Hi peeps, we have Edmond Manning popping in today with his newest release King John, the fourth book in his The Lost and Found series. Edmond has wrote a fantastic guest post about mutant vehicles and there’s a great giveaway, we also have Prime’s review so enjoy the post and click that rafflecopter link <3 ~Pixie~

King John

Edmond Manning

English attorney Alistair Robertson can’t quite believe an astonishing tale of kingship and transformation he hears at Burning Man, the annual counter-culture art festival in the Black Rock desert. Who are the Found Kings? Is “being kinged” as magical as it sounds?

Determined to find the mysterious garage mechanic named Vin who helps men “remember who they were always meant to be,” Alistair catches his quarry amid the extravagant sculptures, fire worshipers, mutant cars, and lavish costumes. After searching for three years, he’ll finally get to ask the question burning inside him: “Will you king me?”

Wandering together through the desert, Vin Vanbly and Alistair explore Burning Man’s gifting culture and exotic traditions, where they meet the best and worst of their fellow burners. Alistair’s overconfidence in Vin’s manipulative power collides with Vin’s obsessive need to save a sixteen-year-old runaway from a nightmarish fate, and the two men spiral in uncontrollable, explosive directions.

In this fourth adventure of The Lost and Founds, beneath the sweltering summer sun and the six billion midnight stars, one truth emerges, searing itself on their hearts: in the desert, everything burns.

Sweet Ride, Buddy!
Ten Awesome Mutant Vehicles

DMV Employee (loudly): NEXT!

Burner: I’d like to register my mutant vehicle.

DMV Employee: License and registration please.

Burner:  Yes, here’s everything right here.

DMV Employee:  Says here your mutant vehicle is a giant snail that shoots fire out of its antennae. Also, it spits Kool-Aid out its anus.

Burner:  Yes, that’s right.

DMV Employee (shuffling paperwork): In what direction and how far do the flames shoot?

Burner:  Straight up and five feet.

DMV Employee (sighing):  Fine. Take Harold with you to your vehicle and give him a demonstration. NEXT!

<<< >>>

Well, that’s how I imagine the conversation goes at Burning Man’s Department of Mutant Vehicles (the DMV), the organization responsible for approving the art cars out on the playa. (art cars = Mutant Vehicles). They must have some straaaaaaaange conversations with their clients. I imagine this is the only place where when you ask the question, “How much gas does she burn?” you cannot assume the gas is used to keep the car in motion. Not when you have a flaming octopus car with fire shooting out each tentacle.

Each year, artists create incredible monstrosities and wonders out of—well—anything. They use metal, fur, googly eyes, corks, Barbie dolls and so much more to make the act of navigating Burning Man an adventure. Cars, school buses, bicycles, golf carts, and more. If it has a motor, it can be converted into a mutant car. But why take my word for it.

Let’s watch the parade!

#1 – Tyranno-carus Wrecks

Here we have a classic….a classic….well, clearly it’s a…it’s one of those…whatever it is-es. Built on a gutted school bus, this dino-vehicle hosts passengers upstairs in its scales and below, in its belly. Where you can pretend it’s giant jaws devoured you. Yum. How long do you think this took to create? And what would you do if you saw this speeding down the highway?

#2 – Meow Meow Bus

Awwwww…did that first mutant vehicle make your tummy rumbly? Maybe you need a ride inside this fuzzy yellow cat bus to make you feel all warm and snuggly again. Warning:  driver not responsible of vehicle spits up a hairball on you.

#3 – A Whole New Wooooooooooooorrrrrrld!

C’mon. What could possibly be more stylish for driving around a desert? It’s even got a hookah.

#4 – Slowest Moving Car EVER

Yes, it’s slightly intimidating with fire shooting out its, um, antennae. But ignore the strong likelihood of your death should you get too close and admire the curves, the metalwork, the gorgeous shape of its shell. This little vehicle is like a cross between Jules Verne’s imagination (10,000 Leagues Under the Sea) and the design sensibilities of Dr. Who. Although perhaps dangerous to drive on cross-country trips, who wouldn’t want to take this cute bugger out on a Sunday drive?

#5 – Groove is in the heart

Okay, you gotta love this funky little creature for its big heartedness. Perhaps the owner didn’t have a metalworking or engineering background. But look how fun it is! It’s got a globe on the hood and plastic yellow flowers that will make a tika-tika-tika-tika-tika-tika–tika sound as you drive faster and faster! This goofy thing is what’s best about Burning Man. You don’t have to be a skilled craftsman to make a mutant vehicle. You just have to believe that you’re awesome. That’s good enough.

