Books with author Bertauski Tony

Harold Ballard's breaking point came in the sixth grade.John Lively was a mouth-breather that no one cared about, an over-sized sixth grader voted most likely to see jail. In Harold's opinion, God had wasted a body on John Lively. Harold was a curious loner that sat in the back of the classroom. Unlike John's family, Harold's parents loved him. They just didn't have time for him. They spent days in the basement working on something that would change the world. Sometimes they were down there for weeks. Harold was tired of being forgotten and pushed around. So he pushed back.That day would change the world.INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHORHOW IMPORTANT ARE NAMES TO YOU IN THIS BOOK. DID YOU CHOOSE THEM BASED ON SOUND OR MEANING?Almost all of my books have names with special meaning, some foreshadowing a big twist. In The Annihilation of Foreverland, Reed’s name was symbolic of his ability to tolerate suffering, bending in the face of gale forces but never breaking. WHERE DOES YOUR TOMORROW SPRING FROM? IN OTHER WORDS, HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE CRAZY WORLD?Sometimes, I can’t remember how the story started by the time I get to the end. The Annihilation of Foreverland started with the premise of identity. I wanted to write it as a YA book in the science fiction dystopia genre in a way that slowly unfolded as well as questioned who we are and explore our fear of death, and what we’re willing to do to avoid it. Like all of my stories, it does have a romantic angle mixed into the action. Because it should.GIVE YOUR BOOK THE BECHDEL TEST. IT HAS TO HAVE AT LEAST TWO (NAMED) WOMEN IN IT WHO TALK TO EACH OTHER ABOUT SOMETHING BESIDES A MAN.I failed because there’s only one female in The Annihilation of Foreverland. However, the young adult sequel (Foreverland is Dead) passes with flying colors since its mostly female characters that rarely talk about men.WHAT SORT OF BODY COUNT ARE WE TALKING HERE?The bodies die, but not necessarily the characters. Chew on that a second.DO YOU WANT YOUR TOMORROW TO MAKE IT BIG, AS IN JK ROWLINGS-BIG? WHY OR WHY NOT?Believe it or not, no. Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to make enough cash to pay off this house and send my kids to college, but I’ll pass on fame and fortune. Anonymity is a blessing.YOU CAST YOUR CHARACTERS FOR A MOVIE. WHO MAKES IT?In The Annihilation of Foreverland, I only casted two characters in my head while I was writing it. The Director is Jeff Bridges and Mr. Jones is Anthony Hopkins. It was like watching a movie as I wrote.HAVE YOU WRITTEN IN ANY OTHER GENRES BESIDES YA DYSTOPIAN? WHAT DREW YOU TO YOU THIS GENRE?I’ve been fascinated by consciousness, identity and what this all means since I was young. I would read my grandfather’s science fiction books with elements of artificial intelligence and alternate realities and wonder what happened when they died? I suppose that’s why all of my writing deals with the big mysteries of life in one way or another. In a way, I write for my own exploration, in a sort of thought experiment approach, pulling apart our identities, exploring what makes us who we are. If I lost my memories, would I still be me? If I had my body parts replaced with synthetic replications, at what point would I not be me? Do I even need a body? What am I?A few years ago, I figured I’d write a romance novel. Since all of my books have a romantic element, I thought it would be fun. Halfway through the novel, I found myself thinking more and more about the next project—a dystopian idea. So 40,000 words in, I scrapped the romance novel and got back to what I love. Science fiction.

An introduction to the Claus Universe, a series of original retellings of holiday legends.Worst Christmas ever.Christmas was about traditions. Currently, Zay and her mom had about five traditions, things like gingerbread cookies and tree decorating. Not going to work.Zay has to stay home. On Christmas. Alone.Mom said her boss felt real bad about the whole thing so he was sending a nanny. It just keeps getting worse. She's fourteen years old. She doesn't need a nanny. But then the nanny shows up. She's not really a she. Or a he.More of an it.The nanny shows her that it's not really magic that makes Christmas special. It's the adventure. And when it's all over, she'll never forget.The best Christmas ever.

