Al Macy

On May 22, 2018, every person on Earth sneezes. Simultaneously.Hours later, an alien spacecraft appears over New York City and broadcasts a dire message of impending doom. The future of the human race will depend on the whims of a solitary extraterrestrial who appears in the form of Walter Cronkite. Yes, that's right, Walter Cronkite, the deceased news anchor.The alien has some nasty surprises for the residents of Earth, and the race is on to figure out his true motives and the meaning of the sneeze event--before it's too late. In Contact Us, Al Macy pulls us into an outlandish tale featuring original characters who face a challenge so unusual it could have only come from another planet.In a future world not so different from our own, humanity experiences a string of bizarre events: a worldwide unanimous sneeze, pain, and a massive die-off at the hand of a sanctimonious alien being. Those who survived the die-off must work together to follow strange instructions and deal with the consequences of the alien's whims, all while facing their own personal losses and physical challenges. Through the eyes of Jake, Charli, Marie, and Alex, we see four unique perspectives of the new world and how they each function within it.I truly enjoyed the story from every perspective. As the challenges mount and the danger increases, the characters react in different and believable ways. Even the alien has a distinct personality, adding additional flavor to the already engaging tale. Macy has masterfully weaved together the characters and plot into a satisfying adventure you won't want to put down. -- Allison Maruska, Author of The Fourth Descendent

A Jake Corby Sci-Fi Thriller

Contact Us

What a great feeling to read a review that says your book is so funny and interesting that it will appeal to everybody, not just piano students! I've never gotten that feeling, nor any reviews like that because my book, while admittedly hilarious (hey, did you see the cover?), would be excruciatingly boring to anyone who isn't interested in piano or sight-reading. So, if you don't play piano (and don't want to), this book is not for you. What are you doing here? Go away! Anyway, on December 10, 2007, I decided to become a great (or at least, good) piano sight-reader. Although I was already an OK jazz piano player (Google Al Macy Jazz), with 4-6 gigs per month, my sight-reading was lousy. Really lousy. Most seven-year-olds who had had a year of lessons could probably read music better than I. So, I vowed to learn everything I could about sight-reading, and sight-read TWO HOURS EVERY DAY FOR AT LEAST A YEAR! That year stretched out to six, and I learned a lot about what works, and what doesn't. I wrote this book for other adults who want to improve their piano sight-reading (OK, also to show how clever I am, but mostly for others). I kept a careful OCD-like record of my progress, so you can hear exactly how I sounded (via web clips) at three months, four months, two years, etc. In the book I relate what worked and what didn't so that you can benefit from my experience. I answer your questions about how to become a better sight-reader. For example: Should you hire a teacher? How long should you practice each day? Will you inevitably improve if you just do a lot of reading? How can you find enough practice music? Which are more important, notes or intervals? Is it OK to glance down at your hands occasionally? How far ahead should you try to look? Can practicing with your eyes closed help? How can you get better at leaving things out when you are having trouble? What can you do about the fact that the notes on the bass clef are in different places than on the treble clef? How does understanding the harmonic structure of a piece help you play it? Does it help to sight-sing a piece before playing? Should you analyze the tune before starting? If so, what do you look at? Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Where is Jimmy Hoffa buried? The answers to some of those questions might surprise you. I also present my very own soon to be patented (not really) method for forcing you to attend to intervals instead of notes. If you find yourself so fixated on the note names that you can't work with the intervals instead, this trick might solve your problem. So, if you want to take your sight-reading to a whole new level, and want some tips that will help, or are just curious about what the future will hold for you, this book will definitely help. Definitely, definitely. And there are no Rain Man jokes in the book. Zero. Definitely zero.

Learn from My Quest for Piano Sight-Reading Nirvana

Becoming a Great Sight-Reader -- Or Not!

Attorney Garrett Goodlove never thought he'd prosecute a medical malpractice case. Doctors swear an oath to help people, and those cases are usually honest mistakes blown up by ambulance chasers. But when he learns of a woman bodybuilder who went into the ER with a case of heartburn and came out in a wheelchair, he starts paying attention. It appears the doctor who saw her frequently orders open-heart surgery for patients who don't need it, sometimes leading to disability or death. And the doc knows exactly what he's doing. Garrett is convinced: The surgeon must be stopped. Teaming up with his daughter, a new law school graduate, Garrett must clear the reputation of their prime witness while battling the doctor's team of elite attorneys who are always one step ahead. The expenses are adding up, but it's too late to back out. If he doesn't prevail, not only will the surgeon continue harming patients to line his pockets, but Goodlove's law firm will be forced into bankruptcy.

Damaging Evidence

Damaging Quarantine

Mark Gardner

Rick Partlow

John Triptych

Nate Johnson

Alasdair Shaw

C Gold

Milo James Fowler

JT Lawrence

Jody Wenner

Troy McLaughlan

Some renegades are born rebels, some forced into it to survive, while others make the choice on principle. The Renegade is an anthology of eleven science fiction short stories by writers from across the globe. It is part of the Newcomer series of scifi anthologies. The stories are:- Conscience - Alasdair Shaw First - Nate Johnson Atonement - Rick Partlow The Stepford Florist - JT Lawrence Tyrant - Mark Gardner Live by the Ten, Die by the Gun - Milo James Fowler S.A.D. - Jody Wenner Chameleon - C Gold Learning Curve - John Triptych A Pirate’s Life - Al Macy Needs of the Many - Troy McLaughlan

Eleven science fiction short stories

The Renegade

Al Macy

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