Tag Archives: nathan marchand

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My latest short story: ‘Love and Pac-Man’

I just posted a new short story a few minutes ago. It’s entitled, “Love and Pac-Man” (click the title to read it). It is the combination of a flurry of ideas.

First, after watching the original version of The Karate Kid some months ago, and seeing the scene where the protagonist, Daniel, meets the girl he likes at an arcade, I had this idea to write a story about a young man who finds love while at an arcade (this was later reinforced while watching Tron: Legacy). It’s a location almost never used in a romance story.

Second, last month’s assignment given for the Writers’ Corner, a writers’ club that meets at the North Webster Community Public Library, involved writing a story that used certain words. Each person was given a short time to write things pertaining to several categories and questions given by the club leader, Beth. Here’s the list I wrote:

Two Things That Annoy You:
-Lying
-My old laptop

Two People You Admire:
-Abraham Lincoln
-C.S. Lewis

The Names of as Many Horses as You Can Think of:
-Black Beauty
-Silver
-Seabiscuit
-Secretariat
-Quick-Draw McGraw
-Gunpodwer (Ichabod Crane’s horse in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”)

Would You Rather Live Rural or Urban?:
-Rural

Three Things You Associate with Summer:
-Hot weather
-Blockbuster movies
-Swimming

Pay close attention, and you’ll see that I managed to work all of these into the story, which is surprisingly only 1,000 words long.

Readers who live or have lived in my area may notice a few “local references,” even though it takes place in a fictional small town. There was once a theme park in North Webster, Indiana, called Adventureland, and it did have a small roller coaster called the Wild Mouse. The name of the arcade, Tilt, was taken from an arcade that used to be at the Glenbrook Square mall in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Anyway, I read the piece at the Writers’ Corner’s meeting Monday, and everyone enjoyed it. I hope you will too.

News, Announcements

Where ‘Pandora’s Box’ can be purchased

After discovering that British internet retailer that was selling my book, I decided I needed to post the places/websites where Pandora’s Box could be purchased and the libraries that have it in their collections. This is something I have been procrastinating on for a while, and for that I apologize.

So, without further delay, here are the places you can buy a copy (or at least have it special ordered):
–Amazon.com
–Langtoninfo.com
–Hyde Bros. Booksellers (in Fort Wayne, Indiana)
–Summer’s Stories (in Kendallville, Indiana)
-Ace Hardware (in North Webster, Indiana)

Here are the libraries that have copies:
–North Webster Community Public Library (in North Webster, Indiana)
–Syracuse Public Library (in Syracuse, Indiana)
–Noble County Public Libraries (in Noble County, Indiana)
–Warsaw Community Public Library (in Warsaw, Indiana)
–Peabody Public Library (in Columbia City, Indiana)

I will add more as they become available, so be sure to check back for updates.

News, Announcements

‘Pandora’s Box’ available online–FOR $47!?

Yesterday I downloaded an app for my new iPhone 3GS called RedLaser. Using the phone’s camera, I can scan an item’s UPC code and price check it online. For fun, I used it on the UPC of my novel, Pandora’s Box. I thought it would, at least, bring up its listing on Amazon.Surprisingly, it didn’t, but it did bring up a listing on a different website–where it is being sold for $47.54!

The website is www.langtoninfo.com, a British internet retailer. They promise that they “might not always offer the ‘best deal,’ but we offer a fair deal with an exceptional level of genuine service to match. Even though it means our prices are slightly higher, we don’t pressure our suppliers to reduce royalty payments to authors and other copyright owners.” You can see their listing for Pandora’s Box here.

As nice as that sounds, I am happy to say it retails for $20 on Amazon, and I sell them at a discount at my signings.

News, Announcements

Readers’ Choice Award update

Unfortunately, my novel, Pandora’s Box,  did not make it into the top ten for the Alberta Readers’ Choice Award. However, Cinco de Mayo by Michael J. Martineck, which was published by Absolute XPress’ main imprint, Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy, did make it. He’s also, as far as I can tell, the only American author to make it through. Godspeed to him!

News, Announcements

‘Pandora’s Box’ in contention for readers’ choice award!

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Cover art by Tomislav Tikulin

I just read on the Absolute XPress blog that my novel, Pandora’s Box, is one of 30 books on the “long list” of nominees for the 2011 Alberta Readers’ Choice Award. According to its website, “The Alberta Readers’ Choice Award (ARC) is an annual award for adult fiction and narrative non-fiction titles. Narrative non-fiction is defined as a work of non-fiction which lends itself to a public reading.” The list of 30 will now be read by librarians throughout Alberta, Canada, and narrowed to 10 nominees. After that, from then until April, “noted Albertans” will read the 10 nominees and whittle them down to five. Then throughout May, online voting will be conducted to pick the winner from those five nominees. The award will be given June 11. The grand prize is $10,000.

Yes, you read that right–I have a one in 30 chance of winning ten-grand!

I will be sure to keep you updated on this.

News, Announcements

New poem – ‘Never Christmas’

It’s been a long time since I posted any new material on this website. It’s been mostly news these last few months. So I decided to post a poem. It’s entitled “Never Christmas.” I posted it because it will soon be Christmas, but I must tell you it is a sad poem at worst, or a melancholy one at best. I do hope you will appreciate it for what it is, perhaps even identify with it in some way.

You can read it below or click the title in the above paragraph. Pleas enjoy.