The Soldier wakes on the battlefield.He's a pawn in a larger conflict with no memory of where he was before coming online. His exoskeletal armor forces him into combat. Only when he engages free will does he break out of automode.And things get weird.Hunted by the cleaners, he transports to other worlds. It's not till he's captured does he understand what he really is.And how to truly escape.This is an introduction to the The Socket Greeny Saga, a heady trip into an alternate universe where a strange and introverted teenager discovers life is more than virtualmode gaming. The world isn't safe.And all of reality is in danger.

The 3rd standalone novel in the Claus Universe. The stories you never heard...Life hasn’t been kind to Oliver Toye.As if juvenile diabetes isn’t enough, he’s forced to live with his tyrannical grandmother in a snow-bound house. He spends his days doing chores and the nights listening to the forest rumble.But when he discovers the first leather-bound journal, the family secrets begin to surface. The mystery of his great-grandfather’s voyage to the North Pole is revealed. That’s when the snowman appears.Magical and mysterious, the snowman will save Oliver more than once. But when the time comes for Oliver to discover the truth, will he have the courage? When Flury needs him, will he have the strength? When believing isn’t enough, will he save the snowman from melting away?Because sometimes even magic needs a little help.(10% of the profits is annually donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.)INTERVIEW WITH AUTHORWhere did you come up with the idea of writing science fiction for holiday characters?My nephew mentioned the “secret Santa ninja elves” that visit his school during Christmas, and this spawned the idea of writing a semi-serious sci-fi version of Santa. How the ideas flesh out is a long process. I started keep track of how the story arc of my latest novel evolves, just to remember where it began. It’s all over the place. I love the challenge of bringing a story to light, letting the characters get in my head and telling me where to go. Flury: Journey of a Snowman is the third book in the Claus series. It was originally Frosty the Snowman, but Frosty is copyrighted. It didn’t matter, really. The character was better suited to be something other than Frosty. Flury is a bit more serious..Are you getting any backlash for rewriting these Christmas legends?Not at all. In fact, a lot of readers have connected to all the unanswered questions surround them, especially Santa Claus. How does he go around the world in a night? Why is he fat? Why does he live on the North Pole? How do reindeer fly? How does he carry all those presents? All of them answered with the magic wand of science fiction… I mean, the science wand of science fiction. The stories still have the fantasy element, of course. Some leaps of imagination. And also the romance angle. Why? Because all stories have love..What is your favorite character from the books that you have written?Socket Greeny is one of my favorites. That science fiction trilogy was my first story. I wrote it in first person and really connected with him. However, Jack Frost is in Claus (Legend of the Fat Man) and Jack (The Tale of Frost) and has become my all-time fave. He’s childish, irreverent and dangerous, but at the same time lovable. .What order should readers purchase the Claus books?Claus: Legend of the Fat Man is the best start. After that, any order works. They all can be read as standalone novels.

If you liked Ready Player One and Ender's Game, strap in for Socket Greeny...“A brilliantly-written complexly-layered plot, set in a vivid, tangible future world.” --IndieReaderI was a nobody.I had this funny name and white hair and really didn't care about anything. But then one day something happened. Change is like that. One day you're a nothing, the next you're saving everything. Not everybody.Everything.It's not that I didn't want to do what I did. Someone once told me that true nature is a train—you either get on board or get run over. So I got on. What I saw… the androids and the off-world stuff. The psychotic minders. It's out there.The rabbit hole is deep.That's the thing with the truth. It's been in front of us all this time. You just have to see it. Once you do, you can't ignore it. I was once a nobody and now I'm a legend because I saw the truth about reality, about this universe.And I did something about it.REVIEWS FOR SOCKET GREENY"Absolutely the BEST sci-fi! Totally enjoyable!" –Dr. Bill Encke, Reviewer"THE best book I have EVER read!" – Reviewer"I cried and laughed… I was captivated." –Teresa Koschalk, Reviewer"A story along the lines of Heinlein's best!" –SciFiGirl, Reviewer"Transcendent… a beautiful and well written expression." Tiffany, Reviewer"A Great Series for the SF fan of any Age." Greg T, Reviewer"Twists throughout woven in so well you may not notice the dominos until the very end." Reviewer"This was one of the best sci-fi/tech audiobooks I've heard lately, and frankly I can't believe it's still relatively undiscovered." Ms. Christian C., ReviewerAWARDSIndieReader's BEST BOOKS of 20147 Indie Titles Perfect for the Big Screen –IndieReader (2015)

