Book Promo | Joe Yeager | #DigitalParenting

Author Bio

Joe Yeager is first and foremost, husband to his wife of 14 years, Denise, and father to their 10 year old daughter, Maddie.  It is because of Maddie that Joe got involved with keeping kids safe online after she came across some offensive content online that was intentionally created so that it would be found by young children.  Because of this, Joe was inspired to write this book and create a Facebook page to help parents stay informed about related topics.  The name of the page is “Parents Guide to Social Media”.

He received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from West Chester University and works for a leading dental manufacturer, in part, as their social media administrator.  Additionally, he is on the Editorial Team for the Social Media Club, a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to expand digital media literacy, promote standard technologies, encourage ethical behavior and share best practices.

Joe has written numerous article regarding cyber safety for sites, including the Family Online Safety Institute and In Care, a resource for teachers using technology in the classroom.  Since 2013, he has been running the social media blog for Calkin’s Media, which operates three newspapers in the greater Philadelphia area.

He also teaches part time at Philadelphia University and lives in Bucks County, PA.

Book Synopsis

The Internet can be both educational and fun, however it comes with risks. Those risks must be addressed to keep our families safe. As parents, that responsibility falls to us. Children can be more technically savvy when it comes to using social media and the Internet than their parents, though they can lack the wisdom to use technology safely. That comes with time and experience, which children often lack. Cyber-bullying is only one of the threats that our children have to face on a daily basis. In addition, there are dangers simply from using a search engine. Other threats exist in the form of cyber stalkers, online predators and mistakes that users make themselves that can cause problems for them later. Research has shown repeatedly that children usually do not tell anyone (much less their parents) if they are being cyber-bullied or having other problems online. The key to keeping your family safe is to take a pro-active approach and learn about the risks. #DigitalParenting provides parents with the tools they need to help keep their kids safe from online dangers that are lurking everywhere.

http://www.josephmyeager.net/

https://www.facebook.com/ParentsGuidetoSocialMedia

http://www.amazon.com/DigitalParenting--Parents-Social-Cyberbullying-Activity/dp/1513707361/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Author Interview | Werner Stejskal | Oliver And Jumpy

Author Bio

Born in Vienna, Austria, Werner is now living in the paradise of Perth, Australia with his wife, two married children and three grandchildren. He worked in the printing industry for many years and later for the United Nations in Vienna.  He found illustrators through Odesk, narrated them himself for YouTube and finally took the next step by publishing eBooks. In Australia I  finally got involved in Real Estate. With the empty house syndrome and finally retired, I had to fill the void. This was when, very surprisingly, my series “Oliver and Jumpy” came into being.

What is your latest book about, Werner?

“Oliver and Jumpy”, are best of friends and experience many adventures together. Oliver is a black-and-white tomcat, who is very self-assured. As a matter of fact he says: “I love myself!” quite often. But his best friend Jumpy is aware that he is only putting up a front! Oliver has a soft heart and will always want to help others. The great thing is Jumpy’s pouch, which Oliver loves to ride in! He calls her his kangaroo taxi! This is the first book of an extensive series with 13 books so far and another 7 in the works.

Who or what influenced you to write it?

There are lots of fairy tales and bedtime stories around and many of them are quite violent and unsuitable for young children. This made Werner decide to write something different. On a flight from Europe to Australia he watched the movie ‘Magic on Belle Island’ with Morgan Freeman, where Freeman teaches a little girl to have imagination and write her first story. This inspired Werner as well and the first stories with his two characters Oliver, the elegant tomcat, and Jumpy, his kangaroo lady friend, made their appearance.

Did you do any specialised research for your story?

There was no need to research for the stories, but rather to find illustrators and the right software for doing the books and YouTube clips.

What challenges did you face while writing the story?

I simply had to try thinking like a small child and imagine their reactions.

Who is the protagonist?

Oliver, the elegant tomcat, is a know-it-all individual, who thinks he is the best, but is always helpful to others.

