Today's the tour takes me to Book Tours and More., which did an author spotlight.  Enjoy.

Today, I start the virtual tour for Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy with two stops. The Hot Author Report and Pump Up Your Book! I was recently interviewed about the book and my writing on both sites.  Enjoy.

I wanted to let you guys know that I am running a promotion with DCBService.com for the month of June so that if you order Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy (which, last time I checked, is on sale for 35% off the cover price), I will personalize each book, sign and date it, and include a sketch doodle on the inside cover of a character from the book.

Here is the link

And while you are over there, you can also pick up my other project.  Tales from the Comics Experience.  If you order in June you will get 40 percent off the cover price and a free Animal Control: Special Creature's unit Poster signed by the creator.

That book is available here.

In an apparent attempt to compete with the Disney Cruise Line.  I received the following email:

 Make your next family vacation an absolutely unforgettable adventure! Set sail with Royal Caribbean International® and

DreamWorks Animation® and discover once-upon-a-time moments with your favorite characters from Shrek®, Madagascar® , Kung Fu Panda® and more.

 Debuting exclusively on Royal Caribbean, beginning with Allure of the SeasSM, guests onboard will be surprised with DreamWorks-themed activities throughout their cruise vacation, featuring characters year-round from DreamWorks favorites.
 • Character Meals
 • Character Parades
 • Photo opportunities with the characters 
 • 3-D Movie Theater
 • First-run DreamWorks films onboard 
 • A one-of-a-kind AquaTheater show 
 • A unique ice show featuring characters from How to Train Your DragonTM 
 • Surprise and delight moments

After premiering onboard Allure of the SeasSM, many of these activities and amenities will be incorporated into Royal Caribbean's renowned entertainment programs onboard

Oasis of the Seas®, Freedom of the Seas® and Liberty of the Seas®.

We look forward to welcoming you, as well as our new DreamWorks friends, onboard. 

Universal Studios offers a new vacation package to celebrate the opening of its brand new Wizarding World of Harry Potter addition to islands of Adventure in Florida.

This EXCLUSIVE vacation package includes:

• Early Park Admission◊ to experience The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• Breakfast at the Three Broomsticks™ - one per person
• Commemorative ticket – one per person
• Hotel accommodations at a Universal Partner Hotel
• 3-Day Base Ticket^ to both Universal Orlando® theme parks – one theme park, per day
• Access to live entertainment◊◊ at Universal CityWalk®

Prices start at $285 per adult and details can be found here.

If you want more information about the attraction, Ricky Brigante did an amazing podcast, write up and posted videos at his site Inside the Magic.

Plus, I had an early preview description (with concept art) here.

I will be appearing at Balticon 44 this weekend in Baltimore, Md. 

Balticon 44 is a Four Day, 24-hours-a-day Extravaganza! There is over 300 Hours of Multi-Track Programming featuring authors, publishers, editors, artists, scientists, musicians and other creative SF luminaries. Join over a thousand SF fans for the area's largest and longest running convention of its kind! Visit our huge art show, dealer's room, concerts, dances, gaming room, computer room and video room. Everything Science Fiction and Fantasy in one huge package.

Balticon 44 will be at the Marriott Hunt Valley Inn, 245 Shawan Road, Hunt Valley, Maryland 21031 (north of Baltimore off of I-83)

Here is the flyer.

The floor hours are as follows (I have a table and be offering copies of all my books): 

Friday: 4pm to 8pm
Saturday: 10am to 6pm
Sunday: 10:30am to 5pm
Monday: 10:30am to 3pm
 
My appearances are as follows:
Saturday:        

1-2 PM  AUTOGRAPH SESSION Phil Rossi, Joe Sergi, Patrick Thomas 

7-8PM PANEL: Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy: Smith-Ready, Jeri (m); Snyder, Maria V.; Sergi, Joe; Petrini, Catherine

Sunday:          
11-12am PANEL: Humor in paranormal romance?: Sergi, Joe; Gilman, Laura Anne; Price, Stella; Surrette, Gayle (m); Thomas, Patrick

Monday:         
11-12:00 READING: Joe Sergi 

I recently did an interview for Comic Geek Speak where I talked about Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy and Tales from the Comics Experience.

Listen to it below by clicking the button below or going here.

I learned about this in Universal Studios.  I never even knew this existed (I'll bet it's on that Special Edition ET DVD I never opened).   This is the complete lost scene of Harrison Ford in ET, he is not seen in the movie because Spielberg didn't want to show the adults (except for Elliot's mother and the government guys).  In some ways this scene works better and is more parallel with the beginning of the film where Elliot was mistreated by his brother and friends and this ending shows him being included with them and that life has gone pretty much back to normal for him because of his experiences with E.T.

From June 14th through June 25th, Joe Sergi will be touring with his MG/YA sci-fi/fantasy novel, Sky Girl and the Superheroic Legacy. DeDe Christopher is an average high school sophomore with dreams of winning the National Gymnastic Tournament and dating the school quarterback. But her world changes when DeDe begins to develop fantastic abilities that are strangely similar to those of a fictional comic book superhero named SkyBoy. With the help of her best friend, Jason, a self-proclaimed comic geek, DeDe begins a quest to discover her true destiny as she confronts the all-too-real enemies and allies of SkyBoy. She must deal with capes, apes, and aliens to find a way to live up to a legacy that no one can remember and become Sky Girl. 216 pages (Unlimited PDF copies, limited number of printed copies available.)

You can find Joe online at www.joesergi.net and www.skygirlnovel.com.

If you are interested in reviewing this book, please email Cheryl at cg20pm00(at) gmail(dot) com. Please specify PDF or printed copy preference in your email.

I was watching the Disney Channel with my daughter and they played this short episode called "Make Them Laugh--Re-Micks."  I then saw an old Mickey Mouse cartoon re-spliced so that it matched the song "Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas.  All in all, it was very entertaining and fresh.  (I'm not sure I feel the same way about the Hannah Montana and Jonas ones).

I did a little research and discovered that there was a tv show called D-TV which was created in 1984 by  Walt Disney in an effort to compete with MTV.  The show aired as fillers since the Disney Channel didn't have commercials.  They were also released on the VHS, Beta, and Laserdisc formats. After the first run of D-TV, in 1989 a second series was produced known as DTV. (no hyphen--that must have been an interesting set of marketing meetings to decide to take out a hyphen).  D-TV ceased airing in 1999. Due to music licensing rights, it is highly unlikely the network will ever show them again, and it is also doubtful they will ever be released to DVD or Blu Ray.. However, a very small selection of the music videos can currently be viewed on  youtube 9and below.

Not giving up on a good idea, in 2009, Disney revivedthe D-TV idea in the form of Re-Micks, similar music videos syncing clips from the classic shorts to pop songs.

I couldn't find "Gotta Feeling" which is the best one I've seen, but I hope you enjoy the following clip from Youtube:

See if this brings back any memories . .  .

And if you are nostalgic: