The U.K.'s Fantasy Book Review Publishes Interview with The Mahogany Door's author J. Mark Boliek

August 2011

Magic swords, secret potions, holy grails – these are some of the objects that colour most fantasy-adventure novels. But what happens when marvels and magic, secrets and spiritual beings represent real-life events and emotions? The story that evolves represents feelings about friendship, perseverance, and about accepting help from someone larger than one’s self along the way. This is the story Durham, NC, author Mark Boliek shares in his new novel for young and young adult readers entitled, The Mahogany Door. Read more...

Agent Contest with Vickie Motter

Agent Contest with Vickie Motter
It's on! You can pitch agent Vickie Motter with Andrea Hurst & Associates Literary Management.

And there's only 50 spots available.

Well known for her Navigating the Slush Pile blog, Vickie Motter is actively building her client list and you've got the opportunity deliver win her over with a three-line-pitch. Want a tip on what Vickie is looking for in this competition? Then read an interview with her here blogSo here are the
rules:
1) Be a follower of the blog.
2) Blog about this contest and include a link with your entry. If you don't have a blog, you may tweet or make a facebook status. But we prefer blog.
3) Post your THREE-LINE-PITCH as per Vickie's interview
4) Manuscripts that you submit must be completed and ready for querying.
5) Manuscripts should be any genre of YA or Adult Paranormal/Urban Fantasy (sorry peoples, but no MG for this competition).
6) This contest will end midnight on the 20th July, or beforehand if 50 entries are reached.
7) Winners to be announced (along with prizes) on 27th July.

Entrants must submit the following details:
Name:
Email:
MS Name:
MS Word Count:
Genre:
Promotion link (blog, FB post or tweet link)
Pitch:Good luck everyone.

Broad Street Cafe To Host The Mahogany Door Project

An acoustic performance of original music from the soundtrack CD.


June 29, 2011 (Durham, NC) – Broad Street Café in Durham will host an acoustic performance of original music from a new soundtrack CD when The Mahogany Door Project takes the stage on Tuesday, July 19, at 8:30 p.m.

The CD is the soundtrack to “The Mahogany Door,” a new fantasy-adventure book for young and teen readers by Durham author J. Mark Boliek. A musician as well as a writer, Boliek created the CD soundtrack as a way to capture the moods and themes of the book in songs. He wrote or co-wrote all but two of the songs, which range in style from rock and R&B, to country and even one full orchestral arrangement.

Katie Basden, a new name in country music, wrote one of the eight songs on the CD and will join the group as a special guest for the set, along with guest singer Ian Butts.

The process of creating the soundtrack was particularly special to Boliek because of the “closeness of friends and family” that it took to create the CD, he said. That bond will be celebrated at Broad Street Cafe when members of The Mahogany Door Project share stories and music from the book and CD during the live performance.

The event is free and open to the public. Young fans of fantasy-adventure fiction are encouraged to attend. Broad Street Café is located at 1116 Broad Street, Durham, NC 27705 (919-416-9707).


The entire Mahogany Door soundtrack CD can be heard on Boliek’s website at www.jmarkboliek.com/the-music.

For more information on book, visit. www.jmarkboliek.com and the author’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/JMarkBoliek.

Katie Basden To Perform During First Dream Factory Fun Day in Graham

Her Performance will include Songs From “The Mahogany Door” CD.

June 6, 2011 (Graham, NC) – Katie Basden, a 19-year-old singer/songwriter from Durham, NC, and a new name in country music, will perform for the first annual Dream Factory Family Fun Day in Graham, NC, on June 11, from noon to 1:20 p.m. On her song list are two songs from the new soundtrack CD for “The Mahogany Door.”

J. Mark Boliek, author of “The Mahogany Door,” a fantasy-adventure book for young readers, will be on hand to sell autographed copies of the book and to donate the proceeds to the Dream Factory of Central Carolina.

The Dream Factory is a national non-profit organization founded in 1980 that serves critically and chronically ill children ages three to 18 by granting “dreams” for them. The local chapters are run entirely by volunteers.