What would you say is the protagonist’s greatest weakness or obstacle and why?

Oliver does not like to get wet, but generally does not have any obstacles.

What would you say is the main antagonist’s greatest strength?

There is no common antagonist in this series. There are occasionally witches, magicians and giants.

Could you provide a short passage from your book to give us a taster?

Excerpt of the first Story

Do you like cats? Yes? I am glad, because I am a black cat with a white top hat. I have a few white spots on my fur too. Mum is white, you see! My name is Oliver. I am a very elegant tomcat with the shiniest coat in the world. I brush my fur every morning and always keep my nails trimmed! Of course, my hat is really refined too, which is another word for elegant.

Whenever you put on your new clothes, you can announce to everybody, “I am refined!” And everybody will think you are an elegant person. Well, enough of all that talk about me, although I can never talk too much about myself. I really think I am a cool cat. I love myself! Do you think this is naughty? You are probably right, but I can’t help it.

My best friend’s name is Jumpy. You guessed it. She likes to jump a lot, because she is a kangaroo! She is a great girl and she lets me ride in her pouch! I get in and Jumpy jumps away and away! That’s a lot of fun. I bet you would like to ride in her pouch too, wouldn't you? You are probably a bit too big. I am quite small, so it is OK. I love it, but after a while I need to rest. All that up and down makes me dizzy. It’s a bit like being on a roller coaster.

When you write, do write off-the-cuff or do you use some kind of formula?

I go through different scenarios of children’s stories and pick out one after the other.

How do you deal with writers-block?

I just pick a quiet spot, close my eyes and let my mind sail in the darkness. Eventually I can visualize an image which can become a story.

Preference for writing: Day or Night?

The night is for sleeping. I live very healthy.

What is your process for editing your work?

After the initial draft, I let the story rest for a while and then revisit. I revise a couple of times before letting my editor have it. English is not my mother tongue, so I need help with the grammar. It is usually a case of shifting the words into a different order.

How do you come up with your book covers?

The covers are the first page of the picture book with title rather than text.

Do you think the book cover is important?

Sure, covers are important. But with a series it is a little different. A series needs brand recognition. I prefer to keep them simple, but recognizable. There are so many beautiful covers out there that one looks like the other. Just look at romance books! There is either a beautiful muscle man on the cover or a couple kissing. They are all generic! A series needs to be recognizable at a glance!

Which publishing platform do you prefer and why?

I prefer eBooks on all eBook platforms. It is just so much simpler. Print-on-demand will be another option later on. If a publisher wants to bring my books into shops then I will look at that as well. I just don’t see any money in it here in Australia, where most chains have closed.

Do you face any daunting obstacles during the publishing process?

Sure, there is a lot of frustration on the way. Mainly the slow speed and incompetence of the all people involved. It is always a surprise if something works out properly. But that’s life! Expect the worst and be happy when things work out.

What methods do you use to promote your work?

Currently I am doing everything I can do to collect as many reviews as possible. This takes an enormous lot of time.

Do you have any advice for new authors?

Produce a good product and persevere with promotion. Nobody will do it as well as yourself!

Which social media platforms do you use the most?

I use Google+, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn.


When and how did you become a writer?

I have always been an avid reader and did like to write essays, newspaper articles etc. Of course there has always been the idea about that novel to be written. The problem with immigrants is that you lose a lot of ability in your mother tongue and you never gain full expertise with your second language. I found that not only did I have the language for novel writing, which could be overcome with ghost writers or good editors, but I simply did not have any plots to tell. But whoever looks after us decided to give me an option. On an West to East-bound flight with sleepless nights afterwards, the idea for my series was born. Through the first night I was somehow given the idea to write my stories for small kids as a series. I saw the two main characters before me and had the first three short stories in my mind when I got up in the morning. I wrote another story daily. They are now nearly 60. Two days later I thought it might be great to have them illustrated. I found several great illustrators who helped me to create the YouTube illustrations and now the ebooks. This series is still continuing. There will eventually be 20 books sometime by the end of the year. A TV series is next on the agenda.

