Steve Alten's January Newsletter | |
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Happy New Year!
Please excuse the missing December newsletter; my schedule has been crazy busy since gaining my release from the evil warden at U of Miami Hospital. Seventeen days of being forced to remain in a hospital bed without physical therapy left me unable to walk, my left hip and leg muscles so weak it would not support my weight. It has been eighty-three days and I am back at the gym and working out in my office on my exercise bike. I’m good with the walker—the rest depends on Parkinson’s. If I am OFF (waiting for my leva-dopa pill to kick in), then I am barely able to move. If I have too much dopamine in me it can lead to dyskinesia—the swaying and roiling MJF often goes through when appearing on TV (better to move too much than not at all). Regardless, I am intent on a full recovery—and then to keep going. Whether I am strong enough to walk my daughter Kelsey down the aisle on Thursday (1/11) at her wedding ceremony remains to be seen. On January 23, I am scheduled for surgery to remove a small cancerous tumor discovered back on September 4, 2022 on my right kidney. Recovery is two days in post-op and two weeks at home where I will be editing Volumes I & II of MEG: LEGACY for print.
I have some major goals to achieve in 2024 that I would like to share with you, beginning with delivery schedules on books many of you have been waiting years for me to finish, beginning with …
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The LOCH-3: Heaven Lake. Yes, it has been a long time coming, but I promise it will be worth the wait. There are five parts of the novel and I am through the first four. If you preordered the hardback then you should have received Part 1 as a special “sneak peek.” If you missed it, email me at Meg82159@aol.com and I will resend it. I had actually expected to be doing final edits this week on Part 5—but that was before the September-October medical situation took over. Rehab had to take priority and often wore me out—which was not conducive to quality writing. As mentioned, I am doing much better and will be finishing LOCH-3 in February and March. With my long-time editor (Barbara Becker) having already gone through the first 450 pages of the manuscript, it won’t be long before the books go to print. Signed first edition hardbacks must be pre-purchased at the SteveAlten.com e-store prior to the cutoff date TO BE ANNOUNCED.
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MEG: LEGACY
The first delivery of 2024 will be Volume I & Volume II of MEG: LEGACY. Each book will include at least one complete MEG novel, one of the six MEG graphic comics (the artwork & storytelling simply phenomenal), plus the first of seven chapters of my own personal roller coaster ride (a.k.a. my career), with events that occurred from 1995–1998 (White Death manuscript, agent hunting … Disney Pictures, Doubleday, $800,000 owed, and fathomless FATHOM). Followed by Volume II: Angel of Death and The TRENCH, Adopt-an-Author and all the other extras that make MEG: Legacy hardbacks nearly twice as thick as a standard hardback! Why print two books at once versus one? Because to date, we have only sold about 700 copies of Volume I (including full sets), and the minimum order to print is one thousand units. Sending out both finished Volumes I & II in a single heavy-duty USPS Priority 2-day shipping box will actually make up for the lost discounts we would have received by ordering 2,500 to 5,000 copies of Volume One. Most important—seeing photos and videos of MEGheads opening the first two of seven faux leather-bound volumes should move the extra 300 books fairly quickly … AND perhaps all 5,000 sets. Imagine going to YouTube and seeing MEGhead podcasts reviewing Volumes I & II of LEGACY. That is far more effective than any bonuses I can offer.
IMPORTANT: As stated, the maximum number of complete sets of MEG: LEGACY I have received special permission to produce and sell is 5,000. By the time MEG-3 is in theaters (assuming the movie is greenlit), these 5,000 book sets must appease the demands of millions of new MEGheads.
NOTE: During The MEG run, my name and/or the novels were almost never mentioned. Now entire articles are devoted to the books as being the future movies source material (see below).
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 |  | Every person who pre-ordered a complete set of LEGACY is GUARANTEED all seven volumes will be FIRST EDITIONS. Likewise, every person who purchased VOLUMEI ONLY will now have until the February 1, 2024 cut-off date to purchase VOLUME II … again, all faux leather-bound hardbacks guaranteed to be FIRST EDITIONS. We’ll take new orders for FIRST EDITION Volumes I & II right up until the 2-1-2024 cut-off date (or when 5,000 sets are pre-purchased—whichever happens first). If February 1 comes around and a total of 3,899 Volumes I & II are pre-ordered, then each of these orders will be First Editions. On February 2 through March 1, 2024, we’ll post a WAITING LIST for SECOND EDITIONS of LEGACY Volumes I & II. No money will be accepted until the 5,000 mark is met (in the example that means another 1,101 units would have to be pre-purchased). The increased demand will cause prices to jump substantially, from $72.69 to $127.95 or more. On March 2, 2024 we will also begin selling MEG: Legacy Volume III. Those who ordered the complete set or Volumes I & II are guaranteed FIRST EDITIONS at the lockdown price of $72.69.
LAST: MEG: LEGACY will not be sold in bookstores or on Amazon. However, we will allow public libraries to purchase sets. Why the exception? It was at the public library next to my high school in Northeast Philly that I immersed myself into non-fiction shark attack stories when I was fifteen and (twenty years later) the public library in West Boca Raton where I did the research for my first novel, MEG. You can contact the library director and have them go to the MEG: LEGACY website where they can purchase a set (worth $50 commission) or you can arrange a donor to purchase a set of books and have them donate it to the library—at some point in the near future, the only way to read LEGACY will be to check it out at the library (if they had the foresight to buy).
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We are targeting February 1, 2024 to begin the print runs. Next week, I will post a list of everyone who purchased Volume I (alone) and everyone who purchased the seven-book set at www.MEGlegacy.com.
1) Find yourself on the list and make sure you selected a color. If not, add your choice.
2) If you purchased Volume I (as a stand-alone) you will need to purchase Volume II now (or before February 1, 2024). Please do so and double-check to make sure you ordered the same color faux leather.
3) If you purchased the entire set of seven volumes just check the list and make sure we have your color selection correct … if YES, you are all set.
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MEG-7: PURGATORY
I do not expect to complete the novel for 12-15 months AFTER I complete LOCH-3. Signed first edition hardbacks must be pre-purchased at the SteveAlten.com e-store.
Enjoy the rest of the newsletter!
Steve
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After wrapping production on their feature, Armored, (starring Sylvester Stallone), writer/producers Cory Todd Hughes & Adrian Speckert have optioned the dramatic rights to best-selling author Steve Alten’s epic A.I. thriller, The OMEGA PROJECT.
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How many more MEG movies can Jason Statham make based on the novels?
The first two Meg adapt Steve Alten's books of the same name. Here's a breakdown of how many more books the franchise can adapt in future installments
Read the full article below:
https://screenrant.com/how-many-more-meg-movies-books
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‘Rock’ found 10,000 feet deep in Pacific proves to be ancient shark tooth.
A large broken tooth found 10,000 feet deep is being hailed as a historic discovery. It’s the only known case of a megalodon shark fossil being plucked from its original resting place in the deep Pacific.
Sent by John Webb—good stuff.
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article283840703.html
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Living Tips: The gift that could save your home and family | |
Chicago classic that motivates me while I workout. | |
Recipe of the month: Joe’s Homemade Mushroom Soup | |
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Recipe by Joseph Brojakowski Jr. Prep Time: 10 minutes. Cook Time: 20 minutes.
Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups butter
1 large onion, chopped
5 pounds sliced fresh mushrooms
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour,
2 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper
1 ½ teaspoons salt
10 cups milk
10 cups chicken broth
½ cup minced fresh parsley
1 pinch ground nutmeg, or to taste
¼ cup sour cream, or as needed.
Directions
Melt butter in your largest stockpot over medium heat. Cook and stir onion and mushroom in hot butter until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir flour, pepper, and salt into the onion mixture. Gradually stream milk and chicken broth into mixture while stirring to incorporate.
Bring the liquid to a boil; cook at a boil until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat. Stir parsley and nutmeg into the soup. Ladle soup into bowls and top each with a dollop of sour cream.
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A drunk staggers into a Catholic Church, enters a confessional booth, sits down, but says nothing. The Priest coughs a few times to get his attention, but the drunk continues to sit there. Finally, the Priest pounds three times on the wall. The drunk mumbles, “Ain’t no use knockin’. There’s no paper on this side either.”
IF YOU HAVE A JOKE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE, please email it to me at MEG82159@aol.com Put JOKE in the subject line.
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Finally, your moment of Curly Howard to start off the New Year right, inspired by my daughter, wife, and all the women in the wedding party getting their hair done.
Click the image below to watch the video.
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Stay well, stay in touch, and know I appreciate you.
Steve Alten, Ed.D.
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