Books published by publisher Hooligan Press

Fans of Fablehaven and Harry Potter will love this modern spin on fantasy with the "hilariously epic journey" (Readers' Favorite) of a boy stuck in a magical land who can still post about his adventures on social media and YouTube! Thirteen-year-old Sam Shelton is the only person in Avalon who can't use the magical power of aether. He's also the only person in Avalon with a bag of high-tech spy gear, a solar-powered cell phone with intermittent signal back to Earth, a YouTube account, and a murderous wizard-emperor on his tail...so he's got a lot going for him. When an earthquake hits his hometown of Bozeman, Montana, Sam gets inexplicably transported to Avalon, a strange world in which aether defines all aspects of life: the rich, the poor, the weak, the powerful, the oppressed, and the oppressors. Sam soon discovers that not only is he immune to aether's magical effects but that he possesses the rare ability to destroy the stuff on contact. This phenomenon poses something of a major concern for the Emperor of Avalon, a tyrant who has dedicated his life to amassing more aether than all his subjects combined. While trying to find a way back home, Sam learns that his best hope lies with meeting the emperor head on, and draining the tyrant of his power. To do that, Sam will need to band together with a medieval cowboy, a young aether prodigy, and a curious dryad, all while using his whole bag of technological tricks...and posting about it on social media, of course. In Passage to Avalon, Mike Thayer takes a humorous, action-packed, and modern spin on the portal fantasy genre in the first book of The Epic Adventures of the Techno Wizard, a series that combines magical fantasy with near future technology and social media.

Thirteen-year-old Sam Shelton is the only person in Avalon who can’t use the magical power of aether. He’s also the only person in Avalon with a bag of high-tech spy gear, a solar-powered cell phone with intermittent signal back to Earth, a YouTube account, and a murderous wizard-emperor on his tail…so he’s got a lot going for him. When an earthquake hits his hometown of Bozeman, Montana, Sam gets inexplicably transported to Avalon, a strange world in which aether defines all aspects of life: the rich, the poor, the weak, the powerful, the oppressed, and the oppressors. Sam soon discovers that not only is he immune to aether’s magical effects, but that he possesses the rare ability to destroy the stuff on contact. This phenomenon poses something of a major concern for the Emperor of Avalon, a tyrant who has dedicated his life to amassing more aether than all his subjects combined. While trying to find a way back home, Sam learns that his best hope lies with meeting the emperor head on, and draining the tyrant of his power. To do that, Sam will need to band together with a medieval cowboy, a young aether prodigy, and a curious dryad, all while using his whole bag of technological tricks…and posting about it on social media, of course.In Passage to Avalon, Mike Thayer takes a humorous, action-packed, and modern spin on the portal fantasy genre in the first book of The Epic Adventures of the Techno Wizard, a series that combines magical fantasy with near future technology and social media.

Thirteen-year-old Sam Shelton is the only person in Avalon who can’t use the magical power of aether. He’s also the only person in Avalon with a bag of high-tech spy gear, a solar-powered cell phone with intermittent signal back to Earth, a YouTube account, and a murderous wizard-emperor on his tail…so he’s got a lot going for him. When an earthquake hits his hometown of Bozeman, Montana, Sam gets inexplicably transported to Avalon, a strange world in which aether defines all aspects of life: the rich, the poor, the weak, the powerful, the oppressed, and the oppressors. Sam soon discovers that not only is he immune to aether’s magical effects, but that he possesses the rare ability to destroy the stuff on contact. This phenomenon poses something of a major concern for the Emperor of Avalon, a tyrant who has dedicated his life to amassing more aether than all his subjects combined. While trying to find a way back home, Sam learns that his best hope lies with meeting the emperor head on, and draining the tyrant of his power. To do that, Sam will need to band together with a medieval cowboy, a young aether prodigy, and a curious dryad, all while using his whole bag of technological tricks…and posting about it on social media, of course.In Passage to Avalon, Mike Thayer takes a humorous, action-packed, and modern spin on the portal fantasy genre in the first book of The Epic Adventures of the Techno Wizard, a series that combines magical fantasy with near future technology and social media.

When Sam Shelton appeared in Avalon nearly a year ago, it was fate that joined him together with Willow, Cornelius, and Roanna. They've since toppled unbeatable generals, bested champions in combat, and fought back hordes of terrifying monsters. The Mavericks had the emperor on his heels, or so they thought. The wizard ruler of Avalon has retaliated and toils away on his secret plan from the bowels of his mountain stronghold. As Sam and his group journey northward to test their wits and skills against the famed Trials of Olen, both old and new demons threaten to pull the group apart from the inside. Can Sam keep the group together and claim Olen's fabled prize or is the emperor one step ahead? Will Sam ever find the location of the Gate Minder's Key? Find out that and more in The Vacant Realm!

Rebellion against the Emperor of Avalon grows as rumors spread of the Collector’s defeat at the hands of the Techno Wizard. Sam Shelton and his friends now seek powerful new allies as they travel to the Great Rampart of the Uncharted Lands – a towering, armored wall built for a single purpose: to keep the citizens of the Wildland Kingdom on one side and the foulest monsters in all of Avalon on the other. Something, however, is not right in the Uncharted Lands. The attacks on the wall grow fiercer, more frequent, more coordinated and Sam’s drone catches a glimpse of an evil long-forgotten. Can Sam and his friends convince the Queen of the Wildland Kingdom to fight the emperor or does a slumbering threat pose an even greater risk? Don’t miss the second book in Mike Thayer’s The Epic Adventures of the Techno Wizard. The Uncharted Lands delivers more action, more chills, and more laughs in the series that everyone is talking about…everyone cool, at least.

