Wow! An excellent screenplay has been written for Me, Myself and Ike. You can check it out here: http://glennpineau.com/Heroic_Onion_Productions/Me,_Myself_and_Ike.html

It would be fantastic to see this story unfold on the big screen… Here’s hoping a producer thinks so too.

Available Now!

By author: K.L. Denman
ISBN: 9781459801035
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Pub Date: April/01/2012

The story:

Angus and his best buddy, Shahid, share a love of science and their robot, Gordon. But recently, the artistic Ella Eckles has had a peculiar effect on Angus. When a stink bomb at the school provides a chance for him to talk to her, he claims to share her interest in reading facial expressions and declares his ambition to become a crime-solving mentalist. He impresses Ella by identifying the stink bomber, but fails to mention he witnessed a scrawny kid setting off the bomb.

When Ella’s treasured sketchbook is stolen, she asks Angus to find the thief. Shahid thinks Angus should confess that he’s not a mentalist, but Angus is certain he can learn to read people and recover Ella’s sketchbook. He asks Shahid to help him investigate the suspects: Gaga Girl; the art teacher, Mr. Wilder; and finally, “scrawny kid.” Equipped with rearview sunglasses and an informant who lurks in the washroom, the duo bungles their way through a series of encounters that alarm Shahid and provide Angus with some unfamiliar exercise.

Pictured here from left, are Diane Tullson http://dianetullson.com/wp/, to whom we owe thanks for her fabulous MC’ing, Christy Goerzen http://glowbuggirl.wordpress.com/, Nikki Tate http://www.nikkitate.com/, K.L. Denman (you are here!), and Cristy Watson http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4555655.Cristy_Watson.

A big shout-out of thanks to Kidsbooks http://www.kidsbooks.ca/southsurreystore.htm for hosting our launch in their beautiful South Surrey store, to my daughter Hannah for acting as official photographer, and to all our intrepid guests who braved a stormy snowy November evening to help us celebrate.

That sun set and rose and set again untold times until there came a day when it shone upon a prismatic glory of blooms, some shy as green, others boisterous as red. (If you’d seen them, you’d be the inventor of singing.) Someone saw them—bugs and birds—and the plants thought, “Blight! We do not want them eating our flowers the way they eat our other parts. Ideas? Anyone?”

Somebody had a fantastic idea. “What say we give those rootless non-botanicals something sweet—let’s call it nectar—and when they stop by for a meal we’ll get a favor in return?”

The speaker whispered this next vibration. “We’ll get them to take our pollen to the neighbors.”

Almost everyone shimmered with happy agreement. A few dissidents said, “Forget it. When those bugs try for our nectar? We’re going to eat them. See how they like it.”

The pollen plan succeeded beyond the plants’ wildest dreams because the result was none other than Fruit. (I’m sure you know how that works. You also likely know that the buzz on the plants’ best buddy, the bee, says they’ve run into trouble. And no bees = no fruit. No more peaches, blueberries, blackberries, apples, oranges… Unthinkable. Please send happy thoughts to bees and support your friendly or unfriendly, doesn’t matter, neighborhood entomologist.)

So, what’s next? Plants have been evolving for a long while and I’m wondering what they’re working on now. If their bee buddies die out, will the plants devise another way to spread pollen and bear fruit? As in, walking roots? (Work with me here. Shakespeare could have prophesied more than he intended in Macbeth when he wrote about the forest coming to the castle.)

Or will plants be very annoyed with a fruitless future and make a massive shift toward the dissident group? Watch out for that Venus Fly-by Trap! Argh! That rhubarb just ate Granny!

Or—and this is my favorite—will plants attempt to translate our extremely foreign language and open up communications with us? I have no doubt they are already conscious; unconscious entities (ex. the dead drunk, doped up, knocked senseless) do not turn and follow the sun’s arc across the sky as sunflowers do, much less produce flowers and fruit.

I don’t expect we’ll ever hear them talking aloud (their lack of vocal chords would pose a problem) so if they were to get in touch with us, how might that happen? And what would they say?

“They’ve been popping up everywhere,” she told him. “On the radio, at the park, in random conversations. Isn’t it true that a sudden proliferation of the unusual signals it’s time to pay attention?”

‘What?” he asked.

“I’m talking about meaningful coincidence. You know. Synchronicity. The universe trying to send me a message I need to hear.” She paused, brow furrowed. “But what message could there be in ducks?”

He didn’t know.

She asked around, “What do ducks mean to you?” But no-one provided a satisfactory answer, no startling insight was found, and the duck appearances faded.

Life sped on, serving up some challenging years that pushed aside musings about ducks. And then in the cyclic way of things, life settled. All was well and when a duck showed up in the yard and peered in through the windows (a Peking duck, no less), she was amused.

“Funny duck, look at you.” She didn’t seek meaning this time. It was only one duck.

And then life got complicated again. It wasn’t an immediate complication; it was more like a slow-growing cancer, sneakily developing, not showing itself until it had the power to devastate.

Still, she didn’t get the message of the ducks. It’s difficult to read symbolism in the midst of sorrow and confusion. It took the turning of another cycle and the third appearance of ducks before she understood. When the universe sent her ducks it meant a curve ball was hurtling in like a hard-core comet, rounding the dark side of the moon, trailing fiery dust and detritus and if she’d simply listen literally, she’d DUCK.

A: I’ve never been in a band but sometimes wish I was. I love music and know others who play instruments on their own or in bands. Recently, I’ve considered learning to play the ukulele.

“The book you wrote, Battle of the Bands was a great book! It seemed as if it was not fiction. Another reason your book is good is that it is short and easy. About the song, did you make it up? How many books have you written? I’m a real fan.” Ruben C.

A: I did write the lyrics for the two songs in the story—that was fun! I’ve written numerous books and Battle of the Bands was the first one published. Since then, six more have been published.

“I am reading your book Mirror Image. I really like it. I have only started it and I am on Chapter Five already. So far so good.” Anna, Country Antrim, Ireland

“Your book (Rebel’s Tag) was great and cool. I liked the parts of Uranus and when Samuel was spray painting. I love the part when Samuel’s mom prayed the St. Francis prayer.” Rolando T.

“The book Rebel’s Tag was really interesting. It was very fun to read. What made you write this story?” Joanna J.

A: I started with the idea of a character going on a scavenger hunt. I asked myself who would go on this hunt and why? And who might send someone on a hunt and what would be their motivation for doing that? The story grew out of these questions.

“Thank you for writing a book (Rebel’s Tag) that’s easy to read, yet incredibly interesting to junior high kids. We have such good memories of reading and discussing your book. We had rich discussions about trespassing, friendship, honesty, forgiveness and death. It made my job very easy.”  Liz A., Teacher

“Battle of the Bands was a top notch book. Since I’m only in Grade 9 I haven’t read a lot of books but when  I do read books I love it. I connected with Jay on so many levels. This book truly opened my eyes to the fact I’m not the only kid who thinks about the kids who make T-shirts or shoes.”  A.J.

“Your book, Perfect Revenge, helped me change my mind a little about getting people back. I really liked your book and it made me connect to it more than any other book.” Nylah R.