Award Winner and a few more

Renaissance is a collection of short stories featuring The Forgotten Well, my Florida Writers' Association award winning story. The collection of four stories is only 99 cents: http://goo.gl/bT8MO

One definition of renaissance is renewal of life, vigor, interest, etc.; rebirth; revival.

The stories gathered here are expressions of that idea. Written at different times, for different reasons, they all share the same theme. I think the idea of renewal is an important part of life. We are always looking for ways to better ourselves. Sometimes, we are not aware of it and we receive a message from an unexpected place. Sometimes, the inspiration comes from a long forgotten memory. Whatever the case, we are given an opportunity that can easily slip by in a momentary encounter or even a dream.

These stories may seem bittersweet, but to me they also represent hope.

The award-winning story The Forgotten Well was selected for the Florida Writer’s Association annual collection. I feel particularly honored for winning as the entrants were judged by peer authors.

Guest Post: Richard Hebert

Okay, here is a fun guy, witty and sharp. I had the pleasure of meeting Richard at the annual Florida Writer's Association banquet. We shared a few laughs and talked shop (writers do that, ya know). So, I tell Richard that I write fiction, mostly fantasy. He tells me he writes metafiction.

What? What is that?

Oh, it's fiction that is aware of itself. As the kids say these days, "Mind=Blown". I must be living a sheltered life, I've never heard of it before that night. It sounds fascinating and I want to try it. In the meantime, here is Richard telling about his novel and a little about himself. 

MINDWARP, A Novella …And Other Strange Tales

A committee of muses sits about the living room of my brain, discussing matters of no great import. A motley group they are, having just finished their pizzas—one pepperoni, one vegetarian, one combo—hold the anchovies.

“Why in the world is he doing this?” asks the chair-muse, finger-flicking crumbs from her robe….

Thus begins a journey into the mind of a “deranged author” (it says so on the back cover!) and his collection of short fiction, MindWarp, a Novella…And Other Strange Tales. Kirkus Reviews, the self-described “World’s Toughest Book Critics,” described the novella and accompanying eight short stories by author Richard Hébert this way:

This scintillating collection…uses offbeat character studies to wrestle with snaky issues of identity and self-knowledge. Hébert’s loquacious, usually anonymous narrators are obsessed with penetrating the riddle of the people around them.

In “MindWarp,” a nameless writer battens for inspiration on Guy, a working-class barfly who is almost elemental in his beaten-down ordinariness. Things get complicated when Guy begins an affair with the feisty, appealing Yolanda; the couple pushes back against the writer’s determination to “warp” their reality into a fictional celebration of heroic failure—until the writer himself seems to become the unstable, increasingly desperate creation of his own story.

Quirky, opaque figures abound in other stories; “Ana, Always,” about a Yugoslavian youth’s efforts to fathom the tragic mystery of a middle-aged woman, is a meditation on family and exile; “Silence,” a somewhat affected tale about a guilt-burdened war veteran who acquiesces in his wife’s affair with an ex-comrade, finds power in the evanescent fracturing of its hero’s personality. Only in “Azazel,” a comic gem about a mythical desert herdsman who tends the world’s scapegoats until the powers that be decide he needs a ritzy California estate in which to receive humanity’s atonement, do we meet a man who thoroughly knows himself.

The author delights in mind games; the title novella is as much a commentary on the conundrums of fictional representation as it is a fiction. Fortunately, Hébert’s writerly conceits are rescued by the quality of his prose; his deadpan realism, mordant wit and acute powers of description ground his flights of abstraction in the soil of experience.

A beguiling blend of high-concept narrative and old-school literary chops.

Kirkus subsequently named the collection to its top 50 list of 2011 “Indie” books.

__________

Hébert is a former award winning investigative reporter and Pulitzer Prize nominee; a media relations manager and consultant; a nationally published magazine feature and documentary film writer, and world traveler. Many of his works of fiction, including the stories in MindWarp, were inspired by incidents encountered during his travels in Europe, Africa and North, Central and South America. He currently also writes a political blog – Richard’s Take – from his retirement home in St. Augustine, Florida.

His other published books include a memoir, Life Is Good; a novel, The Questing Beast, and Highways to Nowhere: The Politics of Urban Transportation. 

Mindwarp is available on Kindle: http://goo.gl/sr1zT

It is also available in paperback, BN Nook, and directly from the publisher, Author House.

