Secrets Await In … Misguided!

With Christmas fast approaching, I wanted to let you know about my latest book, Misguided. It’s got the adventurous spirit of Cy Reed along with the unexpected twists of Behemoth, all set in a mysterious Christmas town.

A picture-perfect Christmas wonderland … built on a web of shocking secrets and cryptic anomalies!

Over the years, I’ve written a wide variety of stuff … the Cy Reed Adventures, Behemoth and Apex Predator, Destroying Magic, and Broken Nature. And now I’m doing something new again. You see, Misguided is my first Middle-Grade story. Like the rest of my stuff, it’s written for all ages. It’s just that this book happens to revolve around younger, teenage characters.

Misguided stars Daniel Ford, a tour guide in Braxton, the ultimate Christmas town. Braxton seems too good to be true … and it is. For it’s full of mystery …

… and danger.

Your copy of Misguided is just moments away. Click anywhere you see the title or cover to view the book at your favorite retailer!

Description

A picture-perfect Christmas wonderland … built on a web of shocking secrets and cryptic anomalies.

For teenage tour guide Daniel Ford, Braxton is the ideal home, one of twinkling lights, swirling snow, and yuletide cheer. He’d never guess it’s got a dark side … until he stumbles right into it.

Suddenly, he’s under fire and searching for answers. But his investigation only turns up more questions: What’s buried beneath the streets of Braxton? Who else is after it? And just how far will they go to get their hands on it?

The master tour guide is now being led on a tour of his own … and it’s going to take every skill he’s got to survive.

Fast-paced and filled with humor, David Meyer’s Misguided will have readers on the edge of their seats, with unexpected twists and turns that will keep them guessing until the very end!

The Broken Nature Trilogy comes to an End!

At last, we’ve reached the finish line! That’s right, folks … today, I’m releasing Broken People, the final book in the epic Broken Nature trilogy.

Long ago, the mysterious Broken Apocalypse ravaged Earth, drying up its surface water and reducing its soil to dust. Billions perished of thirst …

Broken Nature is an action-packed, post-apocalyptic series, one that revolves around the mind-boggling disappearance of Earth’s surface water. It stars two very different people—Titus Foster and Kayden Kell—as they fight to fix a very broken nature. No spoilers here, but this final book is truly awesome. You’re going to love how it ends!

If you haven’t tried the series yet, you’re in luck. Starting today, the Broken Lands ebook is on-sale for just $0.99! But act fast, because that price won’t last long.

Your copy of Broken People is just moments away. Click anywhere you see the title or cover to purchase the ebook or paperback from Amazon!

Description

Two survivors, barely clinging to life.

One final chance to save the world.

Broken People … Broken Nature.

Titus Foster is broken. His home is gone. His people are dead. His friends are on the run. Dying of thirst, he’ll hike across the deadly hinterlands for one last battle against an unbeatable foe. Will he save humanity? Or watch it take its final breath?

Kayden Kell is broken, too. Her city is no more. Her fellow citizens have been destroyed. On the verge of defeat, she’ll take an incredible chance. One that could fix a broken world … or doom it forever.

Broken People is an unforgettable, post-apocalyptic adventure. International bestselling author David Meyer pulls out all of the stops in this spellbinding conclusion to the epic Broken Nature trilogy!

What’s Next?

In my last newsletter, I talked about an upcoming Cy Reed release. Unfortunately, it’s been put on hold for the time being. Long story short, we lost my father-in-law a few months ago and the impact of that tragedy is still reverberating through our family.

With that said, I’m still writing. I just don’t know what’s coming next. Regardless, I hope to get something out to you relatively soon. Stay tuned and I appreciate your patience!

Yours in Adventure,

David Meyer

Cy Reed Goes Supernatural?

Here’s this week’s writing excerpt, completed just yesterday. This story has a strong supernatural side, similar in style to Indiana Jones. It’s a pretty big departure for me as my previous Cy Reed books have all been quite grounded, with a solid base in science (albeit, speculative science, sometimes). That’s part of the reason why I’m considering spinning this off as a separate series. Anyway, enjoy!

“It’s getting bigger, too,” Jocelyn said. “I’d rather not be here when it gets through.”

“Unfortunately, Sawyer’s guys are holed up in the next room.” He shrugged. “They were at the block when we arrived. We managed to drive them back, but only as far as the statue.”

I furrowed my brow.

“Half of them are posted there,” he continued. “Every time we show our faces, they take a shot at us.”

