A Shark at the Park by Mike Kalmbach

A Shark at the Park

by Mike Kalmbach

A timeless story about the special relationship between father and son. This story will be enjoyed by fans of Love You Forever by Robert Munsch and Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney.

Follow one boy, his dad, and a host of animals as they encounter A SHARK AT THE PARK.




BIOGRAPHY

Mike Kalmbach grew up in a forest near Lake Michigan. Spending his summers chasing wizards and battling evil ogres, Mike has always had a creative mind. He'll often share stories from his past, and some of them are even true.

After time dragged him from childhood, Mike moved into freelance editing, helping other authors improve dozens of stories. During the daylight hours, he writes software to help with genetics research. He leads the Rochester MN Writing group and often speaks on topics from writing and editing to engineering and robotics.

Luckily, Mike now has two sons, so he has plenty of excuses to set down the pen and play. He lives in Minnesota with his family.

PURCHASE
Amazon

OTHER WORKS

• Revenge of the Dust Bunnies
• The Caldarian Conflict
• Writing Advice for Teens: Creating Stories 

FIND OUT MORE
Author page: http://mikekalmbach.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikekalmbachauthor
Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/mikekalmbach
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mikekalmbach

Revenge of the Dust Bunnies - Mike Kalmbach

Revenge of the Dust Bunnies

by Mike Kalmbach
illustrated by Christopher Osman

Book 1 of the Spooky Snacks series. "Scary short stories with a silly twist!"

Best for 4th-6th grade students. Perfect for fans of Goosebumps!

40 pages
Paperback: 5 B&W illustrations and 2 games
Ebook: 5 full-color illustrations

Don't clean your room!

Dust always seems to collect in strange places: on your dresser, behind the TV, and under your bed.

It's not random. There's something sinister going on. A hidden group is behind this.

And they have a plan.

BIOGRAPHY

Mike Kalmbach grew up in a forest near Lake Michigan. Spending his summers chasing wizards and battling evil ogres, Mike has always had a creative mind. He'll often share stories from his past, and some of them are even true.

After time dragged him from childhood, Mike moved into freelance editing, helping other authors improve dozens of stories. During the daylight hours, he writes software to help with genetics research. He leads the Rochester MN Writing group and often speaks on topics from writing and editing to engineering and robotics.

Luckily, Mike now has two sons, so he has plenty of excuses to set down the pen and play. He lives in Minnesota where he, his family, and a band of pirates can still be found battling ogres, dust bunnies, and even the occasional dragon.

FIND OUT MORE

Author page: http://mikekalmbach.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikekalmbachauthor
Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/mikekalmbach
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mikekalmbach

PURCHASE
Exclusively on Amazon


OTHER WORKS

• The Caldarian Conflict
• Writing Advice for Teens: Creating Stories

The Caldarian Conflict + Free Coffee at Dunn Bros!

I don't often highlight my own work on the Reading Minnesota blog. However, I wanted to share some big news for my first novel, The Caldarian Conflict. Read on for a coupon promo!

The Caldarian Conflict was selected for the Coffee & Books program at Dunn Brothers (currently there are only around 20 books in the program).  To get in, the book had to pass an intense review process to ensure quality. I'm honored that my book made the cut.

The four top-selling books each quarter are displayed in all Dunn Bros locations--over 90 locations nationwide. This could help The Caldarian Conflict find hundreds or thousands of new readers.

To celebrate the inclusion of The Caldarian Conflict in the Coffee & Books program, I’m running a promotion. The first 50 people to buy The Caldarian Conflict (in any format, print or ebook) will receive an additional 20% off! Use the coupon code “pirate” when you check out (without the quotes). Remember, this is only good for the first 50 customers.

However, that's not all. Besides the 20% off coupon, customers also receive 20% back to use toward a coffee purchase. Paperback customers also receive $5 back as a Dunn Bros gift card. That means that the real cost of the ebook is just $2.39 (normal price is $3.99) and the real cost of the paperback is just $5.36 (normal price is $12.95). You can't get a better deal.

Share this with your friends. The more people who buy The Caldarian Conflict, the better the chances are that the book will arrive in a store near you.

Thanks everyone, and don't forget to use the coupon code “pirate” when you check out!

Writing Advice for Teens: Creating Stories - Mike Kalmbach

Writing Advice for Teens: Creating Stories

by Mike Kalmbach

When all you have is a blank page, it's often tough to begin writing.

Writing Advice for Teens: Creating Stories aims to help you overcome that initial hurdle by making it easy for you to write down simple, focused ideas and craft them into stories.

However, coming up with ideas is not enough. Teen writers need to understand basic story structure so they can avoid typical writing problems.

