Teaser Tuesdays - October 1st (Guest Blogger)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers

I'm handling things a bit differently today. In addition to Teaser Tuesdays, I am featuring Joe Sergi, author of Sky Girl and the Superheroic Adventures. He is my special guest blogger.

"Oh, it's not a coincidence; she's clearly here to torment me." DeDe slammed her locker hard, and the sonic boom echoed down the hallway."

~ Page 29 from the PDF version of Sky Girl and the Superheroic Adventures. 


Thanks for having me on The Busy Mom’s Daily to talk about my new book Sky Girl and the Superheroic Adventures. Sky Girl and the Superheroic Adventures is the sequel to Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy. In the first book, readers met DeDe Christopher, an ordinary teen with an extraordinary destiny to become Sky Girl. Being a teenage girl is hard enough, but for DeDe, it is proving impossible. In addition to cliques, books, and boys, she has to worry about capes, apes, and aliens. When we last left DeDe, she had just adopted the mantle of Sky Girl at the end of her sophomore year of high school. This book opens the day before she starts her junior year, so she's had the whole summer to practice and train with her best friend and self-professed comic geek, Jason. She’s actually gotten quite good at being a costumed adventurer—except for her banter, which still needs work. Now, DeDe must learn what it means to be a heroine as Sky Girl faces the all too real enemies and allies of SkyBoy, including the clever Quizmaster, the beautiful Penny Pound, the enigmatic Jersey Devil, and the magical MissTick. DeDe must also face personal challenges as she discovers the secrets of her late father and his connection to SkyBoy--secrets that will affect Sky Girl’s destiny.

Unlike the first book, which took place over the course of a week, this book covers the whole school year and allows for more diverse adventures. For example, Sky Girl faces off against Shadow, Jason faces off against Quizmaster, and they both have to face an angry horde of zombies. Each adventure stands on its own but is also part of a larger plot and expands on the mystery of what happened to DeDe's father and Evil Brain's plot for world domination. I guess the most important thing to mention is that you don't really need to read the first book to enjoy the second.

So I intended to write a post about a day in the life of DeDe, but I ran out of time. So, I snuck into my book and ripped a page out of her diary. I hope you enjoy it.

From the Diary of DeDe Christopher, July 15^th.

“How I spent my Summer Vacation”

Dear Diary,

Today was a weird day. Then again, “weird” has pretty much become “normal” since I found out I had super powers. Since I decided to become Sky Girl, Jason has been running me ragged helping me try to get a handle on my powers. He’s also obsessed with trying to find out what happened to Commander Chimp's Gorilla Army (in his defense, they did lock him up in the girl’s locker room). Don't get me wrong. If it wasn't for Jason, I would be completely lost, he's just so intense. I mean he's my best friend and I love him, but I think he forgets that we aren’t characters in one of his stupid comic books.

Take, for example, what happened today.  After two solid weeks of practicing and patrolling, I finally convinced him we should go down to the shore and hang out at Point Pleasant Beach.

So, there we were on the sand. I was in my one piece bathing suit trying to catch some rays and get a tan (which is harder than you think when your body is invulnerable to solar radiation.) What was Jason doing? He was sitting under an umbrella and reading a comic. He was wearing long pants and a black T-shirt that said "Come along, Pond!" in white lettering. Seriously, who goes to the beach in long pants and a black shirt?

In an effort to break the mood, I yelled over to him, "Hey geek boy? We should get a funnel cake."

Jason continued to read, "No thank you. I am reading."

I raised my voice, "But, I want a funnel cake."

He barely looked up from his book, "You always want a funnel cake. Besides, you are in training."

"I am not in training! I’m Sky Girl no matter what I eat." I yelled back. He rolled his eyes. Just then I heard the noise. "Wait, what was that?"

Jason put down his book, "Wait. I know. Is it your stomach growling for funnel cake?" Then he saw I was serious. He leaned forward out from under the umbrella. "What is what?"

There it was again. "A noise." I said, "Like a high pitched roar." I described.