What type of preparation do you do for a manuscript? Do you plan everything first or just shoot from the hip?

I used to get most ideas for a new story in the pool swimming. I have learned to see the story in pictures and write the text accordingly.

What do you enjoy most about being a writer?

I love doing my series, because I do almost everything myself. I write the story, source it out for illustrations, create the book and YouTube version on my iPad, do all promoting and so forth.

What is the hardest thing about being a writer?

Like most writers will know, promotions are the hardest.

What were you in a past life, before you became a writer?

Most likely a ruler of some sort. I should be now, but can’t be bothered to go into politics.

What is your greatest writing achievement? 

Just this series.

What are you working on at the moment?

Oliver and Jumpy will take the rest of my life to finish with other language version to follow.

What inspires you?

My daughter’s cat.

What genre do you write?

Children’s

Do you have any tips for new writers?

Get your work edited by a couple of people if you self-publish. I am still having things fixed!

Do you suffer from writer's block?

Not really.

Do you have a preferred writing schedule? 

Usually evenings.

Do you have a favourite writing place?

On the couch with the iPad.

What is your greatest joy in writing? 

Being creative.

Who is your favourite author and why? 

Nora Roberts. She is just so amazing with her 200 books. Of course they are much the same, but I love her language and stamina.

What's the greatest compliment that you have ever received from a reader?

That some of my stories are educational.

What was the worst comment from a reader? 

That I need to edit the stories. Still in the works!

Writers are sometimes influenced by things that happen in their own lives. Are you? 

Not in this case.

Other than writing, what else do you love? 

Reading, reading, reading, walking, travelling, architecture.

Did you have your book(s) professionally edited before publication? 

Unfortunately not. I was too full of myself.

Describe your perfect day. 

Do all socializing and promoting mornings and evenings over my iPad. Have very late lunch out and a late long walk down to the beach. House work as needed. Remember, we are retired. 

If you were stuck on a desert island with one person, who would it be and why?

Now that is a trick question, because I need to say: my wife! Hopefully she will never read this. I am not saying any name, but I guess, another writer with a lot of imagination and all around knowledge. Of course SHE would need to be pretty and interested in me as well. Otherwise it still may get boring.

What would you say if you had the chance to speak to world leaders? 

Wake up! War has never worked in the long run. Leave people live their own lives without interference; no matter how bad they manage their affairs. Look after your own people first of all. Do the best at home and look after your poor.

What are your plans for the future? 

Keep the series going, do other language versions, do a TV series and eventually create a new series with different characters.

What five books would you take to heaven? 

I only read books once. So I would take five new ones. All my books come from the library in large print. I still have 150 Nora Roberts novels to go. I buy the tissue boxes wholesale!

Do you see yourself in any of your characters? 

Yes, I am Oliver, the tomcat.

Does the publishing industry frustrate you? 

Doesn't it to everybody?

Did you ever think of quitting? 

No. I am not a quitter. I push things through no matter what.

What was your favourite manuscript to write and why?

I only do this series.

How would you define success as a writer? 

In the end success is measured in money. The majority of people on Amazon never sell any books. They would tell you about the satisfaction they get from writing and seeing their book published. B…! Everybody wants to sell books and see how successful they are!!!

What should readers walk away from your books knowing? How should they feel? 

Children should enjoy the drawings and the uncomplicated stories, maybe learn a little lesson now and then.


How much thought goes into designing a book cover? 

Well, everybody says covers sell the book. Thats why you see so many very good covers that you can’t make a choice. I have been told my covers are crap. But I believe in a series you need a uniform approach that brands the series. So I opted for simple covers. The pictures are taken out from the books. The great thing is that I do them myself as well and if you see my book between a hundred other covers, you will immediately remember that you have seen another book from this series.

What's your ultimate dream? 

Get invited by Ellen DeGeneres.

