Thursday, March 19, 2009


BLOG TOUR - DAY 3.1
Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow
by The Miller Brother


The Miller Brothers’ Web site - http://www.codebearers.com/
the Miller Brothers’ blog - http://themillerbrothers.blogspot.com/
(Click book for Amazon link)


Check Out the CodeBearers Site

The blog tour for Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow is over, but I didn't mention any details of the great website. There are videos, an online book version, loads of graphics , more graphics, and lots of background information. This is one nice book web site.

Overview Video:
http://www.codebearers.com/WATCHTHEVIDEOS/tabid/265/Default.aspx

Early players of The Codebearer Challenge competed for a $400 Best Buy gift card. Now another challenge may be under way.
http://www.codebearers.com/JOINTHERESISTANCE/PlaytheCodebearerChallenges/tabid/258/Default.aspx

The Miller Brothers offer the complete book online. They also offer a money back guarantee if for some reason you have bought the Hunter Brown book and don't enjoy the story.

Now that is standing behind your product!

Codebearer Main Page:
http://www.codebearers.com/WELCOME/tabid/353/Default.aspx

Wednesday, March 18, 2009


BLOG TOUR - DAY 3
Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow
by The Miller Brother


The Miller Brothers’ Web site - http://www.codebearers.com/
the Miller Brothers’ blog - http://themillerbrothers.blogspot.com/
(Click book for Amazon link)


Hunter Brown Bridges the Gap between Faith and Fiction for Middle Grade and Young Adult Readers


Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow tells its story in a way that brings the story of Creation and the Creator's love to impressionable readers. I liked the way the story draws you in with the adventures of a nerdy kid and his friends who want acceptance for who they are, not who their parents are, or how much damage they can do to other students. They fight back in the only way they know, pulling pranks on the school bully and his gang. As the story progresses Hunter and Stretch learn there is more to life than their video club or even their town. As Hunter reads the Author's Writ, a book of teachings written by the World's Creator, the Author, he watches the vision of a newly created world broken apart by a curse as a young boy takes a bloodstone from a great tree.


Okay, I admit this is a not so subtle retelling of the Creation Story. Sometimes you have to pass on subtlety and present your story more directly to reach to some readers. Middle school boys are more concerned with action and maybe a few gross actions in a story than they are with subtle hints. Young readers live in the here and now, and don't always concern themselves with the distant future. Hunter Brown does a great job tapping this life view by the scrapes he gets himself into by acting before thinking things through. Pranking the school bully without an escape plan lands Hunter and his two friends in a locked school dumpster. Forgetting the book's key at home, Hunter and Stretch are forced to make quick decisions when dispirits corner them.

When Hunter and Stretch are separated in the new world on the other side of the portal, both must learn to depend on their self and the Author to make good decisions. Decisions have consequences and results aren't always good as expected. This is a lesson Hunter must learn throughout the book. He complains about unfair treatment especially when he does the right thing. But he learns to depend on the Author and comes to realize that everything has a purpose in happening. By the end of the book Hunter has grown in his learning and faith, and it's hope the reader has also. The mark of a good book is whether the reader continues to dwell on the story even after the pages are finished and the cover is closed. Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow leaves you thinking about Hunter's journey and how you are faring along your own life's path.



*Participants’ Links:
Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Shane Deal
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Marcus Goodyear
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Jason Isbell
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Magma
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
Wade Ogletree
John W. Otte
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson

Tuesday, March 17, 2009


BLOG TOUR - DAY 2
Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow
by The Miller Brother

The Miller Brothers’ Web site - http://www.codebearers.com/
the Miller Brothers’ blog - http://themillerbrothers.blogspot.com/
(Click book for Amazon link)

The Journey of Hunter Brown, or How He Learned to Fight the Shadow with his Mind and Spirit.
Hunter Brown begins the story with a small serving of spunk and daring, and ends with a heaping dose of courage and resourcefulness. Along the way he learns about the Author and about the Author's Writ, a book Hunter receives at an old bookstore that disappears when he and his friends return. The Author's Writ contains teachings of the Author which it seems everyone but Hunter know. The book has another trait. Hunter receives odd visions of another world as he reads book passages. Hunter first learns about the origin of the world's curse as he watches a boy his age steal a stone from the trunk of a giant tree.

Hunter is thrown from the vision into another vision of a zombie version of his school. His friends walk around with black, glassy-eyed stares. Later a black-eyed version of himself glares back from a foggy bathroom mirror. Some scenes with black blood and evil monsters killing the good guys might be a bit intense for younger readers, while older middle-school readers will enjoy the gross factor of working as leech bait for a swamp troll.

This is a new part of Hunter's growth. He learned humbleness and how to wield his Veritas sword at the Codebearer training grounds. When captured by a huge swamp troll and thrown into his dungeon, Hunter must learn hope through faith even in hopeless circumstances. A chance message reminds Hunter of a verse from the Author's Writ. But when he finds the goal, it doesn't make sense and he must act purely on faith to escape a monster closing in on Hunter's location. Each choice made lays the groundwork for future actions.

Hunter loses Stretch early in the story after crossing the portal. Stretch changes too, but he acts as a contrast to Hunter's growth. Stretch, the eternal optimist, becomes moody and defeated after the trauma he survives. Stretch just wants to eat normal food again and return home no matter what the cost. Hunter attempts to convince Stretch that all he has heard is a combination of lies and false promises. But Stretch tunes out all but what he longs to hear, whether it harms him or not. These are all strong marking points along Hunter's character growth path. There are more as Hunter learns he must put others' needs before his own if he is ever to defeat the Shadow and return home. If he fails to lead as the Chosen then all hope is lost, for his return home, and for this new world he inhabits. No Pressure.

Monday, March 16, 2009


BLOG TOUR - DAY 1
Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow
by The Miller Brother

The Miller Brothers’ Web site - http://www.codebearers.com/
the Miller Brothers’ blog - http://themillerbrothers.blogspot.com/
(Click book for Amazon link)

The Miller Brothers, Christopher and Allan, combined their skills to create a great allegorical story about a boy who finds there is more to life than just escaping the school bully after pulling pranks, or playing video games. After the substitute janitor frees Hunter and his friends from the school dumpster, things run from bad to worse. Hunter picks up an old book at a bookstore that disappears. Then, while looking in the bathroom mirror and at the book, he sees things he knows aren't there. The scary thing is Hunter and his friend, Stretch, find out things do exist beyond what the eye may see. And much of the unseen works for our harm.

Once the eyes of Hunter and Stretch are opened, they find dispirits are chasing them, and they must find a way out of their trap to safety. The Miller Brothers have created an interesting world populated by creatures like the already mentioned dispirits, and gorewings, swamp trolls, a probe dragon, and a scrill. Of course the good guys aren't forgotten with their weapons like the veritas sword - these are like an energy saber that also has healing powers, or the amazing thunderbird named Faith.

Tomorrow, I'll mention Hunter's journey of both the physical kind, and his more important spiritual journey. Unless he learns some basic truths about the Author and his word, Hunter can never hope to defeat the Shadows.