Best pals Jason Medley and Theo Barnes barely survived a backpacking trip through Europe and New Zealand that — thanks to a jar of Cosmic Building Material they found — almost wiped out the galaxy. But just as they envision a future without any more cosmic lunacy:
The Earth has started fluxing in and out of existence, Theo's twin girls are teleporting, and Jason can't tell which version of his life is real.
All because of Milo, the Universe's ultimate gremlin.
Joined by the mysterious Jamie — a down-and-out hotel clerk from Eternity — Jason and Theo reunite on a frantic, cross-country chase across America, praying they can retrieve that jar, circumvent Milo, and save the Earth from irrevocable disaster.
In author Russ Colchamiro’s uproarious sequel to Finders Keepers, he finally confirms what we've long suspected — that there’s no galactic Milo quite like a Genius de Milo.
• Genius De Milo is available at Amazon.
• Pick up your copy at Crazy 8 Press.
• Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.
Why Should a Busy Mom Read Genius De Milo?
In my humble if not biased opinion, there are many reasons why a busy mom should read Genius de Milo. Hey … I said my opinion was biased!
Of course, you’ll have to enjoy wild and wacky sci-fi comedy adventures that take you places you’ve never been before. So assuming that sounds good to you … there’s a character in the series, Lilly, who starts off in the first book, Finders Keepers, in her mid-20s, running from herself, allowing others to use and manipulate her, trekking half-way around the globe to serve someone else’s bidding.
But in my latest novel Genius de Milo, Lilly is almost 30, and a single mom, trying to put her life together, worried about being a role model for her three-year-old son, Benny.
In particular there’s a sequence where Benny is at the playground, and he has a friend, who, even at their age, is already a bully. Lilly doesn’t like this kid, and wants to intervene when the two boys mix it up on the jungle gym, but she holds back. She gives Benny the space to negotiate with this bully.
Here’s an excerpt:
It’s the one thing they never tell you, Lilly thought. That as a parent you live in constant fear, on emergency room alert. That in every nanosecond the worst possible outcome for your child could be just another nanosecond away. I could be inches from Benny and still it might not be close enough to catch him. I can handle his bumps and bruises, but what about when it’s worse? When there’s real danger? When the damage could be permanent?
But if I never let go, if I never let him roam, will he just run away from me, anyway?
No spoilers here, but things go far better for Benny than Lilly feared might unfold. The sequence is telling for Lilly, because it reveals both who she is — as a woman and a mother — and who she is still striving to become.
I’m a dad myself, so I can relate as a parent, at least. I often watch my wife as she relates to my children, and think about what that’s like for her, and how I can implement the best parts of her parenting into my own.
Genius de Milo is not in any way a serious treatise on raising children, but this sequence — in the middle of all the crazy sci-fi shenanigans that take place throughout the novel — is one of my favorite in the series.
To me, the humor and fun of Genius de Milo works best because there’s real life mixed in. And for a busy mom looking for a smile amongst her hectic life, what better distraction can you ask for than an adventure that both touches upon your own life while transporting you to another?
Russ Colchamiro is the author of the rollicking space adventure Crossline, the hilarious scifi backpacking comedy Finders Keepers, and the outrageous sequel, Genius de Milo, all with Crazy 8 Press.
Russ lives in West Orange, NJ, with his wife, two children, and crazy dog, Simon, who may in fact be an alien himself. Russ is now at work on the final book in the Finders Keepers trilogy.
As a matter of full disclosure, readers should not be surprised if Russ spontaneously teleports in a blast of white light followed by screaming fluorescent color and the feeling of being sucked through a tornado. It’s just how he gets around — windier than the bus, for sure, but much quicker.
His latest book is the science fiction novel, Genius De Milo.
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