“Half of them are at the statue?” My furrow hardened into a ridge. “Where’s the other half?”

“In the room after that one.”

“You can see them?” Jocelyn asked.

“Not easily,” he replied. “But yeah, I caught a glimpse of some people trekking that way.”

My eyes widened. “They’re trying to trap us.”

Tairona Cacique: A Cy Reed Visual

I found this today in my writing notebook. At the time, I was playing around with doing some more visual, Cy Reed storytelling. Look at all of that smudging! Ahh, that’s what I get for not using a tissue under my hand. Anyway, it’s nice to see it again!

The Year Without a Summer?

In 1816, average global temperatures fell. A strange fog drifted across the Northern Hemisphere. Sunlight dimmed. Crops died due to unusual amounts of dust. What caused “The Year without a Summer?”

What was the Year without a Summer?

“The Year without a Summer” was indeed a strange year. It was most apparent in the northeastern United States, Atlantic Canada, and western Europe. These regions experienced a heavy summer frost which killed off crops, summer snow, persistent fog which reduced and reddened the sunlight, icy lakes and rivers, and rapid temperature changes. In turn, these factors led to rising food prices, famine, riots, arson, looting, disease, and death.

What caused the Year without a Summer?

The Year without a Summer lasted past 1816, into 1817, and possibly into 1818 as well. What could’ve caused such an extended period of climate change?

Well, most scientists attribute the event to the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia. Incidentally, Mount Tambora was the largest eruption of the last 1,300 years and one of the three largest eruptions of the last 2,000 years. Along with four other significant eruptions between 1812 and 1814, Mount Tambora kicked up huge amounts of volcanic dust into the upper atmosphere, which served to block incoming sunlight. Making matters worse, this occurred during a period of significantly reduced solar activity.

Guerrilla Explorer’s Analysis

The Year without a Summer was one of the most horrible ones in recent history. But even in bad times, good things can sometimes arise. The volcanic dust in the upper atmosphere led to a period of incredible sunsets, which were immortalized in J.M.W. Turner’s paintings (including the one at the beginning of this post). The vast crop failures also caused American families to seek out better growing conditions. This led to the settling of western and central New York as well as the Upper Midwest.

Joseph Smith’s family was one of those who left New England. His move to Palmyra, NY was an essential step in his founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (it should be noted that past periods of violent climate change have often resulted in the growth of new religions). Also, large amounts of rain in Switzerland led Mary Shelley and John William Polidori to stay indoors for most of the summer. During that time, Shelley wrote Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus while Polidori wrote The Vampyre.

Still, the event must be remembered for the awe-inspiring destruction it wrought throughout the world. In many ways, it’s reminiscent of the Black Death, which may have been caused by the loading of cometary dust into the upper atmosphere. “The Year without a Summer” serves as a reminder of how much we depend on nature for our survival…and how easily it can be taken away.

The Birth of Frankenstein’s Monster?

On March 11, 1818, Mary Shelley published Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. It was one of the first science fiction novels and remains one of the most influential pieces of literature of all time. For many years, scholars have doubted Mary’s account of how she wrote the book. Now, thanks to modern science, we may finally know the truth about her famous “waking dream.”

Mary Shelley’s Waking Dream of Frankenstein?

According to the third edition of Mary’s Frankenstein book, Lord Byron challenged her, her husband Percy Shelley, and a physician named Polidori to each write a ghost story in mid-June 1816 during the so-called Year without a Summer. Byron and Percy, to the best of my knowledge, never followed through on the challenge. Polidori launched the romantic vampire genre with his short story, The Vampyre. Meanwhile, Shelley tossed and turned until she finally found her inspiration for Frankenstein on June 16 “during a sleepless night in her dark room, behind closed shutters ‘with the moonlight struggling to get through.'”

“I saw with shut eyes, but acute mental vision – I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life …” ~ Mary Shelley

Mary claimed that she saw a “bright and shining moon” over Lake Geneva and that she proceeded to write the novel about Frankenstein while in a “waking dream.” However, scholars have long doubted her account, considering it a tall tale designed to sell more books. And indeed, certain entries in Polidori’s diary have cast doubt upon Mary’s version of the events. Did she really see moonlight on June 16 and begin writing her novel shortly afterward? Or was the moon impossible to see that early morning?

Does Mary Shelley’s Story fit the Facts?

