Books with author Richard Mantel

MCALISTER’S WAY FREE Weekly Serialisation Volume 13 Chapters 24 — 25The FINAL Volume!A Young Adult Action and Adventure Story for Baby BoomersThank you for taking the time to read this serialisation. I hope you liked reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.EpilogueWhen I first wrote McAlister’s Way I had no plans for a sequel. In fact I was thinking of turning my Viking novel, The Wealth, into a trilogy, which still might happen. However after writing the epilogue I realised I couldn’t leave the story hovering so Danny and Angela’s adventures grew into a four-volume set.I wrote McAlister’s Spark in the middle of it all, which is a post-apocalyptic survival adventure with our collator Zach taking centre-stage.I have also added three McAlister prequels set in the Napoleonic Wars, Wild West and WWI. I’m working on a fourth, set during the Spanish Civil War and into WWII which will give an uninterrupted 200 years of McAlister Family action and adventure.FOLLOW Danny, Angelia, Monty, Frenchy and the rest of the characters in this series in action-packed adventure after adventure across South East Asia, Africa, the USA, the UK, and beyond in the other books of The McAlister Line.Download this FREE volume to get the full list.Richard Marman, Author==============KEYWORDS/TAGS: McAlister’s Way, action, adventure, Zach, Danny, military, helicopters, choppers, soldiers, airmen, boarding school, priests, child abuse, attack, New South Wales, Australia, Sydney, Merimbula, plane, flight, fly, Young Adult, YA, explore, discover, New Guinea, CMF, enlist, Kodoka Track, MIA, Missing In Action, Japanese surrender, WWII, war, WW2, Tropic of Capricorn, Rockhampton,, aerodynamics, airport, Andrew, Ange, assign, Aunt, beach, behead, bio, Bishop, bloke, burial, chemo, coach, Cobar, Collins, colony, Commissioner, complaint, complete, concentrate, Dad, Daiman Ailan, Daiman-Sikmanmeri, Dana, DC-3, Dakota, C-47, Skytrain, Desmond, die, disease, doctor, Doris, dorky, dozen, egg-heads, Elizabeth, engines, England, enroll, experience, fleet, flight-planning, Frenchy, friends, future, gaol, Gertrude, Girls, glam, Googled, Goose, Gordon, Grace, Grandpa, grandson, handsome, happy, holiday, Hons, Horii, hospital, island, Jack, Jane, Joan, Kago, kinda, knew, know, Lady Burdekin, Lae, landing, laptop, Lenny, London, looker, man-hug, Manus, marry, maths, MBE, McAlister’s, medical, memories, military, Monsignor, Monty, Nan, Natalie, Navy, Nem, nerdy, New Guinea, Nogat, NSW, ocean, Pacific, paddocks, PhD, physics, pilot, pirates, plane, Professor, Rabaul, radio, samurai, scarper, school, scum, sea, secret, Sister, Southern, Stanley, stories, sugar cane, sword, Sydney, tall-tales, Taylor, Tynan, University, Ursicinus, wicked, Will, woman, Wynter, Zach, Zachary. leprosy

Zach McAlister’s mother is sick and due to go into hospital for an operation. To “get him out the way” his father puts him on a flight to Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia where he is met by his Grandfather Danny McAlister.Out on his Grandfather’s ranch, or what’s left of it, it didn’t take Zach long to become bored silly. Hunting around for things to do, he finds a box of old photos and a strip of six medals hidden away. The photos were mostly dog-eared and ragged at the edges. Mostly they were of young blokes hanging around tanks and military stuff, and there were lots of choppers. You know, those beat up ones you see in all the war movies. When he looked closer he realised that most of the guys in the photos didn’t look much older than Zach himself! And then there were the letters from a woman named Angela.He takes the box to his Grandfather and asks him about the medals and the photos, and that’s where our story starts, well kind off.KEYWORDS/TAGS: McAlister’s Way, action, adventure, Zach, Danny, military, helicopters, choppers, soldiers, airmen, boarding school, priests, child abuse, attack, New South Wales, Australia, Sydney, Merimbula, plane, flight, fly, Young Adult, YA, explore, discover, New Guinea, CMF, enlist, Kodoka Track, MIA, Missing In Action, Japanese surrender, WWII, war, WW2, Tropic of Capricorn, Rockhampton,

MCALISTER’S WAY - FREE Weekly SerialisationVolume 6 Chapters 10 — 11A Young Adult Action and Adventure Story for Baby BoomersMore personal insights from the author.Chapter 10New Guinea was a great place to visit during the 1970s, but if don’t know much about today. I remember snorkelling on the reef off Madang. It wasn’t until I came back to the beach I saw the ‘Beware of Crocodiles’ sign which faced seawards. The ‘are-see’ gag actually happened on a flight across the United States.Chapter 11When I was a school kid I hated study and research, but now I love it because it leads you to unexpected places. I’d never heard of the Tuskegee Red Tails, before writing McAlister’s Way.Richard Marman, Author, Sunshine Coast==============For the FREE DOWNLOADS of Vols 1 through 5, go to https://www.facebook.com/McAlistersAdventures/==============KEYWORDS/TAGS: McAlister’s Way, action, adventure, Zach, military, helicopters, choppers, DC3, Dakota, Gooney Bird, soldiers, airmen, attack, New South Wales, Australia, Sydney, Merimbula, plane, flight, fly, Young Adult, YA, explore, discover, abroad, air, airspeed, Angela, boat, calm, canoes, , All-Black, American, Angela Holyman, appear, Army, believe, Chennault, Christian, Corps, cyclone, Danny McAlister, fishing, Flight school, God, Goose, gunny, islands, lieutenant, Mad, man, military, Montgomery, Monty, New Guinea, niggers, Pacific, pilot, plane, planes, Port Moresby, sharks, village, villagers, war, water, yoke

MCALISTER’S WAY FREE Weekly Serialisation Volume 3 Chapters 4 & 5A Young Adult Action and Adventure Story for Baby BoomersHere are some more reflections to ponder over the next two serial chaptersChapter 4A teenager’s first sexual encounters can be awkward and embarrassing and I’ve tried to tackle the issue sympathetically and with tolerance. But, here’s a conundrum for you. In the case of boys an experienced woman may be just what they need to get the ball rolling — forgive the double-entendre — yet for girls an older man may be seen as a sexual predator.Chapter 5I fell in love with the Great Barrier Reef when I first went there in 1972 and have often snorkelled and occasionally dived there since then. Despite the latest bleaching, it’s still the most spectacular reef in the world. There is something extra special about sighting your first shark when snorkelling.==============KEYWORDS/TAGS: McAlister’s Way, action, adventure, Zach, Danny, military, helicopters, choppers, soldiers, airmen, attack, New South Wales, Australia, Sydney, Merimbula, plane, flight, fly, Young Adult, YA, explore, discover, New Guinea, enlist, MIA, Missing In Action, Japanese, WWII, war, WW2, Tropic of Capricorn, Indo China, Vietnam, , accompanied, advantage, alcohol, a-penny-a-point, attention, AWU, bambino, barmaid, barracks, barroom, Beatrice, Beryl, Bob, Calm, camp, cane-cutters, Canna, cigarette-smoking, Cobar, Coles, coraggioso, Cowra, Criterion, cutters, damage, Danny, deck, den-of-iniquity, diesel, diggers, discover, dockside, drink, English, equipment, GI, Giovanni, girls, Gladys, Great Barrier Reef, grog, handsome, hell, Hotel, hover, Hoy, hydro-electric, inch-by-inch, Italian, Jack, killed, Lady Burdekin, Lenny, luck, machine, Mackay, Margaret, married, meat-and-two-veg, Noemi, north, opportunity, Penina, Plantation, POW, prawn, Ricci, roared into life, rozzers, Saturday, scatter, shack, shotgun, soon, stiletto-heeled, trawler, truck, under age, union, veranda, Whitsunday Islands, woman, work, XXXX

