Pitch Contest and Blog Hop

Below is my submission for Heather Webb's "How To Pitch Like a Rock Star" Workshop & Contest.

With an opportunity to get my manuscript in fron of Michelle Brower of Folio Literary Management and the chance for fellow authors to help polish my three sentence pitch, I thank you Heather Webb!

 

Tess, a young mother whose partner has deserted her, is on a quest for purpose. Her estranged husband, self-destructive tendencies and her own questioning nature complicate her journey in understanding why she exists and to what end. Tess must decide on how she will restore this sense of purpose in her life, and whether the urge is strong enough to take the risks necessary to discover the truth that will set her free.

 

 

 

Earlier attempt:

To find purpose in her crumbling day to day, Tess attempts to understand her past, while inadvertently experiencing what came before. Could a past life or lives assist in understanding this life? Is metaphor hidden in every act, every relationship, every love and every sadness, waiting to be discovered, and with that discovery a purpose take wing?

Michael Poeltl

New novel - Apocalyptic, but not in a global sense

The newest offering from Michael Poeltl, author of The Judas Syndrome trilogy, is a departure from the genre that has made him a name in the PA and dystopian world of YA trilogies. His new novel, as yet untitled and in its infancy, is spelled out below in a synopsis that should interest those fans of The Judas Syndrome for its paranormal content and dark investigation into human behaviour. This novel is also for those looking for a good read with interesting characters, settings and content everyone will relate to.

Synopsis:

To find purpose in her crumbling day to day, Tess attempts to understand her past, while inadvertently experiencing what came before. Could a past life or lives assist in understanding this life?

Abandoned by her husband, Tess throws herself into a one night stand with an old acquaintance under questionable circumstances. The encounter pushes Tess to seek help for her depression and lost sense of purpose both for her sake and that of her six month old daughter. Tess knows that if she can’t find a peaceful solution to the angry voices in her head, she will lose herself and with that any chance at a normal life. 

Tess checks herself into a mental health facility in order to make sense of her devastated world, leaving her daughter with her parents. While at the hospital she meets Tebor, a man who claims to know her from a previous life, as well as a disturbed teenager whom she’s drawn to help and the psychiatrist who works with Tess to understand her past in order to heal her present.

Tebor, a constant interruption at first, becomes a confidant and friend to Tess, introducing her to Mahiva, a nurse who performs hypnosis and past life regressions on those patients willing to entertain the idea.

Meanwhile, Tess’s therapy with the psychiatrist uncovers the difficulties she experienced after her brother’s suicide; revealing a family secret she’s kept buried in her unconscious. Concurrently her estranged husband stops all contact with Tess and she is left to wonder whether they will ever be a family again..

This novel offers insights into hypnosis, past lives, discourse, discovery, love, life and the journey in which we all participate, through the telling of one woman’s life and those special souls that play a role in the evolution of her spirit, for better or for worse.

For more on Michael Poeltl, visit this link.

Michael Poeltl

Get Your Free Trilogy in Paperback now!

Win a copy of  The Judas Syndrome complete trilogy by entering today at a Rafflecopter giveaway and come away with one of the years most exciting stories for free!
For more information visit the dystopian inspired website

About the books:
In a world devastated by an apocalyptic event,
the bonds of friendship are tested in the haze of
unrelenting depression, and paranoia.

Will you know who your friends are?

Amazon Prime Membership and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction

Since the inception of the Amazon Prime Membership program, where members pay into a monthly membership and can download ebooks for free, a new marketing venue to get your books out has opened up.
Post Apocalyptic fiction has definitely enjoyed a resurgence with the popularity of The Hunger Games and Divergent and a slew of other trilogies of the same or similar genre, but even with its renewed popularity, PA fiction is still a niche genre under the Science Fiction umbrella and getting the word out to the general public is still a chore.
But with the introduction of the new Amazon Prime Membership, authors of the dark arts have a new angle, a free angle that will offer more exposure if they decide to include their books into the KDP Select program. This is where Prime Members get their fix of freebies.

So mention your books to Prime members via the Amazon forums dedicated to them and get noticed!

Michael Poeltl

The Grim Reaper, as perceived in The Judas Syndrome

A man, a terrorist organization, a rogue country bent on world annihilation, the Grim Reaper is a mystery.

