Hero's of the 25th

The day has finally come!

This morning, the doors had opened and like the gates of Heaven. Inside there was a table piled high with copy after copy of Playing for Keeps.

The Iconic cover was repeated over and over like some kind of mosaic.

A quiet fell over the crowd as they set their eyes upon the book, the books were looked at like the Golden statue from Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Holy grail or the "soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window."

The bookstore staff were trying to be prepared for this, hell -they'd done Harry Potter Books after all.

To the 'liners they had the look of that group of people who were cornered and the Zombies were about to attack.


A urgent crowd of fans Swarmed and Pressed into the store like a group of angry Amazons.

They went directly to the table grabbing their books, some even two or five
"they're for all my friends who couldn't be here today."

The lines formed at the register, as this group quickly made short work of the pile.

" I've got all my Christmas shopping done and it's only August."- cried out one woman.

I was able to grab two copies - one for reading and one for keeping pretty.


When I stepped back outside, the air smelled different...the people were all kind of standing around unsure what to do.

Our group had spent the last 3 weeks living as our own small Seventh City.

Some people started to pack up their stuff, others just stood around clutching their books.

Friendships were made between people who may never have met otherwise but were brought together over a shared a common interest.

Promises were made to keep in touch, and digits and emails exchanged.

I myself felt like it was Christmas morning, I had been on the high from all the promise that the "getting" brought.

But now at the end, I was on a downward trend, I no was experiencing the "having."


Don't get me wrong, It's been a great ride.

So great that I can't wait to climb back on again for the next one.

The Home stretch - August 24

All' is quiet here on Mur's eve. Everyone is excited about getting their books tonight.

6 hours to go till midnight when we will all be able to finally purchase our books, to do our parts as Hero's of the 25th.

We've been patient, we've met a bunch of people who have enjoyed this time together as someone might have enjoyed an event like Woodstock.

We've seen the cross section of some of the 20,000 listeners.

There seems to be a large table near the front that's currently empty. I mean LARGE, this should make it easier to find our books.

The cover of course would call out to us even if it was in the shelves, a person who was not sure what they were looking for could find it, perhaps even a blind person?

The dynamic of the white shirt being pulled open Superman™ style, revealing a female chest bursting forth with it's Joker™ purple uni-tard.

This cover would even be eye grabbing if they had stuck it in with all the Maxim™ and Stuff™ covers.

Only a few hours left to go.... and we can see the store people getting geared up. Let's hope they are worthy of the Challenge.


Our Third Waver today is a man named Paul.

His power is to take a piece of paper, lay it face down on his belly,
then taking a blank piece of paper and doing the same, can then transfer the other documents information to it similar to a photocopier.

"Unfortunately, if I am rushed, I cannot keep the quality of the copies as high." When he went to the Academy his hopes were that this was something that I wanted them to help me develop, as well as possibly storing multiple pages.

" It would be a excellent power to use as a spy."

The Home stretch - August 23

TWO DAYS REMAIN

Mur's first story was apparently about a Unicorn.
The story has been lost to the ages, however I would like to present a possible tail of my own.

=================================================================
There once was a unicorn that was pink, her name was Tornado.

Tornado was a feisty unicorn, free spirited and a zest for life.

Her frequent rainbow trailed flights through the skies were often a concern for the other unicorns.

"When she performs like that - it is only going to bring attention from the human folk."

Little did we know how right they were. Just at that moment, a hunting party was making it's way through the forest.

" Look, there is a unicorn trail, bring the Virgin!"

As everyone knows the only way to catch a unicorn is with a maiden who is pure.

The hunting party tied the young maiden in the middle of a clearing, while they all crouched upwind.

Unbeknown to them, they had entered into the territory that belonged to the Demon Snow Troll. The troll watched them as intently as they waited for the unicorn to arrive.

Tornado sensed the virgin was in trouble, so she flew down to help her.

The hunters watched as the unicorn got closer, them a scream that should not be possible for a man to make.

