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Official Year of the Dogman merchandise,
including hats, shirts, sweatshirts, prints, mugs, mousepads, and other
items can be purchased in our online store, by clicking the link below:
YEAR
OF THE DOGMAN STORE
 
 
MythMichigan:
Tales for all ages
With an undergraduate degree from Michigan State
University and a master’s in educational leadership from
Central
Michigan
University, and an undergraduate degree in English Literature from Michigan State
University, Frank Holes, Jr. teaches literature, writing, and mythology
at the middle school level and was recently named a regional Teacher of
the Year. He lives in
Northern Michigan
with his wife Michele, son James, and daughter Sarah.
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In a great
blending of fantasy, adventure, and mythology, The Longquist Adventures sets the stage for a new young hero in modern literature.
Written for elementary students as young as third grade, this
novel will be loved by those at the middle school and high school level,
as well as anyone familiar with Greek mythology.
Based upon the
epic Greek tale of The Odyssey, yet set in the American Wild West, The Longquist Adventures: Western Odyssey chronicles the journey of a young boy and his guide through a perilous
world of dangerous encounters and fantastic creatures.
It is a world of gun fights at high noon, stampedes on the great
plains, stagecoach robbery, and an ultimate showdown with a ruthless,
powerful gangster aboard a turn-of-the-century paddlewheel in the San
Francisco Bay. Can the
time-traveling boy and the law-abiding Marshal restore order to the
chaos of the American West gone truly wild?
The
Longquist Adventures
a
new novel by
Frank Holes Jr.
A New World Of
Adventures!
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Latest
News:
August 1, 2008
Order Your Copy of
The Longquist Adventures:
Western Odyssey
by clicking the link below:
May 10, 2008
The cover is done! See Craig's fabulous
artwork here on our website. We have also released the official
title of the first book, Western Odyssey. It is
based on the Odyssey of ancient Greek mythology, set in the American
West.
May 1, 2008
Craig Tollenaar, our extraordinary
artist from Year of the Dogman, has finished up the interior sketches
for the first novel of the Longquist Adventures. Check our
a few on our site.
April 24, 2008
Editing has been completed, and the
new novel is moving into the formatting stage. The design team at
Booksurge is putting together another winner!
March 13, 2008
The manuscript for Frank's newest novel,
code-named "The Laptop", has been completed, and is in the
hands of our editor. Release date for the new novel will be
tentatively June 1, 2008
Frank has also begun work on the sequel to the
first Dogman book. Look for
The Haunting of Sigma this summer!
Contact
the author at:
author@griswoldmountain.com |
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The
Laptop...
“There
was a long, thin slit on the front of the computer, but it didn’t
appear to be anything a CD would fit into.
The boy looked doggedly in the upper shelves and drawers of the
roll-top desk, and after finding nothing, pulled out the file drawers
below. Sweet!
He pulled out a white cardboard box with dozens of large black
floppy disks. Just like the
laptop, these were the ancient predecessors of modern technology.
Each sleek disk had a sticker label at its top in which its
contents were hand-written with a red felt-tipped pen.
Thumbing through the stack, James pulled out the one that looked
the most interesting. It was
labeled with three distinct titles, one above another: “Civil
War…The Odyssey…Cretaceous Period.”
James had
inherited much of his grandfather’s love of history without knowing
it, even though they had never spoken until this summer.
The three titles on the disk were not totally unfamiliar to him,
though he was nowhere near an expert like his grandfather surely was.
What the three titles had in common, however, was lost on the
boy. He couldn’t think of
any connections between them, and so he assumed they must be separate
programs he could explore individually on the computer. ”
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Locations
around Michigan where you can purchase your own copy THIS SUMMER:
horizons
bookstores: petoskey, traverse city, cadillac
bookworld
bookstores: Iron Mountain, Escanaba, Marquette, St. Ignace
bookmark
bookstores: Manistee & ludington
logmark
bookstore: cheboygan
gibsons
bookstore: east Lansing
schulers
books: Lansing & Okemos
goldenrod
gifts: indian river
kens
village market: indian river
book
shoppe: alma
great
lakes books: big rapids
Saturn
Bookstore: Gaylord
Lelanau
Books: Leland
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March
7, 2007
Teachers:
Click here for Educator's Specials on Classroom Sets of our Novel.
Great Prices and Discounts!