Though touted as a mad man, coined The Grim Reaper by the media, the idea that a single man or even a small country could have the nuclear arsenal the Reaper’s blogs are suggesting seem ludicrous.

All the same, he (they) are insisting world governments dissolve, religion is removed from society, that the root of all evil is possessions, that every person should live off the land, that technology is poisoning the planet and our children’s minds. He is asking that we revert to a pre-1800’s way of life.

Though these demands would heal the planet, they would destroy the delicate infrastructure of society. The Grim Reaper blogs daily about world hunger, pollution, endangered species. He threatens a future now, where he will show the world’s leaders today what kind of a world they are creating for our children and grand children. He will release his nuclear weapons on every corner of the earth, bringing about a nuclear Armageddon, missiles removed from Iraq, pre-inspection and housed in a secret location.

To know more about this new threat to Homeland Security and the world at large, click on this link.

Michael Poeltl

Micki Peluso of The New York Journal of Books reviews post-Apocalyptic fiction trilogy

Micki Peluso describes book one of the dystopian trilogy dealing wtih the end of the world like this: "Author Michael Poeltl brings book one of his page-turning, outstanding stories to a dramatic, unforeseen close. Spellbound readers will want to read, "Rebirth", second in this ongoing series . . . followed by "Revelation", the final book of this unforgettable trilogy."

Micki Peluso reviews book two of the series like this: "Michael Poeltl writes a brilliant, riveting sequel of survival in a world gone mad. This is one book that's impossible to put down. Readers, captivated by this story will want to rush to buy the finale . . . `Revelation'..."

And for book three of the trilogy, Micki sums up the whole series like this: "Author Michael Poeltl's talent as a writer shines ... The book races to a heart-pounding climax that will shock and surprise readers. This debut trilogy is a five star winner, reminiscent of `The Stand' by Stephen King and the twelve books of the `Left Behind' series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Those enjoying this phenomenal trilogy will agree that Michael Poeltl is heading for the best seller list. It is one of the best series to surface in years."

For more on the series, The Judas Syndrome, visit this link.

For more on Micki Peluso find her here.

Michael Poeltl

Characters from the Post-Apocalyptic series The Judas Syndrome - Sara

18 years old at the beginning of The Judas Syndrome, Sara is the 'it' girl at her high school. Beautiful, smart, athletic and engaging. Her popularity was assured, but popularity does not impress Sara, determination and purpose impress and drive her. Her choice of a best friend in Julia, a spectacled overachieving book club type, pretty in an unorthodox way, gives us an idea of her value in popularity.

She is blessed with perfect features, a main of thick shiny brown hair and the body of a cheerleader. Standing at 5'8", Sara is taller than most of her girlfriends, but in no way uncomfortable in her own skin. The majority of her high school career Sara dates a volleyball player and though he was driven, it proved not enough for her as she yearned for more intellectual stimulation.

Sara is a family oriented person who never complains about taking family vacations or trips to the beach with her mom and dad. She cherishes her time with them. That being said, she is a teenager and happily splits from the family unit when a party or other social event involving her friends comes up. She indulges in all the illegal fun her popular friend base enjoys, but rarely to excess.

Sara is a confident girl, secure in her choices and thoughtful of her actions. She believes in Karma and is mindful of her spiritual nature. Raised in the Lutheran faith, Sara was baptized as a baby, confirmed as a young teenager and has carried the Christian teachings close to her heart. She believes in God, but accepts that she is human and so imperfect.

Sara heads up the cast of Rebirth, telling her story in 1st person, advancing the story from its tragic beginnings with The Judas Syndrome.

After the Apocalypse, Sara is devastated along with the others, over the monumental loss of her family to the Reapers deed. Joel would be her rock, he would be her everything. She was very happy when she heard Joel would be voted in as the groups leader and celebrated the victory with her friends. She became Joel’s religious advisor, reading him stories from the Bible every night, not sure whether to believe in anything herself anymore.

In Rebirth we find Sara taking on a leadership role herself when the house is split down the middle, Earl leading one camp and the remaining friends following Sara's ideals. Pregnant and scared, Sara decides to flee the house which has fallen to Earl's warped sensibilities, embarking on a journey with her son that will lead her onto a destiny forsaken by Joel.

Michael Poeltl