The group turned to see their spear carrier being ripped in two between the arms of the troll. Their spear was already broken from the attack, - this left them with only the lasso at their disposal as a weapon.

The second man in their 3 man party was now being picked up helpless in the Trolls grasp and would soon be onto the same fate.

Tornado slowly approached the young girl and saw that her hands were tied. She slowly nickered towards her , being wary of any possible traps.

When Tornado heard the second scream, she reared up and prepared to fight.


Having watched two of his men taken, the leader ran towards the girl tied up in the clearing, he reached down drawing his dagger as he ran.

Tornado lowered her head when the Hunter came running at the girl.

The Troll then came crashing into the clearing, and spotting the girl; licked his lips and charged forward.

Tornado lowered her head and charged the Troll. The two of them fought and struggled, hooves were stomped, punches were thrown.

Finally a wail came out from the Troll and it slumped to the ground.

Tornado walked unsteadily back towards the girl. She collapsed, and the hunter cut
her bonds. As Tornado took her last struggling breaths. the Hunter said " Thank you for saving my daughter.

And because of Tornado - we still celebrate the glory and the sacrifices of the unicorns.

Please show your your own love of the unicorn to others - get your own posters, t-shirts, bumper stickers, and of course stuffed animals.

================================================================



Today's Third Waver - the Dynamic Duo of Rocket Sneezer and Pepper girl.

Pretty self explanatory - when Rocket Sneezer sneezes, the force is strong enough for him and Pepper girl to be lifted off the ground and flown through the air PowderedToast™ man style.



He could also use this offensively to defeat villains like with super breath.

The Home stretch - August 22

The Full PDF is back!!!

and new story Parasite Awakens is included.

You should be reading it- not this. I'll be here when you get back.

Go Here

Todays' Third Waver - Rai

Her powers are an offspring of her disability. She suffers from color blindness " the inability to perceive differences between some of the colors that others can distinguish. It is most often of genetic nature."
Her character also suffers from this, but it does allow her to see into the IR and UV Spectrum

In the line - August 21

The SKY has opened up and all the rain is coming down, seriously I mean all of it.

There are lots of things floating by, cups, garbage, a shoe.

The water is quickly filling up the gutters and huge puddles are forming all over.

The cars going by seem to turn into some Landspeeder type vehicle as the bottoms disappear underneath the water.

We watched the office workers run from place to place, trying to use newspapers, filefolders, and some of them even have converted black garbage bags into makeshift ponchos.

As for me, I am using all of my powers of rain repellment to keep my gear dry. Plastic sheets out in full force.



Today's Third Waver - Roman
Jack has a power similar to Barry Koleman's

He has the ability to remove his hands at the wrist- they don't grow back like Barry's,

but he is able to continue controlling them. So not only is he able to get out of hand cuff easily, but he can then let his hands spider crawl to get the keys to open his cell.

Right now he has to keep them in sight to work them, but he is trying to increase his range with practice.

( what happens with Barry's other legs that are removed. I'll have to look into it or check with Mur. Are there are these detached legs that Barry has left all over?)

In the line - August 20

5 DAYS TO GO!

The liners are experiencing a little cabin fever today, so to alleviate some of the boredom, it was decided to do some LARPing.

For those of you unaware - it stands for Live Action Role Playing.
Still confused, basically it means that you take a group of people dressed up in costumes and do mock battle. (D&D example here)

I'd give you details but lets just say, it went well, got out of hand and then the police came.

No arrests though.



Todays Third Waver - Chuck, his power is the ability to make people laugh, this is good because he works as a Traffic Warden (Meter Maid) in Seventh City.

As you could imagine, on a normal day he will run into a number of people who may have parked illegally, overstayed their meters and other types of traffic violations.

When he gets confronted by the angry violators that he has to ticket, his power allows him to turn a tense hostile situation it into a light joke where most people would end up apologizing for their initial behavior and even became his friends.

When I asked him if there were limits to his abilities he said that he tried to keep them under pretty tight control since he thought he could overwhelm them to incapacitation.