The Christmas adventures continue. The second volume of the holiday tales you never heard growing up...HUMBUGEb Scrooge is left to run Avocado, Inc., an innovative technology business, all alone. An introverted shut-in locked away in a Colorado mansion, only his servant droids keep him company. Until the gifts arrive.THE MISERWhen Kandi’s dad gets a mysterious call, they fly to a tropical island. Despite the heat, his sunburned client wears a heavy cloak. The world doesn’t know it yet, but Santa Claus is missing. Kandi knows where he is.RONINThere's one Christmas story no one has ever heard, the legend of the biggest and baddest reindeer of them all, the one who leads the sleigh and protects the herd. Billy Big Game doesn’t want to discover the last reindeer. He wants to capture him.REVIEWSA very good read with an ending that will not disappoint. –Amazon Review for HumbugEven Dickens would approve. –Amazon Review for HumbugYou'll LOVE Humbug! –Amazon Review for HumbugAnother great addition to the Claus series –Amazon Review for HumbugA great retelling of a classic story - with a sci-fi twist. –Amazon Review for HumbugA total 10! I love it. –Amazon Review for HumbugI absolutely love his Christmas series. –Amazon Review for The Rise of the MiserAll of these winter wonderland characters are given new and meaningful outlooks as the author re-writes their stories… –Amazon Review for The Rise of the MiserA must read for all Santa followers. –Amazon Review for The Rise of the MiserGreat characters and an awesome twist at the end. –Amazon Review for The Rise of the MiserI love everything he has every written but this is a personal favorite!!! –Amazon Review for The Rise of the Miser

The holiday stories you never heard…In the early 1800s, Nicholas Santa discovered an ancient race of elven.Short, fat and hairy, they have lived peacefully on the North Pole since the Ice Age but Nicholas is quickly swept into the colony’s first and only fracture. The elven known as the Cold One has divided his people. His name is Jack. And Jack’s tired of hiding. Why should they live in a shrinking ice cap when humans occupy the rest of the world?It’s just not fair.There’s no stopping Jack from world domination until Nicholas Santa, the only human to enter the elven colony, joins helium-bladder reindeer, artificially-intelligent snowmen, and a merry band of big-footed elven to bring peace back to the North Pole.And becomes a legend.REVIEWS FOR THE CLAUS UNIVERSE“Amazing rewrites that will astound you!” –Ruth Jackson, Amazon Reviewer“Best Santa Story Ever!” – Bob, Amazon Reviewer“Simply lovely.” –jl, Amazon Reviewer“MY HEART GREW THREE SIZES…” – Amazon Reviewer“Couldn’t Put It Down.” – Amazon Reviewer“Fantasy at it’s [sic] finest.” –Carol, Amazon Reviewer“Absolutely phenomenal!” –JayFly, Amazon Reviewer“A++” –TKJ 131, Amazon Reviewer“Absolutely Awesome.” –Dee greusel, Amazon Reviewer“I absolutely love this series…” –Kara McCabe, Amazon Reviewer“Tony is an excellent story teller!” jjjlake, Amazon Reviewer“I want MORE!” –J. Bunch, Amazon Reviewer“Awesomely engaging!” –Janice Everett, Amazon Reviewer

