Superhero Helps Readers Understand Autism

In less than 24 hours since its international debut, our Issue 1 of the world's 1st featured #comics hero with #autism is now on back-order.

— FaceValueComics (@FaceValueComics) August 28, 2014

Face Value Comics' autistic script #writer features a #comic hero with #autism in a #steampunk world with aliens, robots & lots of misunderstanding!

Music Review: Virago: Love Over Fear.

Independent label rockers Maire Tashjian and Amy Schindler deliver a 10-song CD about equality, love, and many other topics. Musical diversity and passionate vocals add to the strength of their lyrics. Read my review at ThisWeekInTexas.Com.

Gay Movie Review: Morgan.

Summary:

The director of Gone, But Not Forgotten offers a touching and inspiring movie about a young gay man who might let an accident ruin his chances of happiness. Explorations of romance and tragedy make this independent drama a memorable experience.

Text:

Leo Minaya (Manito, How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer) plays Morgan Oliver, a young athlete whose recent accident left him partially paralyzed and seemingly ended his streak of winning awards for bicycling. Morgan resents his situation, spending his time moping and drinking. p> The handsome and athletic Dean Kagen (Jack Kesy) asks Morgan to pick up his basketball, not looking up in time to notice the wheelchair. He apologizes, but they quickly strike up a conversation, which leads to a date. Dean brings his own baggage to the relationship, but Morgan’s willingness to risk his own life to go back to racing could ruin everything.

Actress and comedienne Darra “Like Dat” Boyd (VH1’s Flavor of Love) plays Morgan’s best friend, Lane Williams. Lane won’t hesitate to tell Morgan exactly how she feels about anything, including his stubbornness and risk taking. She adds extra humor at first, but later adds to the film’s increasingly dramatic tone.

Film and stage actress Madalyn McKay plays Morgan’s mother, Peg Oliver. Morgan constantly takes her for granted and overlooks how his actions hurt her. The scenes between mother and son provide some of the most heart-breaking moments.

However, this film mostly centers around Morgan’s romance. The sparks between Kesy and Minaya intensify the happiest and saddest moments. Ultimately, expect an inspiring and romantic story that avoids the familiar territory of gay cinema.

Michael Akers directed a script he co-wrote with Sandon Berg. They previously collaborated on Phoenix, Matrimonium, and Gone, But Not Forgotten. Berg co-produced with Israel Ehrisman (Phoenix, Prodigal Sons).

A strong but never overpowering soundtrack captures some of the tragedy and romance. Ryan Rapsys scored the soundtrack, which also features songs by Miles, Molly Maguire, Nicholas Wells, David Raleigh, The Diamond Underground, and Ben Darwish. The music always seems just right for the moment.

Thanks for visiting my blog! Please read about my books The Acorn Stories and Degranon: A Science Fiction Adventure.

Loss of the Disco Queen.

Donna Summer has died of cancer. I love her songs and could never get tired of them. What an incredible voice! If you've never listened to her, please look her up at YouTube and elsewhere.

Cancer Fundraiser in Its Tenth Year!

10 years ago, the publication of The Acorn Gathering: Writers Uniting Against Cancer offered readers the chance to buy a collection of short fiction, with all royalties going to the fight against cancer. Today, it is still available in paperback, and now in eBook format, with the same mission. With cancer constantly affecting our lives, I’m proud to have taken part in that project and hope you’ll take the time to read more about it .

The writers who joined me in donating their writings made it a memorable collection. I also want to acknowledge the memory of John Mudd, a blog innovator who both helped the project happen and helped it find an audience.

Best wishes to you and your loved ones this Mother’s Day!

Fight Cancer

Fight Cancer has received more than 2000 views at YouTube. The Acorn Gathering's new HD trailer is now there as well.

HD Book trailer: The Acorn Gathering: Writers Uniting Against Cancer. Fundraiser.

Readers can now order The Acorn Gathering eBook. That short story collection raises funds for the fight against cancer.

Acorn, West Texas Fiction.

Visit YouTube to see the new trailer for The Acorn Gathering: Writers United Against Cancer. Movie and book critic Amos Lassen has reposted Living In A Small Town, his review of The Acorn Stories.

The video Fight Cancer has received 1300 views at YouTube.

I’ve updated my listing for the fundraiser The Acorn Gathering: Writers Uniting Against Cancer.

Lubbock, Texas: We Think Pink In Lubbock, featuring Sweet Potato Queen Jill Conner Browne and renowned British chef Jon Ashton. Tuesday, October 5. Join the fight against cancer!

Green Day: Stand Up To Cancer

September.

In this live performance on Stand Up To Cancer 2010 (09/10/2010), Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong performs their hit song “Wake Me Up When September Ends.”




The following paragraphs introduce “The First Few And the Last Few,” one of the stories I wrote for The Acorn Gathering: Writers Uniting Against Cancer.

The Last Few And the First Few

By Duane Simolke

Dedicated to all people who risk their lives to protect others.

We entered the twenty-first century as we left the twentieth century: with uncertainty. But everything seemed safe for a while, safe and prosperous. Then the economy started to falter. And then September 11 happened.