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From Chapter 9:
A few hours after the lunch break on their fourth day across the desert,
they began to see faint, dark ribbons at the western and southern edges of
the horizon. It could only
mean the end of the desert and the beginning of the foothills of the
Sierra Nevada mountains, the edge of
California
. James was quite excited;
he’d always wanted to visit
California
, even if it was in some strange world and time.
The attention of the entire group was soon caught by an ever-growing shape
emerging from the horizon. They
all watched, entranced, as the tiny figure, so far away, emerged and took
shape. Their lead scout, who
had been riding out a mile or so ahead, had come streaking back toward the
group, and something was following him.
Another shape was emerging behind him.
Something big. Something
nearly as fast as he. He
continued to close the distance back to the troop.
Now the scout was clearly visible.
He was riding as if his life depended on it, and a cloud of dust
billowed out from behind his horse’s hooves.
The group slowed to a slight canter and pulled together in a naturally
protective maneuver. That
he’d return was inevitable; that he’d return in such a manner was
disturbing. However, they
didn’t have to wait long for the scout.
Nor did they have to wait long to see what was behind him, what was
undoubtedly chasing him back their way.
The heat waves rising from the ground in the desert naturally form
mirages. Settlers had seen
them for years, believing all sorts of things were ahead of them, from
lakes filled with life-saving water to angels rising toward heaven.
But even as James peaked around the Marshal’s shoulders to gaze
at their returning companion, he knew it was no mirage.
He’d seen far too many strange and unusual sights in this world, a world
he now believed was created from a software program back in his
grandfather’s study, back in a world he knew was safe from such
monsters. This world, though
fictional and somehow generated from a mysterious laptop, was at least
real enough to get him killed. However
he’d gotten here, however it had been created, however it managed to
exist, this world was his now. At
this point in his journey, there would be very little in this world that
would surprise him.
What he saw behind their scout was no surprise.
He blinked a few times to be sure he was indeed seeing it, but his
mind told him immediately it was real.
And that realization told him two things.
One was that feeling of excitement, of exultation.
He was totally amazed to see the creature.
Never in his life had he ever thought he’d see one for real.
It brought back all of the boyhood wonder.
And the other feeling was complete and total terror, because they
were facing the greatest killing machine to ever walk the earth.
Or in this case, to race along the earth.
He wasn’t the first to see it, but he was the first to understand what
it was. “Marshal, we, um,
need to get out of here. Fast!”
James managed to squeak out.
Only a moment later, having understood the situation himself, Odysseus
responded, “I think you’re right.”
He turned and shouted, “Captain, we need cover, now!”
The soldiers abruptly tugged the reigns, turning their mounts around, and
then hurried them into a sprint. The
scout, already at full speed, had nearly caught up to the pack when James
turned his head around to get another look at their pursuer.
But instead of the initial boyhood excitement he felt a few moments ago,
his stomach lurched, his lips and chin pulled back in revulsion and
horror, and he had to again bury his face into the Marshal’s coat.
For a second he felt dizzy, and his head and shoulders shook
violently.
The scout, only a dozen or so yards behind them, had been snatched up,
right off his horse. Even
moving at full speed he’d been caught.
The horse twisted, fell, and rolled beneath the creature’s huge,
clawed feet. Blood spurted
everywhere. The monster was
faster than a horse! And it
didn’t miss a beat. It
hadn’t even slowed when it caught the soldier and devoured him.
James’ thoughts returned to the Marshal’s words back at the great herd
of bison and tri-horns. It
seemed so long ago, he’d almost forgotten them.
Some of the Indians’
legends tell of huge, long-toothed beasts that run on two legs and are
fast enough to catch bison and elk. I
don’t know anybody who’s ever seen one first hand and lived to tell
about it.
The Marshal had never seen one, wasn’t even sure they existed other than
in Indian legends. He didn’t
have the dinosaur books James had grown up with, detailing the enormous
beasts that once roamed the earth. The
Marshal didn’t know what this creature was, nor what it was capable of.
James knew at least what modern science could piece together of
such monsters. He had an idea
of what it was and what it could do.
Chasing them wasn’t a bear, a lion, or any other of the largest
predators to hunt James’s home world.
It was much greater; it was the greatest predator to ever walk the
earth…
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From Chapter
2:
The streets
emptied rapidly. The boy was
amazed how quickly folks found someplace else to be.
Doors slammed up and down the block.
