To my readers:

After 9 months of hard work SeaMonsterCove.com is open and wowing those who have joined. Far more than an interactive website, SeaMonsterCove.com represents a new concept of storytelling that will immerse YOU in every aspect of an adventure like nothing you have ever experienced before. Our tale begins on Maug, a remote (and quite real) island in the Mariana Archipelago. Maug’s volcano erupted five million years ago, leaving behind three small rocky islets and a cove. Eight years ago, a French marine biologist, Dr. Maxime Rostand and his team were freelancing for NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) when they discovered hot mineral water feeding into Maug’s lagoon from somewhere below. When a listing Filipino fishing trawler enters the cove hauling an immense whale in its deep sea net, the scientists insist the captain release it – only to discover the dead beast to be a pregnant 60 foot, 50,000 pound undiscovered prehistoric species of Mako, related to the Black Demon shark rumored to inhabit the depths of the Sea of Cortez. An emergency C-section saves two of the fifteen female pups (and the future stars of Sea Monster Cove); Snowflake (an albino) and Layla (pure Black demon). Through a series of events (which will unfold in our web TV series’ monthly episodes), Dr. Rostand discovers the source of the hot mineral water to be a primordial aquifer located 2 miles beneath the sea floor – its inhabitants dating back 380 million years.

With those story beats in place, we now invite you to escape reality for a few hours every day by visiting the most amazing futuristic aquariums ever created, housing the most terrifying prehistoric sharks and sea creatures that ever lived – everything presented using major motion picture worthy 3D animation. Our sharks and sea creatures look and act just like the real thing; and unlike other aquariums, our critters don’t just swim around in mindless serene circles… they know you’re watching them… and some (unlike Snowflake) clearly don’t like it. We’ll let you figure that out on your own (Warning: the 360 cage experiences will keep you spinning in circles).

SeaMonsterCove.com is also the home “network” of Where Sea Monsters Roam, our original episodic TV series, written and produced by yours truly. I’ll warn you now – this is my wheelhouse and the specialty and joy of our team of animators. Episode One has been filmed (not an easy task at any time – five times as challenging during a pandemic) and as of Labor Day the opening adventure should be edited and in post where our toothy stars will be added. Like the virtual getaway, the storyline of Where Sea Monsters Roam takes place on Maug Island in the same facilities you can experience, housing the creatures in the same order I’ve introduced them in the series – sort of a parallel-parallel universe.

Add one more “parallel.” Capturing these prehistoric sharks and sea monsters is not only our hero’s journey but yours as well and the objective of the website’s third form of entertainment – an interactive (and quite addictive) original video game. The game is being Beta tested and should be live on Sunday 9-5-20 or Monday, LABOR DAY... VERY ADDICTIVE! There’s also an education center which provides background information on all of the primordial wildlife featured in both the park and primal aquifer, and a private library offering enhanced versions of my novels (including curriculum materials for distant learning), as well as a collection of my original screenplays.

Each week we’ll be tweaking our animals’ behavioral patterns within each Aquarium Adventure to ensure your Virtual Experiences don’t become predictable (we’ll let you discover these changes on your own). Every month we’ll also open a new Prehistoric Sea Aquarium, each sphere containing its own menu of super predators, their additions again reflected in the plots of our web TV series and video game challenges. The passage of time is also quite relevant at SMC, our animals will age from the moment you first visit them. There’s so much more we have planned that I can’t discuss. . . however, check out our Daily Cove Dweller contest on our SMC and Steve Alten social media sites, and our monthly CAMEO CONTESTS, where members have the opportunity to film themselves in front of a green screen, reacting to the monsters and sharks -- which we’ll add later.

Because of the pandemic, I wanted to keep our all inclusive monthly memberships under ten dollars (less than the cost of a movie ticket – or only .33 cents a day). Everything included is PG-13… with the exception of some adult scenes or heavy gore attack scenes in the TV series. Those episodes will offer two cuts – an unedited PG-17 episode for my fans who felt the MEG movie should have been rated R, and an edited PG-13 version for my younger fans.

All I ask in return is that you please SPREAD THE WORD. The $9.95 price only works with volume (just the cost of feeding a 30 person crew for three weeks in France was as much as I earned on my last book deal). Stick with us… but be patient too (again this has never been attempted so we’re learning too). Feel free to contact me directly with any feedback and suggestions. And to our valued educators teaching at Title-1 schools – we can arrange USE NOW and PAY LATER options that allow your students to participate immediately while you await funding in March-April.

God bless, stay safe… (masks are not required in our park but encouraged everywhere else) and thank you.

Steve Alten, Ed.D.

E-mail: [email protected]

With Sea Monster Cove launched, I will be able to focus more time on finishing Loch 3 (Loch 2 is Vostok). I want to thank those readers who pre-purchased a book as far back as February 2019. 

The LOCH - first novel of the trilogy took me 2 years to write and this new installment is taking just as long (historical fiction requires a lot of research to get it right, plus this story deals with genetic code and other complex factors I need to research, comprehend, then simplify while still teaching it to you). I can’t accurately target a release date until I get an update on The LOCH movie production schedule. All new novels require publicity and the announcement of The LOCH motion picture is vital to increasing pre-orders (which I have not pushed because of the pandemic). Please understand that writing is the career that supports my family and book sales are needed to sustain me during the 2 years it takes to create the novel. (450 page novels don’t write themselves, and this one is a pageturner. Hardbacks will not be sold in stores and must be pre-ordered at the e-store on www.SteveAlten.com before December 1st, 2020. All books pre-ordered before October 1, 2020 will be guaranteed to be signed by me personally.

