An Important Message to all MEGhead Dads:

From 1997 thru 2016 MEGheads have been the driving force for the MEG movie. I’ve always felt a special bond with you – answering each and every email while getting to know you, making you characters in my books, putting out these newsletters every month with my talented webmasters Doug & Lisa McEntyre. Check out the archives at https://www.stevealten.com/newsletter/ – it’s fun to randomly select a month and year between 2012 and 2021 to see where we were at making the movie (and there were at least another eight years of newsletters before that when Leisa Coffman was my webmaster). And now, nearly three years after The MEG defied movie critics and grabbed #1 at the U.S. and International box offices AND with production on MEG-2: The TRENCH set to begin filming in eight months – every time an article is posted regarding the movies, the loyal 5Ks will always make it clear – "the novel was better… I hope they stick to the books… I bet you anything the shark won't be albino. Hopefully, the next movie will be more faithful to the book. I like Statham, but for anyone who has only seen the movie, the books are way better… Very few movies based on books are true to the book. If Jurassic Park had been true to its book you would not be letting children watch it." 

As I have said repeatedly, I love The MEG. To really appreciate the movie one must look at its long history beginning with an option from Hollywood Pictures back in 1996 to being reverted in 1998 to being optioned by New Line in 2005 to being reverted in 2007 which led to me optioning the rights to both MEG and The LOCH to the tireless producer, my friend Belle Avery who toiled from 2009 thru 2018, raising money and bringing on board Gravity Pics and Warner Bros. Together they created the top grossing Asian-American co-production in history and $560 million at the box office.

Back to your comments: Once an author options his work, one can only pray the new writers do it justice. And The MEG writers certainly did. HOWEVER … if you had 20 readers read every script ever written for MEG, I would bet my house that they would select the version I wrote in 2009 with Belle that brought everyone together.

So when the idea for a new TV series about giant sharks and sea monsters came to me in December of 2019, I realized the only way I could maintain creative control was to do it myself… thus were the seeds of SeaMonsterCove.com planted. And then a pandemic hit… 

If you haven’t joined www.SeaMonsterCove.com up until now because money was tight you will be happy to know we are offering a limited number of CLUB MAKO memberships for only $4.95 for the entire household! If you have been waiting for Phase 2 of the content to hit – which features the long-awaited Video Game – the wait is over!

It’s been a long time coming. The first person I hired to create the WHERE SEA MONSTERS ROAM video game back in March of 2020 turned out to be underwhelming to say the least. There was, however, some good that came out of it. Paul Knott, the incredible 3D artist who (with his 3D animator partner, Steve Clarke) created all of the facilities on Maug Island, asked to take over the project. Turns out Paul is a video game junkie and a brilliant programmer, and he wanted the job.

That was nine months ago this week. During that time Paul (with Steve C. providing 3D animation) has worked 14-hour days – seven days a week to bring you the most amazing sea monster video game ever. Almost every weekend since March, Paul and a dozen dedicated MEGhead video gamers have been beta testing the game. Beta testing is used to identify and fix problems in the programming. The WSMR video game is very complex in that you have subs stalking monsters and monsters stalking subs with scoring and fuel depletions and implosions. This is not a post it and move on deal; Paul will always be adding new visuals and features while continuing to make adjustments so that the experience gets better every week. 

Nine months… that’s a long time. Heck, you can make a human being in nine months. 

Consider this a Sea Monster Cove birth announcement… and what a shocker – TWINS!

A few weeks ago, Paul surprised me by showing me a rough rendering of an entirely DIFFERENT GAME he had come up with (when does his guy sleep?). The game RUN LAYLA RUN places you in control of LAYLA – one of the two giant prehistoric Makos in our two TV series (in development). The objective – Layla has escaped Maug’s Aquifer and is racing up through a narrow magma vent to get back to the lagoon -- only sea monsters are racing to stop her from above – changing species every 1,000 feet, getting progressively harder and faster. Finally, if you manage to reach the top you must make it thru the opening and closing gate that leads into Sea Monster Cove. Oh yeah – the game keeps score AND lists the Top Ten runs… making this both highly addictive and competitive.