Signed copies are available directly from the author: rlhebert0906@att.net

Blog Tour and Contest: Keith Rommel

Today, I am hosting a fellow Floridian author, Keith Rommel. He's originally from New York, but he moved to sunny climes and is hard at work on his series Thanatology. With the release of the second book in the series, Keith is having a contest on Pinterest. Read below to find out how you could win!

What happens after we die? Are we given choices based on how we lived our lives? It’s an age-old question pondered by just about everyone.

Author Keith Rommel dared to explore the answer by creating his newest novel The Lurking Man, a story of dark suspense that unmercifully reveals the life of a self-deluded, neglectful mother who caused irreparable damage to her family and ultimately struggles with death as much as life. It’s the second novel in his suspenseful and thrilling Thanatology series that began with the eerie, spine-tingling The Cursed Man.

“Imagine Death knowing your deepest, darkest secrets and all of your private pain,” said Rommel about The Lurking Man. “Now imagine it wants to use what it knows against you so that you bend to its will.”

In The Lurking Man, main character Cailean stands beneath a spotlight in a blinding snowstorm. She has no idea where she is or how she got there, but she senses something moving around her in the darkness outside the light.

When the ominous presence calling himself Sariel makes himself known, he declares that he is Death Incarnate and that Cailean has died. He has taken her to the Aperture, a place between the living and the dead, where he will force her to face the sins of her past in exchange for twenty-four hours of life to try and right her wrongs. But what she must do in return for this precious time is unthinkable.

Rommel’s series is titled due to Thanatology being a study that explores death and dying. Rommel has taken this science to a fictionalized, gothic-style horror level that may leave you breathless and unable to stop your mind from contemplating how you live your own life.

The books are grouped in the series due to the nature of the theme, but each book may be read independently. “Those who read in order will be able to catch glimpses from previous book(s), but it is not dependent upon each individual story,” Rommel said.

The Cursed Man and The Lurking Man are released by Sunbury Press. Book three in the Thanatology series is on schedule for a summer 2013 release. The Cursed Man is currently being considered as a feature film.

Get involved in Keith Rommel’s book tour by taking part in his Pinterest contest! If you don’t have Pinterest go to www.pinterest.com to sign-up!

For those of you already pinning, make a board titled something like “Book Contest~The Grim Reaper” or you can make your own title. It doesn’t have to be morbid, just make it fun! Especially with Halloween month upon us, there are all kinds of things out there that will make it fun.

You MUST at least pin the photos with link to The Cursed Man and The Lurking Man, Keith Rommel’s two books in his Thanatology series, and pin the link to his blog tour dates.

You can find the books with links to re-blog on the example board at:

http://pinterest.com/erinalmehairi/book-contest-the-grim-reaper/

You can find the blog tour schedule to pin at http://keithrommel.weebly.com

You have until 11:59 p.m. EST the final day of the tour to create your post. Be creative, the best board wins an ARC paperback copy of The Cursed Man, an e-book of The Lurking Man and some cool bookmarks! This is for USA and CANADA only.

You must leave a comment back here, or under the post at Keith’s blog, that you did the contest with the link and with your email so we can get in touch with you! And if you had a great time and read the book be sure to click "like" on book seller sites and let us know what you think.

Some ideas to get you started:

*Think outside the box!
*Think about all the psychological horror movies relating to cheating Death.
*Think about fun creatives like food or clothing for a book party (for a book launch or book club).
*Think about colors, art, music, visuals that relate to stories of the Grim Reaper.
*It doesn’t have to be morbid, make it fun especially with Halloween parties coming up!

Keith Rommel’s books are about how Death comes in different bodily forms and shapes—sometimes in the shadows…hiding in the darkness, hiding in our minds, making us think back on our lives, yet sometimes in the daylight, haunting and maddening our mental state.

About the Author: Keith Rommel is a native of Long Island, New York and currently lives with his family in Port Saint Lucie, Florida. Rommel is a retail manager and has enjoyed collecting comic books since he was a child (a hobby inspired by a teacher in grade school to help overcome a reading comprehension disability).

Rommel is the author of two books in his Thanatology series entitled The Cursed Man and The Lurking Man. The Cursed Man is currently being considered as a feature film. He enjoys offering his experiences to other authors, writing several articles about writing and publishing, and is currently fast at work on the third novel in the Thanatology series which is scheduled for a summer 2013 release.

He also has several other novels in the works. Besides writing, he also enjoys watching the New York Giants, scary stories, and spending time with family.

