LARP: The Battle for Verona
by Justin Calderone
UNDERDOG
TALE DIVES INTO THE ADVENTUROUS WORLD OF LIVE ACTION ROLE PLAYING
Author Justin Calderone introduces his newest book, LARP: The Battle for
Verona
VERONA,
Penn. – February 2013 –
Even geeks can be heroes in Justin
Calderone’s latest novel LARP: The Battle
for Verona, a fantasy adventure tale of true friendship and the disastrous
consequences of social pressure.
Dennis,
the main character in LARP: The Battle
for Verona, is a 20-something live action role player, or LARPer, who is seriously
considering giving up the game for good. He’s tired of dealing with his
overzealous friend, Mark; he’s tired of his older brother’s constant put-downs;
and he’s tired that he doesn’t have a girlfriend – particularly Alyssa, the one
woman he’s been pining over for years.
Dennis
and his fellow LARPers have never been considered cool, but there’s a chance to
change that when a rogue terrorist group of Mongolians in medieval garb invades
their hometown of Verona, a fictional island located off the coast of
Washington State. With the US military out of options to save the island, the
friends decide to do what any dedicated LARPer would do – put on armor, strap
on swords and fight for their home.
“The
message is that anyone can be a hero at any time,” said Calderone, of the
fantasy novel. “Social classification is meaningless. If you believe in
yourself, you can overcome any obstacle.”
One
of Calderone’s main goals in creating LARP:
The Battle for Verona was to write a novel that is appropriate for any
audience. “Many Christian parents don’t want their kids reading contemporary
young adult, or fantasy novels, because of the controversial themes in those novels,”
Calderone said, adding, “So, I wrote a book that is thrilling, engrossing and
suitable for everyone.”
Additionally, LARP: The Battle for Verona is a novel
with a broad age appeal, much like The
Hunger Games, Twilight and Harry Potter.
New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry
calls Calderone’s novel “a witty, action-packed adventure that will leave you
breathless.”
Fantascize.com raves
about LARP: The Battle for Verona
calling it a “Geek Gem…a fair balance of
action, adventure, cynicism, and romance. I would recommend this book for
adults and teens.”
Calderone
is a high school English teacher and author of Revolutions, a collection of poems published in 2004. A graduate of
La Roche College and Gannon University, Calderone is expected to earn his
second master’s degree from Edinboro University in 2014.
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GUEST POST
Life is a big high school cafeteria, and society
(you and me!) has labeled everyone. But, the message of LARP: The Battle for Verona is that the peer pressure we face in
our teen years isn’t important, and it doesn’t last forever.
LARP
is an acronym, which stands for Live Action Role Play. These are the folks who
dress up in period garb and reenact battles, and, sometimes, entire historical
villages. LARPers fall under the “geek” umbrella, which also houses Star
Wars/Star Trek fans, sci-fi fans, and gamers.
I
wrote LARP: The Battle for Verona with
the idea that we’re all geeks, and we just don’t know it. Who’s to say that the
aging football jock is any cooler than a LARPer? Maybe the geek chick in your
11th grade math class would be a better option than the head
cheerleader, because the cheerleader isn’t gonna look like that forever. She
might not even look like that next month!
Dennis,
the main character in LARP: The Battle
for Verona, is in his early ‘20s, and he faces these issues. Brad, his
ultra-jock older brother, still harasses Dennis about being a LARPer, and still
loves to tell his “greatest hits” of high school football stories. Dennis’
friends, Freddy and Mark, still enjoy LARPing, and haven’t changed, socially,
since high school.
What if Dennis had followed in
Brad’s footsteps, and joined the football team, instead of becoming a LARPer?
What if he would have pursued Alyssa, his dream girl, instead of spending time
with his “geek” friends?
Who
hasn’t wondered “what if?” I know I have, and, maybe, LARP: The Battle for Verona is my way of answering that question
for myself.
About the Author
Justin Calderone started creating books when he was old
enough to hold a pencil and crayons. He pursued writing professionally after
reading Jack Kerouac's Desolation Angels. His first book, the poetry novel
Revolutions, was published in 2004.
You can follow Justin Calderon on Twitter via
@justincalderone.
Author Links:
***GIVEAWAY***
5 Kindle, ePub or PDF editions of LARP: The Battle for Verona up for grabs.
Ends May 30th (midnight GMT).
Open internationally.
Contest is void where prohibited. Entrants must be 13 or else have parent or guardian’s permission to enter. Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be selected. The winner will be posted on this page after the winner responds. Winning entries will be verified for authenticity.
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