Even the boy at the livery forgot his escaped chargers and pulled
the wide double doors shut. However,
though all passers-by were missing from the street, James could see many
of their faces peering from the dirty and dingy glass windows, both at
ground level and in the stories above.
Time seemed to
have slowed to a crawl. A
light breeze swept down the main street, kicking up little spinning dirt
devils. A few fat, puffy
clouds sat lazily in the blue sky.
The outlaw shook himself, and suddenly remembering where he was, stumbled
to his feet. He looked around,
seeing his six-shooter a few feet away, his Stetson upside down in the
other direction, and the cash from the bank blowing around in the wind.
He paused a moment as if trying to decide which to go after first.
Finally, after deciding he needed his weapon the most, he staggered over
and picked up his gun from the dust. His
bandana was askew on his neck, and his clever disguise now utterly
useless.
Gun in hand, the outlaw now turned his attention to the bank notes, which
were making their way slowly to the outskirts of town.
At that point, he noticed the boy crouching at the edge of the
street. Realization dawned on
the bad man, realization that this boy was the reason for his tumble and
the thwarting of his clean get-away.
Still stumbling a bit, the outlaw stalked toward the little boy and raised
his piece. James’ eyes
opened wide in terror, and his throat went totally dry.
He was frozen for the second time in just a few minutes, but this
time he was sure his luck had run out.
“I wouldn’t do that, partner,” a calm, deep voice cut down the
street from up near the saloon at the head of the block.
The bank robber paused, forgetting the boy, and turned to the direction of
the voice. James did a little
cheer in his mind; his body was too frightened to move.
A lawman had rescued him in the nick of time!
The lawman strode calmly to the middle of the now deserted street and
looked down at the outlaw. He
pushed back his long coat revealing the guns of his trade.
Even from this distance, James could see the polished wooden
handles and the blue steel that protruded from the holsters hung low on
each hip. A silver star
glinted on his vest.
The brim of the lawman’s own bleached-white Stetson hat was tilted up,
revealing the tanned visage and a coal-black shooter’s eyes.
His shoulder length hair, gray intermingled with the deep black,
hung straight below the rear brim. The
thick, graying handlebar moustache and goatee, immaculately trimmed and
socially presentable, gave him an air of unquestioned authority.
Stoically he stood, his face never twitched or showed a hint of
emotion.
He addressed the outlaw again. “I
suggest you drop your weapon and give yourself up.”
He looked up across the sky from left to right as he raised both
hands, palms up, in a gesture of benevolence.
“I’d hate to have to drop you on such a fine day as this.”
“Marshal,” the bad man croaked (he was still getting his wind back),
“I’m going to mount up and leave.
You keep the money. I’m
goin free.”
The marshal held his ground, hands now taking their place a few inches
above the big guns. “I’m
afraid it doesn’t work that way. Bank
robbery is a serious offense, even if you don’t get away with it.
I’ll be taking you in, one way or another.”
“Over my dead body,” the outlaw spat.
The lawman wasn’t impressed. “If
that’s how you want it, make your play.”
James held his breath. He knew
this was the immaculate moment in the shootout, that moment of silence
waiting to see who would move first. He
knew that the bad guy always had to move first, either to go for his horse
(which was across the street) or for his gun (on his hip).
It wasn’t much of a choice…
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Frank's
Blog: |
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| Frank's
Latest Blog
May 14, 2008:
Mushrooms, mushrooms, and more
mushrooms!
Seems like we're up to our eyeballs in
mushrooms! We even found a big handful out back of the
hacienda. They sure were good fried up in a pan of butter
and spread on a big porterhouse!
Last weekend at the Mesick Mushroom
Festival was fabulous! Not only did we set an all-time
record for sales in a one-day event, but we were able to meet so
many great fans of the Dogman. We were impressed with the
party such a little town could put together. The food and
the company were both excellent! Since the debut of Year
of the Dogman, we've sold nearly 1200 copies, and we've
re-ordered another set so we can start the summer out
right! We hope to reach 5000 copies by the end of the
summer!
Be sure to check out the Dogman website
at: http://www.dogman07.com
This weekend we will be at the National
Mushroom Festival in Boyne City, MI. The craft fair is in
the Veterans Park downtown, right on the waterfront. It
promises to be a great weekend!