McALISTER’S WAY VOLUME 09FREE Weekly Serialisation - Chapters 16 & 17A Young Adult Action and Adventure Story for Baby BoomersChapter 16I had some fun writing chapter with Monty teasing Angela at every opportunity. I’d never thought about the origins of a Big-Mac but it didn’t take much digging to find out, so I thought I share that information with you in this chapter.Chapter 17Take-off for float-planes is a lot trickier than land-bases planes. The water surface acts like glue and a huge amount of drag has to be overcome before the plane becomes airborne. It’s like water-skiing — once you’re planing it’s easy to jump above the surface. This chapter introduces Sim Long Li, for whom I have a special affection. Although I nearly went crazy getting his accent right and changing his ‘Rs’ for ‘Ls’.Richard Marman, Author, Sunshine Coast, Australia==============KEYWORDS/TAGS: McAlister’s Way, action, adventure, Angela Holyman, Zach, military, helicopters, choppers, DC3, Dakota, Gooney Bird, soldiers, airmen, attack, New South Wales, Australia, Sydney, Merimbula, plane, flight, fly, Young Adult, YA, explore, discover, MIA, Missing In Action, surrender, WWII, war, WW2, Tropic of Capricorn, Vietnam, Korea, Indo China, , Ailan, airstrip, Asian, beach, coral, daddy, Daiman-Sikmanmeri, Danny McAlister, fish, girls, Goose, Graham, hospital, island, Japanese, jetty, Kago, Kagotaun, Lae, landing, medical, Montgomery, Monty, plane, sea, shack, shirring, shore, supplies, surged, tidal, tsunami, volcano, war, wave

MCALISTER’S WAY FREE Volume 10 - Weekly Serialisation Chapters 18 — 19A Young Adult Action and Adventure Story for Baby BoomersChapter 18So many ex-servicemen, especially those who’ve seen combat or been wounded are now diagnosed with PTSD, some people feel it may be a band-wagon in many cases. PTSD manifests itself in so many different ways how can anyone judge what is a genuine case or simply a bad day. I have a completely irrational reaction to crashing kitchenware, bicycle bells and I’m rubbish as a car passenger all of which may be PTSD symptoms. So many Vietnam vets were unable to re-assimilate after coming home many went back to SE Asia where they felt more at ease.Chapter 19One mystery of WWII is revealed in this chapter — well it’s a possibility I couldn’t let pass by. Sometimes the joy of writing a historical novel is the actual events were so exciting, you just place your characters in the middle of it all and let the story tell itself. What was the mystery? Well there’s only one way to find out - and it's FREE. So what are you waiting for…………==============FORMATS: ePub, Kindle & PDFFor the FREE DOWNLOADS of Vols 1 through 9, go to https://www.facebook.com/McAlistersAdventures/ or check out your favourite eBook store.==============KEYWORDS/TAGS: Richard Marman, Author, Sunshine Coast, New South Wales, Australia, McAlister’s Way, action, adventure, Angela Holyman, Zach, military, helicopters, choppers, DC3, Dakota, Gooney Bird, soldiers, airmen, attack, Sydney, Merimbula, plane, flight, fly, Young Adult, YA, explore, discover, MIA, Missing In Action, surrender, WWII, war, WW2, Tropic of Capricorn, Vietnam, Korea, Indo China, Ailan, anaesthetic, atrocities, beach, big-house, Blimey, bloody, boat, Celeste, cheongsams, clambered, Daiman, girls, God, half, hands, huts, Imperial, islands, Japanese, jetty, jungle, Kago, Kagotaun, Kennedy, landslide, Mayu, Monty, out-rigger, people, pier, prisoner, punch, race, Rocky, shoreline, Sister, soldier, Stanley, Struth, sword, undergrowth, volunteers, war, wave, wharf, wound, yell