#6 – Alien Planet Exploration

Okay, fine. Sometimes being an engineer helps. This awesome vehicle travels up to 20 m.p.h., gets 32 miles to the gallon, and can debone a human being in 18.5 seconds. Maybe I’m not 100% sure about these statistics, but stay the hell out of its way. If aliens want to come explore Earth, they should show up at Burning Man with their all-terrain vehicles. Nobody would notice.

#7 – Landfaring Black Seadevil

If you come to a stop sign at the same time as this mutant vehicle, for god’s sakes, let it go first.

#8 – Woolly Five Speed

Not all mutant vehicles must be cars. Here we have a perfectly normal bicycle—long thought to be extinct—skimming across Black Rock Desert. I love that the dude who invented this didn’t spend six months creating it, but just enough time to create something beautiful and amusing.

#9 – Bicycle Built for –OH GOD, OH GOD, I’M ON FIRE

A gentleman named Jonathan Buckmaster created a bicycle wonder for Burning Man 2006 and 2009, which he called “Riding Man.” He designed a metal sculpture to sit behind him on a tandem bicycle and through science (or possibly magic—hard to say), the creature burns while he pedals the bike. From a distance, it’s hard to see the first rider, so it looks like a lone man pedaling his bike through the night WHILE ON FIRE.

In my recent release, King John, I lied. Although the story takes place in 2002, I had key characters discussing the flaming Riding Man which they claimed to see. Of course, Riding Man would not show up at Burning Man for another four years. However, I found the concept so absolutely brilliant, I really wanted to include it in my book. Most of the other Mutant Vehicles mentioned in my book came straight from photos of the 2002 Burning Man.

If seeing this photo wasn’t enough for you, here’s a fun YouTube video you might like.

Watch that flaming bicyclist go!

#10 – La Contessa

Perhaps my favorite mutant vehicle at Burning Man is the incomparable La Contessa.

She first graced Burning Man in 2002, the same year King John takes place (Shameless book plug. It’s over. Let’s move on with the tale.) Despite being crafted as a replica of a Spanish galleon, and quite faithful to the original design of those ships, some significant structural changes were made. Like, for example, it was not designed for water. No, it rode atop a long, yellow school bus.

Many mutant art cars that year were water-themed to match Burning Man’s theme:  The Floating World. La Contessa was the immediate favorite, speeding around the desert hunting a great white whale that spit fire from its blowhole. They liked to chase the whale, careening wildly, crowds chasing and begging for a lift. The crew partied up top, the most enviable club in the desert that year. The sponsors were a popular San Francisco group called the Extra Action Marching Band. They are artists. They really are a marching band. With help from some experts, they built a real pirate ship.

C’mon. That’s pretty damn cool.

<<< >>>

If you enjoyed these mutant vehicles, you might also enjoy the link below, filmed at the 2014 Burning Man, showing a number of fascinating mutant vehicles waiting in line at the Department of Mutant Vehicles for their chance to register. You can practically hear the lady with cat-eyed glasses yelling, “NEXT!”

About Edmond

Edmond Manning is the author of the romance series, The Lost and Founds. The books in this series include King Perry, King Mai (a 2014 Lambda Literary finalist), The Butterfly King, and King John. King John takes place at Burning Man.

Edmond Manning was raised as Ted Manning, one of four children in Joseph and Margaret Manning’s home in a small farm town in the north west corner of Illinois. In high school, his father was also his high school English and Latin teacher, greatly influencing his love of books. His mother worked in a bank and was a voracious reader herself, also greatly influencing Manning’s love for novels.

Both parents read to the four young children before bedtime on a regular basis and therefore must certainly be blamed for hundreds of hours spent reading in bed long after a reasonable curfew. Yes, they must be blamed.

Manning attended Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois and pursued his love of words with an English Education degree, voluntarily and masochistically enrolling in classes devoted to Chaucer and Dickens, both in the same semester. During his graduate school days, he came out of the closet and lived openly as an advocate for GLBT issues.

Charmed by the lakes and local accent, Manning moved to Minneapolis in 1995, where he currently resides with a yard monster.

Contact Edmond

Website | Facebook | Google + | Youtube

Emails are delightful. Welcome. Sometimes even cherished.

remembertheking@comcast.net

If you feel shy starting an email, I’ve helped out by providing three starter options below. Feel free to use any of these or your own, should you feel creatively moved.