A new world has arrived…Underground Book Reviews 2015 Top Pick AwardSynthetic stem cells mean no more organ failure, no more pharmaceuticals. No cancer. The human race is stronger and smarter. Is it better?Cali is a nanobiometric engineer who has been her younger brother’s guardian since their parents died. She’s lost too many people in her life to lose another. When the government declares the Halfskin Laws will shut down anyone with too many synthetics, she decides to hide him. Jamie wants to be a halfskin. Her days are dull and pointless. More synthetics would give her control of her life. She’s already 49.9%. One more dose and she registers. Then she gets shutdown. But there is a way to hide.Paul is a brick. 100% synthetic. Only the Sentient Laws keep him alive. Life on the Settlement, however, is hardly living. He wants to escape, to return to a simpler life when he was organic. Imperfect. When he was clay. But that world is over. A new one is just beginning.Follow this twisting, slippery grip on reality as the human race battles for perfection only to discover a secret that is beyond anyone’s imagination.REVIEWS FOR HALFSKIN“This, quite frankly, is one of the best books I’ve read.” –John Gregory Hancock, Amazon Reviewer“WOW.” –Amanda Taylor, Amazon Reviewer“I was not expecting the twists…” –Amazon Reviewer“Hated finishing this book… many hours of enjoyment.” –Eleanor Wendlberger, Amazon Reviewer“Halfskin is one of the best science fiction stories I’ve read this year.” –ACFlory, Amazon Reviewer“Twisty turny, unexpectedness!!!!!! LOVED THE BOOK!” –Aisha-Kimberly Hashmi, Amazon Reviewer“One of the best stories i[sic] have read in a long time!” Brian, Amazon Reviewer“I was absolutely hooked from page 1!” –Amazon ReviewerAWARDSUnderground Book Reviews 2015 Top Pick Award

A place where dreams come true and a nightmare to escape…The boys woke on a tropical island. The girls in the wilderness.They don’t know where they are or how they got there. Remembering who they are is only the beginning.Reed will make great sacrifices to find a lost love. Danny Boy will refuse to let the old men win. Cyn will battle through madness.Their escape is through dreamlands of alternate reality, through deceit and temptation, warped memories and stolen identities.In the end, they’ll discover the greed that powers Foreveralnd and what it wants in return for making dreams come true.Can they find their way out?REVIEWER FOR FOREVERLAND“Foreverland is a psychic roller coaster.” –Amazon Reviewer“Soo amazing that I was yelling at everyone to leave me alone to finish.” –Shannon, Amazon Reviewer“One of the best series I’ve ever read.” –Amazon Reviewer“What a freaking ride!!” –Dianne, Amazon Reviewer“Addictive and delicious!” –Amazon Reviewer“Potent page-turner… Foreverland will grasp you from the very first page.” –Mallory a. Haws, The Haunted Reading Room Reviews“It doesn’t get better than this…” –Amazon Reviewer“Mindblowing and original… one of the best I’ve ever read.” –Alex Slater, Amazon Reviewer“Brilliant read… will have you on the edge off [sic] your seat.” –John Jackson, Amazon Reviewer

The 1st novel in the Claus Universe. The stories you never heard...In the early 1800s, Nicholas Santa discovered an ancient race of elven.Short, fat and hairy, they have lived peacefully on the North Pole since the Ice Age but Nicholas is quickly swept into the colony’s first and only fracture. The elven known as the Cold One has divided his people. His name is Jack. And Jack’s tired of hiding. Why should they live in a shrinking ice cap when humans occupy the rest of the world?It’s just not fair.There’s no stopping Jack from world domination until Nicholas Santa, the only human to enter the elven colony, joins helium-bladder reindeer, artificially-intelligent snowmen, and a merry band of big-footed elven to bring peace back to the North Pole.And becomes a legend.REVIEWS FOR THE CLAUS UNIVERSE“Amazing rewrites that will astound you!” –Ruth Jackson, Amazon Reviewer“Best Santa Story Ever!” – Bob, Amazon Reviewer“Simply lovely.” –jl, Amazon Reviewer“MY HEART GREW THREE SIZES…” – Amazon Reviewer“Couldn’t Put It Down.” – Amazon Reviewer“Fantasy at it’s [sic] finest.” –Carol, Amazon Reviewer“Absolutely phenomenal!” –JayFly, Amazon Reviewer“A++” –TKJ 131, Amazon Reviewer“Absolutely Awesome.” –Dee greusel, Amazon Reviewer“I absolutely love this series…” –Kara McCabe, Amazon Reviewer“Tony is an excellent story teller!” jjjlake, Amazon Reviewer“I want MORE!” –J. Bunch, Amazon Reviewer“Awesomely engaging!” –Janice Everett, Amazon Reviewer

