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...

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.

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

Picking Songs... "Goodbyes" and "Rear View Mirror"

I absolutely love some of the questions I have been getting lately. The biggest question is always, "How does the soundtrack fit with the book?" I still don't have a really good answer for that, so I'll go to another that I can answer without sounding too idiotic:

"How do you pick the songs for the soundtrack?"

That's tough to answer as well, but to tell you the truth, the songs kind of fell in my lap.

Over the years I've written many songs, and I wrote those songs as I was writing The Mahogany Door, the first book in a series of fantasy-adventure books for young readers. But I never had the idea of putting the soundtrack together until late in 2009. (That's right. We've been working on the CD since October of that year).

The first bit of music I put together for the actual book was a small piano riff that was playing for my under-construction website at the time. It was called "It's Our Time," I still like the song, but I've never completely finished it. Maybe later.

The idea to do a complete soundtrack for the book popped in my head while I was riding around Greenville, NC, one day with my brother-in-law, Scott. We both were pretty psyched about the idea, but then realized we had no idea what kind of music we would put on it. The idea started with a song per chapter - not a good plan as there are 29 chapters, which would means 29 songs. And really, the nine we will have on the final CD were hard enough to create as it was.

Enter Katie Basden. Katie is a former student of my wife's choral program. Through the years, while Katie was in high school, her mom, Anne, and my wife not only shared a common bond with Katie but a common bond with music. Anne helped my wife tremendously with the choral program by playing the piano at shows and doing all kinds of other things. Naturally, a friendship started between the two, which is not at all surprising considering the fact that, if you ever meet my wife, she'll know everything about you by the end of the conversation.

Some time before that, Katie decided she wanted to be a songwriter. Many of her heroes are not just good singers, but they are also great songwriters. I found this out.

Thirteen years ago, I wrote a song called, "Goodbyes" after some pretty bad things happened in my life. My sister is a natural poet, so, as the story goes, I snuck around her in diary and found this poem called, "Goodbyes." It was very emotional, and it captured everything I was feeling at that time. I'd bought an old guitar from a pawn shop some years before so I started fiddling around with some chords and finger picking. I think I put together a pretty good song. I really liked it but I never sang it to anyone.

One afternoon as I was deciding what songs to put on the soundtrack, I realized I really wanted to include "Goodbyes." It fits nicely with a scene at the end of the book. The problem: I can't sing. (Never let my wife try to convince you that I can. She had a Freudian slip one day and said, "Yes Mark, you can sing, but it should never be recorded." Thanks.)

So I needed a singer, and Katie was the first person I thought of. Her voice is something that has to be heard to be believed, and since she wants to be a country singer I thought she might like to sing "Goodbyes." She could add it to her catalog.

Nervously, I played -- and sang -- the song for her one afternoon. Lucky for me, she liked it and went home to practice it. The same afternoon, she played a song for me called "Rear View Mirror." I was blown away. Right then I asked if I could use it for The Mahogany Door soundtrack. She said yes. I was elated! The problem was, I didn't know if it would fit the book. I read through some chapters and found one scene that the song could possibly fit with, but I wasn't sure. So I changed the book to make the song would fit because I simply love the song. And it makes my story better.

So that's where picking the songs came into play. I pulled some old songs I had been messing around with out of my head and started putting some other stuff together. Then my brother-in-law Scott jumped into the fray and it went from there. He added to the music the only way he knows how.

When I woke up on Christmas morning in 2009, I discovered that my wife had bought me a beautiful Fender acoustic guitar. "If you are going to be playing around here writing songs, you need to throw that old guitar out," she said matter-of-factly. "It sounds like crap."

There are more stories like this for the other songs, and I will be posting those as we go along here and on the website at www.JMarkBoliek.com. (The website isn't quite completed, but hopefully will be ready soon.)

It's been pretty cool to have watched the songs progress from very rough to almost perfect polished. April 12th is the date it should all be mastered and ready to go. One pretty special thing about the soundtrack that I'm really appreciating is that it is a very eclectic mix of styles: country, pop, rock, and even a bit of classical thrown in.

Oh yeah - I do play the Fender on "Goodbyes" on the soundtrack f you were wondering. But you will never hear my voice.

Talk to you later!