Filled with plenty of tips, advice, and examples to help any teen writer, the first book in the Writing Advice for Teens series focuses on getting ideas down quickly and pounding out that first draft. After following the advice and using the techniques outlined in this book, you should understand how to bring the stories locked in your mind to the surface.

BIOGRAPHY

Mike Kalmbach has a Master of Science degree in software engineering from the University of Minnesota. Moonlighting as a freelance editor, he has edited numerous full-length manuscripts as well as countless shorter works. He also teaches several seminars targeted toward helping teen writers develop strategies to create captivating stories.

He also leads the Rochester MN Writing Group and is a founding member of the Rochester Writers Collaborative. He is a strong believer in the power of community, and has led online writing groups and forums for over ten years. Mike enjoys writing for his blog and interacting on Twitter.

Mike currently lives in the Rochester, MN area with his wife, son, and two cats.

WEBSITES

Author page: http://mikekalmbach.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikekalmbachauthor
Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/mikekalmbach
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mikekalmbach

PURCHASE
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever books are sold.


OTHER WORKS

• The Caldarian Conflict

Bloomington Writers' Festival and Book Fair

It’s time for the 2012 Writers’ Festival & Book Fair held at the Bloomington Theatre and Art Center.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 24 and plan to submerge yourself in the world of books, authors, workshops. Plus, get your chance to hear from Minnesota native, TV, film and comedy legend, Pat Proft!

Every day 800 books are published in the United States, and if you love to read, write or talk about books, the Book Fair is a great place to get new information, meet local authors, find the next good read for your book club, or just browse. 

Several authors who have been featured on Reading Minnesota will join the dozens selling and signing books at the event. Many of the authors, including me, will present live readings of their current works throughout the day. Over 80 authors and resource agencies will be available.     

Keynote speaker, Pat Proft, began his lifelong career early—as a high school student in Columbia Heights, MN. Receiving recognition in radio and stand-up comedy, he branched into theatre, TV sitcoms, and eventually films.

Proft’s humorous talent can be witnessed in his screenwriting for The Smothers Brothers Show (1975), The Carol Burnett Show (1976), and television programs like Welcome Back Kotter and Police Squad. In the last thirty years, he has enjoyed great success by scripting comedy hits in feature films such as Police Academy, Bachelor Party, Real Genius, The Naked Gun, Hot Shots, Brain Donors, Wrongfully Accused, and several installments of the Scary Movie series.

Admission for keynote, workshops, and panels is $12 each and pre-registration is required. The Book Fair is free.  Hear Pat at 9:30 am, then starting at 11 am attend your choice of the workshops and panels led by local experts and leaders in various aspects of writing, publishing, promotion, social media, poetry, publicity, the future of publishing, etc. Lunch is also available for purchase.

For additional information and to register for the keynote presentation, workshops, panels or to order lunches, go to www.BloomingtonArtCenter.com or call 952-563-8575.

ReadingMinnesota update: New owner - Mike Kalmbach

Something is different.

Subtle changes in the text on the right-hand side.

A new book cover and title.

A new email address.

What's going on?

After more than two years of posts, Beth is moving on to other opportunities. Rather than let the blog fade into the dark realms of the Internet archives, Beth graciously agreed to let me take over. We'll miss her, but I'm sure she'll still stop by from time to time.

Have no fear. You'll still be reading the same high-quality, Minnesota-centric posts that Beth's been sharing over the past two years.

The big difference is that I'll be organizing the posts. I will maintain the Thursday posting schedule for the foreseeable future, and already have several authors lined up over the coming weeks.

I also plan to introduce reviews as time allows. At first, I expect to post approximately 2 reviews per month in addition to the weekly informational posts.

Who's taking over?

Mike Kalmbach is an author from southeast Minnesota, and leads the Rochester MN Writing Group. Besides his day job as a software engineer, he also moonlights as a freelance editor. His passion is writing science fiction and fantasy, but he enjoys all well-written material.

He recently released his debut novel, The Caldarian Conflict, which focuses on a monk caught between a corrupt government and pirates. A mixture of fantasy, adventure, and mystery, this book is sure to appeal to anyone who enjoys a good plot twist. This fantasy novel is targeted for readers 14 and up.

Want to learn more about The Caldarian Conflict?

Check it out on Amazon (ebook or paperback), Barnes & Noble (ebook or paperback), or wherever books are sold. Autographed copies (perfect as a unique gift) are available at http://mikekalmbach.com

When does this happen?

This is officially effective today, October 20. I've been making some changes over the past week, so it's still pretty new.

How do I submit suggestions for Minnesota-related authors, book stores, or other items of interest?

Send an email to mikekalmbach@gmail.com. You can usually expect a response within 48 hours. Please specify whether you would like an informational post or a review.

I'm looking forward to meeting lots of great Minnesota authors. This is going to be fun!