I arrived in New York City two days after the attacks on the World Trade Center. When I’m not in active duty with the Army, I often work as a volunteer firefighter in El Paso, where my mother lives, or in Acorn. In case you haven’t heard of it, Acorn is a little town in West Texas, population 21,001. After my family left an even smaller town called “Ropesville,” I grew up in Acorn; my brother recently became the sheriff there, and I visited him for a while before coming on up here. It’s my first time up this far north in the states, though I’ve done quite a bit of traveling in my life.

I expected a call soon, one that would again cause me to travel. And, like the one I got just after I signed up with the Army, those travels would take me to a hostile, foreign land. In the meantime, I wanted to do what I could here. Everyone knows where I am and how to get hold of me, though I actually need to go back to the hotel and check my messages.

I haven’t slept since arriving at Ground Zero. Ground Zero—that’s what they’re calling the area of destruction. My mother, always biased, has been telling everyone that it was heroic of me to come here. The New York City firefighters, police officers, and rescue workers are the real heroes. I’m just helping out where I can. I’ve seen them help countless people already while sifting through the wreckage for survivors.

I’ve seen volunteers of every kind, and I’ve seen every good trait of humanity. New York hardly seems like the cruel, unfriendly place I’ve always heard about. We’re all doing what we can.

The team I was with finally convinced me to take a break. Instead of going back to the hotel, I walked a block away and collapsed in an alley, leaning against a building.

As I sit here, catching my breath, still wearing my helmet and my protective jacket, I reach into the pocket of my jeans to find an envelope, now all folded up and crinkled.

Visit Goodreads to discuss The Acorn Gathering's stories, themes, and authors, or the fight against cancer. The Acorn Gathering raises funds for cancer research.

Fight Cancer, the book trailer for The Acorn Gathering, has received over a thousand viewings at YouTube.



Preview The Acorn Gathering at Smashwords. This anthology takes readers across several landscapes, during times of trouble, change, hope, and triumph.

The Acorn Gathering
By Writers Uniting Against Cancer

From a scandal-rocked town in West Texas to the Blackfeet Indian reservation in Montana, these short stories take readers to surprising places in America and the human heart!

Join the fight against cancer by purchasing this fund-raiser by authors Jan Chandler, Huda Orfali, Timothy Morris Taylor, Shawna R. Van Arum, and Bill Wetzel. I wrote four of the stories, edited the collection, and arranged for my publisher to donate all royalties to the American Cancer Society.

“I highly recommend you go, buy copies for yourself and your loved ones, and enjoy reading this well-written book.” —W. Brian Moore, for QBliss.Net

“These are all very talented writers, and I'm glad they got together to have a compilation of their stories in one book.” —Book Review Café

“If you're looking for characters that fit the mold of traditional, you won't find them here. The book is like a warm, pleasing quilt made up of disparate, yet cohesive patches represented by characters of various ethnic backgrounds; among them, African and Native Americans, Hispanic and Anglo Americans and with a few Texans sewn in.” —L. L. Lee, author of The Sisters: Found in San Antonio

Contents:

Preface
Part One: Acorn, Texas
Finding Acorns In Winter. By Duane Simolke.
The Seedling. By Jan Chandler.
Fat Diary. By Duane Simolke.
Again. By Duane Simolke.
Lynching. By Huda Orfali.
Part Two: Beyond Acorn
Nachos Are Green And Ducks Appear To Be Blue At Town Pump In Cut Bank, Montana. By Bill Wetzel.
As I Lay Dying. By Huda Orfali.
The Flamenco Painter. By Shawna R. Van Arum (formerly Shawna Chandler).
The 23rd Of August. By Timothy Morris Taylor.
A Morning By the River. By Bill Wetzel.
Dancing With the Angels. By Huda Orfali.
Gun. By Jan Chandler.
Part Three: Still Beginning
The Last Few And the First Few. By Duane Simolke.
Author Biographies

Book Reviews
News and Authors
Excerpts from The Acorn Gathering
Fat Diary, One of My Stories

Barnes & Noble, fishpond.co.au, fishpond.co.nz, amazon,
ca, uk, de, fr

Listmania

Worlds of SciFi/Fantasy

Cancer-Related Books and Video

Facing Illness or Disability

An eclectic list of novels I love

An eclectic list of CDs I love

An eclectic list of movies I love

Essential KC & the Sunshine Band

Diversity, Freedom, and Other Strange Concepts

Books That Fight Homophobia

Texas Tour

Teach or Write About Winesburg, Ohio

If You Like Winesburg, Ohio...

TV Series or Mini-Series I Like

It’s been five years since the publication of The Acorn Gathering: Writers Uniting Against Cancer, and that fundraiser has started selling again! Here’s an early news item about the book’s creation: Bookflash: Writers Uniting Against Cancer.

I’ve just updated and redesigned the following blogs: The Acorn Gathering: New and Authors and The Acorn Gathering: Reviews. The Acorn Gathering raises money for the fight against cancer. Readers can order it at online bookstores or their nearest Barnes & Noble Booksellers.

Lubbock, Texas: Saturday, March 24, 2-4 PM. I’ll sign copies of The Return of Innocence and The Acorn Gathering at Barnes & Noble (6707 Slide Road).

The Return of Innocence is a comical fantasy novel about a young swordswoman who stumbles into bizarre adventures. That book received the 2007 AllBooks Reviewer's Choice Award, in the category SciFi/Fantasy.

The Acorn Gathering is a fiction anthology that raises money for the fight against cancer. I edited that book and wrote four of its stories.