When Sam Shelton appeared in Avalon nearly a year ago, it was fate that joined him together with Willow, Cornelius, and Roanna. They've since toppled unbeatable generals, bested champions in combat, and fought back hordes of terrifying monsters. The Mavericks had the emperor on his heels, or so they thought. The wizard ruler of Avalon has retaliated and toils away on his secret plan from the bowels of his mountain stronghold. As Sam and his group journey northward to test their wits and skills against the famed Trials of Olen, both old and new demons threaten to pull the group apart from the inside. Can Sam keep the group together and claim Olen's fabled prize or is the emperor one step ahead? Will Sam ever find the location of the Gate Minder's Key? Find out that and more in The Vacant Realm!

Rebellion against the Emperor of Avalon grows as rumors spread of the Collector’s defeat at the hands of the Techno Wizard. Sam Shelton and his friends now seek powerful new allies as they travel to the Great Rampart of the Uncharted Lands – a towering, armored wall built for a single purpose: to keep the citizens of the Wildland Kingdom on one side and the foulest monsters in all of Avalon on the other. Something, however, is not right in the Uncharted Lands. The attacks on the wall grow fiercer, more frequent, more coordinated and Sam’s drone catches a glimpse of an evil long-forgotten. Can Sam and his friends convince the Queen of the Wildland Kingdom to fight the emperor or does a slumbering threat pose an even greater risk? Don’t miss the second book in Mike Thayer’s The Epic Adventures of the Techno Wizard. The Uncharted Lands delivers more action, more chills, and more laughs in the series that everyone is talking about…everyone cool, at least.

Fifteen-year-old Laurel Summers couldn’t tell you the last words she spoke to her mother and siblings if her life depended on it. But she will never forget the image of her mother’s mangled green car on the freeway, shattering the boring world Laurel had been so desperate to escape. Now she can’t stop seeing the ghosts of her family members, which haunt her with memories of how life used to be back when her biggest problem was the kiss she shared with her best friend Hanna. After the accident, Laurel and her dad are left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Her dad is struggling with his grief and depression, unable to cope with the loss of his family. He seeks a way out of his pain, leaving Laurel behind while he struggles to cope with his own mental illness. She is desperate to find a way to hold everything together again and help her father come to terms with the loss so he can come back to her. Laurel tries to make sense of her pain with the help of her grandparents, her two best friends, and some random strangers. As she struggles to understand who she is without her family, she must come to terms with the items on her List of Things Not to Talk About, learn to trust her dad again, and―on top of it all―keep her heart open to love in the wake of her immense loss, eventually learning that it’s okay to not be okay.

Sixteen-year-old Mattie Rollins has it all figured out. She'll ace her advanced high school courses, earn a college scholarship, and create a new life for herself and her family. There's no time for distractions—no friends, no fun, and especially no boys.But Mattie's brilliant plan crumbles after first becoming homeless, forcing her family to live in the confines of their beat-up station wagon, Ruby, and then the mysterious disappearance of her mother. With life against her at every turn and fewer options every day, Mattie and her kid sister must learn how to live—not just survive—in their uncertain circumstances while racing to discover the truth behind their mother’s disappearance. Mattie will have to find the strength to keep searching for her mother and to keep her dreams alive before they both slip away forever.

When Roger Henneous first dons his keeper uniform and sets foot in the Oregon Zoo, he doesn't know what to expect. But over his thirty-year career, Roger discovers the joys, difficulties, and dangers of life in a zoo, all the while maintaining an unwavering devotion to Belle, Packy, and the rest of the Asian elephants in his care. As their friend, Roger faces many risks―but his willingness to learn their language and speak for the herd makes him unique among his contemporaries. In return, the elephants give Roger a rare level of trust and respect, reminding us how much we can learn when we choose to listen. Elephant Speak: A Devoted Keeper's Life Among the Herd takes place in a time when ethical conversations about animal comfort, safety, and enrichment in zoos were just beginning. More than an evolutionary history of zookeeping, this unique biography celebrates the extraordinary bonds between humans and elephants and asks what we owe elephants, where we have fallen short, and how we can move forward together.

Seventeen-year-old Lovisa King leaves Missouri for the Oregon Territory in 1845. A Heart for Any Fate, based on the history of a company of real pioneers, tells the story of the King family, whose careful plans are challenged by the harsh, unforeseen realities of overland travel. The family makes the unfortunate decision to follow guide Stephen Meek, who leads them into blistering weather, drought, and treacherous river crossings along a shortcut that becomes known as the Terrible Trail.

Never leave someone behind: it’s a promise easier made than kept, especially when seventeen-year-old Pip takes the headstrong twelve-year-old Iris under her protection in the wake of an earth-shattering plague. After an unspeakable tragedy, the duo must negotiate the complexities of their own identities amid the nearly unrecognizable remains of Spokane, Washington. When they're captured by a violent gang, Pip and Iris meet Fly, a stubborn and courageous older girl. When their captors exchange them for supplies at Thistle Hill Orchard, an idyllic farm turned commune, it seems that the girls' luck has finally changed for the better. But the proselytizing of Veronica, Thistle Hill's leader, and the looming presence of her right-hand man, Granville―who is more snake than cowboy―make the trio’s circumstances more perilous. As Pip, Iris, and Fly weigh the precariousness of their lives at Thistle Hill against the uncertainty of life on the outside, they simultaneously grapple with the secrets that make their situation all the more tenuous. Pip’s vow to never leave someone behind may have made survival more difficult for her, but this promise could also be the key to finding meaning in the ashes of what came before.