Option #1: Flowery praise

Dear Edmond, I have long admired your tennis prowess and also the way you dance at weddings, not at all like a walrus attempting to make it to land while Orca licks his lips nearby. Also, you smell like flowers. I am writing with the following concerns…

Option #2: Business-like

Dear Edmond, First of all, I’d like for you to have my bank account numbers, my online sign-in, and my PIN#. <insert relevant information> Now that we’ve gotten through those appropriate business-like formalities, allow me to address the real reason I’m writing you today…

Option #3: Stalkery

Dear Edmond, How did you enjoy your English muffin this morning with what appeared to be raspberry jam? My goodness you’re an early-riser and perhaps for this reason you feel entitled to *two* breakfasts. Some men in their 40s would hesitate to eat five sausages wrapped in bacon dipped in Chipotle sauce. But not you! Anywho, I’m writing to express my delight in…

Giveaway!

Win an ecopy of King John!

King John Rafflecopter Giveaway!

Review

Title: King John

Series: The Lost and Founds 04

Author: Edmond Manning

Genre: Contemporary, Spiritual, Fantasy

Length: Novel (245 pages)

ISBN: 9780989097994

Publisher: Pickwick Ink Publishing (10 Sept 2015)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 3.5 (but so close to giving it a 4)

Reviewer: Prime

Blurb: English attorney Alistair Robertson can’t quite believe an astonishing tale of kingship and transformation he hears at Burning Man, the annual counter-culture art festival in the Black Rock desert. Who are the Found Kings? Is “being kinged” as magical as it sounds? 

Determined to find the mysterious garage mechanic named Vin who helps men “remember who they were always meant to be,” Alistair catches his quarry amid the extravagant sculptures, fire worshipers, mutant cars, and lavish costumes. After searching for three years, he’ll finally get to ask the question burning inside him: “Will you king me?”

Wandering together through the desert, Vin Vanbly and Alistair explore Burning Man’s gifting culture and exotic traditions, where they meet the best and worst of their fellow burners. Alistair’s overconfidence in Vin’s manipulative power collides with Vin’s obsessive need to save a sixteen-year-old runaway from a nightmarish fate, and the two men spiral into uncontrollable, explosive directions. 

In this fourth adventure of The Lost and Founds, beneath the sweltering summer sun and the six billion midnight stars, one truth emerges, searing itself on their hearts: in the desert, everything burns. 

Product Link: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Review: The world that Edmond Manning is a complex fantastical one which has to be read to be believed. The world which the series the Lost and Founds is set in is either some grand mythical thing or it is an entirely psychological trip. Either way, King John is a great albeit intense book to read. It is book 4 of the Lost and Found series and honestly I think it would be difficult to grasp without reading at least the first book.

The narrator of King John, like the previous books in the series, is Vin – a mechanic and goes by numberous names. He has the ability to “king” people, which more often than not involves having sex. Now, I’m entirely sure the exact deal – Edmond Manning is great at giving us more questions than answers, it seems – but Vin is something of a godlike figure to many people. He takes people on a “journey” and “guides” them before he kings them (which happens over a weekend). This whole “kinging” business involves fantastical adventures that are nothing less than psychedelic. It’s the only way I can explain it.

In fact, I sum it up as the psychedelic adventures of a lonely god. It’s not a conventional love story, but involves something along the lines of (to borrow the song title) sexual healing.

The other main player is Alistair. He has been seeking Vin out for a couple years now. He had heard about Vin and wanted more than anything to be “kinged” by Vin. With the scars of his past forever haunting him, Alistair has quite a mental journey to go on. I wasn’t quite sure about Alistair at first and I don’t think I am even now. He is forceful and just the total opposite to who I could see Vin willingly spending time with and choosing to “king” him.

Now, the reason why I gave this story 3.5 hearts instead of 4 and it’s really simply. The first half of the book was long. Not much seemed to happen other than back and forth and the odd argument between Vin and Alistair as they started on Alistair’s journey. There was a lot of telling, though there was not a lot of explanation (but to be fair the latter is something that I expect from this series anyway).

It’s a long and intense read but it is enjoyable. If you are looking for pure romance with a HEA, you will not get it this is a totally physical book. As I said, the psychedelic adventures of a lonely god. I really want to shut myself off to the world and listen to The Doors now – it’s that type of thing.

Check out the other blogs on the blog tour