When I asked him for an example. he replied " Imagine that I was a Villian and that I was fighting the Academy. You'd see them on the ground laughing so hard that they would have trouble breathing, tears out of their eyes. And then of course, you'd see a dark stain appearing from White Lighting's midsection"

He's right he is a funny guy.

In the line - August 19

I just finished listening to SOTW#12 - Gestalt by JC Hutchins.

damn...

Let me be clear on one thing, ALL the SOTW up to this point have been excellent.
The idea of doing call in music request shows, a love relationship advice call in show, radio plays from small town Seventh city, a survival guide, more info on knitting for you superhero than I could ever gain in a lifetime, the political, and religious impacts of heroism and more have all given us insight into the ever growing world of the Seventh City.

Let me clarify another thing - SOTW is not a contest, nor am I comparing them in this manner.

JC Hutchins story grabbed me by the brain and put me in the passenger seat while taking me through this tale.

I felt that I was right there in the action as things were going on, I could see the sights, the smells, the sounds.

I felt the slices on my back as being harassed by the hero. The pleasure of crushing the hero was mine as much as his.

This was such a great story. There's not more I can say - you have to listen to it. Enjoy the ride.




Today's third waver: Sheila - her character's power allows her to "undo" her actions in the last 5 seconds.

Because of the limited nature of her power it restricts what she can undo.

"But there are some times where this has happened to help me stay out of bad relationships."

In the line - August 18

One of the things that has been different with this whole podcast experience is the access and availability of our Author Mur. She has given us a direct email, groups on Facebook, a phone number to call with our comments.

I can't imagine a author like Stephen King or Tom Clancy just saying hey, here's a phone number to chat, or just email me something.

Is it because a podauthor is not so removed from their audience?

Do they realize that the next meal of shells and cheese flavoring, and the disconnection of the power is so much closer than those other authors?

Sure they have their problems too, which car to drive to Sundance™ or why their maid just never seems to keep enough cheese slices unwrapped for them?

Technology today has allowed many people to create and distribute their work, (even I can put out my two cents) rather than going through the big machine.

The biggest access that she has given is -her work.

Mur gives us the benefit of enjoying her work, and then asks that if you enjoyed it, tell your friends; and if you can-you could kick a few bucks her way.

As bad as a comparison this is- she is not unlike a street performer.

Gypsy Mur dances, and shakes her tambourines, clangs her bell and puts on a good show. Then at the end, a hat is passed to recieve some appreciation from the group who was entertained.

Most give, and with this Mur can keep going with her craft. We enjoy the show-don't forget to drop some coins in the hat...


Today's Third Wave - We have Serge who's powers provide in him the ability of a Gourmand. This allows him the expertise and knowledge in knowing how to best match foods, wine and alcohol to give the diner an exotic taste experience .

Similar to Collette's power at Keepsie's bar - but different in the way that he does in a broader sense and bases it with junk food.

His power allows him to know that it is best to have a '68 Merlot with a Super Mack burger, a side of onion rings and, dill dipping sauce.

For desert he would recommend that you have the hot apple turn over, topped with jalapeno ice cream and a nice slice of Colby cheddar.

In the line - August 17

We have about 8 Days to Go!

One of the things that you may have wondered about is how we keep clean and take care of other related tasks.

Well, to be honest at first, we were taking advantage of the other local businesses washrooms and the like to take care of some of it.

As long as we bought something- we were entitled to use their facilities.

However this quickly came to a stop due to the results of some of the liners taking it a bit too far. 1 bottle of soda=30min in bathroom.

Plus as a group we were not exactly driving customers into the businesses.

This resulted us in having to widen our circle of facilities to use but this too quickly ran out as well.

The city showed up today with a "portable bathroom", not only did it have the standard Tardis like toilet, but it also included a portable wash station as well.

I guess they figured that we are not leaving until the 25th that they better help us out.

( BTW it hasn't all been uncleaned waiting.

Some of us would spell off each other in the line so they could go and freshen up.