"It sounds like a sea monster, someone is in trouble." Jason announced. I have no idea how he knows these things. But with his help, I was able to pinpoint the location. It was a cruise ship two miles off shore.

            "You better get moving." He said as he tossed me my purple backpack. "You are going to need this."

"You brought the suit?" I exclaimed.

"DeDe?"

"To the beach. You took my superhero costume to the beach?"

"DeDe."

"It’s my day off?"

"DeDe!"

“And I want funnel cake.”

"Can we argue about this later? Sea Monster!"

"But, funnel cake?"

"Sea Monster!"

He had a point. So, I grabbed the bag, ducked under the boardwalk, and changed at Sky Speed. Soon I was speeding out to sea in my costume: black spandex with matching purple cape, boots, skirt, belt, and gloves. (Pretty cool, I know-- I made it myself).

I have to admit, I’ve been flying for a while, but it still feels pretty cool. Kind of like when you nail a cool ballet move, but in the air.

We've also been trying some new masks. Today, I was wearing a leather purple tie with eye holes cut into it. (Another EPIC FAIL if you ask me). Through the eye holes, I could see the monster and the ship. I turned on my headset.

"The sea monster isn't doing anything. I think it’s sleeping." I announced. "I'm going to get a closer look."

"No, wait..." Jason started in the ear piece. But he was too late, I had landed on the creature.

"Yep it’s asleep." I observed. Then I saw something strange. "Hey geek boy, there are four monogrammed seats on this thing. Kind of like horse saddles"

"Saddles?" Jason asked.

I took a closer look, "Yeah. There are three little ones and one big one. The first little one has an H on it, the second has an L, and the third has a D.” I walked around and looked at the large one in the center. “And the big one says . . ."

"AD" Jason finished for me. I told you he knows these things. There was urgency in his voice, "Sky Girl, you have to get to the ship, this is not an attack. It is a robbery." And he says I’m a drama queen.

"Roger dodger." With a burst of speed I flew to the ship. My sky vision showed everyone was in one room tied up.

Then I saw them.

Three men dressed in what looked like those outfits Venetian gondolier drivers wear. Each one had a small black domino mask. Their leader was dressed in a bright yellow diving suit.

I relayed the information to Jason before landing on the deck. I put my hands on my hips and spoke in a deep voice, "It looks like the catch of the day is crime."

Jason groaned in my ear, "We really need to work on the one liners."

What? I was expecting a sea monster and not witty banter.

The yellow guy looked surprised. "Evil Brain was right. He's back!" (Yeah, he said “He.” How insulting). "You can't stop the Aquaduck."

Seriously, that was his name. The Aquaduck, I almost lost it. Jason told me later that he is "some grade Z villain from blah blah blah number blah."

Where was I, oh yeah, the Aquaduck pointed his yellow finger at me, "You will not catch me, SkyBoy. Get him boys." (Yup, he thought I was SkyBoy. I guess that diving helmet must be hard to see through.)

I didn't have time to react before the henchmen shot some kind of ray guns at me. Lightning-like beams came out from the guns and surrounded my body. I would guess it was about 1,000 volts that shocked me. I smiled at them and said, "It tickles."

Jason spoke in my ear, "Awesome reference to Superman #32." I had no idea what he was talking about. It really did tickle.

Soon, the guns exploded knocking out the henchmen. It's a good thing, too because the ray guns melted my leather mask so I couldn't see. I ripped it off and got it off in time to watch the Aquaduck running (more like hobbling in his heavy suit) across the deck. "Jason, he's getting away. But my mask is off." I stammered. "He'll see who..."

Jason's calming voice was in my ear. "Do not worry. The Auquaduck's vision is restricted by his suit. He needs a camera to see." I could hear his smile, "Now if only we had something that disrupted electrical equipment."

I smiled as I flew towards the running villain, over his head and landed between Aquaduck and the rail. I raised my hands and yelled "Lights out, ducky." Then I shot him with a Sky Pulse. His diving suit shorted out and Aquaduck fell over on the deck.