Mark




Chapter 7 Illustration copyright Lauren Gallegos Illustrations 2011

The Cue. Chapter 4 drawing.

It is pretty cool to have comments about things you are least expecting.



I have placed five chapter illustrations in one of the albums on my Facebook author page, and I received a comment on one of the illustrations that I really like a lot, but never really thought of it as an eye-catcher. That chapter is number 4.



It depicts JT standing under Gregory's big, old, oak tree looking out over a field that he farms, and by his right foot, the first leaf of Fall tumbles to the ground.



In the book, the scene is used as a visual cue to let the reader know that this is where the adventure starts to get interesting. Have you ever wondered about the very first snowflake that falls from the sky on a winter's day, or for that matter the very first of anything? I have often thought about those things.



I do believe (and she may correct me) that Lauren Gallegos, my illustrator for The Mahogany Door, mentioned that the leaf falling stuck in her mind and just seemed pretty important.



It's interesting as well to play your life in "rewind" to see some of the decisions that you have made to get you to that one particular point. In that context, it IS very important. For example, one day two very dear friends of our offered to let my wife and me use a time share in Alexandria, Virginia. At first I really wasn't so sure. We had studio time to prepare for, and, if you know me, you'll understand my disdain for driving around Washington, D.C. In fact, by taking the trip I would have driven through the area twice within the last month. But I digress.



My wife immediately wanted to do it, but I really, kind of, maybe, not so sure, maybe, wanted to say no. I really didn't want to have to drive back from D.C. at night and then have to go to work (wow, I am just too exciting). I then remembered how much that our friends mean to us, so I said yes.



As I barely got the word "yes" out of my mouth, my wife immediately says, "So do you want to go see your uncle and aunt and cousins? They do live in D.C., right?" Granted there are many personal things in my life I do not talk about, so for the chance for my wife to corner ANYONE from my life and ask questions about me, she's willing to do it at the drop of a hat.



When I was younger, my family was pretty close. But things in life happen, and the separation of time takes its toll. I think we can all relate to the "I love my family, but there are some things I just don't want to do with them." I confess: I am one of those people. Yet as a gesture to my wife, I said, "I think that will be nice."



Again, if you know me, and you know my wife, you know I will say that I will be glad to do things. But it's the "doing" that is the problem. My wife promptly sends a note to my aunt, knowing that I will probably forget or wait until the day before we should show up.



Long story short: I got to meet my uncle, aunt, and cousin again and meet a couple of first cousins once removed (so I am told). I was told a hundred times that I need to get a dog, I was encouraged to talk about my book with people very interested in it, and I got to look stupid wearing a head thingy while they guessed "What I am?" And Jill got some of her questions answered. She found out that the Hunter (my mom's maiden name) apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, and that we all - I mean ALL -- have the same eyes (squinty inset ones). It was not only a nice seven hours - it was fun! Something I hope that I can do again soon.



It was a good lesson for me to revert back to the real reason I wrote the book. There are some things we have no control over, but there are some things we do. We don't have control over the first leaf of Fall making its way to Earth, but perhaps we have control over what takes place after it metaphorically floats to the ground in our lives. Saying "yes" sometimes may just be a good thing.




I was reminded a couple of times during the process of creating The Mahogany Door, the first book in my series of fantasy books for young readers, that I really need to try to do some of the things I write so eloquently about. I think those people who have reminded me of this were right. (Of course you can probably guess who that person is.)




Always,



Mark

Days That Seem to Never End

Hello Friends:

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.


As a note, I'd like to let you know that The Mahogany Door, the first of a series of fantasy-adventure books for young readers, will be released next Spring. Unseen circumstances have dictated a later release, but I believe the extra time we are going to put into the soundtrack and marketing will be well worth the wait.


In the next few months I'd like to show you some of the final chapter headings, the passages behind them, and why I wrote those passage - before unveiling the cover art at the beginning of the year. That might seem like a long time, but it's actually only three and half months away!


The passage that Lauren drew for Chapter 19 is as follows:


"A mysterious bang rang across the floor and JT woke from his mesmerized state. He walked out of the small inner room and the stone wall slid shut and JT was stopped in his tracks. He turned to face the bed, and all around him, was a very disturbing site.

