Author Archives: Mike Mason

New Christmas Book

New Christmas Book: Twenty-One Candles

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I’m leafing through a file of old Christmas stories with a view to gathering them into a collection. For three decades I’ve written a new Christmas story every year to give out to friends as a greeting card. A tradition that pre-dates the internet, it’s been one way to get instantly published. We also host an annual party on Christmas Adam (if you’re not familiar with that term, read “Yabba-ka-doodles!”) at which I read my latest story aloud. So I’ve not only had my own publishing house but a radio station as well.

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Elephant Charge

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[Note: Thanks for this story to Dr. Jim Foulkes, who served as a missionary doctor in Africa for four decades. This is my version of a story he told me, but you can read Dr. Jim’s own account in his wonderful book To Africa With Love: A Bush Doc’s Story. Furthermore, Dr. Jim is presently at work on a collection of 28 of his hunting tales. I can hardly wait!]

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Many are aware that St. Francis preached to the birds, and St. Anthony to a congregation of fish. But let’s remember that before these saints ever preached to the animals, the animals first preached to them.

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Happy Birthday Michael

How I Tried to Change My Name

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On February 3, 2012, I celebrated my 60th birthday. The day itself I spent quietly, but the next day I had a party. My friend Andrew Case, accompanied by Kristina Hutchison, played a living room concert, so the evening was filled with music, good friends, and a fabulous chocolate cake courtesy of Karen.

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Adventures in Heaven

Announcing: Adventures in Heaven!

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It’s here! At long last! A book I wrote fifteen years ago has finally hit the press.

Well, not exactly the press. Fact is, I’ve just launched my first self-published ebook. Having sent my manuscript to some 30 publishers over the years, I finally decided that this thing needs to see the light of day.

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De Colores! The Violet Flash Launch

De Colores! The Violet Flash Launch

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“Well, here we are at Porter’s, the store that has inspired two famous novels!”

So began my talk at the launch party for my new fantasy novel The Violet Flash, sequel to The Blue Umbrella. For all of you who couldn’t be there, here’s a link to a VIDEO of the event. It’s 34″ long, so at any point feel free to fast forward to the Q&A session at 20:42, which went pretty well, I think. Many thanks to Arthur Doerksen for producing the video, and to Ron Koyanagi for providing the music.

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The Violet Flash: Chapter 1

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A Mysterious Disappearance

(Spoiler Alert! for those who have not read The Blue Umbrella)

Chesterton Cholmondeley poked the bridge of his tortoiseshell glasses with one finger, a gesture he performed a few hundred times a day. Having recovered the years that the evil Dada had stolen from him, Ches was now a lithe, darkly handsome boy of twelve. Yet inside, as if shadowed by a double identity, he still felt old beyond his years.

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The Blue Umbrella: What Readers Say

The Blue Umbrella: What Readers Say

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“My eleven-year-old granddaughter, Bailey, had her school picture taken holding a copy of The Blue Umbrella. That says it all. She reads everything she gets her hands on so for her to choose your book was a huge statement. She and her friends concur that it is on a par with Harry Potter but better because of the very clear spiritual message.” -Char Stucki (Bailey’s photograph is on the left)

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