You can get The Cursed Man on Kindle here: 

http://goo.gl/SvIdW

You can get The Lurking Man on Kindle here: 

http://goo.gl/8KMIH

Both books are also available in paperback.

You can find Keith here:

Email: keithrommel@gmail.com

Website: http://keithrommel.weebly.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/keithtrommel 

Twitter: @keithrommel

Reflecting on Reflections

My nine-year-old daughter, Olivia, and I have completed the next step in the journey for the Sons of the King. Episode Five: Reflections is available now for ONLY 99 Cents. http://goo.gl/oUgd2

I asked Olivia to share her thoughts on the story so far. Her thoughts are below...

It is hard to grab her attention at the moment. She is the rare child who looks forward to going back to school. With fourth grade starting in a few days, she is excited.

MM: How would you sum up the story from the beginning?

OM: The King mysteriously dies. The three sons go their separate ways and the new advisor Esephis takes over the kingdom. The oldest son, Taro, learns the ways of the Creator and the middle brother becomes a thief. Fallon, the youngest, is left alone with Esephis. 

MM: What comes next?

OM: The boys have to find their destiny.

MM: Since we are calling this a Christian Sci-fantasy, what would you say is the theme?

OM: The message is finding truth and believing in God. On the planet of Kaskaya, he is known as the Creator. The sons of the King learn skills to help them, but only the Creator knows their destiny.

MM: What exactly is a Sci-fantasy?

OM: It is a fantasy story with some science fiction in it.

MM: Is there anything special you would like to say about Episode Five: Reflections? What was your favorite part?

OM: I'd say my favorite part was when Ekron and his friends went through the Forest of Deception. 

And that's when she ran away to play with the small plush manatee that the Tooth Fairy delivered last night. I love that she is so mature in her writing, yet still a child at heart. She has a fantastic balance of innocence and imagination.

We will be back next month with Episode Six. Please grab your copy of Episode Five: Reflections today for ONLY 99 Cents. http://goo.gl/oUgd2

You can follow Sons of the King on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/Mysstira

How to be a Thief

On the planet Kaskaya, becoming a thief is a skilled and honorable achievement. In the newest release of my Christian Sci-Fantasy, Sons of the King, the middle son sets his sights on that difficult task. Co-written with my 9 year old daughter, it is available now from Trestle Press for ONLY 99 Cents right here: http://goo.gl/zzTfX

Sons of the King

Episode Four

The Thieves' Village

What would an outer-space fantasy be without a few rogues and thieves? As Olivia and I outlined the story, it was important to her to show the members of the Thieves' League as positive, helpful people. Since the thieves are first introduced as kids in Episode Three, we wanted them to be playful. Once Dig gets to their village in the mountains, he finds them to be a little frightening and mysterious. His opinion changes over the next five years as he grows and trains with them.

It has been a while since the last episode of Sons of the King. With that in mind, anybody that purchases Episode Four: The Thieves Village can email me or comment on my blog to get Episode One: Fallen Idols for FREE. You can get Episode Four here: http://goo.gl/zzTfX

Please be sure to check out the fan page on Facebook too: http://www.facebook.com/Mysstira

The Year That Was - 1971

Enter the psychedelic time tunnel and hang on for an inspirational and amazing story. Zen teacher Don Lubov gives us Story Ten of the One series. It is available now from Trestle Press for ONLY 99 Cents and you can get it here: http://goo.gl/JkFJs

Mark Miller's One

Story Ten

1971

by Don Lubov

100% of the author’s proceeds will be donated to Give Kids the World, a charitable organization where children with life-threatening illnesses and their families are treated to weeklong, cost-free fantasy vacations. www.GKTW.org. The authors, creator and publisher are in no other way affiliated with this organization.

Mark Miller’s One is a spiritual anthology examining True-Life experiences of Authors and their Faith. As the series evolves expect to discover what it means to have faith, no matter what that faith is and no matter where they live. Remember that we are all part of this One World.

In Story Ten, Don Lubov shares a wild and thought-provoking journey. A young man in 1971, the author left home on a cross-country journey that took him to some unexpected places. He did not know what he was looking for, but he found himself. This harrowing tale of self-discovery brought the author near to death and to a rebirth.

This story takes place in 1971, two years before I was born. That put some perspective on it for me. Our world and society is constantly changing. The story that Don tells is from a time that I don’t recognize, except for some classic movies. He ventures into a world of experimentation and passionate beliefs. Because he did not partake in many of the indulgences of the time, the reader travels along with Don as the perfect witness.

