’s rim and a flooded magma chamber that serves as its lagoon. Why place a virtual island resort here? That’s where Alten’s research and storytelling take over. Eight years ago, French marine biologist Dr. Maxime Rostand discovered superheated mineral water rising up through Maug’s lagoon. Through a series of events, including an emergency C-section which saved two pups of a deceased pregnant prehistoric Mako shark, Rostand discovers the source of the hot mineral water to be a primordial aquifer located 2 miles beneath the sea floor — its inhabitants dating back 380 million years.
Having established the backstory about how these toothy creatures managed to escape extinction (the “home videos” of the two surviving pups growing up is MUST-SEE), it’s time to meet and interact with the critters. Imagine the greatest aquarium-themed park ever conceived, holding the most terrifying prehistoric sharks and sea monsters that ever lived. It’s not hard to do. At Sea Monster Cove, the special effects are motion picture-worthy, and the wildlife doesn’t just swim around in benign circles; in fact, they seem quite aware that you are watching them, and they clearly do not like it, especially when you enter their domain to do a little “cage diving.” In each of these heart-pounding, 360-degree experiences, the user controls the viewing angle, attempting to track the attacks as they happen (there are day and night versions available). The action is nonstop and the creatures so real that it is easy to lose yourself in a two-hour reprieve from reality.
The adventure is retold and advanced in Alten’s original TV series, Where Sea Monsters Roam, the episodes of which will be posted at SeaMonsterCove.com. Most unique: what happens in the series also happens during your aquarium visits. As an example, if Snowflake, the park’s 63-foot, 25-ton prehistoric albino Mako drags a crane into her tank in the opening episode, don’t be surprised to see it lying on the bottom of her tank in your next visit!
One of the most popular features may just turn out to be CELEBRITY CAMEOS — the first one featuring James “Murr” Murray. The Impractical Jokers star’s new novel, DON’T MOVE (Blackstone Publishing), co-written by Darren Wearmouth, recently made its debut.
Steve Alten, the founder and director of the nonprofit Adopt-an-Author teen reading program, considered by many educators to be the most effective tool to get reluctant readers to read, said DON’T MOVE will be added to the AAA program. “It’s a fun, action-packed read; teens will definitely love it.” For more on the program, go to www.AdoptAnAuthor.com.
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The doors have now opened to a virtual island getaway where you can take in breathtaking underwater views, explore futuristic aquariums, and enjoy five-star accommodations and endless entertainment—all from the COVID-friendly comfort of your own home. There’s just one tiny catch.
The star attractions at this particular resort are the most terrifying prehistoric sharks and sea creatures that ever lived.
Sea Monster Cove (located at www.seamonstercove.com) is the latest creation from The Meg author, Steve Alten. And this time, he’s taking fans of man-eating prehistoric creatures even deeper into his imagination. Sea Monster Cove is a groundbreaking concept of storytelling that will immerse you in every aspect of an adventure like nothing you have ever experienced before. This multifaceted, interactive entertainment platform features an unfolding episodic web series, Where Sea Monsters Roam; heart-pounding aquarium and cage-diving interactions with the nastiest sea creatures on the planet; and an adrenaline-fueling (and quite addictive) video game.
The setting is Maug, a remote island in the Mariana Archipelago where eight years ago, French marine biologist Dr. Maxime Rostand and his team discovered hot mineral water feeding into Maug’s lagoon from somewhere below. When a listing Filipino fishing trawler enters the cove hauling an immense whale in its deep sea net, the scientists discover that the dead beast is actually a pregnant, 60-foot, 50,000-pound undiscovered prehistoric spe-cies of Mako, related to the Black Demon shark. An emergency C-section saves two of her 15 pups (and the future stars of Sea Monster Cove): Snowflake (an albino) and Layla (pure Black Demon). Through a series of events (which will unfold through monthly episodes of Where Sea Monsters Roam), Dr. Rostand discovers the source of the hot mineral water to be a primordial aquifer located two miles beneath the sea floor—its inhabitants dating back 380 million years.