Basden will perform “Rear View Mirror,” a song she wrote that she allowed Boliek to use on his book’s soundtrack CD. She plays acoustic guitar and provides the vocals on the CD track.

She will also perform “Goodbyes,” a song written by Mark Boliek with Mary Alice Bell specifically for the soundtrack.

“With her charisma and big voice, Katie is a terrific young talent with a bright future ahead of her,” said Boliek, who also co-owns Split Rail Multimedia LLC in Durham with his wife, Jill. Split Rail Multimedia produced “The Mahogany Door” CD.

The Dream Factory Fun Day will go on until 4 p.m. and include three bands, inflatables for kids, a fire truck, and an information book offering the latest efforts of the Dream Factory as well as volunteer opportunities. For more information go to www.dreamfactoryinccnc.org.

To hear Katie Basden’s performances on “The Mahogany Door” soundtrack CD, go to www.jmarkboliek.com/the-music. She also maintains an active Facebook page.

About Katie Basden:

Katie Basden grew up in Durham, NC and attends Belmont University in Nashville, TN. As a singer/songwriter, she was inspired by country music from a young age. The daughter of singer Anne Basden, Katie honed her talents during years of singing in her church and in school. She hopes to leave her mark on country music much like her favorite singer/songwriters Miranda Lambert, Alison Krauss, and Victoria Banks. Katie can be found on Facebook and YouTube.

The Mahogany Door -- The Soundtrack -- Is Available for Downloading

Of course, you can listen to all the songs on The Mahogany Door's Original Music Soundtrack here on the blog. But if you want to download all or some of the eight songs on the CD, here are your choices. Take your pick!

iTunes (US, Aus/NZ, Canada, UK/Europe, Japan, Mexico)
Amazon MP3
Deezer
eMusic
Fox News
GetPlaylists
Guevera Coming Soon
iLike
Immergent
InMotion Entertainment
Intertech Media
La Curacao
Last.fm
Wal-Mart (Liquid)
MediaNet
MOG
Moozone
Myspace
Myxer
Napster
Nokia
Puretracks
Rdio
Rhapsody
Secure Media
Simfy
Spotify
Synacor
Tesco
Thumbplay OTA
Virgin Mega
WaTunes
We7
Zune

In The Media:

Fantasy Book Review: The Bruinduer Narrative Trilogy - A New Fantasy-Adventure Book for Young Readers

"The Mahogany Door,” book one of J. Mark Boliek’s The Bruinduer Narrative series, is told by an unnamed grandfather who captivates a group of children with his fascinating story, first out on a beach then huddled around the fireplace of a beautiful mansion by the shore as a fierce thunderstorm rages outside.

Click HERE to view the entire article.

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In The Media:

YA Fantasy Guide, Small Press section:
"The Mahogany Door by J. Mark Boliek"

Click HERE to view the entire article

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Press Release:

The Mahogany Door: A New Fantasy-Adventure Book for Young Readers
Split Rail Books releases the first book in The Bruinduer Narrative Trilogy


May 23, 2011 (Durham, NC) -- After the last Harry Potter film is released this summer, what will young fans of fantasy-adventure fiction have to look forward to? Split Rail Books in Durham, NC, suggests its new title, “The Mahogany Door,” the first novel in a new fiction-fantasy-adventure series written by J. Mark Boliek of Durham especially for young readers.

And it comes with an original-music soundtrack CD.

“The Mahogany Door,” book one of Boliek’s The Bruinduer Narrative series, is told by an unnamed grandfather who captivates a group of children with his fascinating story, first out on a beach then huddled around the fireplace of a beautiful mansion by the shore as a fierce thunderstorm rages outside.

The story centers around three friends, separated years ago by a traumatic event, who are compelled to reunite so that they may once again pass through “The Mahogany Door” and into the fantasy Vryheids world of Bruinduer. They must fulfill a destiny they left undone nine years before to keep Bruinduer from collapsing. One of the friends lost his parents and his memory in a horrible accident and has no idea what to expect. One knows too well and has tried to forget. The third friend’s insistence that they must return to Bruinduer is mysterious and suspicious.

