Happy April… Happy Easter:

Most of this update was excerpted from a recent recorded interview I did for a podcast. After you read it, I have a special offer to all my fans who are ACTIVE Sea Monster Cove members, INACTIVE members… AND non-members.

Enjoy the rest of the update and please stay safe.

Steve Alten

MRM: Steve, thank you for agreeing to answer my questions. Before we discuss your new project, Sea Monster Cove, I wanted to ask you about The Loch: Heaven’s Lake, the third book in The LOCH series, which I’ll confess is my favorite. Steve, why is it taking so long to finish the novel? Many of your readers like me pre-ordered the hardback back in February 2019 and can’t wait to read it. Why torture us like this?

SA: First, it’s not actually taking that long. Every novel is written when it’s written and finished when I say so. DOMAIN took me three-and-a half years to write… same with GRIM REAPER: End of Days. Not every book I write is written in one consecutive uninterrupted time period in my life. In case anyone forgot, 2020 was a crazy year – was your workplace affected? Mine, too. The only reason a handful of readers are becoming vocal about Loch: HL is because hardbacks must be pre-ordered at SteveAlten.com as they will not be sold in stores or on Amazon. We did the exact same deal with MEG: Generations – everyone forgets I pushed the release date back 6-8 months to accommodate a new ending. Once their books arrived and they saw what an amazing job A & M Publishing did in packaging the novel all the griping ceased. Now, you can’t buy a Generations hardback for under $200.

MRM: Very true. I bought five copies, gave two away as gifts and kept two for myself – one to read; the other is carefully wrapped up and kept in storage for my son. The last one I sold for $75 on ebay but I should have waited… I sold it a month or two after my copies arrived.

SA:I think a lot of fans did that. The ones that waited are cleaning up. How old is your son?

MRM: Six… and he loves Sea Monster Cove. Let’s use that to segue to the new project:  SeaMonsterCove.com. It really is cool. Where did the original idea for the project come from?

SA: The story that runs through every aspect of Sea Monster Cove came to me in December of 2019. Two years earlier I had announced MEG-7: Purgatory, would be my final MEG novel, so the last thing I was looking for was another ancient shark/sea creature saga. But as I lay in bed at 4 a.m. unable to sleep, the beats of an amazing story popped into my head and damn if it wasn’t good—at least, it was good enough to drag myself upstairs to my office and write it down before I fell back to sleep and lost it. Four hours later I had a treatment and characters—more important I had a location—a place I knew was absolutely perfect for the story. Heck, it even sounded like Meg.

Maug isn’t really an island, it’s actually a submerged volcano located in the Northern Mariana island chain. Five million years ago, Maug’s caldera erupted so violently that its crater collapsed, leaving behind three small islets and a lagoon. Take a look!

Where was the hot mineral water coming from? I had an answer that would stand up to scientific scrutiny and lead my characters to discover a prehistoric marine habitat—a 350-million-year-old food chain featuring the most terrifying sea creatures in history. The story had the potential to be as good if not better than anything I had written—the question was what was it? My fans would want another novel but that wasn’t going to happen. A movie script? No. There were far too many promising storylines to explore … it felt much more like an episodic TV series—something I’ve always wanted to write! And so, in late December of 2019 I began working on a TV bible and pilot episode of Where Sea Monsters Roam (WSMR).

MRM: There are four major components to the site, correct?

SA: Correct. You have the VAEs… the Virtual Aquarium Experiences… right now we have about a dozen of them up and running. Next will be our interactive video game which is actually being beta tested this month and should be ready for members in late May or early June. That will be followed by our teen/adult animated cartoon series, The Adventures of Snowflake and Layla, and finally the TV series, Where Sea Monsters Roam.

(Part 2 of the interview will appear in the May newsletter.)

A Discount Club created by Steve Alten as a THANK YOU to everyone who has supported the Sea Monster Cove project and the rest of his work over the last 24 years. 

CLUB MAKO benefits include:

For current V.I.P. members of SeaMonsterCove.com 

STEP 1: Before you can join CLUB MAKO you need to cancel your current V.I.P. membership so that you are not paying for both. To do this enter www.SeaMonsterCove.com and scroll to the bottom of any page. Click on ACCOUNT, then SUBSCRIPTIONS and CANCEL. 

Do not hit REFUND (it screws up the payment system). Simply allow however many prorated days/weeks are left on your V.I.P. membership since your last payment was made to expire (you can continue to enter the site during this time). 

STEP 2: Once the 30 day V.I.P. membership is officially over (it could take 1 day to 29 days… you’ll know as you won’t be able to enter) you can go to the WELCOME PAGE and join CLUB MAKO!

For PAST MEMBERS of SeaMonsterCove.com who canceled.

Simply go to the WELCOME PAGE at www.SeaMonsterCove.com and join CLUB MAKO. 

For those who have never been a member

Simply go to the WELCOME PAGE at www.SeaMonsterCove.com and join CLUB MAKO.

 

Be sure to sign up for the free COVE DWELLER newsletter where we’ll announce upcoming events and giveaways.

If you wait until the wife uses it to clean the shower tile grout – better read on.

To find out check out this article from Healthline: https://www.healthline.com/health/how-often-should-you-change-your-toothbrush

This is one of those songs you hear on the radio and say, “I love that… who is it? Chumba wuh?

I get knocked down, but I get up again… You are never gonna keep me down.

I get knocked down, but I get up again… You are never gonna keep me down!

(Pissing the night away, pissing the night away).

Cove members: Be sure to register with Kelly at kellyrollyson2020@gmail.com

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for drizzling

2 tablespoons chipotle in adobo(1 tablespoon finely chopped chipotle peppers and 1 tablespoon sauce)

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cloves garlic, finely grated

Zest of 1 lime and juice of 1/2, plus wedges for serving

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 whole chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds)

2 bunches scallions, root ends trimmed

16 small corn tortillas

Prepared salsa, for serving.

DIRECTIONS:

Mix together the vegetable oil, chipotle and sauce, smoked paprika, honey, oregano, cumin, garlic, lime zest and juice, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Rub some under the skin of the chicken breasts and thighs, and then all over the outside of the chicken. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Prepare a grill for low indirect heat: For gas grills (with 3 or more burners), turn all the burners to medium-high heat; after about 15 minutes turn off one of the middle burners and turn the remaining burners down to low. For charcoal grills, bank one chimney starter-full of lit and ashed-over charcoal briquettes to one side of the grill. Set up a drip pan on the other side to avoid flare-ups. (Be sure to consult the grill manufacturer's guide for best results.)

Place the chicken breast-side up on the indirect side. Cover and cook, rotating the chicken periodically, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh (avoiding the bone) reads at least 165 degrees F, 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 40 minutes. (If using charcoal, you might have to add more charcoal during cooking.) Let the chicken rest 20 minutes before carving.

Meanwhile, increase the grill to medium-high heat. Drizzle some oil on the scallions and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until softened and darkly charred in spots on all sides, just a few minutes. At the same time, warm up the tortillas on the grill, about 1 minute per side; stack grilled tortillas and wrap in foil to keep warm. Serve chicken with warm tortillas, charred scallions, lime wedges and salsa.

*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.

We turn to Monty Python and one of their best sketches – The Lumbarjack.

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.

Your monthly dosage of the 3 wise men… today’s lesson – How to keep the streets clean.

Stay safe… stay united… please wear a mask and get your vaccine ASAP.

Steve Alten

Steve Alten's Books