MythMichigan News:
Our next novel, The Longquist
Adventures: Western Odyssey, has moved to the design phase
with our publisher, Booksurge. You can see the cover of
the novel on the novel's website: http://www.longquist.com
Upcoming News:
The long-awaited sequel to Year of the
Dogman is nearing completion. The manuscript is almost
finished, and our editor is working on a chapter-by-chapter
proofing so we can get the new novel out this summer. In
fact, we are now setting a release date of July 4, 2008.
On July 5, we will be attending a book signing at Horizon's
Bookstore in Traverse City. And the big event of the
summer will be our attendance at the National Cherry
Festival craft fair on July 6. We have the honor of
joining Steve Cook, the artist who performed "The
Legend", the original song of the Dogman that we all enjoy
on the radio. Steve will be selling his new Legend Edition
CD set, and we will together be signing books and music
sets.
For more on the Dogman, including the
latest sightings, be sure to check out Steve Cook's website
at: http://www.michigan-dogman.com
Mark your calendars now to
attend! As the summer gets closer, we will be revealing
more details about the new novel. Of course, if you want a
sneak peek of The Haunting of Sigma, stop by one of our
spring appearances and pick up an advanced marketing copy,
complete with a few 'snippets' of several chapters. This
new novel promises to be much darker and more intense than the
first!
As always, we thank all of our great
fans for their support! Keep those eyes peeled for Dogman
sightings!
Frank
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| Watch for Frank's
next Blog soon! |
From Chapter 4:
An hour after resuming their northwestward tack, the Marshal led them up
over a rise where they could see the entirety of the valley spread out
below. They hopped down from
their mounts and, crouching low, James followed the Marshal to the very
top of the incline. And what
a sight greeted the young boy! The
bison were everywhere, thousands of them, grazing as they meandered back
and forth along the plain. The
herd covered the entire valley. James
watched them intently, their long shaggy shoulder fur rippling in the
breeze. From this distance,
the buffaloes appeared like a swarm of insects, completely covering the
land.
James had read in his history books about the great herds that once
covered the western plains, but a few sentences in a text would never do
justice to seeing such a herd in real life.
No one alive in James’ world had ever seen such a sight.
No one would ever believe him – if he ever got home, that is.
And then his attention was caught by a small group of creatures out in
the middle of the great herd. James
blinked his eyes a couple of times to make sure he wasn’t seeing
things. Then he rubbed them
with the cuff of his right sleeve and shook his head.
No, they were still there. It
might have been a small group, but the creatures were anything but
small.
“Marshal, um, those are, um, not buffalo down there.
Not all of them anyways.”
“Yes, James, you can see the tri-horns off in the distance,” he
answered, gazing at the panoramic view.
“They’re such beautiful animals, aren’t they?”
James blinked again, to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating.
True, this entire adventure made little sense.
But this was really ridiculous.
Just down a few hundred yards, grazing peacefully along with the bison,
was a pod of triceratops!
Each of the adults was almost twice the size of a large buffalo.
Based on a guess of the dimensions of a buffalo, James figured
each dinosaur would be about eight feet tall and about fifteen feet in
length. The triceratops were
huge, easily dwarfing the smaller bison who gave them a wide berth.
Though both animals shared the plain, the bison were sure to
leave an empty space of grassland between themselves and their huge
neighbors.
Like most boys his age, James was quite familiar with every dinosaur
known to science. He’d
loved the creatures since he was very young, collecting all sorts of
toys, figures, and models of dinosaurs.
He had dozens of books on dinosaurs at home and could quote the
vital statistics of nearly every ancient beast on record.
The triceratops was an easy one to recognize because of its three
long horns sprouting from its head.
But he couldn’t believe he was actually gazing at not only one
such creature, but a whole herd of them.
He was amazed, simply amazed!
“You call them ‘tri-horns,’ Marshal?” he managed to sputter,
eyes still glued to the plain below.
“Not a real creative name, I know, but at least it describes them
well. The plains Indians
call them Yamin Ptehe Wapaha Ite,
which means the ‘three horned head face.’”
James was speechless. He
never in his life ever thought he’d see something so fabulous, so
incredible.
“Have you ever seen one up close?”
James asked, full of wonder.
“Sure, plenty,” answered the Marshal.
“If we weren’t in such a hurry, we could go down there and
get a closer look. They
really are quite docile creatures, much more so than the bison.
Long as they don’t get riled up.”
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