Writing is one thing. What about marketing you, your books and your brand? Any thoughts? 

I spend unlimited time on promoting and finding ways to promote. LinkedIn Groups are a fantastic place to find new ways. I spent hundreds of hours collecting emails of reviewers and manage to get 30 reviews within a short time.

Are your books self-published? 

Yes, I have an aggregator helping me with this, because I thought I save time. Bad news. I would have been faster doing everything myself in the end. After a year we are finally getting somewhere.

Describe yourself in five words.

Logical, efficient, motivated, individual, imaginative. Sorry if that sounds like Oliver!

What pisses you off most? 

Illogical, inefficient, unmotivated, sheep, unimaginative people.

What is the title of the last book you read?

One of fifty Nora Roberts books. I don’t even look at the titles anymore. I know the guys kiss after ten pages and have three times sex throughout the book.

What would be the very last sentence you'd write? 

The End.

What would make you happier than you are now? Would you care to share? 

Being able to look after our grandchildren.

Anything you'd like to add? 

Meow!

My website: http://www.bedtimestory4you.com

My Amazon author’s page: http://www.amazon.com/Werner-Stejskal/e/B00NFANG58

Book Promo | Rachelle Paige | Tidal Patterns

Title:  Tidal Patterns (Golden Shores Book 1)

Author: Rachelle Paige

Pages: 224  eBook

Genre:  Clean, Wholesome, Contemporary Romance

Book Synopsis

Elizabeth Shaw is the pre-eminent, and only, wedding planner at the historic beach resort on Jekyll Island. She's sure she'll land the newly created role overseeing all major events. Then she’ll get a raise and won't be forced to leave. 

Mark Edwards doesn't need any more stress. He's ready to slow down and enjoy the tiny seaside town he calls home. His boss pushes him to apply for the new management position and he agrees. After a decade in catering, he's sure he can do the events job without any trouble. 

Neither counted on the other getting in the way. 

Author Info

Rachelle stumbled into the world of romance novels in college; as a way to help speed up her reading to make it through Art History textbooks. After years in the professional world writing very dry grant proposals and auction descriptions, she started writing the contemporary romance stories she wanted to read. Setting her books in some of her favorite destinations was her inspired way to require plenty of research trips every year with her family. 

Author of the contemporary romance True North series, Anchored in the Bay (book 1), Tiny Island Summer-a Kindle Scout winning book-(book 2), On the Rocks (coming spring 2016), and Across the Lake (coming summer 2016); and author of the wholesome contemporary romance series Golden Shores, Tidal Patterns (book 1) releasing April 12. 

Author Website

http://rachellepaige.com

Links to buy

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tidal-Patterns-Golden-Shores-Book-ebook/dp/B01CZ2WRYW

Book Promo | John Grayson Heide | The Flight Of The Pickerings

Title: The Flight of the Pickerings

Author: John Grayson Heide

Pages 329

Genre  Literary Fiction

Book Synopsis

Guy Pickering has the biggest problem of his life. Dorothy, the only woman he’s ever loved, suffers with pain and dementia and has only weeks to live.   Years ago, she made it clear to Guy that he is expected to put her out of her misery if she ever got to this stage. And he just can’t bring himself to do it. With love and honor in heart and a dread of loneliness, he decides to go with her and saunter into the afterlife beside his wife.   A plan is hatched, but Guy is not good at this sort of thing and everything is further complicated by a rebellious teenage grandson that shows up unexpectedly and a fame hungry reporter that chases them in front of a world-wide audience. Much to Guy’s frustration, Life keeps getting in the way of death.

Author Info

The Flight of the Pickerings is based on a dream which came at a time of extreme stress in John's life.

He was living in paradise (Hawaii) and watching his life savings evaporate.  Negativity abounded, but the dream/story would not let go and John felt the increasing need to write it out.  In writing, his life re-focused on bigger and better aspects and helped him move on. The process of crafting a novel has many ups and downs, but for John, it was almost as if he had no choice.  The story needed to be told and after 8 years of steady re-writing, he's finally happy to share it.