One person even rented a hotel room nearby in a hotel but when they noticed a large group of "visitors" and had recieved numerous requests for more towels they were promptly asked to leave.


Today's Third Wave - We have Graham he's in the movie industry. He goes by the name " Flabbergast".

He's a stuntman, well not exactly a stuntman...

His power allows his body to stretch out. His powers differ from other stretching type characters like the Crane by creating a hollow airspace within his body when he stretches.

This makes his body into a perfect airbag for doing high stunt work. (see video)

That sounds like a ideal power to have for when fighting villains, in case some one got knocked out of the sky. I suggested

" They were very interested at first, then they had me do a demonstration. Tattoo Devil jumped out of a high floor landed on me and was safe and sound."

Okay, so then what happened then?

" Well in order for these bags to work and not injure the jumper, they need to have the air removed quickly"

"Unfortunately the body has so many vents it can use, so when Tattoo Devil hit, I simultaneously made a huge long burp, and fart."

I snickered a little to my self.

For the want of a more socially acceptable "vent this Third Waver was also turned away.

In the line - August 16

"The powers given in this story are a sin against God!"
We recently had some protesters show up at the line to the sale of Playing for Keeps. ( Well one guy really...)

" If God wanted men to fly- we ALL would have been born with wings."

In SOTW# Faith Matters - the topic of the hero's role in religion was discussed.

One aspect that was not addressed was those who did not believe the Heros and the Wavers should be here in the first place.

• Some people would see the (creation/evolution?) of the Hero's powers as a sin.

• Some might believe that the use of Zupra to mutate the unborn children was wrong.

• Some might say that Zupra should have only been given to people that were able to make the decision to try and change themselves.

I Imagine if these people existed in the Seventh City, they would be currently pressuring Haldor Limited Drug to be creating an "Anti-Zupra" treatment to help people undo what was done to them.



Today's Third Wave - is a woman by the name of Lori. Her power gives her hair extensions .

Well maybe more like extensible hair.

She can pull her hair through her scalp with ease.

In the past , she has pulled out long groups of hair ( say 6ft.) ,when the hair is cut, more hair is immediately available.

Human hair is strong - a single strand can lift 3 oz and the combined head is supposed to lift 12 tons. ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2004/may/27/sciencenews.research)

This could be useful in several ways, to making rope, to lifting and restraining items.

In the line - August 15

One of the things that I haven't mentioned this far is that Mur has been releasing a second series of Stories of the Third Wave and for those of us on the line.

It keeps us going.

Here's a brief look so far:
The Cockroach's bite
Faith matters
News from Bewilder Pond
Geek's Survivor Guide
Super 107
Manic Mondays



Some people going by our group have been looking at us and shaking their heads at us.

"What are you guys in line for? Is there another Star Wars film out?"

" No we are waiting for Mur Lafferty's Book playing for Keeps to come out in print."

" Not another Harry Potter book?"

"No, this something else , a story of superheros, and the world they live in. The struggles of the non powered, semi powered in a city with egotistical heros."

"Well if it's just coming out and you're sitting here waiting for it, how do you know it's any good?"

"We've read it."

(blink, blink)

"You've read it! Does this one come with a super foil embossed cover with random hologram, limited edition numbered and signed by the artist, and a action figure shrink wrapped to it? "

"Not that I know of."

" Why would you sit here and wait for a book you've already read?"

" We ARE Third Wave."

He then stomped off muttering to himself and we could hear word's like " fanatics and other words I won't repeat here.

Our Thirdwave character for today is William

- His power is the amazing ability of attracting squirrels.

Single eyebrow raised, I ask- " What can this do for Seventh City?

" With my powers I can get a group of them to leave a park where they might be causing trouble, saving on the cost and hazards of using an exterminator.

What kind of trouble does a squirrel stir up?

Well they like to hide their nut so this will cause extensive damage with the flowers they eat and the holes they dig. Also, they can also take up residense in places like your attic.

Does it work on Prairie dogs as well?

"I havent taken a trip out west yet so i haven't been able to actually field test it although trial at the zoo seem promising."

