Rex
by Cody
B. Stewart, Mark Rogers,
and Adam
Rocke
Genre:
Middle Grade
Date of
Publication: October 5th 2016
Publisher:
Common Deer Press
Cover
Artist: Common Deer Press, Ellie Sipal
BLURB
When eleven-year-old TJ finds a
weird looking egg in the Florida Everglades after a tropical storm rips
through, naturally he takes it home for identification. It could be the egg of
a mutant duck or something, which would be awesome.
Problem is, the egg doesn’t look
like it came from a mallard, even a mutated one—it’s too big and heavy
and…strange. So he hides it away in his closet and continues on with his life
as usual, doing his best to ignore the creepy men constantly banging at his
front door and the significant rise in military helicopter sightings in his
typically quiet neighbourhood. Then one day he comes home from school and it’s
as though a cyclone has gone through his bedroom.
Suddenly, TJ knows he’s dealing
with something a little more interesting—and a little more deadly—than a duck.
Excerpt:
TJ and
Sam stood silent and still, too afraid to move or make a sound. “Wait a
second,” TJ finally said. “Mess downstairs? We weren’t downstairs.”
Their eyes met and they shared the same thought. They darted into TJ’s room,
emerging a moment later, sufficiently rearmed with the slingshot and bat. Then,
they snuck downstairs to assess the damage.
When TJ saw the extent of the wreckage, he almost let another marble rip. His
heart sank when he spotted the demolished cherry pie.
“Hell-o Kitty,” Sam uttered, marveling at the mess. “I think your house is
haunted, TJ. You have one of those polter-geese.”
“Geist,” TJ corrected. “Poltergeist. Do you think a ghost hatched out of that
egg?”
“I don’t know what it was that came out of that thing, but I know it’s a huge
pain in my butt. Since you found it, I’ve almost been eaten by an alligator,
shot by a swamp cowboy, and now I’m stuck cleaning up its mess.”
Sam and TJ grumbled at each other, and ghosts, and the whole world as they
scrubbed the floors, wiped the counters, and picked up bits of broken plate and
other unidentifiable things. Once the kitchen sparkled, Sam threw her dirty rag
at TJ.
“Not that this wasn’t a fun night or anything, but I’m going home before the
ground splits open and we get attacked by mole people.”
“You’re leaving?” TJ shrieked. “While there’s still a possible ghost goblin
poltergeist thingy stalking around my house?”
Sam shrugged. “Ghost goblin poltergeist thingies got nothing on my dad when I
miss curfew. Call me if something tries to eat you.”
***** ***** *****
Fatigue
hit TJ hard. He yawned and didn’t stop yawning until he reached his bedroom
door. His mind raced in circles. He couldn’t focus on any one thing long enough
to even care about poltergeists or alligators or whatever. All he wanted to do
was go to sleep with the hope that he’d wake up in the morning with all of his
limbs still attached.
Luckily, TJ’s reflexes were working just fine despite his mostly asleep brain.
He opened the door and ducked just in time to avoid getting hit square in the
face with a flying sneaker. He dropped to the floor and covered his head with
his arms. He peeked up when he was sure the other sneaker wasn’t going to
follow. He instantly wished he had his helmet—and the swamp cowboy—because
standing on his bed was the thing that had destroyed his room and the kitchen…
A one-foot tall Tyrannosaurus Rex.
About the Authors:
Cody B. Stewart was
born in the Adirondacks, in Upstate New York. His love of stories began in
those mountains as he vanquished trolls, fought in the American Revolution and
discovered his latent mutant powers. Stories have continued to consume his
life, but he now plucks them out of his head and puts them down on paper in the
form of novels and comic books. He left the Adirondacks to grow into a man, did
so, and has since returned with a wonderfully supportive wife and two sons.
Autor Links:
Mark Rogers’ career
as a travel journalist has brought him to 56 countries and counting. These
trips have fed his imagination while at the same time provided authentic
experiences and sensory detail that find their way into his novels and
screenplays. Mark’s won multiple awards for his travel writing, including an
award for his Hurricane Ivan coverage in Jamaica. His work regularly appears in
USA Todayand other media outlets. Mark lives in Baja California with his
Sinaloa-born wife, Sophy, where they recently built a rock house overlooking
the sea.
Author Link:
Adam Rocke never met
an adventure he didn’t love. From swimming with great white sharks without a
cage, to jumping out of a plane without a parachute, Adam’s adrenaline junkie
tendencies play a major role in his writing.Throw in a secondary degree in
CryptoZoology, and it’s anyone’s guess where Adam’s literary travels will take
him.
Author Link:
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