Some people will appreciate the book and the underlying message of life and its sacredness.  Also death, and its own brand of sacredness.   Some people might take the story as an endorsement for suicide.  This is not the intention of the book.   The highest good this book might foster would be a brave and intelligent discussion among families regarding end of life issues.  As Clint Eastwood’s character said in the movie Unforgiven  “We all got it comin’ ".

John Grayson Heide now lives on top of a mountain near Sonoma, California enjoying too much sun, his forgiving wife and an array of wild birds he cannot identify.

Author Website: www.flightofthepickerings.com

Links to buy: Amazon

Book Promo & Excerpt | Donna Dechen Birdwell | Ways Of The Serpent

Book Description:
It’s 2125. Aging is a thing of the past but personal memories and desires are now under corporate management. Jenda Swain is a youthful 111 years old, content with her professional career, when a disturbing encounter with an old woman forces her to question her own identity, to begin searching for the woman she once was and might yet become. Her journey takes her into the arms of an activist artist who has a quest of his own; answers come together as their world falls apart.

Author Bio:
Donna Dechen Birdwell has created a dystopian world as only an anthropologist can, with sensitivity and insight deriving from years of observation and dedicated study of the human condition. Donna is deeply convinced that storytelling is essential to our nature and that imagination is our most precious human trait. Donna is also an artist and former journalist and a native Texan.

Website: http://donnadechenbirdwell.com/

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Donna-Birdwell/e/B00ZA8E3UK/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wideworldhome/?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wideworldhome

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14073644.Donna_Birdwell

NetGalley: http://netgal.ly/Tv3CHr



Excerpt:

1.

The café was down a couple of side streets, in an area of Dallas Jenda never went to, but she thought she might have been there once before. She couldn't remember. Without looking at the menu, she ordered a grilled cheese sandwich with fried potatoes and sweet tea. It was plain food. She was halfway through her meal, savoring the anonymity afforded by this out-of-the-way eatery as much as the greasy fare, when she noticed the woman who had turned on her stool at the café’s counter to stare. 
The woman was old. That in itself was disturbing. Nobody got old anymore, not since Chulel – the drug that prevented aging – had come on the market a hundred years ago. Jenda, at 111, was as fresh and vigorous as she had been in 2035 when, at the age of 22, she had received her first annual Chulel treatment. Jenda’s grandmother was 165, but appeared no older than she had been when she began taking Chulel in her mid-sixties. What was this old woman doing in Jenda’s world? 

Jenda turned away, but she could still feel the woman’s dark eyes boring into her, probing. Jenda couldn't help herself; she looked again. When the woman saw her looking, she smiled.

“Zujo!” Jenda swore, quickly returning her attention to her unfinished sandwich. It was too late. Taking the look as an invitation, the woman dropped down from her counter stool and shuffled over to Jenda's table. 
“You're Jenda Swain,” she said, cocking her head to one side and narrowing her eyes. “God, you look the same as you did in high school.” 

“Excuse me?” Jenda sat up straighter and used her best business voice.  

“Of course you don't remember,” the woman said, dragging out the chair across from Jenda and sitting down heavily. “Nobody remembers much of anything anymore.” She shrugged and looked down at her hands. Jenda looked, too. The woman's hands were wrinkled, misshapen, and covered in brown and red splotches. “I remember you, though,” she continued, looking up into Jenda’s face. “My god, you were a firebrand back then. I idolized you and your boyfriend, you know. Such temerity! The things you did...” The woman refused to turn away. “Do you still paint? You always had your mom's gift for art.” 

“I think you must have made some mistake,” Jenda said quietly, fighting to modulate her voice against the tightening in her throat. “You may know my name, but you clearly don't know me. Nothing you are saying makes any sense at all.” Jenda felt her cheeks warm as she flashed on an image of herself with an easel and paintbrush. Her last bite of sandwich seemed to have lodged somewhere near the base of her esophagus. “Now, would you please go on your way? Leave me alone.” Jenda blinked, shuttering herself away from this intrusive presence.  