So then what happens to the little fellas?

"They are taken out to the wild where they can be released."

It's just goes to show that you don't have to be a NUT to make use of your Third Wave Power

In the line - August 14

More modifying the wiki

Do we create our powers to take advantage of flaws in ourself?
I met one person whose character's name was CLOT ( go ahead get your snot jokes out now, I'll wait)

I asked him what his story, and about the red t-shirt he wore that had a blood cell on it.

He explained that he suffers from a "thick blood" disorder, he's on medications to help control it to ensure that he does not have blood clots created in his system.

I asked him how bad could it be? He explained it like this.

"If I was a caveman out hunting for food and a saber tooth tiger attacked- I would be the only person who would make it back to the cave as all the rest of them would have bled out."

I then asked how he saw it being used as a power.

He wasn't sure, thought maybe his power could be used as a first aid to help injured people, maybe using it to prevent other types of leaks ( little dutch boy and his finger in a dike.)

Weird - this is just another example of where all the inspiration for characters can come from.

Mur created so many- fairly balanced overall, and who knows where her ideas came from
(lost her favorite pen- wished she could keep everything?)

in the line - August 13

Wiki update : Added in pages and content for SOTW

Things on the line have been good- it's a fun , sharing crowd.

We have cashiers, designers, office workers, students, and even business owners (well technically he's the hot dog vendor on the corner - but he is reading my copy- so we will convert him yet!)

This story cross so many borders, classes that everyone can associate with.
Anyone of us could be a hero.



Word has gotten out of my chronicling the wait, so I have people seeking me out to tell me their characters.

Today I am talking with Charley and he explains the power he posses.

" I have the ability to partially modify a person's electrolyte, oxygenation, blood calcium and potassium levels."

"That actually sounds quite impressive, seems like a lot of control, what happens to that person?"

"Myalgia" charlie says as he peers over his tented fingers with a little evil laugh.
(He's been practicing)

"What's "myalia?" I ask curiously.

"muscle cramp!"

"Uhm, what?"

"Muscle Cramp - i can induce them at the flexing of my will!"

So you can give them like a foot cramp or an arm cramp"

"Yes, anyone -anywhere!! Mwah ha ha"

" That's great - thanks for sharing that with us Charlie , I gotta go I told the hot dog cart I'd talk to him as well." If I look smaller - it's because i'm walking away.

In the line - August 12

Wiki added in Music and started Time line to put in a sense of historical perspective


Third waver today's name is Amy.

When I asked about her power, she said that she has the ability to extrude narrow metal rods about a foot long or so from each nostril.

(if you think that's weird- wait till you hear about the brickmaker)

"Ok, then what? I ask.

She said that these rods could connect to each other at any point.

And since she could produce about 50 or so at a time so she thought that she could use them to build some structures. "If nothing else- i can poke with them"

In the line - August 11

More Wiki work done - we're about up to 12 pages now. Must Keep Feeding the Wiki



My third waver for today I actually witnessed in action at my local grocery store. Went in just to pick up a few things, and by the time I was at the checkout with my rolling basket full, items stacked against the handle, and two hand fulls of items.

We try to use reusable shopping bags( I forget them in the car) but I remembered to take 2 of them in with me for the few items that I was getting.

Back at the register i have this long row of items coming down the conveyor and these two bags. I hand them over and apologize to her that I have those two and it won't fit. " Wanna bet?"she challenged.

She then proceeded to do some kind of Tetris™ like packing and maneuvering so that she was able to get it all into my bags. Not only that, but my bread was not squished, and my eggs weren't broken.

I would imagine that this type of packing skill would be very handling working for a place like:

7th City Movers
" We can get what ever's left out of the city quickly"

In the line - August 10

The wiki is getting good response, we have a bunch of people signed up to help, and for those here on the line with out computers, they have been great at feeding the rest of us.

Details and suggestions for expansion are suggested for growing different areas of the universe (locations, businesses)
We got pages for "Keepsie's bar , as well as started an Episode Guide. The hardest thing about this is setting out the formatting - after that it's it's a piece of pie.




