Monsterland by Michael Okon

GUEST POSTResearching Tips

This is the most crucial step before actually starting to write. There is an abundance of material just waiting to be found by you. Google and Amazon has been my absolute best friends for the past 10 years. When researching my subject I buy or search everything I can about that subject. For instance, before I began writing Monsterland, I bought a dozen or so monster books on Amazon and read each one. I wanted to know what made werewolves, vampires and zombies tic. I wanted to avoid any silly tropes. Google can help with that by directing you to sites that will explain things that books maybe couldn’t. Google – learn it, live it, love it.ABOUT THE BOOK
Monsterlandby Michael Okon

GENRE:  Horror (Monsters)
BLURB:
Welcome to Monsterland—the scariest place on Earth.
Wyatt Baldwin's senior year is not going well. His parents divorce, then his dad mysteriously dies. He’s not exactly comfortable with his new stepfather, Carter White, either. An ongoing debate with his best friends Melvin and Howard Drucker over which monster is superior has gotten stale. He’d much rather spend his days with beautiful and popular Jade. However, she’s dating the brash high-school quarterback Nolan, and Wyatt thinks he doesn’t stand a chance.
But everything changes when Wyatt and his friends are invited to attend the grand opening of Monsterland, a groundbreaking theme park where guests can interact with vampires in Vampire Village, be chased by werewolves on the River Run, and walk among the dead in Zombieville.
With real werewolves, vampires and zombies as the main attractions, what could possibly go wrong?
EXCERPT
The sky was a sparkling, powder blue, mosquitoes droned lazily over the tepid water, frogs croaked messages while they sunbathed on waxy lily pads. The fire he created burned bright, rabbit roasting on a spit made from hickory, the juices dripping to hiss in the flames. Seven of them lay in scattered repose, enjoying the late afternoon lull—two napped, the others tossed a stuffed fur in the form of a ball around the clearing, hooting with amusement when it rolled into the brush. They traveled in a pack, his group, his makeshift family, foraging together, hiding in plain sight. It had been that way for generations. But the glades were getting smaller, the humans invasive.
The sun started its slow descent into the horizon, hot pink and lilac clouds rippling against the empty canvas of the sky. Their color deepened as the sky filled, the rosy hue morphing into a burnt orange as the sun hid behind the condensation. The air thickened, moisture causing the leaves to lie heavily against the branches. Here and there, fireflies lit the gloom, doing a placid ballet in the humid air. The men moved closer as the sun sank into the western treetops, the fading sky promising another clear day tomorrow in the Everglades despite the moving ceiling of clouds.
A lone hawk cried out, disturbing the peace of the glade. Huge birds answered, flapping their wings, creating a cacophony of swamp sounds. The area became a concerto of animals responding to the disruption of their home—wild screams, squeaks, and complaints of the invasion of their territory.
The lead male stood, his head tilted. He heard it again. It was music, the strange organization of sounds, predictable as well as dangerous. Where those rhythms originated meant only one thing—they were not alone. They all rose, tense and alert, searching the waterway. Billy pointed, his dirty hands silently parting an outcropping of trees to expose a flat-bottom boat with strangers floating slowly toward them. It was filled with people, excitedly searching the banks of the swamp, their expensive khaki bush clothes ringed with sweat. Many held huge cameras. It was obviously a film crew, invasive, nosy individuals looking for something, anything, to enhance their lives. Men’s voices drifted on the turgid air. Billy stood, sniffing, his mates following suit. He glanced at the sky, gauging the time, his eyes opening wide. It was late. The bald top of the moon peeked over the ridge in the south, the sky graying to twilight with each passing second. Night came fast and furious in the swamp, dropping a curtain of darkness, extinguishing all light except for the beacon of the full moon. That chalk-white orb floated upward, indifferent to the consequences of its innocent victims. A halo of lighter blue surrounded the globe, limning the trees silver, the cobwebs in the trees becoming chains of dripping diamonds in the coming night.

REVIEW

Sometimes silly, sometimes pretty scary, I enjoyed the journey with this creepy book. It’s set in a dystopic world where monsters are real and on the increase world-wide. Some “normal’ people are worried about monster uprisings and believe anything “different” should be locked up or destroyed.
Most of the book is a build-up to a world-wide “grand opening” of Monsterland in multiple countries, but most of the action is focused on the opening of Monsterland in a small Midwestern community.
Some of the antics of the featured teenage friends seemed rather childish, then at other times someone would demonstrate unselfish and mature actions -- seemed about par for the age group. I liked Wyatt’s complicated family dynamics. Often my sympathies were with the monsters, though, particularly the werewolves.
This is an entertaining book for those who like eerie, conspiracy-laden monster stories featuring a filthy–rich mad scientist who believes the world is his oyster. 

Reviewed by Laurie-J

AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Michael Okon is the award-winning and best-selling author & screenwriter formerly known as Michael Phillip Cash. His originally self-published book Monsterland was picked up in a two-book publishing deal by WordFire Press. Michael is happily married and writes full-time on the North Shore of Long Island with his two screaming monsters in the background.
For more information, details and updates, visit:
http://www.michaelokon.comhttps://www.facebook.com/iammichaelokon https://twitter.com/IAmMichaelOkon
Email Michael at MichaelOkonBooks@gmail.com
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/ydz5adz2   Barnes and Noble: http://tinyurl.com/ybn7m835
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/monsterland-1
GIVEAWAY
One randomly drawn commenter will win a $50 Amazon/BN GC (international giveaway), five randomly drawn winners will win a size large Monsterland T-shirt (US only).
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