More importantly though, he goes beyond that world. Don’s journey leads him to the Gila National Forest and the edge of his own life.  On the verge of dehydration and starvation, Don has an awakening. Several times, I found myself shaking my head in wonder and amazement. This is a story of spirituality and discovery.

Don ends his tale with a discussion of his Six-Step Path. Meditation has been around for centuries, but Don has found a concise and simple way to apply it to anyone’s life. I am impressed with his explanation of our connection to God.

When Don said, “Be the best you that you can be…not THE best, just YOUR best”, that stirred something in me. One thing I look for in these stories is the truth within them. Anyone can be enlightened and connect with their higher power. Sharing that knowledge, that gift, has a way of making the reader pause and look at their own life.

This death-defying story of wild adventure and self-discovery left me feeling inspired. 

Thanks for reading, Mark

The tenth author of "One", Don Lubov, is a Zen spiritualist, teacher, lecturer and published author since 1983. He holds a Masters degree in Education and he's taught courses at Adult Ed., Suffolk County Community College, McNeese State University, East Carolina University and Stanford University, Central Florida Community College, Lifelong Learning College. His website is DonLubov.com and you can read his blog at Spiritshare.net.

Remember, all of the stories in the One series donate a portion of their proceeds to a good cause and they are all ONLY 99 Cents each, so please check out all of them. You can get 1971 here: http://goo.gl/JkFJs

Upcoming Appearances

Hopefully folks in Mount Dora and Central Florida can stop by and see me! I love hearing from readers!

I will be signing my latest release, Book III of The Empyrical Tales: The Secret Queen, and I will have a few surprises.

First stop, Barrel of Books and Games in downtown Mount Dora. Today (June 2) from 4pm to 6pm, come check out this amazing store. They have a huge selection of new and used books. Plus, their collectibles are amazing. They have everything from Angry Birds to Big Bang Theory Bobbleheads to Star Wars. AT 144 W 5th Ave in Downtown Mt. Dora about 45 minutes from Orlando.

On June 9th, I will be at HighFive Frozen Yogurt in the Loch Leven Landing shopping center. This one is for a good cause. Both the author and HighFive will be donating a portion of the proceeds to our local elementary school PTO. I will be there from 1pm to 4pm. I want to see somebody come challenge the HighFive Titan! The store is at 18977 US Hwy 441, in between Five Guys Burgers and Publix.

This is only the first wave. I am working on events with some author friends and at least one of the public libraries. If you can't make it in person, I recently updated my website where you can order autographed copies at a new, special price - www.MillerWords.com

For all you Kindle readers, I have the privilege of being one of the first to use Kindlegraph Live! Kindlegraph.com is a site where authors can personalize autographs for their digital readers. With KG Live, when you see me at an event, you can buy one of my eBooks on your eReader or smart phone. Then I can send you an autograph. All you need is an email address, and it doesn't even have to be a Kindle address.

Keep following my blog or follow on Facebook.com/EmpyricalTales to stay informed of the latest appearances.

My Friend Karl

Part of the fun of writing an ongoing series is creating new characters with each story. I have the same core characters from the beginning (two of which I love almost like they were my own daughters). A large part of the newest plot has to do with a great guy I call Karl Lumpkin.

The Secret Queen 

Book III of The Empyrical Tales

is now available 

from Comfort Publishing 

wherever fine books are sold.

Karl describes himself as a "free thinker of old". In The Secret Queen, he is a sixteen year old boy that has an uncanny knack of predicting the future. He is witty and odd. Karl serves as a big brother figure for Olena on her journey to the south.

Some readers may recall Eisenhahn talking about Wizard Lumpkin in The Lost Queen. Is it possible that these are one and the same? Eisenhahn talks about an old man in his past, while Olena meets a young man in the present. I can say that there is definitely more to Karl than seen at first glance.

Oh, and Karl has his own Twitter account for when he visits our world - @WizardLumpkin

With the official release of The Secret Queen today, you can meet all of the new characters that cross paths with Olena on her quest to discover the secret!

