Scott R. Welvaert

If you have to draft a team, this one…needs a lot of work.

Hey, crew!

On March 1st, my second Lost Zenith book – Escape from Atlantis City – is launching. It’s a fun, emotional romp through the multiverse that sees our hero from the first book, Ian Wilder, living in an inpatient treatment residence for his mental illness after his pirate adventure in a distant alternate reality. All is seemingly going well. He’s made new friends. His therapy is going well. And he’s looking forward to going home.

But the multiverse isn’t through with him yet.

When he wakes in another alternate reality – one filled with golden age super heroes and villains – he thinks it’s all a bad dream. But it’s not. It’s very real, and worse, two of his new friends from treatment were dragged away with him. Now, he needs to rescue his new friends without getting clobbered by a team of super villains.

Wow! Exciting stuff for sure.

Well, I thought as a little preview for my mailing list subscribers, I’d give you an early glimpse of Ian’s roster of friends in Escape from Atlantis City.

Anna

Oakhaven’s resident firebug. In kindergarten, Anna’s favorite pastime involved an anthill and a magnifying glass, where she could sizzle the little critters to a crisp. In the fifth grade, it was sparklers, and their hypnotic fizzing and sparks cascading along her skin. But her masterpiece was freshman year, when she stole her dad’s zippo lighter. The flick and clank of the cover. The scratch of the wheel. The constant flame. It all made her tingle in glee. But it also burned down her parent’s garage.

Meredith

Another cutter, like Ian, Meredith has never divulged the cause of her cutting. But most at Oakhaven believe it to be her parent’s divorce, and her stepfather’s mistreatment of her. A quiet girl, she usually gives the staff at Oakhaven one-word answers if asked and only talks with Anna and Ian. Always aloof, she seems almost universally uncomfortable around everyone but holds a special place in her heart for Ian.

Jackson

Jackson had trouble with sports in high school. At 6’3”, and gifted with lean and corded with muscle, he played wide receiver in football, point guard in basketball, and star center fielder in baseball. But he always had to be the scorer. When someone else did, even on his team, he threw a fit. His parents ignored this behavior until his junior year, when he punched out his basketball coach for not feeding him the ball to top fifty points in game. Now, instead of scoring points, he’s being evaluated in group therapy sessions at Oakhaven.

Boyd

Born with a chiseled jaw, sandy brown hair, and bright baby blues, Boyd thinks he is a gift to the ladies. However, his defining feature – an uncomfortable, leering stare – is never seen by others as the positive trait he saw. Still, Boyd never misses an opportunity to mention his tryst with his tenth-grade science teacher. But the part of the story he never speaks about? Getting caught stalking her husband. That made the local papers. And won him a trip to Oakhaven.

Luke

A country boy through and through, Luke never lost touch with his mullet, dirty jeans, beat-up work boots, Metallica t-shirts, or his hobby: blowing up old kitchen appliances with Tannerite and filming it for the internet. But an accidental misfire left his once best friend with bloodied face and missing eye. Of course, the video amassed over a million views online, but horrified his parents into admitting him to Oakhaven.

Joe

Never one to wear out his welcome, or talk much, Joe was admitted to Oakhaven for…well, that’s the thing. He’s never mentioned it. Or hinted at it. All Ian and his friends now is Joe’s grandparents came to the United States from Korea, his father served in the navy, and he likes to eat. As far as a clinical reason for him to be at Oakhaven, no one can figure that out. By all standards, he is just a normal high school kid with little to no psychological problems.

Krysta

While Ian has plenty of friends back home, in Atlantis City, Krysta is just the tech wunderkind he needs to rescue his Oakhaven friends. Once an award-winning roboticist and engineer, she had just completed her lifetime achievement of transferring the essence of one human mind to another, when things went awry. Still, in her current state, she has a few tricks up her sleeve and can aid Ian in his quest.

Latte

A small, junk automaton built from an old coffee machine, Latte serves as Krysta’s right hand, er, robot. What he lacks in size and stature, he makes up for in an uplifting personality and a fearless nature. This leads Latte to excelling at the tasks he’s given and coming up huge in tight spots, much to the surprise of everyone. In a story filled to the seams with super heroics, this little robot steals the show.

Well, that covers Ian’s new friends at Oakhaven and across Atlantis City. Hope that was a fun little adventure. Next month, we’ll take a look at some of the lore around Atlantis City in preparation of the book’s release.

Talk to you all later!

Thanks for tuning in!