I could hear him murmuring, “Hello? I’ve fallen and can’t get up.”

Kind of anticlimactic, if you ask me.

After that, Jason made an anonymous call to the Coast Guard and gave them the location of the monster and the ship. I left the Aquaduck and his goons tied up in the anchor line with a note that read:

Dear Coast Guard Dudes,

The Aquaduck found out that crime isn't all it's quacked up to be. Please send them to the jail pond and find a nice home for their sleeping pet monster.

--ttfn

Sky Girl

As I flew back to the beach, I could see that the sun was going down. I was sure the funnel cake stand was closed--such is the life of a teenage superheroine: all sea monster no funnel cake.

Imagine my surprise when I saw Jason sitting on a bench with a of fried dough and powdered sugar on his lap. "Funnel cake?" he offered.

I did a quick change into my civvies (Jason’s word—not mine) and sat down on the bench next to my Jason.

I ate funnel cake with my best friend as we watched the sun go down over an ocean that I now knew was full of sea monsters. A great way to end the day, if you ask me.

Oh yeah Jason also told me about a new idea for a domino mask.

Hopefully, this one will work better, school starts next month and I need to be ready.

And that’s the end of the diary entry. Thanks for having me.

For those interested, Sky Girl is available at all online booksellers and can be ordered in brick and mortar shops and chains. It is also available directly from the publisher at www.martinsisterspublishing.com. I will also have copies and be signing the book at some upcoming show appearances, some of which include: The Collingswood Book Festival (October 5), New York ComicCon (October 10-13), and the Festival of the Book (October 19). These shows are great fun and a wonderful place to connect with readers. I’ve even had a few old and young cosplayers come up to my booth to show me their Sky Girl costumes, which was extremely flattering.

In addition, to the Sky Girl book, this year I edited a comic anthology called Great Zombies in History through McFarland Press. I also write regular articles on the history of comics and censorship for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF.org). Great Zombies in History is a new graphic novel anthology released from McFarland Press. I met a talented group of writers through Andy Schmidt’s Comics Experience writing classes and we decided to form an independent comic imprint called Elevator Pitch Press to showcase our work. We have released several anthologies that have ranged from horror (Don’t Be Afraid) to grind house (Girls with Guns) to science fiction (Aliens Among Us). Great Zombies in History is an anthology of historically accurate stories, but written to include zombies. For example, I wrote The Zombie War of 1812, which features the real reason that Washington, DC, was burned during the war. Rob Anderson, writer of the best-selling Big Dog, Inc. book, Rex: Zombie Killer and who acted as editor on the original project, did a story about how zombies helped King Leonidas and his army of 300 Spartans hold their own against immeasurable odds.

I should also mention that I write regular articles for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF.org) on the history of censorship in comics. It takes a lot of work to do those columns, but I believe the CBLDF is an important organization and am glad to help them in their mission to protect comic creators against censorship. I recently did articles on the rise and fall of romance comics, a before and after analysis of the comics code on reprinted books, and detailed histories of Sheena, Superman, and Wonder Woman. People with an interest in discovering the history of comics or censorship should check them out.

My author site is www.joesergi.net; Sky Girl can be found at www.SkyGirlNovel.com, and the official site for Great Zombies in History is www.GreatZombiesinHistory.com my monthly articles can be found at www.cbldf.org. 

Joe Sergi lives outside of Washington, DC with his wife and daughter. Joe is an attorney and a Haller Award winning author who has written articles, novels, short stories, and comic books in the horror, scifi, and young adult genres. Joe is the creator of the Sky Girl series of novels and the editor of Great Zombies in History. His first novel, Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy was selected Best of 2010 by the New PODler Review. Joe is a life-long comic fan who regularly writes on the history of comics and censorship for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. When not writing, Joe works as a Senior Litigation Counsel in an unnamed US government agency and is a member of the adjunct faculty at George Mason University School of Law.