The woman's face clouded and she leaned forward, looking Jenda squarely in the eye. “You need to ask more questions.” She spoke the words clearly and forcefully. Then she pushed her chair away from the table with a loud scraping noise. As she leaned over to pick up the leather bag she had dropped under the chair, the pendant around her neck clanked on the tabletop. It was an old fashioned timepiece, the kind with a round face with numbers and moving hands. Jenda reflexively reached up to grasp her own necklace, a cluster of plexiform flowers in the latest style from her favorite recyclables boutique. The woman took in a deep breath, as if rising from the chair had taxed her strength. She looked at Jenda again. “You’re the one who doesn't know who Jenda Swain is.” Her voice was gentle, maybe sad. Then she turned and walked out the front door. 

Jenda’s impulse to run after the woman and ask her name was unexpected. Holding it in check, she sat rigidly, staring at her cold, greasy food. She swallowed hard, trying to dislodge that last bite of sandwich. Her hands trembled. She quickly finished her dilute, not-so-sweet tea. Looking up and down the street as she exited, she saw no sign of the woman. 

Jenda looked back over her shoulder as she made her way back to the main street, back to reality. What possessed me to go to that café anyway? she scolded herself, shoving her fists deeper into the pockets of her fashionable jacket. 
All afternoon at her desk in the Dallas offices of Your Journal, Jenda’s mind wandered, pacing back and forth across the odd feelings, trying to tamp them down. How did the old woman know Jenda’s name? What was that about idolizing her in high school? What boyfriend? Firebrand? Ridiculous. Jenda’s personal records with Your Journal clearly indicated that her high school career had been quietly unremarkable. She had been a good student with good marks who never made trouble. The woman must have gotten Jenda mixed up with someone else. That was it. Old people did that sometimes, didn't they? But Jenda had enjoyed painting in high school. And her mother had been a sculptor of some note before the accident. 

“Are you okay, Jenda?” It was her office mate, Weldon. 
“What?” Jenda started, “No, no, I'm fine,” she said. “Maybe something I had at lunch disagreed with me.” She gave Weldon a wan smile. It was nearly quitting time. 
Jenda’s discomfort followed her home. It’s just an attack of cognitive dissonance, she told herself. There was a pill for that. But when she got home, she didn't take the pill. Instead she poured a glass of wine and pulled up Your Journal on her home screen, accessing her high school years. There wasn't much, but the pictures were all precisely as Jenda remembered them – she had the same golden blond hair, the same flawless fair skin. She stopped for a moment to examine the picture of herself with an easel and paintbrush. Why had she ever stopped painting? To make a living, she reminded herself, and a contribution. She had majored in art at Perry University, but her course of study focused on digital design and graphic psychology. With that, she had secured her position at Your Journal. That was ninety years ago. 

Jenda loved her job with Your Journal, loved being part of such an important corporate institution. Everybody relied on Your Journal as a secure repository of their personal photos, stories, thoughts and feelings. People interacted with it every day, experiencing pangs of guilt if they failed to respond to the reminders on their digilets. You could also put photos and comments on LifeBook, but those were shared with everyone in your loop. YJ was personal and people often referred to their YJ files as their “exomemories”. 

Jenda was due for her next sabbatical in a couple of months and she had already booked into a resort in the Republic of California. The social order under Chulel had done away with retirement, moving instead to a system in which every worker received a one-year sabbatical every ten years. Technically, of course, a “sabbatical” should occur every seven years, but the term had a nice feel. Nobody questioned such verbal technicalities. 