 

QUESTION: Steve, why must I pre-order a first edition hardback? Why won’t The Loch: Heaven’s Lake be sold in stores?

 

ANSWER: The publishing industry has changed. Amazon has force major bookstores like Borders, Waldenbooks, B. Dalton and many other chains, as well as independent booksellers into bankruptcy. As a result advances to authors (even best-selling authors) have been reduced by 50-80 percent. If your boss cut your yearly wages by 50-80 % could you make ends meet? A & M Publishing is a real publisher with distribution into stores. On The LOCH: Heaven’s Lake (like MEG: Generations hardback), I cannot risk printing 15,000 books, selling 10,000 and getting 5,000 returns from stores (which A & M must pay for, along with shipping. Pre-selling the book allows me to print only what we need with no returns. I sell less but earn more per book, which makes YOUR COPIES far more valuable. Five years after its pre-sale, first edition copies of MEG: Generations are selling on ebay for $ 150+. That huge profit is being reaped by my readers, NOT ME. Tor/Forge is selling the trade paperback in stores and the ebook as well. None of the amazing graphic images and maps featured in the hardback are in te trade paperback (too expensive to print as it added 40 pages to the manuscript). The LOCH: Heaven’s Lake hard backs will feature similar images AND a signature page! Which makes for the better reading experience? Steve Alten always takes care of his readers FIRST.

The private library has been moved to www.SeaMonsterCove.com and all monthly membership fees cancelled so that you can join the SMC and save $3 a month. More enhanced novels have been added, the latest being The LOCH.

Word is the script is dark and tense like the book.

I should know more details soon.

Kudos to MEGhead Mike Esola, whose published creation Prehistoric Magazine features terrific interviews accompanied by amazing dino artwork. Take a free look: www.PrehistoricMagazine.com

Mike’s bestselling book HYBRID is now officially an audiobook. The narrator Jeffrey S. Fellin did a fantastic job bringing this prehistoric thriller to life. If you'd like to listen to HYBRID please click HERE.

Kids and Character Fire Safety Introduction

“The color of your skin don’t matter to me…

as long as we can live in harmony.”

After a long illness, a woman died and arrived at the Gates of Heaven. While she was waiting for Saint Peter to greet her, she peeked through the Gates. She saw a beautiful banquet table. Sitting all around were her parents and all the other people she had loved and who had died before her. They saw her and began calling greetings to her - "Hello" "How are you! We've been waiting for you!" "Good to see you." When Saint Peter came by, the woman said to him, "This is such a wonderful place! How do I get in?" "You have to spell a word," Saint Peter told her. "Which word?" The woman asked. "Love." The woman correctly spelled "Love" and Saint Peter welcomed her into Heaven. About six months later, Saint Peter came to the woman and asked her to watch the Gates of Heaven for him that day. While the woman was guarding the Gates of Heaven, her husband arrived. "I'm surprised to see you," the woman said. "How have you been?" "Oh, I've been doing pretty well since you died," her husband told her. "I married the beautiful young nurse who took care of you while you were ill. And then I won the lottery. I sold the little house you and I lived in and bought a big mansion. And my wife and I traveled all around the world. We were on vacation and I went water skiing today. I fell, the ski hit my head, and here I am. How do I get in?"

"You have to spell a word," the woman told him.

"Which word?" her husband asked.

"Carcharodon megalodon."

(Would you have nailed it?)

IF YOU HAVE A JOKE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE, please e-mail to me at [email protected] Put JOKE in the subject line.

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 large eggplants sliced lengthwise (about 3 pounds, 16 slices)

kosher salt & pepper

1 ½ cups of marinara sauce

2 large eggs

one 15 ounce container of ricotta

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 cups (8 ounces) of grated mozzarella

½ cup of grated Parmesan

Step 1: Heat oven to 450° F. Divide the oil between 2 rimmed baking sheets. Dividing evenly, arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer on the baking sheets and turn to coat in the oil; season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Step 2: Bake the eggplant, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until soft and beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes; let cool. Reduce heat to 400° F.

Step 3: Meanwhile, in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch or some other 3-quart baking dish, spread ½ cup of the marinara sauce. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, ricotta, oregano, 1 cup of the mozzarella, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.

Step 4: Place about 3 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture on one end of a slice of eggplant, roll it up, and transfer it to the prepared baking dish. Repeat with the remaining eggplant slices and ricotta mixture.

*IF YOU HAVE A RECIPE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE, please e-mail to me at [email protected] Put RECIPE in the subject line.

Your monthly dosage of smiles, brought to you once again by the 3 wise men… I mean, 3 wise guys. (Don’t you dare hit me in the head…. you know I’m not normal.)

Thank you for supporting my work, please check out SeaMonsterCover.com for 30 days - I know you will love it.

Steve Alten, Ed.D.

Steve Alten's Books