MCALISTER’S WAY - FREE Weekly Serialisation Volume 4 Chapters 6 & 7A Young Adult Action and Adventure Story for Baby BoomersMore musing from the author……….Chapter 6When I first immigrated to Australia, Aboriginals were not yet citizens and the cultural-clash this caused still exists. For native people to evolve socially in two hundred years when it took Europeans ten thousand is a big ask and all the well-intentioned interventions won’t change that.Chapter 7I started flying sixteen years after Danny McAlister’s adventure, but know Townsville and Port Moresby Airports well. The weather is wonderful in the dry-season while it can be treacherous in during the wet.Richard Marman, Author, Sunshine Coast=================KEYWORDS/TAGS: McAlister’s Way, action, adventure, Zach, military, helicopters, choppers, soldiers, airmen, attack, New South Wales, Australia, Sydney, Merimbula, plane, flight, fly, Young Adult, YA, explore, discover, Townsville, Port Moresby, , airborne, ammunition, beach, Bob, bully-beef, Cape York, cargo, Clements, Coastwatchers, Cobar, cockpit, contraband, co-pilot, crates, Dakota, Danny, DC-3, dingy, engines, Garbutt, gooney-bird, Guadalcanal, inspection, instruments, Island, Jack, Japanese, Lady Burdekin, Lou, Magnetic Bearing, Major, military, New Guinea, Penina, pilot, plane, RAAF, radio, Royal Australian Air Force, runway, scramble, service, sharks, Sid, slam, slipstream, smuggle, soldiers, spear-fishing, take-off, tarmac, Townsville, underwater

MCALISTER’S WAY - FREE Weekly Serialisation Volume 05 Chapters 8 & 9A Young Adult Action and Adventure Story for Baby BoomersBy now you’ve probably got the idea. I add a few thoughts about each chapter as we go along.Chapter 8A couple of years before Cyclone Tracy (1974) I flew through the eye of a cyclone en-route from Changi (Singapore) to Darwin (Northern Territory, Australia). I was a C-130 co-pilot at the time and was all for turning back to Singapore, but the skipper pressed on and boy did we cop a pounding on the approach to Darwin with just enough fuel to divert to Tindal where the weather wasn’t much better.Chapter 9One of the features of cyclones is how they build up over days, but can dissipate in hours. In 1986 I captained a Fokker Friendship around Australia on a Woman’s Weekly charter. We were in grounded in Katherine by a late season cyclone. We spent the day at Mataranka and went swimming in Bitter Springs. Water temperature 30°C, air temperature 30°C, humidity 100%, pouring rain. The next day the weather had cleared entirely.Richard Marman, Author, Sunshine Coast==============KEYWORDS/TAGS: McAlister’s Way, action, adventure, Zach, military, helicopters, choppers, DC3, Dakota, Gooney Bird, soldiers, airmen, attack, New South Wales, Australia, Sydney, Merimbula, plane, flight, fly, Young Adult, YA, explore, discover, aboard, air, airspeed, Angela, boat, calm, canoes, cargo, close, coconut, controls, crate, Danny, drop, engines, fin, float, fuselage, gooney-bird, ice, Indianapolis, jacket, life-jacket, little, Lou, natives, ocean, outrigger, palm, plane, pretty, propellers, raft, reach, scream, sea, seemed, shark, sharks, Sid, sky, start, storm, storm, surface, surround, swirl, tail, tropical, turned, Unfortunate, water, waves, wing, wings