You’ll be happy to know I am back working full-time on what I predict will be the BEST of The LOCH series and may be your favorite Alten thriller. Still a lot of writing and editing ahead. When will hardbacks be printed, signed, packed, and in the mail to all those who pre-ordered? I’ll know more by August. My goal is to get them all delivered in 2021 but that depends on several factors, some of which are not in my control. Whatever the delivery date, I guarantee the novel will be worth the wait. First edition hardbacks must be pre-ordered at www.SteveAlten.com 

Sunday June 6 at 3 p.m. EDT: ZOOM call with Steve Alten. All members are welcome. To receive an invite, email Kelly at kelly@seamonstercove.com

Tuesday June 8: RUN LAYLA RUN will be up and running at www.SeaMonsterCove.com

Wednesday June 9: World Premiere of MEET YOKO KRONO - the newest addition at Sea Monster Cove.

Sunday June 12: The TOP 10 scores posted by Sunday June 13 at noon est. for RUN LAYLA RUN will receive signed copies of MEG: Hell’s Aquarium!

 

Tuesday June 22, 2021: WHERE SEA MONSTERS ROAM video game will be posted on the SeaMonsterCove.com website.

Sunday June 27: The TOP 10 scores posted will receive signed copies of MEG: Generations. Both prizes in trade paperback.

Much more to be announced! 

Has there ever been a more talented group of friends? So sad we lost half of them after only two amazing albums. (There was no Vol. 2, just 1 & 3.)

My name is Chali (chay-lee) Clarke and I am a campus missionary with a collegiate-focused church called Hope Church Movement. We help students explore their faith and develop their leadership skills on their college campuses. I personally didn’t grow up attending church or reading the Bible, but when I was invited to Hope Church some girls helped me discover that I am no accident, that God has purpose for me and that my life matters. I can’t wait to help young women on college campuses find their purpose, the same way someone helped me! I am currently developing a partnership team that enables me to be full time on the college campus. I would love to share the different ways you can partner with me as we reach students on 12 different college campus campuses. If you would like to learn more about how you can do that, please reach out to me at chali.clarke@hopechurchmovement.com

These honey mustard chicken thighs are quick, easy, and taste a little bit sweet!

¼ cup Dijon mustard

¼ cup grainy mustard

½ cup honey

1 teaspoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger root

8 each skinless, boneless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine Dijon mustard, grainy mustard, honey, soy sauce, tarragon, and ginger in a large bowl. Rinse chicken thighs under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Add chicken thighs to the bowl and toss to coat. Transfer to a baking pan and spoon sauce over the thighs. Bake in the preheated oven until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Spoon sauce over chicken thighs and serve.

Nutrition Facts: Per Serving: 243 calories; protein 20g; carbohydrates 20.9g; fat 8.2g; cholesterol 71mg; sodium 409.8mg. © Copyright 2021 allrecipes.com. All rights reserved.

*IF YOU HAVE A RECIPE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE, please e-mail to me at MEG82159@aol.com Put RECIPE in the subject line.

I get my creativity and sense of humor from my Dad, as well as the love of the Three Stooges, Abbott & Costello, Honeymooners, and Get Smart. I’m not sure if this was Dad’s favorite joke, but he loved to tell it.

Grandmom’s 90th birthday was coming up and so the family asked her what she’d like to do for this special day. “Well, I’ve always dreamed of going white water rafting on the Colorado River.” This request required a lot of planning and engineering, a special seat, wheelchair access and more – but it was all worth it. The next year came around, and once more the family asked her what she’d like to do for this special day. “Well, I’ve always dreamed of going white water rafting on the Colorado River.”

Sadly ironically… my Mother’s short-term memory is suffering. So now we just ask her, “Mom, did you enjoy the white water rafting birthday trip down the Colorado River.” Couple of doctored photos and we’re good.

IF YOU HAVE A JOKE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE, please e-mail to me at MEG82159@aol.com Put JOKE in the subject line.

Last week I learned of the passing of a brilliant bio chemist and friend, Dr. John Grinstein, the scientist who discovered how to harness the curative powers of fruits and vegetables to create an extract for Parkinson’s with no side effects that helped me immensely over the last eight years AND an extract that actually cured the worst stage-4 cancers without damaging other cells. He will be missed… but I am committed to make sure his work is continued. He also created an extract for Parkinson’s with no side effects that helped me immensely over the last eight years. I am still awaiting details of what happened to the man who reversed the worst stage-4 cancers without damaging the body, but he will be missed. 

I guess the Wilburys were right - everyday is Judgment Day.

Your monthly dosage of my Father’s three favorite wise men… This is the last scene in Pop Goes The Weasel – the last short we watched together. The premise: Curly goes crazy whenever he hears the Weasel song (Moe and Larry must tickle his feet to get him to stop brilliant!…

Stay safe… and please get vaccinated.

Steve Alten

Steve Alten's Books