On the stone walls surrounding the bed were counting marks. The lines were grouped by five with four marks vertical and one mark slashing across the others. After studying the groupings for a few moments, they appeared as though they were in uniformed rows and columns and seemed to have started from the top right corner across from where JT stood and dressed each of the three walls entirely. The neatly stacked groupings stopped to his left just above his ankle directly beside him. The last grouping of marks was only four vertical lines. As each collection of marks receded and labored down the walls, the lines became shakier, jagged, and deep. A sense of sorrow penetrated JT’s body. His heart sank and he felt powerless. He remembered Charlie stating in the great hall of the Triton pyramid that he had counted each day he had been in Bruinduer and in his bed chamber is where he had done the deed..."


" ‘Do you have any idea what it feels like to be totally alone?!’ Charlie screamed at the top of his voice toward his guests.."




The theme song for The Mahogany Door is called "All Alone." It's driven by the fact that in my personal life there was a time when I felt all alone, as if there were no one there to catch me if I fell. During that time, the days never seemed to end. One after the another, the morning sun and the monotonous bounce of life continued relentlessly. I never thought that I would be able to move forward. In fact, some of the time I felt as though I was taking steps backwards with my life. Depression set in and ripped not only my psyche apart, but also my body, physically. To this day, I have yet to recover fully as pain is a daily reminder of that awful time in my life. The last grouping of four lines in the passage represents the reminder that there would be at least one more day I'd have to face.

Slowly, with the help of my father and a release to the Holy Spirit, I was able to get the hands of time moving again. My life started with a new purpose and I moved to Wilmington, NC. There, sitting on the beach and through regular counseling sessions, I allowed myself to let go of a lot of anger. I found that I could love again and support myself without always relying on my parents. It was a tough but satisfying two years.

One of my assignments from my counselor was to write a journal. Instead, I started remembering the good days of being young and I tried to figure out where my life went wrong. Out of it all, I began to develop The Mahogany Door.

Writing didn't save my life. I believe the story God gave me did. I know it's not Shakespeare. Some may even think it's not very good. I don't mind. I'm not alone anymore.


Thanks for keeping up with me - you have no idea what it means.


Mark

Interview with Lauren Gallegos : Talented Illustrator

Lauren has been working so hard on the illustrations for The Mahogany Door, the first book in a trilogy of fantasy-adventure books for young readers, that I decided to ask her a few questions. I want all who may be interested in the book to have a chance to know her - just a little.

I could not have asked for a better illustrator. Her talent and imagination have made it a pleasure and an event to open new e-mails from her, telling me that she has completed a new drawing. Each one I open sends chills down my back to think that what she captured in an amazing illustration came from something that I wrote!

I felt it very important to let Lauren have free reign on what she has drawn for each chapter. Having a professional illustrator such as Lauren draw an image that sticks in her noggin after reading a passage was very important to me because she now knew EXACTLY what to draw and how it should look.

If I'd tried to tell Lauren what to draw, it would have made the process very difficult on her, especially since she would have been trying to draw something that I pictured. I'm sure it's very hard to try to guess what someone else might be creating in his or her, mind.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Ms. Lauren Gallegos:

Mark: When did you know you wanted to be an illustrator?

Lauren: Growing up, I always loved drawing and creating. In college I decided to take the Graphic Design route of creativity, considering my attention to detail and order. However, after taking an introduction to illustration course I realized how much I missed traditional drawing and was introduced to the world of children’s books. Thinking back to my childhood, I realized how much the books I read as a little girl had stayed with me throughout my life. They were an important part of my growth, my beliefs, and my behavior. The idea of telling a story with my art from which children would read and learn important life lessons gave me a way to make a mark in this world, and I couldn’t just ignore that calling.

Mark: How long have you been drawing professionally?

Lauren: I have been doing freelance illustration for almost two years after spending most of my college years mainly focusing on developing my drawing skills and learning how to survive the business side of illustration. Although I am still quite new to the field, I feel I have had some great opportunities to learn from veterans in the field who have been generous enough to pass on their wisdom. I’m still waiting for that big Publishing House to let me know they want to publish my book, but until then, I am willing to take on projects I haven’t done before so I can be challenged, grow, gain experience, and find my niche.

