Targeted Age Group:: 13-18

Legend Blade is an action, adventure and fantasy novella for teens and young adults. It is about a legendary medieval sword that allows its bearer to obtain god-like powers and falls into the hands of teenage boy Thomas Harrison.

Thomas and his friend Nyren learn about the sword’s incredible power and set out on a quest together to break a 400-year-old curse, which will prevent it from being used by dark forces. However, they soon become the target of a secret government agency that intends to seize the sword to use it as a super-weapon. Thomas and Nyren begin a journey across the state of Massachusetts to a magical destination on Mount Greylock in a race against time, fleeing from the State police, US Army, and FBI to prevent power-hungry men and evil forces from possessing the Legend Blade.

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What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
I grew up in the 1980s and was inspired by many action adventure movies and novels during the time. Those kinds of fun, witty and adventurous stories don't seem to exist anymore. So I decided to write my own.

How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
Most of the characters were based upon people I knew, including myself. I thought, what if I threw those ordinary people into an extraordinary situation? What would they do? My novel is the answer. They became heroes.

Book Excerpt/Sample
Chapter One: The Curse
Central Europe. 1462. May 29.

It is a dark day. A tremendous storm pounds a vast backdrop of mountains and wooded valleys. Fierce lightning forks down through the air, striking the ground with a vengeance.

Upon a mountain top, another burst of lightning etches out two dark figures fighting with shining broadswords. The first figure, Maximus, is large and muscular, evil and full of hate. The second warrior, Niskan, is tall, lean and mysterious, dressed in the dark robes of a lord.

They both look weary and war-torn. Each has a number of injuries revealed through slashed chain mail armor. Maximus drives Niskan back with a powerful swing of his large broadsword. Niskan, out of breath, collapses onto his knees. He struggles to shield himself from his opponent’s blows.

“Good fortune only has been on your part. You will not win, Maximus.” Niskan warns.

Maximus throws back his head to deliver a throaty laugh. “That is a lot for a man to claim when half of him is dead.”

Maximus moves to strike Niskan with another blow when a young woman’s voice cries out. “Niskan … Niskan!”

The two warriors turn to see a pretty young woman, Princess Nyren, rush up onto the mountain top. Her long gowns are drenched and ripped. Her hair is wild and windswept. She rushes forward to stand between them, shielding her lover, Niskan.

Maximus flexes his grip on his sword. “So, it is true. Nyren, daughter of my King, loves the legendary Captain Hauler.” Maximus narrows his eyes. “Now, you will both die.”

Maximus removes a dagger from his chain belt and throws it at Nyren. The dagger spears Nyren in the chest. She looks up at the sky as pain writhes through her. She sees the moon going into an eclipse with the sun.

Maximus growls. “May a curse keep you forever apart — until a day like this comes again.”

Niskan catches Nyren as she falls to the ground. Niskan cries out, “Nohhhh! You will pay for this, Maximus. In another place, in another time. You will pay!”

Niskan lays Nyren’s body on the ground. With the last of his strength, he gets to his feet and lunges at the evil, large knight.

Maximus jumps aside, wielding his sword, ready to hack his opponent in two.

Niskan’s sword axes into the side of a white Elm tree. A blinding flash of lightning forks down and strikes the tree. Savage arcs of electricity leap into the sword from the tree.

Maximus raises a hand to shelter his eyes from the intense flashes. Niskan cries out in horror. Maximus lowers his hand and looks around, startled.

Niskan and Nyren have vanished. They appear to have been vaporized by the lightning strike. Maximus sees Niskan’s sword buried deep in the side of the white Elm tree.

Maximus begins to laugh with glee. “I’ve won. I have killed the legend. And now the blade is mine!” He removes the sword from the tree and holds it overhead. He laughs and hails victory. “I’ve won!”

Within that instant, another fork of lightning cracks through the air. It strikes the sword and bolts into Maximus. Maximus screams in agony as an intense blue electrical light consumes his body.

He falls to the ground.

Maximus looks about wearily as the sound of a horse running fills his ears. He passes out. The hoofs of the horse continue …

***

… A massive and muscular black war-horse is running through the valley below. The storm starts to break up, and the solar eclipse ends. The valley begins to lighten. The valley is changing. Strange shades of orange light illuminate the scene like a new dawn.

The hoofs of the horse fade.

***

The new day is rich, warm, and sunny. The large white Elm tree stands alone on the mountain top. The Elm’s wounded bark, skewered by the sword, begins to heal miraculously. An eagle is now resting in the tree’s branches. It clutches hold of two seed pods from the Elm tree in its claw. The pods are round, flat, and covered by a thin paper-like casing. Suddenly the eagle takes flight into the air.

The eagle soars across lakes, forests, and fields. Then over mountains, rivers, sweeping plains, oceans, and finally land again. It seems to be moving through time as the eagle changes shape during its journey into that of a great American bald eagle. Finally, it circles and then releases one of the seed pods.

The first pod falls through the air with purpose and lands on the top of a new mountain.

The second one is released and blows through the winds. It finally rests on an open field further away in a valley. Both seed pods begin to sink into the ground, at the same time, like lead weights in mud, and disappear.

Time moves onward…

Author Bio:
Amadeus grew up in the 80s and has a diverse background spanning film, TV and radio, the military, electrical engineering, robotics, quantum mechanics, aviation, and elementary school teaching.

Amadeus is also an inventor of several electronic devices. These include a brainwave therapy device that stimulates neural networks of the human brain to help people with depression, anxiety, and insomnia.