Click HERE to get it on Amazon. http://goo.gl/AjcYW

Also, the Kindle version of The Fourth Queen is ONLY 99 Cents for a limited time. It's not too late to start at the beginning! Click HERE for The Fourth Queen. http://goo.gl/3ctUl

The Ordeal

With the official release of The Empyrical Tales Book III: The Secret Queen about a week away, I wanted to revisit the original purpose for this blog. Originally, I had intended to give a "making of" commentary and work my way through the story. Like Book III, Book I: The Fourth Queen closely follows the plot of the Hero's Journey. Check out the archive to see older posts, but I left off with "The Ordeal".

The Ordeal is the point where the story reaches a central crisis. The aspiring hero character either literally or metaphorically dies in order to be reborn as the hero. It is a point where the hero must face a dark version of, in this case, herself. She must challenge the villain and it must be extremely difficult to defeat him. This should be the time when the hero faces her greatest fear. As Joseph Campbell said the ordeal signifies the death of the ego, an apotheosis.

*****SPOILERS*****(Highlight to read)*****In The Fourth Queen, the older sister, Zandria, is the hero figure. She has passed through the other stages of the journey and has reached the Ordeal. Instead of a single event, Zandria's ordeal spans a few chapters. The hero's death occurs as she rides the pirate ship called The Dragon's Wing. When the ship crashes, Zandria is knocked unconscious, symbolizing her death. Her rebirth does not occur until a few chapters later. Zandria faces the villain who has chased her the entire story, the lead werewolf. This confrontation is her greatest fear because this monster killed her father, which started her on this journey. The difficulty comes from the setting: Zandria does battle over the open maw of a bottomless pit. Once the wolfman is defeated, Zandria is "reborn" to face the climax of the story and her resurrection.*****END SPOILERS*****

I should mention that The Fourth Queen is ONLY 99 Cents for a limited time on Amazon Kindle. Why not check it out and follow the Hero's Journey for yourself? Click HERE to get it: http://goo.gl/pQGgk

I Do Birthday Parties, Too!

Not really.


At least, not yet.


With mega-book chains closing their doors (Borders) and online booksellers battling for eBook domination, authors are faced with the daunting task of connecting with their readers. How do we get our print books out there? How do we connect with our digital readers?

Here's the thing: I love to write. 


Along with that, I truly enjoy meeting fans and aspiring authors. So, I will take every opportunity to get out there and meet some great people. One of my favorite activities is visiting classrooms. I have found that teachers these days do an incredible job of motivating kids to read. When an author walks into the classroom, that is a springboard for their hungry little minds!


Teachers: Please send me emails, I would love to come to your class, at any grade level. If I can't drive to you, then I can use Skype or Google video chat.


Another fun suggestion is that my books can be used for fund raisers. I've done it before. It's unique and leaves a lasting impression.


Take a look at what I've got coming up:


April 18 - Lake County Library System: Local Authors Day - The Lake County Library System is proud to announce the second program celebrating local authors and their books. The Spring Local Authors’ Day will be held in the Lady Lake Public Library on Wednesday, April 18th from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. In addition to meeting some of the best authors from around Florida, participants can enter for a prize drawing sponsored by the Friends of the Lady Lake Public Library. http://tinyurl.com/btkfhvf


May 7 & 8 - Great Wolf Lodge (Charlotte, NC): Home School Week - Comfort Publishing is once again parterning with Great Wolf Lodge Concord for Home school week, May 6-11, 2012! Authors joining us will be Kendra A. Thomas, Mark Miller (The Empyrical Tales) andSherri Gallagher! Book ANY room for $139! Use the code 1205HOME! This is the official debut of The Secret Queen. Exclusive advance copies will be for sale before the June 1st release date. http://www.greatwolf.com/concord/waterpark


June 2 - Barrel of Books and Games (Downtown Mount Dora, FL): Starting at 1pm on June 2nd, I will be signing autographs and answering questions at this fun shop! http://barrelofbooksandgames.com/


I hope to see you at one of my events, plus I will be adding more. Contact me if you would like me to speak to your group, present a creative writing class or help with your fund raiser.

BOGO is Back On

From Trestle Press:


Starting Saturday March 10 and running through March 17th Trestle Press and its authors will be having a Buy One Get One Free Sale. All of our titles are included in the sale. All you have to do to get your free story is email us at trestlepress@gmail.com and send us the proof of purchase from either Amazon Kindle or Barnes & Noble Nook and we will be happy to send you the free story of your choice of equal or lesser value. Straight up fun so why not fill those hungry e-readers with any of our Best-Selling titles or maybe find a new author to follow. Above all enjoy yourself! Thank you for supporting our authors and their hard work! 