Jenda pulled up some pictures of the resort, which suddenly struck her as mundane and boring and not somewhere she wanted to spend an entire year of her life. Maybe she should try something different. Maybe she should try painting again. Jenda vaguely recalled a place where her mother had gone a few times, a place that used to be considered something of an artists’ colony. Maybe in Mexico. Jenda searched through various mediazones and finally came up with a town in central Mexico called San Miguel de Allende. She wasn't sure that was it, but she decided that was where she would go. She did check to verify that there would be tennis courts. She always said tennis was her favorite activity. 

Within a few minutes Jenda had cancelled her reservations for California and made new ones for San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Then she drafted a memo to her supervisor, asking to begin her sabbatical early. She would lose a few weeks of leave, but she felt an odd exhilaration arising from these rash decisions. It felt good. 

2.

2125 marked the centenary of the entry of the miracle age prophylaxis Chulel into the marketplace. The occasion probably should have been marked by a celebration of some sort, but so few people remembered what life was like before Chulel that it would have seemed rather like commemorating the invention of water or air. So the year would come and go without fanfare. 

Two people who did remember life before Chulel were the inventors of the drug, Drs. Max and Emily Feldman, who had lost their only child to Hutchinson-Guilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) back in 1977. “Progeria” referred to a set of diseases that caused premature aging due to a genetic anomaly; HGPS had been its most common (though still extremely rare) form. 

The Feldmans had delayed “having a family” as people used to say, until after they both completed med school. Following their daughter’s death, they had devoted their careers to finding a cure for progeria. It had been a long haul. The first significant advance had come from another lab, which announced a promising new avenue of research in 2014. Pharmakon Corporation, and specifically the Drs. Feldman, built on this and in 2017 published preliminary results of a drug they named according to its active chemical components. Nobody now remembers that name. 
The drug was ready for human trials by early 2018, and a dozen or so families from around the world came forward, traveling to the Pharmakon headquarters in Atlanta to let the Feldmans try out the drug on their afflicted sons and daughters, who had been diagnosed with either HGPS or one of the other, even rarer, forms of progeria. 

What nobody knew was that Max Feldman was also testing the drug on himself. Even Emily didn’t know. Max Feldman was already 78 and although he checked out healthy enough, he had a family history of heart disease and atherosclerosis and there were certain aspects of the lab tests on the new drug as well as its effects on a small test group of bonobos that had irresistibly piqued his curiosity. 
By the time the tests on human progeria patients were declared unequivocally successful in 2021, the people closest to him were beginning to notice something about Max. One of those people was the Feldmans’ lab assistant, Winslow Morris.  

In the third month of the trials, Winslow noted that there seemed to be a couple of vials of the drug missing. He questioned Dr. Max about it, and was told it must be a mistake. When Winslow re-counted the next day against the numbers in the computer, he found no discrepancy. It happened again a couple of months later and this time Winslow kept his observation to himself. Again, the numbers mysteriously rectified themselves within a matter of hours. Then one day Winslow thought he saw Dr. Max slipping a vial of the medicine into the pocket of his lab coat. That’s when it clicked. Winslow started observing Dr. Max more closely. On the day before the results of the progeria field tests were formally announced, Winslow missed work. And then he disappeared altogether. 
Winslow hadn't needed to steal any of the medicine. He knew how to make it. His destination was China and within six months a new drug started showing up on the streets. It was called “Fontana” and it was touted as the “fountain of youth”. It was outrageously expensive and sold mainly to customer lists Winslow compiled by irrupting into databases of dermatologists specializing in cosmetic surgery. He was an instant millionaire. 

Winslow did not know that Dr. Feldman had altered the dosage for his own use. Fontana consumers were overdosing, and before the drug had been on the street for a full year, its reputation went into free fall. People who were self-medicating with this black market miracle potion started to develop strange skin disorders, unexplained neuropathies, and a vulnerability to infection, all of which ended up on the list of warnings regarding possible side effects when the first generation of the real drug went on the market in 2025 under the name “Chulel.” 
Winslow was sorry about all this. It cut his income stream down to nothing. But he took his multi millions and his remaining stocks of Fontana and fled.