by Ben Zackheim | Mar 27, 2015 | Writing |
Here’s the newest giveaway for The Camelot Kids! Click on the button above and enter to win the softcover book that collect The Camelot Kids Parts 1-4.
“If you have been waiting for a book that will take you back to the day when you first read Harry Potter, then your wait is over.” – A Chick Who Reads review (5 Stars)
“I don’t think I have had such a fun time with a book since I read Percy Jackson.” – Belle’s Beautiful Books review
What would you do if an odd girl in a cloak told you, “You know you’re a descendant of King Arthur’s knight, Lancelot, right?” You’d probably do the same thing 14-year-old New Yorker Simon Sharp does. Back away nice and slow.
But Simon learns the truth when he’s kidnapped by a drunk troll, rescued by a 7-foot man named Merlin, and thrown into training with 149 other heirs of the Knights of the Round Table.
Can Simon survive a prophecy that predicts the world will be saved through its destruction? The Camelot Kids is about one boy’s struggle to make it to tomorrow in a world both real and fantastic.
“Zackheim does an excellent job of twisting the story away from your expectations – and in places even uses your expectations, both of the genre itself and the source material, against you.” – Nicholas Pozo, Goodreads reader
by Ben Zackheim | Dec 19, 2014 | The Camelot Kids |
I’m working with a small team of talented actors and filmmakers to craft a fantastic book trailer that meets the strict standards that The Camelot Kids has stuck to so well.
Here’s an audio clip of the official tagline for The Camelot Kids series. The voice is Michael Belfiore’s, a writer, actor and friend of mine for over 20 years!
WARNING: It’s an energetic reading, so adjust your volume downwards — just in case.
by Ben Zackheim | Dec 14, 2014 | Writing |
My nights were Merlin. My days were Simon.
Meetings at work were doodles — what did the characters look like? What made Excalibur special?
Plot twists popped out of a martini. Oh yeah, one crucial theme sparked from a spicy chicken wing during Date Night in SoHo.
About 1000 pages were written right after Jack was born. I read the first draft in the middle of a forest and decided it was inspiring and horrible. Robin talked me off that cliff.
I hope you enjoy Simon’s butting heads with Merlin. I hope Maille Rose (pronounced Molly Rose) becomes a favorite of yours too. Oh, and I hope the ending leaves you wanting more. Because I want to write much more.
The Camelot Kids has been a part of my life for almost nine years. It was mine. Now it’s yours.
by Ben Zackheim | Dec 2, 2014 | The Camelot Kids |
We’re going to do something different here. I’d like to show off Ian Greenlee’s art in a unique way.
Piece by piece.
Ian’s work is spectacularly detailed. He works on a canvas the size of a house and loves to dive into minutia like no one else I know. To show this talent off I’m going to reveal his latest piece. It captures the moment that Simon Sharp walks into the fantastic town for the first time. I think Ian does a brilliant job of making us feel the awe that Simon felt. When you see the full piece all together, you’ll see what I mean.
I’ll update this post once per day until the softcover launch on December 12th, so bookmark it and come back to see the full illustration slowly come to life!
Enough talking! Take a look at this first tiny slice of a masterpiece!
Slice #1: Girls in the Market
Slice #2: Getting Ready for the Fair
Slice #3: Watch Your Head!
Slice #4: Girl, Meet Monkey
Slice #5: Young Lovers in New Camelot
Slice #6: Shopping for an Elbow
Any of these illustrations have enough detail to satisfy most artists. Not Ian.
THIS is how big the above images are in comparison to the full piece!
Yeah…
And HERE is the full piece!
So what do you think? Want to read the story? Check it out in softcover! 500 pages of action, intrigue and images like this one…
by Ben Zackheim | Nov 23, 2014 | The Camelot Kids |
Poor Simon. He’s had a horrid run of luck recently. A couple of bad decisions became one HUGE problem for New Camelot — a problem that looks a lot like a dragon. But he’s determined to find a way to make things right. And the only way he can do that is to go back to his Uncle Victor’s castle.
Let’s just say Simon isn’t welcome there anymore.
Snag a copy of The Camelot Kids: Part Four and see how the first part of Simon’s story comes to an end. There’s adventure, battles and betrayal the likes of which you’ve never seen before.
Really.
And THANK YOU. This run of The Camelot Kids has been the time of my life! I can’t wait to release the softcover book on December 10th, with art by Ian Greenlee, Nathan Fox and Matt Bailey.