Here are some helpful links:

Meant To Be - This is the first story in the One series. All of the authors in this series are donating some portion of their proceeds to Give Kids the World (GKTW.org) - http://tinyurl.com/7zcx9zg

Sons of the King - Christian, Sci-Fi, Fantasy co-written with my 9 year old daughter - http://tinyurl.com/6p7bw69

New Kids on the Rock - Part one of the international spy adventure series Small World Global Protection Agency - http://tinyurl.com/7svcww2

Daniel's Lot - a novella based on the Christian movie, which is available on DVD - http://tinyurl.com/86r2hlv

Put "Trestle Press" in your Amazon toolbar to see all of the other great titles available!

Authors of One Do Something Good

   Mark Miller’s One is a series about faith and beliefs. It is about our understanding of truth and how we are all connected. Every individual is part of this one earth.

With six issues published, there have been some amazing stories. The authors have shared emotionally personal details of their relationships and unexplained, almost miraculous, events. The Authors of One are as varied as our world will allow: a father, an international traveler, a professor, a teenage poet. They also consist of several best-sellers and award-winners.

What more can these authors and this series offer? Every participating author of One has decided to donate at least half or more of their proceeds to charity. That means, in addition to a thought-provoking story, when you purchase a story from the One series, you, as a reader, are doing something good too.

Each author has the option of choosing their charity, but most have agreed on an amazing group called Give Kids the World. This organization helps make dreams come true for severely and terminally ill children by giving them vacations to some of Orlando, Florida’s best attractions. As a father, I have taken my own children to places like Walt Disney World, so this was the best way I could show thanks for the great opportunities I’ve received as a writer. Please note, that none of the authors are not affiliated with Give Kids the World. We simply believe it is an important and worthy charity.

Here are links to the authors and their stories of One:

 Meant to Be - Mark Miller

Twelve Steps - De Miller

Dr. Candy - Sudè Khanian

The Hand of God  - Giovanni Gelati

For the Love of All - Melissa Studdard and Scott Lutz

Snake in the Water - George Michael Loughmueller

These are the stories that are out now. Still to come are important and moving words from Rachel Hunter, Crystal Linn and Ron Starbuck. Check out all of the other great work they have to offer!

What more can I say? Every author in this series is highly talented, each with a significant voice. Beyond the page, I have come to know them as generous, kind, intelligent human beings. People like these give me hope in a world that sometimes seems hopeless.

Please take the time to purchase these stories for ONLY 99 Cents on Amazon Kindle or BN Nook. At the very least, you will be doing something good.

You can learn more about Give Kids the World by visiting www.GKTW.org. You can follow the Authors of One at Facebook.com/MarkMillersOne.

100 Days

Did you get that? In one hundred days, a couple things are going to happen. One, a bunch of kids are going to be out of school for the summer. Two, The Empyrical Tales Book III: The Secret Queen will be available from Comfort Publishing. What a perfect way to start that summer reading adventure!

In fact, it is already open for pre-order on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/7b7uwdo


Fans of The Empyrical Tales know that Zandria and Olena have already been through quite a lot of challenging adventures. In The Secret Queen, those adventures get bigger...
...Dinosaur bigger!


Here is the back cover synopsis: It is a year after the events of The Lost Queen. Zandria and her younger sister, Olena, seem to be growing apart. But now, Olena has mysteriously disappeared without explanation. To make things worse for Olena, she is having trouble with her magical abilities. With the help of an unusual bronze ring, Olena leaves the crystal Castle Empyrean in disguise. She soon steps into a land of giant crocodiles, unending deserts, ancient pyramids and even mummies! Now Olena must discover the truth about the dinosaur-like race that lives beyond the southern border before they attack Empyrean. All the while, she struggles with faith in her own abilities. Will Olena regain her magic in time? To find out, she has to become The Secret Queen.


Reviews for The Empyrical Tales say:

"All fun and all good."

"an exciting story based on the eternal struggle between good and evil"

"a captivating set of characters"

" well-developed and complex"

"a gift for putting together great characters with a conscience, with a set of values that are real, visceral and tangible."

"The characters truly shine"

"There is a musical quality to the way Miller writes"

"Magical, Mysterious, Mesmerizing, and Mythical"

" it adds a strong heroine to children’s literature" 

Over the next 100 days, there will be lots of fun, contests and a few surprises!


Until then, if have do not have the first two books, you can get The Fourth Queen and The Lost Queen directly from my site, www.MillerWords.com, at a special price and with a personal autograph.