Enter Professor Donald Olson, an astronomer from Texas State University. Olson specializes in using astronomical tables and geographic reference points to solve some of the world’s most famous historical mysteries such as “the time, date and location of paintings by Edvard Munch and Vincent van Gogh…the Battle of Marathon in 490BC and Caesar’s invasion of Britain in 55BC; and even…a freak Breton tide mentioned in Chaucer’s The Franklin’s Tale.”

In August 2010, a team led by Professor Olson visited the Switzerland villa where Mary had her vision. They made “extensive topographic measurements of the terrain” and analyzed “weather records for June of 1816.”After a thorough investigation, Olson “determined that a bright, gibbous moon would have cleared the hillside to shine right into Shelley’s bedroom window just before 2 a.m. on June 16.” However, by June 22, it was a “waning crescent, masked by a hillside.”

Guerrilla Explorer’s Analysis

Thus, it appears that Mary’s version of events is supported by the evidence. Olson believes that Byron made his challenge between June 10-13. A few days later, Mary woke up in the early morning of June 16, between 2am and 3am, and started to write about Frankenstein.

“Mary Shelley wrote about moonlight shining through her window, and for 15 years I wondered if we could recreate that night. We did recreate it. We see no reason to doubt her account.” ~ Professor Olson

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Did a Comet cause the Black Death?

From 1347 to 1350, the Black Death ravaged Europe, reducing its population by somewhere between 30-60%.  It was one of the most lethal pandemics in history and as everyone knows, was caused by the bubonic plague.  Or was it?

Mysteries of the Black Death

Conventional wisdom holds that the Black Death was the third great outbreak of bubonic plague, following the Plague of Athens and the Justinian Plague.  Supposedly, infected rodent populations in Central Asia, or perhaps Africa, brought the disease to the Black Sea region and the Central Mediterranean, via trade routes.  However, the conventional theory is not without problems.  Here are just a few to consider:

1. Extraordinary Kill Rate: The Black Death killed people at an extraordinary rate, far higher than that of a typical bubonic plague outbreak.  There is a pneumonic form of the disease which could explain the kill rate but its symptoms don’t match the descriptions of Black Death victims.

2. Lack of Dead Rats: No written documents from that time describe the vast legions of dead rats required to carry the plague.

3. The Iceland Problem: The Black Death killed over half of Iceland’s population but rats didn’t actually reach Iceland until the 19th century.

4. Geographic Gaps: The Black Death moved in strange ways, including a leap over Constantinople on its way across the Mediterranean.

5. Cold Temperatures: It continued to kill people during the winter months in northern Europe despite the fact that the plague requires relatively warm temperatures to survive.

Was the Black Death caused by a Comet?

So, what was the Black Death?  One intriguing possibility, according to Professor Mike Baillie’s book, New Light on the Black Death: The Cosmic Connection, is a comet shower.  Multiple sources tell us that there was a significant earthquake on January 25, 1348.  Other earthquakes soon followed.  Baillie believes that these were caused by fragments from Comet Negra, which passed by earth in 1347.  As the material descended from space, it fell on the northern Mediterranean Sea first, before branching outwards.

Through ground and sea-based collisions, these fragments injected dust as well as large amounts of carbon- and nitrogen-based chemicals into the stratosphere.  This poisoned the breathing air and the drinking water, causing most of the casualties associated with the Black Death.  Other deaths can be attributed to weakened immune systems, caused by the infected air and water, which made people easy prey for bubonic plague, anthrax, and other ailments.

Evidence for a Comet Shower?

But is there evidence to support this theory?  More than you might think.

“There have been masses of dead fish, animals, and other things along the sea shore and in many places covered in dust.  And all these things seem to have come from the great corruption of the air and earth.”

The above quote comes from a contemporary of the Black Death.  Documents of the time speak of earthquakes, tidal waves, rains of fire, foul odors, strange colors in the sky, mists, even dragons.  Historians generally dismiss these descriptions as colorful imagery or the ravings of religious fanatics.  However, Baillie suggests that they might be written accounts of what was happening at the time, as people tried to describe the startling things that they saw all around them.

Also, tree-ring data from Europe and the Americas indicates that there was a global environmental downturn during the years of the Black Death.  Ice core data suggests that there were increased amounts of carbon dioxide and ammonia in the air, suggesting ocean turnover.  All of this points to a corruption in the atmosphere.

Guerrilla Explorer’s Analysis

Can we say for certain that a comet shower caused the Black Death?  No.  However, Professor Baillie has accumulated an impressive body of evidence that deserves greater recognition.  In my opinion, his theory is the most compelling one yet to explain the true cause of the most nefarious pandemic in history.