Six teenage girls wake with no memories. One of them is in a brick mansion, her blonde hair as shiny as her shoes. The others are in a cabin, their names tagged to the inside of their pants. Their heads, shaved. Slashes mark the cabin wall like someone has been counting. Hundreds of them.There’s wilderness all around and one dead adult. The girls discover her body rotting somewhere in the trees. As the weeks pass, they band together to survive the cold, wondering where they are and how they got there. And why. When an old man arrives with a teenage boy, the girls learn of a faraway island called Foreverland where dreams come true and anything is possible. But Foreverland is dead. In order to escape the wilderness, they’ll have to understand where they are. More importantly, who they are.INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHORHOW IMPORTANT ARE NAMES TO YOU IN THIS BOOK. DID YOU CHOOSE THEM BASED ON SOUND OR MEANING?Almost all of my books have names with special meaning, some foreshadowing a big twist. In The Annihilation of Foreverland, Reed’s name was symbolic of his ability to tolerate suffering, bending in the face of gale forces but never breaking. WHERE DOES YOUR TOMORROW SPRING FROM? IN OTHER WORDS, HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE CRAZY WORLD?Sometimes, I can’t remember how the story started by the time I get to the end. The Annihilation of Foreverland started with the premise of identity. I wanted to write it as a YA book in the science fiction dystopia genre in a way that slowly unfolded as well as questioned who we are and explore our fear of death, and what we’re willing to do to avoid it. Like all of my stories, it does have a romantic angle mixed into the action. Because it should.GIVE YOUR BOOK THE BECHDEL TEST. IT HAS TO HAVE AT LEAST TWO (NAMED) WOMEN IN IT WHO TALK TO EACH OTHER ABOUT SOMETHING BESIDES A MAN.I failed because there’s only one female in The Annihilation of Foreverland. However, the young adult sequel (Foreverland is Dead) passes with flying colors since its mostly female characters that rarely talk about men.WHAT SORT OF BODY COUNT ARE WE TALKING HERE?The bodies die, but not necessarily the characters. Chew on that a second.DO YOU WANT YOUR TOMORROW TO MAKE IT BIG, AS IN JK ROWLINGS-BIG? WHY OR WHY NOT?Believe it or not, no. Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to make enough cash to pay off this house and send my kids to college, but I’ll pass on fame and fortune. Anonymity is a blessing.YOU CAST YOUR CHARACTERS FOR A MOVIE. WHO MAKES IT?In The Annihilation of Foreverland, I only casted two characters in my head while I was writing it. The Director is Jeff Bridges and Mr. Jones is Anthony Hopkins. It was like watching a movie as I wrote.HAVE YOU WRITTEN IN ANY OTHER GENRES BESIDES YA DYSTOPIAN? WHAT DREW YOU TO YOU THIS GENRE?I’ve been fascinated by consciousness, identity and what this all means since I was young. I would read my grandfather’s science fiction books with elements of artificial intelligence and alternate realities and wonder what happened when they died? I suppose that’s why all of my writing deals with the big mysteries of life in one way or another. In a way, I write for my own exploration, in a sort of thought experiment approach, pulling apart our identities, exploring what makes us who we are. If I lost my memories, would I still be me? If I had my body parts replaced with synthetic replications, at what point would I not be me? Do I even need a body? What am I?A few years ago, I figured I’d write a romance novel. Since all of my books have a romantic element, I thought it would be fun. Halfway through the novel, I found myself thinking more and more about the next project—a dystopian idea. So 40,000 words in, I scrapped the romance novel and got back to what I love. Science fiction.