They're the cookies that bite back!...The man got on the forklift and disappeared into another section of the warehouse. He came back with a sad looking pallet of boxes, a few were soaked all the way through, dripping that red fluid onto the floor. A couple of the boxes twitched and jerked. One fell to the floor, hopping and rolling around. He rolled his eyes and dismounted the forklift in a huff. He walked over to the box and kicked it repeatedly until it stopped moving. He picked it up, the box dripping from the corner, and threw it back on the pallet, which caused a few of the other boxes to shake even more violently. He looked at Hansel. "Still fresh," he said...Hansel and Gretel are two long-haul truckers, a brother and sister team, whose work order is simple: Deliver a truckload of cookies cross-country to an old witch in the forest.They stop to pick up their load and notice something isn’t right. Pastries shouldn’t be bleeding and screaming and trying to escape their boxes.Once upon a time, in an orphanage, lived a rather ugly child. Picked on mercilessly by her peers until one by one the orphans went missing. Now an old witch with a cookie addiction, she sits alone in her mansion made of sweets, waiting for her delivery of baked goods with the one special ingredient in them.Will Hansel and Gretel make their delivery on time? Will they make it out alive? Will Hansel finally admit that Gretel is the better driver?Indulge your appetite and feast your eyes on this new twist on an age-old tale.Note: This series does not need to be read in alphabetical order. Mix and match! Trade with friends!

These aren't your childhood fairy tales."The best thing I've read since sliced bread!" -Name WithheldContained herein are three stories so twisted, they'll make you question your own sanity.Need proof? See below.One food he was curious about was the Fruit that hung from the special tree in the center of the garden. He was very tempted to eat one, just to see what it tasted like, since it looked delicious. But God said no. He was never sure why God said no. Something about how the tree possessed knowledge, and if he ate the fruits that blossomed from it, he would suddenly know things. At first it all sounded a little like science fiction to him, and a lot like bullshit. And so what if he did know things? What was the harm in that? But who was he to question God? Soon, however, he began to believe that maybe there was some truth to this knowledge thing after all. He often caught one of the goats eating a fallen Fruit from the Tree, and he was beginning to believe that the goat was becoming smarter than him. It had even learned how to walk on its hind legs, and was beginning to speak Arabic. This seemed a little too close to evolution, and he was quite surprised that God didn't put a stop to that right away. If this kept up, soon the monkeys may start turning into people. And that was some real messed up stuff. He stared at the Tree. Some day he was going to eat one of those Fruits. He'd be damned if he was going to be outwitted by a goat. -A is for AdamThe lights beaming off the disco ball played tricks with the eye as they danced through Jimmy DiFreno's chest hair. He was quite proud of his chest hair. It was part of his culture to be proud of his chest hair. He wasn't much to look at. He didn't have the classic chiseled looks of a Rudy Valentino or an Antonio Sabato Jr. One that could make the ladies swoon while simultaneously being a silent killer. No, he had the stereotypical looks of a James Gandolfini: Six-foot-two, two hundred seventy-five pounds, give or take. He knew that if he kept eating the way he did, he would most likely end up like the late great Gandolfini, but boy, did he love his gabagool. And spaghetti and meatballs. And pasta fazool. And pie. You get the picture. Not that he wasn't a good-looking guy in his own way; it's just hard to get people to believe that he wasn't in the mob with his appearance being the way it was. I mean, he was in the mob, in fact, he was the don; I'm just saying he couldn't hide the fact.-B is for BearShe looked down at the piece of pie on her own plate. It was the shape of a wedge of pie. That's where the comparison ended. The steam rising up from the hot dessert carried with it a stench the likes of which none of you fine people will ever have the misfortune of sniffing. And if you do, may God have mercy on your soul. She dug her fork in, which for some odd reason only had two tines, which made her a little jealous of her brother. Not only did he get what appeared to be the better dessert, he also got the better fork. A squealy, squeaky sound issued forth from the pie as the fork penetrated it. A gunky, snotty sludge the color of used motor oil and old mayonnaise dripped down from where the tines pierced, and blood ran out of the pores where the chocolate chips rested like blackheads on an old man's back. She risked taking a bite, and it tasted like pig meat wrapped in a 100 percent cotton undershirt.-C is for CookiePick up your copy today and see why readers are calling it outlandish. Hysterical. On the brink of lunacy.A big ol' word-buffet of the familiar and the surreal. You’ll be asking for seconds.Note: This series does not need to be read in alphabetical order. Mix and match! Trade with friends!