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Genre: Adventure
About VinxmanLocation: Tiffin, OH Home Region: Age:49 Favorite novels: East of Eden, Midnight's Children, The Harry Potter series, Earthly Powers...too many to list. Favorite writers: John Steinbeck, Isaac Asimov, Eric Kraft, Elizabeth Peters, Anthony Burgess, Salman Rushdie, John Irving, Terry Pratchett, J.K. Rowling, Jim Butcher, and many, many more Favorite music: I usually write while watching TV or movies. Classical is good for writing, though. So is blues. I listen to a lot of music from New Orleans on http://www.wwoz.org Non-noveling interests: Cooking, eating, Karate, martial arts, lifting weights, road trips, movies, New Orleans, good conversation, coffee. |
Joined: Oktober 17, 2008 This Year: Municipal Liaison NaNoWriMo History: NaNoWriMo posts: 78 NaNoWriMo buddies: 23
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Brief Author Bio: I am an English professor who teaches Creative Writing as well as Contemporary Lit., Film, Pedagogical and Analytic Approaches to Harry Potter, Vampires in Folklore and Fiction and courses in college writing, My interest in the martial arts (and black belts in various styles) has provided material for my many articles on the subject, which are often approached through psychological, physiological, and other cross-disciplinary perspectives. While I have had the greatest success with my Karate articles, I also write fiction and in other non-fiction areas, and have edited several books. I have been at Tiffin University since Fall, 2002. I am now an associate professor and the program director for the Master of Humanities program. I founded and instruct the Tiffin University Martial Arts Club and am active in the English Enthusiasts, which produces the TU Review (http://bruno.tiffin.edu/tureview/ submissions can go to TUReview@tiffin.edu). My teaching interests are Composition, Creative Writing, Modern and Postmodern Literature, and Film. A former bodybuilder and competitive martial artist, I enjoy travel, exercise, cooking, movies, reading, biking, juggling, working out, writing, going to New Orleans, and a variety of other pursuits. Last year's NaNo is now on Create Space with the book it was a sequel to: Levees By Night |
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Synopsis: The Henchmen Chronicles
The Henchmen Chronicles
Three or four henchmen are sitting around talking about not having a super villain to follow. Finally,one suggests they become their own bosses since they each have skills. They recruit some more henchmen and become a group of not-so-super villains, only to turn into super heroes, aided by their insider knowledge of their former bosses.
After their first job, the expectations are high, and these unlikely heroes have to juggle day jobs, child care, and the impulse to return to lives of crime. Nevertheless, aided by a reporter and a retired superhero, they become actual heroes, despite their self-doubts and lack of any real powers.
The cover art is from last year's novel. I finally got a cover for that one, so I thought I'd put it up while I thought about this year's novel.
Excerpt: The Henchmen Chronicles
Two things happened at once, then. A flapping sound came from behind them. Tate-Abernathy turned and saw Molly speeding through the air at them. When she saw the trio, she yelled,
“Change of plans! Get out of here!”
And then Tate-Abernathy was grabbed.
A long, chitinous arm with many joints wrapped around him like a giant tentacle. He was lifted off the ground, his breath squeezed out. He snapped his head around and looked at a giant alien creature.
“Chussssss,” the thing said and started squeezing. Tate-Abernathy howled.
“Fuck!” Andy yelled. He looked around for something to hit the monster with. A marble base held a display case containing a termite hive that looked like a missile. He shoved the case over, and it shattered.
Lifting the marble plinth, which probably weighed over three hundred pounds, he ran at the creature. He slammed the improvised weapon against a lower leg of the thing. The leg snapped right off and Andy lost his balance and fell, tumbling in a pile of marble column, still moving leg, and termite nest.
From above, Molly swooped in at the giant thing's head. It leaned back, swiping at her with the limb holding Tate-Abernathy.
“Back off, Molly!” Dino yelled.
She circled away and Dino threw something. There was a flash and small thump. He threw four more of the small explosive charges. They made the monster rock, but it seemed to not hurt it too much.
Denise and Molly both swooped in on the creature. Denise struck its arm, which seemed to cause it pain. Molly raked its head.
The head was enormous...it had insectoid eyes, but more a human shape to the head. Antenna that looked like they were going to detach soon drooped. A glossy shell was cracking off and a pink hue below it glowed.
Another blow from Denise's sword and the arm severed at one of its many joints. Tate-Abernathy fell and rolled. The limb was still tight around him as he wheezed in pain and fought to breathe. Andy rushed to him and pulled off the still-moving tentacle.
Dino threw another charge, this time at the center of the thing's mass. The two flyers were well above the beast. Andy picked up the marble column again and heaved it at the monster.
“Duck!” a deep voice yelled, and Andy and Tate-Abernathy hit the ground.
There were flashes. And the thing fell over.
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