2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler

The 2010 Winter Olympic Games were held in Vancouver and Whistler one year ago. 


AIDEN’S ARRIVAL: HONOR BEFORE GOLD, a young adult fiction eBook set in and around the Games, is available for Nook® at Barnes and Noble.com.  It is also available at Kobo.com, at the Sony® ebookstore, Apple® ebookstore, and Smashwords, where it is free until Feb. 28^th (coupon code PP74C).

As the one-year anniversary of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games continues, I carry on marking the events that Aiden experienced in the young adult fiction story AIDEN’S ARRIVAL: HONOR BEFORE GOLD. 

Of course, most of Aiden’s experiences in the book occurred before the actual start of the Games, but the start of the Games meant a lot to Aiden and his desire to honor the legacy he had been given.  In the narrative of AIDEN’S ARRIVAL: HONOR BEFORE GOLD, we follow Aiden through events before the Games; first in Vancouver, then travel to Europe and skiing the Alps, and finally a return to Vancouver and Whistler and his intense practicing for the role he has been given during the Games.  One of the most difficult tasks was Aiden’s duty to be a forerunner for the Men’s Downhill on the Dave Murray course at Whistler.

One more thing; Aiden is not sure who he really is.  He thinks he had a life before, and he has some memories that really set him to wonder, but he’s not certain.  There are clues as to what the real story is, but each reader may have to decide for themselves if those memories are the reality of a previous life, or just Aiden’s vivid dreams.

If you want to read a tale of adventure, family, honor, courage and daring exploits all wrapped up in a YA fiction novel set in the worlds of international travel and competition in aquatics and skiing, then this is the book for you.  If you want to solve the mystery of dreams vs. reality, then you’ll like this tale.  This is truly a book for young adults and for everyone who appreciates what family and friends can accomplish if they work together. 

In my own way of honoring the legacy of the Games, AIDEN’S ARRIVAL: HONOR BEFORE GOLD is free for the duration of the anniversary of the Games, by using code PP74C at Smashwords. 

Happy Reading,

Wil

AIDEN'S ARRIVAL: HONOR BEFORE GOLD

So, the book is really out. AIDEN'S ARRIVAL: HONOR BEFORE GOLD has hit the stands, or the shelves, or cyberspace... where ever print and eBooks go. The book launch is under way with a very special price: YOU SET THE PRICE on Smashwords is a very limited time offer, so don't wait!

AIDEN'S ARRIVAL: HONOR BEFORE GOLD

You wake up. You’re on a plane. But the body you’re in does not appear to be yours. They call you Aiden, even though you think that’s not your name. Are theses dreams of another life? Is it reality? You struggle to honor the legacy of your very young physical self, while dealing with the memories of a tragedy that seems impossible to reconcile.

The next hours and days are confusing as you try to figure out how this works, and how long it’s likely to last. At the same time, you have to decide if you should tell anyone and have them doubt your sanity, or just keep quiet. In the meantime, you have to adapt and use the body you have, even if you meet up with people you think knew before.

You also discover you have just stepped into a public role in the Winter Games that thrusts you into a journey and series of exploits beyond anything you could have thought possible, and expectations beyond normal for a boy Aiden's age. Will you continue to be Aiden, or will the real Aiden arrive?

AIDEN’S ARRIVAL: HONOR BEFORE GOLD is an adventure novel set in the worlds of downhill skiing, aquatics, and international competition. AIDEN’S ARRIVAL: HONOR BEFORE GOLD is also a story of love, family, and courage.

AIDEN'S ARRIVAL arrives with special introductory price - limited time offer

AIDEN'S ARRIVAL arrives, and is now available as multi-format eBook at Smashwords. Special introductory "Set you own" price is for a very limited time only. Read the book, and find out how well Aiden does on the Men's Downhill course at Whistler.

What would you do, if this was you?

You wake up. You’re on a plane. But the body you’re in does not appear to be yours. They are calling you Aiden, but that’s not your name. The next hours and days are confusing as you try to figure out how this works, and how long it’s likely to last. At the same time, you have to decide if you should tell anyone and have them doubt your sanity, or just keep quiet. In the meantime, you have to adapt and use the body you have, even if you meet up with people you knew before.

You also discover you have just stepped into a public role at the Winter Games that thrusts you into a journey and series of exploits beyond anything you could have thought possible. Will you continue to be Aiden, or will the real Aiden arrive? How will you or Aiden do on the Dave Murray Downhill course at Whistler?

“Aiden’s Arrival” is an adventure novel set in the worlds of downhill skiing, aquatics, and international competition. “Aiden’s Arrival” is also a story of love, family, and courage with a twist incorporating the great question: Can we come back as someone else? Do we all, or just in rare circumstances? And; if we do come back, how might it work?

Happy Reading,

Wil

Great review and top 1% at B&N.com - Playing the Baseball Card

Great timing, and great review. First off, Playing the Baseball Card is now well into the top 1% at Barnes and Noble (B&N.com). Review calls it very inspiring, a great book.

Now only 2 days until Aiden's Arrival arrives. In the meantime, have a good look at the Dave Murray Downhill at this New York Times interactive show. It really gives a great sense of the course.

Happy Reading,

Wil

Aiden's Arrival arrives in 3 days - right now read great article about Whistler's Dave Murray Downhill course

Aiden's Arrival arrives in only 3 days, on January 1, 2011. It will be available as a multi-format eBook on Smashwords, and as a print book on Lulu.com. The first four chapters are still available on this blog.

In the meantime, you can read this great Seattle Times article by Ron Judd, about the Dave Murray Downhill course at Whistler. The article was one of a series about the 2010 Olympic Games, and was published on February 12, 2010. The article mentions the crazy Canucks of the late 1970s and early 1980s, including Steve Podborski, Ken Read, Dave Irwin, and Dave Murray. The article also includes an interview with 2010 Canadian Ski Team member Julia Murray, Olympic torch bearer at Whistler in the lead up to the Games, and daughter of the late Dave Murray.

Happy Reading,

Wil

Aiden's Arrival

Here it is! As promised, the first four chapters of AIDEN'S ARRIVAL are now posted as a sneak preview. The book will be published on Smashwords near the end of December.

Please have a look, and enjoy. As always, feedback is welcome.

Wil

ONE Billion Words for Smashwords - in more than 22,000 eBooks

Smashwords, the leading eBook distributor, has hit 1,000,000,000 words, in more than 22,000 eBooks by almost 10,000 authors. It was just April this year when Smashwords hit 500 million, and the speed at which the Billion word mark has been hit surprised even Smashword's founder Mark Coker, with the originally predicted date near the end of 2010.

My five... soon to be six... books are just a small part of the Smashwords numbers, but all the attention drawn to Smashwords has helped me. Thanks to Smashwords, my YA Book A Family Legacy: THE WATSON WORKS hit the top 1% sales rank at BarnesandNoble.com, but my other titles have also done extremely well. There have been many thousands of downloads and sales of my books, and the numbers continue to increase. Look for my newest book, AIDEN'S ARRIVAL, on Smashwords, late in December.

All in all, I'm very happy with my own success, and very pleased for Smashwords!

Wil

AIDEN'S ARRIVAL - new release in December

I'm working towards getting Aiden's Arrival ready for release by the end of the year. The story has the Winter Games as a backdrop, and I hope that it will be released about the time people start thinking about skiing this winter. The way things are going, it might just be released on Smashwords just about the time Smashwords hits the one-billion word mark.

I plan to post the first four chapters on this blog around the end of October, so stay tuned!

Wil