Another day and I meet another 'waver, today it is Phiz (real name phil) a middle aged guy whose been here from the beginning , pretty quiet and reserved.

Our line keeps getting longer so I thought I should make more of an effort to meet the originals before we get too many more. I'm hoping to meet at least one a day.

" My power is simple but powerful. - please tell me
" When i get exposed to water - pause "yes"
I bubble.
" You mean like bubble bath?
"Nope more like an alka seltzer". Okay

As i chew the inside of my lip I ask" So how does "Speedy Alkaseltzer save the day?"

" If there was a fire, I could be used by the fire departments create suppressing foam to help put it out."
" And if I was trapped inside a water tank, my body would create enough foam to build the pressure inside to pop the end off."

"Does your body diminish as the foam is created?"

" No. he replied"
" What about baths and showers?"
" Try to keep it to a sponge bath..."

Well there's just one more example I guess.

In the line - August 09

Being a keener I signed up to assist with a new Task from Mur.

She is planning on creating a wiki (think wikipedia) for the Seventh City universe.

This is an exciting task as I and my fellow "liners" go through the universe and try to capture the details of the characters and what went down. The group has been talking excitedly about this project and how great it will be.

For one, it will serve for us a great reference when we have disagreement on the details. (Hey it's how the Guinness book started.)




I met another one of the 3rdwavers on the line James, skinny , short kid with braces .
I imagined that he was one of those kids who probably got the attention of the bigger kids torment.

His character calls himself "tiberion - (little obvious I think, but hey who am I to talk) any ways his power is pretty straight forward, like a shark he has endless rows of renewable teeth. Great to have as a shark- but with human teeth is it as effective?

Do we as people tend to create our powers as opposites as what we see as flaws in ourselves?

James is a small short kid in big braces. He picks a creature that is strong, deadly, and uses it's teeth as a weapon. Obviously no one would think of messing with a shark in it's own environment.

In the line - August o8

By describing my experience in this line, I get the benefit of not only expanding on my middle school English creative writing skills (look out , Mur!) but I also am trying to contribute my little part to the Thirdwave universe experience.

I forgot to mention the I found out what Mirari 3rdwave powers are: She has the ability to create a reflective field infront of her that is just as wide and as tall as her. Unfortunately items can pass through it, and even more unfortunate is the fact that she herself cannot see through it. (no one way mirror effect)


Do we create our characters as getting attention away from ourself?
As a goth type girl it wouldn't be a bad idea to provide a mirror for the "preppy girls to stare at till they forgot about her enamored by their own looks.

Getting Ready to wait in line.....

(this is a work of fiction, but kind of funny i hope)

Aug 1 -I've already got my chair and my spot picked out so that I can be the first in line to get my hands on a copy of "Playing for Keeps" by Mur Lafferty on August 25/08 from amazon.com and Swarm Press. I'll keep you posted with more details as I have them. The Wi-fi isn't so great here on line but I'll do my best.

Aug 2 - Rained here today temperature dropped to 20°C (68°F). Lines are still relatively short at this point 23 DAYS TO GO some strange looks from passerby's but it will all be worthwhile when I am the first to get my copy of the book. I can hardly wait.

The rest of the line is respectful of the order and this allows us to go for our meals, and bathroom breaks.

I'm listening to the series again as I pass the time between the discussions about the book and the characters.

The discussions are going well even though there seems to be a definite split between the groups on who is their favorite characters. Academy, Villains or the mighty and righteous Third Wavers.

Aug 3 - Slept in a little bit later today. Some crap went down last night.

One of the pro-Academy camp went a little off the handle last night.

He was talking about how "the residents of Seventh City should be bending down to kiss the Academy's ass for even taking notice of their pathetic lives."

These people are lucky to have them around and so what if a little damage gets done. It's the price they have to pay for their protection.