Mark: What was your first professional job in illustration?

Lauren: While I was in college I was blessed to have the opportunity to do an internship at Piggy Toes Press/Intervisual Books, a small children’s book publisher in Santa Monica, California. (Most publishing houses are located on the east coast; there are very few in California) When my internship was done I was offered a job as their freelance illustrator. I couldn’t believe it! While I was there I learned a lot about the publishing industry, the process that goes into making a children’s book, and I was able to develop my storytelling skills with professional, smart people who could point me in the right direction. I am so thankful for the time I had there to learn and grow.

Mark: Many illustrators take on multiple projects to get experience, jobs, and credentials. I'm sure that there are many projects, though, that you may turn down because of one reason or another. What made you to decide to take on the Mahogany Door?

Lauren: Every offer to work on a children’s book project is enticing, but I have learned to approach these offers with caution, especially when there are so many people who want to get into publishing without doing their homework or having any understanding of what it takes to make a quality book. I decided to take on “The Mahogany Door” because it seems like a book with the potential to last. The book also has a certain feel to it that fits the kind of art I love to create -- the feeling of adventure, mystery, and drama. The characters drew me in and I wanted to make drawings that would draw in the readers even more.

Mark: So Lauren - what gave you the inspiration to draw Michael on the throne for Chapter 17?

Lauren: Michael is a character that grabbed my attention from the start. I wonder about his motivations and what’s going on in his mind. He must have a lot of internal struggles, and we see some of his emotions come out throughout the book. It’s quite a journey. I wanted to explore him a little more for this book and encourage the readers to ponder Michael a little more by showing some of his big or significant moments throughout the story. I thought the image of Michael on the throne was a good opportunity to expose some of Michael’s hidden motivations. His actions effect all the other characters and events that take place. That’s a lot of influence for one character to have!

Mark: Can you expand on the process you use to draw an illustration?

Lauren: Most of my illustrations are inspired or based on some kind of text that I have read, or song or story I have heard, or maybe even another image I have seen. I always try to incorporate some kind of symbolism within my illustrations that might seem normal and insignificant, but a lot of thought goes into what I put in my drawings. For “The Mahogany Door,” I read through the book, taking note of important moments, emotional moments, thoughtful moments, and tried to make images that either helped build the mystery of that chapter, or emphasize a significant event, or show an important moment to encourage the reader to pay close attention. Once I have sketched out the main idea of the drawing, I’ll revise it, clean it up, and make adjustments to be sure everything is proportional and makes visual sense. Then I make a value study so I know where light and shadows go. If the image is in color, I will do a few color studies as well. Once all of those parts make sense and fit together nicely, I can make my final drawing.

Mark (shameless promotion): All things being equal - and the book becomes a success - are you looking forward to drawing for the next book in the series?

Lauren: I’m very excited! I want to explore more of the characters and see the things that motivate them. The style of the book and my art seem to fit together quite comfortably, so it’s really fun for me to create images that go along with the text. I’m excited to see what happens with this book. My hope is that there will be such a demand for the next book that we can start working on it right away!

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You can find Lauren Gallegos on the web at www.LaurenGallegos.com and on Facebook.

To see a few drawings for "The Mahogany Door" go to Lauren's blog @ http://artbylauren.blogspot.com/

The following is the before to final drawing for Chapter 17. It depicts Michael's introduction to Kali and JT as King of Godwin, First from Eden.
Notice the size of Michael's crown, as it is much too large for his head. This represents the fact that what Michael has taken on, in becoming a king, might be too big a task for him to handle. It is my experience that, sometimes, we have leaders in our own world who try to take on way too big of a job without weighing the consequence.



It's the attention to detail that Lauren brought to these illustrations that take the writing and the story to a whole different level!

Complete Abridged Summary: The Mahogany Door

The Mahogany Door, the first book in a series of fantasy-adventure books for young readers, begins on a beach where an old man, sitting on a little wooden crate, tells a decades’ old tale to a dedicated band of listeners no more than twelve years old.

The old man’s narrative begins with a troubled young man named Michael Peterson having a reoccurring nightmare. His nightmare is about an old spirit guide named Billy who is beckoning him to reunite with his childhood friends and return to their hometown to complete the adventure they started many years ago. And in doing so,they will make right the wrongdoings from their past lives. Unable to shake the visions, Michael writes a letter to a childhood friend named Kali Logan, explaining that he must find their mutual friend, JT Davis, so they can all return to Warhead Dale, a large, old chalet once owned by JT’s grandfather that sits on the coast of the small, cobblestone covered town of Athens Eden.

Michael finds JT only to discover that time and life experience has changed him. Not only has JT lost both of his parents, but he has also lost his memory, including those important memories of his childhood that the trio will need if they are going to retrace their steps through the Mahogany Door into the fantasy Vryheid world of Bruinduer.

Convinced the only way he will be able to find answers to his lost childhood memories, JT goes with Michael to reunite with Kali in Athens Eden, where they arrive at the neglected Warhead Dale. There they confront the spirit guide, Billy, in all of his unrecognizable glory.

The trio learns that Bruinduer is going to collapse due to their carelessness in not following the rules of the Vryheid world. They also find out that because of their recklessness, a long lost friend, Charlie Blackburn, who entered through the Mahogany Door with them on their incomplete journey, is still alive and has somehow taken control of Bruinduer away from Billy.

After following Michael through the Mahogany Door to complete the task from years passed, JT and Kali learn they have been betrayed by their conniving friend, and that he has teamed with Charlie in splitting Bruinduer into the two kingdoms of Godwin and Triton.

Things aren't quite as they seem in Bruinduer, and The Mahogany Door unfolds in a fantasy tale of tragedy, adventure, destiny, and hope.

Thoughts for the Day

Hello All-

Thanks to everyone who is joining the Facebook Fan page. It's wonderful to see old friends and new ones alike interested in my fantasy book trilogy, which begins with The Mahogany Door.

Today has been an interesting day, like so many.

I met with a printer, and had a wonderful talk and conversation. It's pretty cool to see what you've worked so hard on finally start to come together.

I guess my thought for today is about taking risks. Sometimes, it is a very nervous and exciting thing to take a risk, because you really never know how it's going to turn out.

But I do have to say one thing about taking risks. If you fail, you can never take away the fact that you put your heart on the line. But if you succeed, oh my, if you succeed.......

Thank you for taking this journey with me, and come back in the following weeks for more updates.

Follow me on Twitter if you'd like ....

Thanks again!

Mark

The Most Unfortunate word, Goodbye.

One of the themes of The Mahogany Door is the unfortunate evil of having to say Goodbye.

Whether it is saying goodbye to our loved ones embarking on a long trip, just leaving for the day, or in the most undesired time when they may depart your life forever, it is my belief that there is always a bit of our heart that is erased every time we must utter that most horrific word, "Goodbye".

There was a moment in my life when I had to say that word that changed me eternally, and that one second in time haunts me to this day, and I am sure that there are many times in your life when you had to say goodbye to the most loved in your life. Trust me, I know that it hurts.

The clip of the song on the fan page wall, called "Goodbyes", that you hear has an interesting story. At my most desperate time, I had a very hard time dealing with my loneliness as I had to say goodbye to a girl that means the world to me.

As I searched for a way to express what I felt, I came across my sister's notebook of poetry. I don't recommend scrounging around your sibling's room, but I turned to a poem called 'goodbyes', and as I read it, and tears flowed, I knew how to express my anger and sadness.

I took the words and put them to music.

After writing The Mahogany Door -- the first book in a trilogy of young reader fiction-fantasy-adventure books, it was then I realized that the theme of saying goodbye is littered among its pages. And even as tough as it may be to tell the ones you love goodbye, there will always be a memory to go back to. And even though that fleeting thought seems sad, just remember that when you first felt those memories you shared with that special someone, it was a very happy and special time.

The song is not complete, but somehow I just want to share the clip.

The young lady you hear singing is Katie Basden, a very talented and special young lady. Remember her name, because I can almost guarantee you'll hear her voice over the radio.

I still need to add some more background vocals, but in this clip, Jill, my wife, does an excellent job. Now all i need is for Anne to come over and finish the job.

I hope you enjoy the music clip, and as we continue on this journey of completing the fantasy book series, I hope we can get to know each other a little better, even if at some point we must say goodbye.

Find the facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/J-Mark-Boliek/148758373139