Sons and Daughter

Writing is fun. It really is, I enjoy almost everything about it, even including the hard parts like networking and promoting. One of the best experiences I've had as a writer is watching my daughter when she is writing.

Sons of the King

Episode Two

Happy Niners

Writing Sons of the King with Olivia is an incredible experience. She is very professional and has definite ideas about the story. Trestle Press has given us a great opportunity, for which we are both thankful.

Episode Two centers on the annual religious celebration known as the Nine Days of Creation. The sons of the King experience all of the food, fun and games they can handle. Unfortunately, a shocking event interrupts their festivities.

Get Started...

Maybe you know I have a lot of great stories with Trestle Press? Maybe you know that Trestle Press has no end of talented authors? Did you know right now Trestle Press is doing a Buy One Get One Sale?


So here is an economical way to get started or get caught up:


Mark Miller's One - a spiritual anthology examining True-Life experiences of Authors and their Faith. As the series evolves expect to discover what it means to have faith, no matter what that faith is and no matter where they live. Remember that we are all part of this One World. Volume 5 is coming soon!


Small World Global Protection Agency - Another in the Trestle Press Digital Short Story Cliffhanger Series: Star athlete Josh and computer prodigy Madison are recruited by the mysterious Mr. Crux to attend a special summer camp. The two elementary school kids then begin the adventure of a lifetime. They discover that the Small World Global Protection Agency is a network of talented and skilled children in countries all over the world. Their mission is to help other kids and save the day when adults can’t. Volume 3 is coming soon!


Sons of the King - (co-written with my daughter, Olivia) In the land of Mysstira on the planet Kaskaya, a great King has three sons. When a mysterious visitor falls from the sky, their world is changed forever. The sons of the King will soon face their destiny.

Here is the official word from Trestle Press:

Starting today, Saturday January 14^th through Sunday, January 22, 2012, Trestle Press will be having a

BUY ONE TITLE GET ONE TITLE FREE SALE !!

All of our titles are part of this sale, all of our authors will be participating in it, and all you have to do is when you purchase one of our stories send us the proof of purchase and we will be happy to send you the title of your choice that is of equal value.

You can email us in one of three ways; send the proof of purchase by email to one of the following:

-the authors of the titles you purchased and get your free titles directly from them.

-Trestle Press: trestlepress@gmail.com

-Giovanni Gelati: gelati.giovanni@gmail.com

We have a wealth of talented authors at Trestle Press and there are many great stories to discover and read. As the week goes on there will be a few surprises thrown into this sale, so please stay tuned to our website: www.trestlepresspublishing.com or your favorite authors’ websites or blogs.

Feel free to follow us at our website for all the upcoming news and events surrounding all of the Trestle Press authors as they create more Best-Selling novels, novellas, short stories and series for you to follow and enjoy.

We hope that you will join us and our authors as we make our journey and try to blaze a new trail in this wide open world of publishing. Without you all is for naught; for everything we do, we do for you the reader!

Have fun and happy reading!!      

'Tis the Season

Hopefully, you've seen the special offer for the Stories of Queen's Day. In case you haven't, if you buy any or all of The Empyrical Tales, you get the holiday themed story for FREE.

If that's not enough, 

Trestle Press

is really getting into the spirit of the season!

Now through December 24th, Trestle Press is doing a Buy One Get One on ALL titles. That's right! Buy any Trestle title and get one of equal or lesser price for FREE. It's simple, send your proof of purchase to anyone at Trestle Press, even the authors, and we will send you the story of your choice for free.

What does that mean? 

It means you can start Small World Global Protection Agency Issue 1 and get Issue 2 for FREE. Find out what happens when two elementary school students are recruited to an international spy organization. It's fun and education aimed at 3rd through 5th graders.

It means you can get any two stories in the One series for the price of one. These are real life stories of faith from authors around the world.

Pick up the Christian influenced, outer-space fantasy that I wrote with my 9 yr old daughter, Sons of the King, and follow it up with A Prince in Trenton, Seriously?, co-written by Trestle's own front man Giovanni Gelati without spending another cent.

Of course, the best present you could give me is buying all of my titles. But don't forget, Trestle has an abundance of talented authors with genres for all tastes. Put "Trestle Press" in your Amazon toolbar or search on BN.com for Instant Gifting. 

Any title, by any author, is Buy One Get One! 

What better way to finish off that shopping list?