This of course stirred up the Third wavers, One girl explained that this was exactly the kind of attitude, that got them in trouble. She then went to ask the Academy guy "if his superpowers were contempt and ego." There was a bunch of shots traded back and forth till the wee hours till it got boring and I fell asleep.

Aug 4 - It's been nice off an on all day - skies just opened up and as I sit here under the plastic with the rain coming down on me I am starting to reconsider the intelligence of this idea. I still have 21 DAYS TO GO left before I can get the book. Do I really need to be the first? There is supposed to be thunder and lighting happening tonight...

Aug 5 - It's a bright sunny morning, the rains have gone away, and with it my concerns about this venture.
The rowdiness from last night seems to have calmed down. The Academy guy ( found out he calls himself "Bogie" - his persona has some kind of power to let object pass through him)

has been pretty quiet so far today. He's talking with that Thirdwave girl from the last night.

I think I heard her name is Mirari. They both fairly young probably in their 20's or so. Bogie is a regular looking kid with a crewcut of red hair. Mirari is a thin blonde (almost white hair) dressed mostly in black but not quite at the goth level.

They seem to be talking quietly together, Bogie is making her laugh, and when she does he seems to be staring at his feet. Maybe the groups can get along...

Aug 6 - Staying strong, only 19 DAYS TO GO!

I had an opportunity to talk with Mirari today she came over to see if I had any spare batteries since her rechargeables had gone flat.

We talked a little about the book and I mentioned that the fight the other night had become so intense, and how it had seemed to calmed down since then.

"The reason that we are all such passionate fans about this story, if there were super powers, we'd probably all be third wavers. We weren't all the coolest kids in school, or the jocks, we were the Band students, art students, chess club and the art kids."

She's right - I didn't play chess but otherwise she's bang on.

I have been reading comics for over 25 years, I played Marvel Heros, and Champions. I always enjoyed playing the role of hero - saving the world.

The reason I like this story so much was that it spoke to me about the type of hero I'd probably be - and it would be a thirdwave type for sure.

The other reason that I like this so much is that Mur had done something that I had wanted to do. Create a world, write about it and have it enjoyed by others.

Aug 7 - Catching up
I fell way behind with keeping up with this.

There's been a bunch of stuff going on out here as we wait for PFK to go on sale August.25 .


I will be going back through the notes I made and bring this up to date. I've met a bunch of Third Wavers here in the line as well as some Academy folks, I'll let you know about them, and how we pass time here on the line.

Playing for Keeps Goes Big Time

Playing For Keeps has a launch date - it will be available August 25!

Now, Playing For Keeps is a small press book, published by Swarm Press.

This means that unless you order it from your book store, you’re not going to see it on shelves.

So you can either order it from your local book store OR you can be a part of Mur’s rush of the Amazon charts: if everyone goes to purchase Playing For Keeps on August 25, we can push the book up the charts and get some major attention for it!

Brave Men Run

If you have been looking for a new superhero podcast since "Playing for Keeps" finished I have been listening to Brave Men Run by Matthew Wayne Selznick. " A cross between X-men and the breakfast Club".

Check it out I liked it.


http://www.mattselznick.com/writing/fiction/novels/brave-men-run/

Top Ten Playmobil Oddities

http://www.thingamababy.com/baby/2006/06/top_ten_playmob.html

I visited this site to see the different toys:
see comment#6 to see my reply to the comment that these toys are a failure.

personalization

I was looking around and came across this credit card that offers you the option of using your own images. I am seriously considering switching..

Wastelands

For those of you who enjoyed "Playing for Keeps" you may also enjoy Mur Lafferty's Heaven series.

"Heaven is a magical realism audionovel about two friends who wander the afterlife together after their untimely deaths.

Kate and Daniel find the Christian Heaven a bit too perfect for their liking and receive metaphysical passports to travel to the afterlives of different mythologies, different religions - even different species.

As their travels continue, they discover there may a grander plan to their travels than they previously suspected" - www.murverse.com

The fourth book is being released with in the next 24 hours so catch up quick!

More Religious Holiday Fun

Driving home i found this "inspirational?" message out side a local church.