All of the attractions at Sea Monster Cove are created using major-motion-picture-worthy 3D animation. The sharks and sea creatures look and act just like the real thing. And unlike the species housed in typical aquariums, these critters don’t just swim around in serene circles. These beasts know you’re watching them, and some clearly don’t like it.
The subscription-based site (priced well under the cost of a movie ticket) also includes an education center with tons of background information, a private library featuring enhanced versions of Alten’s novels (including curriculum materials for distance learners) and a collec-tion of Alten’s original screenplays. There’s even a PG13 membership option for younger viewers.
And the waters surrounding Sea Monster Cove are anything but stagnant. The designers tweak the animals’ behavioral patterns on a regular basis. Plus, each month a new Prehis-toric Sea Aquarium will open, containing its own menu of super predators that will appear in the web series and video game. The animals will also age from the moment you first encoun-ter them, and you won’t want to miss a single milestone. So come for a visit; stay for a bite—or two. Welcome to Sea Monster Cove!
Sea Monster Cove creator Steve Alten is the NY Times and international best-selling author of 20 thrillers, including The MEG series (with a major motion picture starring Jason Statham and the sequel, MEG-2: The TRENCH, in pre-production). Two more of his series have also been optioned as movies: The LOCH and one other underwater feature, which cannot be announced just yet (but the enhanced version of the novel is featured in the website’s private library). Alten is also the founder and director of the nonprofit Adopt-an-Author teen reading program.
Monica Foster
Senior Publicist
Ascot Media Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 2394
Friendswood, TX 77549
Direct: 713.446.8815
Phone: 281.333.3507
Fax: 832.569.5539 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
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Leo Fender – The Man Whose Invention Lead The Way For Rock And Roll
Fullerton, CA ― The world occasionally produces one of those rare thinkers whose name becomes iconic.
Thomas Edison lit up the world; Albert Einstein profoundly altered the study of physics; Walt Disney reimagined entertainment; and Leo Fender invented the electric guitar.
Fender grew up in Fullerton, California, where his interest in electronics lead him to open his own radio repair shop in 1938. It wasn’t long before musicians and band leaders turned to him for help in repairing their equipment.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Fender’s revolutionary guitar, the Fender Stratocaster, has been the preference of world-renowned musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Jeff Beck — to name a few.
While his name is synonymous with fist-pumping rock and roll sound, in reality, Fender was a shy, unassuming inventor who was nearly deaf and had one glass eye.
In 1946 he founded Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company — the launch pad for his most iconic designs — and later on, G&L Musical Instruments.
And now, his wife Phyllis Fender gives readers a memory-filled look into the wonderful world of this quiet genius in the book, Leo Fender: The Quiet Giant Heard Around the World. The book was co-written by Randall Bell, Ph.D., who grew up in Fender’s neighborhood and whose father was the head of the R&D department at Fender’s company.
Fender’s game-changing contributions to the music world have been widely recognized. He was presented with the Country Music Association Pioneer Award in 1981; was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock Walk of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His accomplishments were also acknowledged with a Technical Grammy Award in 2009. Fender died in 1991.
Today, Fender is a household name. But the quirky, shy inventor never lived large or flaunted his fame. He lived in a mobile home, even after selling his company for $300 million (in today’s dollars). His daily routines and obsessions made him truly fascinating, and thanks to his enduring instruments, Fender’s legacy forever lives on.
Author Phyllis Fender volunteers at the Fullerton Museum where she shares with visitors stories about her life with Leo. She also serves as the Honorary Chairman of G&L. Twenty-two years ago, two different doctors told Phyllis that she had six months to live. Today, both of those doctors are dead, and she is here to finally tell this remarkable story.
LEO FENDER: The Quiet Giant Heard Around the World
Leadership Institute Press
Released: November 2017
ISBN-10: 0996793143
ISBN-13: 978-0996793148
Available at: http://amzn.to/2pyi34i
![[By Phyllis Fender] Leo Fender: The Quiet Giant Heard Around the World (Hardcover)【2017】by Phyllis Fender (Author) (Hardcover)](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51xeQVzX1LL._SY450_.jpg)