The friends’ journey back to the world behind “The Mahogany Door” leads to the book’s “teaching moments,” which resonate with the author’s own life – about things in life not always being what they seem, about the value of friendship and the importance of completing tasks, and about the secret to tapping into the power of a their only “guide” along the journey, a monstrous being they call “Billy.” And the end is designed to leave young readers anxious for book two.

Author J. Mark Boliek is a former football player and military man, a computer programmer and musician, and the son veteran broadcast journalist Dave Boliek of WTVD-TV. He began working on The Bruinduer Narrative nine years ago. His initial 157-page draft turned into three distinct stories in which the first tale, “The Mahogany Door,” evolved into a 353-page children’s fantasy novel. He is currently working on the other two books in what he expects to be a trilogy.

“The Mahogany Door” features cover art an interior illustrations by California artist Lauren Gallegos. It is published in paperback with a typeface and size optimized for young readers ages 10 and up. The songs on the accompanying CD, written primarily by the author, reflect certain themes in the book, from “All Alone” to “Here Is My Anger, Here Is My Pride.”

For more information about “The Mahogany Door” by J. Mark Boliek, published by Split Rail Books, go to www.jmarkboliek.com. Each track from the accompanying CD can be heard at www.jmarkboliek.com/the-music and the book with CD can be ordered directly at www.jmarkboliek.com/cart.

Facts about The Mahogany Door:

Author: J. Mark Boliek. Publisher: Split Rail Books. Publication Date: May 2011. Genres: Fantasy-Fiction, Adventure-Fiction. Illustrator: Lauren Gallegos. Age Group: 10 and up. ISBN: 978-0-9832900-0-1. Paperback: 353pp. Retail Price: $24.95. Currently available: www.jmarkboliek.com.

All Alone, In the Afternoon, Here is My Anger, Here is My Pride

Hello All-

A few days until the The Mahogany Door, the first book in a series of fantasy-adventure books for young readers, is available at www.jmarkboliek.com. We are in the process of making it available at other outlets. But at the moment, if you order from my online store, you get a signed copy, the CD, and free shipping. I hope to be able to sign your copy.

"All Alone" and "In the Afternoon" are pretty special songs to me for the sole reason that I wrote them. It is a pretty cool thing to put something together that you never thought you could and it actually sounds pretty good. Of course I had a LOT of help. Jon Murray let me borrow his pipes by singing the two songs because I can promise that I would not have sounded up to the part. As my wife tells me, "Mark, you can sing, but you should never be recorded."

Scott Jackson lends his music ability on the guitar and my wife lends her voice for the backing vocals. Of course, without the skill of John Plymale's engineering and producing, well, none of it would have been good.

I picked "Here is My Anger, Here is My Pride," which Scott and Jon wrote for a former band they were in because the original song was very powerful.

What is so interesting is that I really liked the sound of its hard rock flare. But one day last year, Scott played it on his acoustic guitar, and I actually liked that sound better. So we started to fiddle around with another arrangement. Originally, the song was only vocals, acoustic guitar, and strings. But John Plymale felt that it needed balance so he added an R&B flare beat. I think it came out great, which proves that the song is so strong that it can work in different styles.

When I heard the finished arrangement, I felt it described my antagonist -- named Charlie -- exactly. I felt that the argument in the song the singer has with God not only speaks for Charlie, but it also speaks for me when I found myself in a very dark time in my own life some years ago. I almost felt that God had abandoned me. In reality though, it was I who abandoned God. My anger and pride got in the way of what is truly important in this life: my relationship with others and my relationship with God. I thought my way was the only way, and it got me in some pretty nasty trouble.

I hope you like these songs we'v inserted on the player. Jon Murray provides the vocals with a little help from my wife, Jill, on "All Alone" and "In the Afternoon." They will be up for a couple of days, then I will preview the entire album for you in context and order as we release the book.

OH YEAH! Another thing that makes "In the Afternoon" so satisfying is that Jill hated it when I first wrote it on an acoustic guitar. But now, with all the bells and whistles of production, it is one of her favorites. Nice!

As always, thanks for your support,

Mark



http://www.reverbnation.com/themahoganydoor