Tyler Ballard was in prison when his son created a dreamworld called Foreverland, a place so boundless and spellbinding that no one ever wanted to leave. Or did. Now his son is dead, his wife is comatose and Tyler is still imprisoned.But he planned it that way.The final piece of his vision falls into place when Alessandra Diosa investigates the crimes of Foreverland. Tyler will use her to create a new dimension of reality beyond anything his son ever imagined—a Foreverland for the entire world. Danny, living outside of Spain since escaping the very first Foreverland, begins receiving mysterious clues that lead him to Cyn. They are both Foreverland survivors, but they have more in common than survival. They become pieces of another grand plan, one designed to stop Tyler Ballard. No one knows who is sending the clues, but some suspect Reed, another Foreverland survivor. Reed, however, is dead. Everyone will make one last trip back to Foreverland to find out who sent them. And why.INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHORHOW IMPORTANT ARE NAMES TO YOU IN THIS BOOK. DID YOU CHOOSE THEM BASED ON SOUND OR MEANING?Almost all of my books have names with special meaning, some foreshadowing a big twist. In The Annihilation of Foreverland, Reed’s name was symbolic of his ability to tolerate suffering, bending in the face of gale forces but never breaking. WHERE DOES YOUR TOMORROW SPRING FROM? IN OTHER WORDS, HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE CRAZY WORLD?Sometimes, I can’t remember how the story started by the time I get to the end. The Annihilation of Foreverland started with the premise of identity. I wanted to write it as a YA book in the science fiction dystopia genre in a way that slowly unfolded as well as questioned who we are and explore our fear of death, and what we’re willing to do to avoid it. Like all of my stories, it does have a romantic angle mixed into the action. Because it should.GIVE YOUR BOOK THE BECHDEL TEST. IT HAS TO HAVE AT LEAST TWO (NAMED) WOMEN IN IT WHO TALK TO EACH OTHER ABOUT SOMETHING BESIDES A MAN.I failed because there’s only one female in The Annihilation of Foreverland. However, the young adult sequel (Foreverland is Dead) passes with flying colors since its mostly female characters that rarely talk about men.WHAT SORT OF BODY COUNT ARE WE TALKING HERE?The bodies die, but not necessarily the characters. Chew on that a second.DO YOU WANT YOUR TOMORROW TO MAKE IT BIG, AS IN JK ROWLINGS-BIG? WHY OR WHY NOT?Believe it or not, no. Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to make enough cash to pay off this house and send my kids to college, but I’ll pass on fame and fortune. Anonymity is a blessing.YOU CAST YOUR CHARACTERS FOR A MOVIE. WHO MAKES IT?In The Annihilation of Foreverland, I only casted two characters in my head while I was writing it. The Director is Jeff Bridges and Mr. Jones is Anthony Hopkins. It was like watching a movie as I wrote.HAVE YOU WRITTEN IN ANY OTHER GENRES BESIDES YA DYSTOPIAN? WHAT DREW YOU TO YOU THIS GENRE?I’ve been fascinated by consciousness, identity and what this all means since I was young. I would read my grandfather’s science fiction books with elements of artificial intelligence and alternate realities and wonder what happened when they died? I suppose that’s why all of my writing deals with the big mysteries of life in one way or another. In a way, I write for my own exploration, in a sort of thought experiment approach, pulling apart our identities, exploring what makes us who we are. If I lost my memories, would I still be me? If I had my body parts replaced with synthetic replications, at what point would I not be me? Do I even need a body? What am I?Since all of my books have a romantic element, I thought I would write a romance novel. Halfway through the novel, I found myself thinking about the next project—a dystopian idea. So 40,000 words in, I scrapped the romance novel and got back to what I love. Science fiction.