Amadeus’s heroes include Sadako Sasaki (12-year-old Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Victim), Stephen Hawking (British Theoretical physicist), Christopher Reeve (American actor, director, and activist), and his mom. He is an advocate of The Sadako Legacy NPO for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Amadeus believes in never giving up and pursuing your dreams. In 2019, Amadeus fulfilled a lifelong dream and met with Sadako’s brother Masahiro Sasaki to clean and lay flowers on Sadako’s tomb in Fukuoka, Japan. Which is considered a great honor.

When not teaching elementary school English and electronics, Amadeus enjoys writing stories and watching fantasy, comedy and science fiction movies.

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Targeted Age Group:: 30+

Preventing Her Shutdown is an inside look of what an ongoing caregiver spouse goes through in my desperate effort to keep my wife with Alzheimer’s “connected”. In Real Time there are very personal unloaded feelings, emotions expressed and actions taken, never confided to anyone while slowly losing my wife.

This book started out as a daily diary of how my wife´s behavior was dramatically changing and how I was affected and began to relate to her differently. Writing helped me ventilate my deepest emotions and reactions in private as they were too personal to express to others. Somehow writing “alleviated” my continuous sorrow. Soon this diary turned into this book.

There are really no fixed “do this” and “do that” rules, as there are no two profile behavioral changes alike. Consequently, no one has the “exact key” as to how to respond to a family member with Alzheimer’s radical behavioral changes . Personal historical habits and idiosyncrasies influence behavioral changes. Only experiences from others can be your guide. I describe these dramatic changes with my wife who is in the beginning of the advanced stages.

Many times I wonder what she is thinking or what her feelings are because now she doesn’t speak at all. I only have her facial expressions or sounds. Is she happy? Is she sad? I never see sad expressions on her face so I never know if she is sad. I do see a straight face sometimes and when I do I try to provoke a smile or laughter just to be sure she is not sad. Does she know she is not well? Does she know how she was before? Does she remember her past? What I do to help her restore her past.

Then I realized “what about us”, our 43 years of marriage, does she remember that past? She recognizes and knows me well but how far back? Did our marriage begin in 1979 or 2017 when she was diagnosed?
I wasn’t sure where I was in her memory or how she sees me, as her friend or husband so I felt I had to make sure she realized I was at least her “best friend.”

She doesn’t speak at all. She expresses only some sounds and shows a lot of anxiety. This becomes a real challenge trying to figure out what she wants and how she feels. How do we communicate? How do I talk to her? How does she tell me what she wants or needs? We both learned how to interact with each other.

My reactions have always been intuitive in my desperate attempts to keep her “connected” with me, family and her surroundings. My experiences and actions as they happen “racing against the Alzheimer’s clock” to keep her communicating and interacting every day, even though she no longer speaks, are detailed in my never-ending battle to prevent her shutdown.

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What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
This book started out as a daily diary of how my wife´s behavior was dramatically changing and how I was affected and began to relate to her differently. Writing helped me ventilate my deepest emotions and reactions in private as they were too personal to express to others. Somehow writing "alleviated" my continuous sorrow. Soon this diary turned into this book. Hopefully it can help others who are on this same tortuous journey identify and relate with the events I described in this book.

Book Excerpt/Sample
How do I connect with my wife and get her to connect with me? This is always a constant desperation on my part especially because she doesn't speak. I am always afraid she will stop connecting with me, especially when I get that blank look, that "daze into no man's land. "That is the day I am trying to avoid. There are different things I do, depending on the moment and situation we are in, always taking every opportunity I can to promote interaction with her.

Many times I wonder what she is thinking or what her feelings are because now she doesn't speak at all. I only have her facial expressions or sounds. Is she happy? Is she sad? I never see sad expressions on her face so I never know if she is sad. I do see a straight face sometimes and when I do I try to provoke a smile or laughter just to be sure she is not sad. Does she know she is not well? Does she know how she was before? Does she remember her past? What I do to help her restore her past.
Then I realized "what about us", our 43 years of marriage, does she remember that past? She recognizes and knows me well but how far back? Did our marriage begin in 1979 or 2017 when she was diagnosed?

I wasn't sure where I was in her memory or how she sees me, as her friend or husband so I felt I had to make sure she realized I was at least her “best friend.” She frequently shows her affection by kissing a lot but I am still not sure how she sees me.

She doesn't speak at all. She expresses only some sounds and shows a lot of anxiety. This becomes a real challenge trying to figure out what she wants and how she feels. How do we communicate? How do I talk to her? How does she tell me what she wants or needs? We both learned how to interact with each other.

Author Bio:
As an author I am not an expert or an authority on Alzheimer's. I never pretended to be. I am simply an ordinary “John Doe” caregiver, husband sharing my experiences living and caring for my wife 24/7 with Alzheimer's. We have been married 43 years and I am trying to not let go and avoid her shutdown.

This book started out as a daily diary of how my wife´s behavior was dramatically changing and how I was affected and began to relate to her differently. Writing helped me ventilate my deepest emotions and reactions in private as they were too personal to express to others. Somehow writing "alleviated" my continuous sorrow. Soon this diary turned into this book.

Preventing Her Shutdown is my desperate effort to keep my wife with Alzheimer's "connected". In Real Time there are very personal unloaded feelings, emotions and reactions expressed, never confided to anyone while slowly losing my wife.

There are no two profile behavioral changes alike with Alzheimer´s. I describe these dramatic changes with my wife who is in the beginning of the advanced stages. My reactions have always been intuitive in my desperate attempts to keep her “connected” with me, family and her surroundings. Real time experiences and actions "racing against the Alzheimer's clock" to keep her communicating and interacting every day, even though she no longer speaks are detailed in my never-ending battle to prevent her shutdown.

My bio is really of two people, my wife and I.

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