This was a enjoyable fast read and I just want to pick up the next one to continue reading. I don't think I'll want to answer a cell phone ever again if it was singing Christmas music though. LOL. ( )

If you have never read any of Steve Vernon‘s work, what can I say? Steve writes with such abandonment that it is a rollercoaster ride experience when reading his books, blog posts, anything. His imagination takes the reader to places most wouldn’t even think to put on paper. :) Mostly in a good way.

In the first episode of Flash Virus, a school is visited by strange … people? … who gift all the students with cell phones. The cell phones seem to cast some kind of spell over anyone answering the ringtone “here comes Santa Claus”, and it just gets more bizarre from there. There is an attempt at takeover, the expected teenage rebellion, and more. To be honest, I didn’t want to stop reading till the end, and the end came too soon!

Flash Virus: Episode One is amusing, strange, entertaining, and keeps the reader interested. The problem – when you want to keep reading – is this is only the beginning, but Steve Vernon has made following episodes available at very low prices on Amazon.

Flash Virus: Episode One is a good, safe, book for middle-grade readers and up. And Please forgive my overuse of the word ‘strange’, I meant it in a good way. ;)

Steve Vernon loves to write and share his work. You can find Flash Virus episodes on Amazon at very low prices, starting with FREE for episode one. ( )

This was a pretty good quick read. I'm not going to answer my phone if Santa Clause is Coming to town plays on it, I can tell you that. ( )

FLASH VIRUS is my very first attempt to write and honest-to-goodness serialized novel. It's a book that will appeal to kids ranging from fifteen to fifty years old. I'm completely biased, of course. I wrote the darned thing - so I have to think it's cool.

My mom thinks the book is cool. So does my wife. Heck, my cat even purrs a little when she sees me working on the next installment.

But don't take my word for it. Just swing on over to Amazon and hit the cover link and give it a peek. That's your real acid test, now isn't it? Give a read of that first chapter - from when those cell phones start to ring - and see if it doesn't hook you - just a little.

If you don't believe me, ask my cat.

yours in storytelling,
Steve Vernon

What High School student is going to turn down a free cell phone? Totally free. No catch. Or is there a catch after all?

When the kids in Old Man Jenkins' history class start hearing the strange ring-tone "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" (in May), coming from their new free cell phones things start to get very weird, very fast.

Steve Vernon launches his episodic YA thriller, Flash Virus, with a roller-coaster ride that is just getting started.

Vernon seems to have a genuine understanding of the teenage mentality. Personally, I'm far removed from those days, but with two grandsons, 18 and 8, living with me, I think I have a feel for how they express themselves. When the author writes, "There is nothing that a teenage boy hates more than to to be called children,'" you better believe it.

There were times, when reading "Flash Virus," that I found myself laughing out loud only to be totally shocked by what happens just a few pages later.

I'm not a big fan of the episodic approach to story-telling, but I've done it a couple of times with Stephen King, both with The Green Mile and The Plant, Steve Vernon has me wanting to find out what happens next.

Flash Virus, episode 1 is available now at Amazon.com. ( )