Bøger af Randy Blazak

The Mission of the Sacred Heart is a novel that follows a group of young creatives, a homeless girl and a visitor, who may or may not be an alien, through life in Portland, Oregon. Their journey centers around the themes of love and suicide and the crucial question; Why stick around? Blazak began writing The Mission of The Sacred Heart when he was 13, in his bedroom in Stone Mountain, Georgia, while listening to an album by the Electric Light Orchestra called A New World Record. He believed it was a concept album about opera singers and aliens. It wasn't. Blazak returned to the idea in 1999 when he was suffering from depression and placed on anti-depressants after a failed suicide attempt. Along with the original ELO themes, the writing was an exercise in exploring committing suicide is so difficult, even in a gloomy city like Portland. Portlanders saw it as a love letter to their city and its struggle with Seasonal Affect Disorder. Music lovers found the rich descriptions of rock and opera as compelling as the music itself. One reviewer on Amazon UK, wrote, "Blazak balances well his philosophical musings, which succeed in making one think, and hilarious dialogue and narrative that left me laughing out loud on several occasions. The pace of writing is quick and clever and book evokes tenderness and feeling, along with thoughtfulness and humour." His writing style has been compared to the likes of Nick Hornby, Hunter S. Thompson, and Tom Robbins.

Have you ever wanted to go back in time to fix something in your life? The Dream Police rejoins the characters from Blazak's 2011 novel, The Mission of the Sacred Heart, fifteen years later. Zak and Lenny are in rapidly gentrifying Portland, Oregon, connected my their mistakes, one horribly tragic. They stumble upon lucid dreaming as a way to visit their favorite moments in rock and roll history, and maybe find alternate routes their own lives should have taken.Like Mission, The Dream Police is a rock novel. The story is built on the 1979 Cheap Trick album, using its songs to guide the musical fiction. The book tackles weighty issues, like gentrification, the commercialization of music, and the sexual politics of higher education, with humor and the energy that comes from a great song.The Dream Police is an innovative story, existing in both real time and dream time. Because it is rooted in the author's experiences as a sociology professor, the book is intended to help people heal.

From Scout Media comes A Matter of Words-the first volume in an ongoing short story anthology series featuring authors from all over the world.In this first installation, no limits were set on genre, allowing the authors to lead the reader to destinations unknown. From the outer limits of the galaxy to the darkest depths of the ocean, A Matter of Words conquers the struggles of everyday life before revealing the dramatic loss of innocence and disturbing the reader with things that go bump in the night.Whether to be enlightened, entertained, or momentarily caught up in another world, these selections convey the true spirit of the short story.

From Scout Media comes A Journey of Words-the second volume in an ongoing short story anthology series featuring authors from all over the world.In this installation, the authors will lead the reader to destinations unknown; from the heartbreak of driving to visit a loved one for the last time, to the far-reaches of outer space, to mysterious islands inhabited by long-forgotten spirits. You will learn how deadly a trip to a greenhouse can be, the perils involved in delivering the mail, and a hard lesson about how shiny new Volkswagon Beetles should not be trusted. These stories of traveling and journeys will touch your heart, send shivers down your spine,and make you root for the underdog.Whether to be enlightened, entertained, or momentarily caught up in another world, these selections convey the true spirit of the short story.