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The Mahogany Door Project To Perform During 2011 Carrboro Music Festival

Categories: book series, books, entertainment, events, music, NC musicians, Triangle music scene
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Showcasing all-original live music at Cat’s Cradle

September 20, 2011 (Carrboro, NC) – The Mahogany Door Project, a band comprised of the musicians

The Mahogany Door Project created the all-original music for the book's soundtrack CD.

who created the original soundtrack CD for the new fantasy-adventure book “The Mahogany Door” by Durham author J. Mark Boliek, will perform live at the legendary Cat’s Cradle on Sunday, September 25, during the Carrboro Music Festival.

The band’s set will begin at 4:30 p.m.

“Dark, happy, and hopeful” are the words Boliek uses to describe the songs the Mahogany Door Project will perform. Boliek developed the songs so that readers of his book can immerse themselves in the book’s fantasy world of “Bruinduer.”

The Mahogany Door Project’s live performances are laced with an eclectic style of music ranging from pop and rock to country and classical – from a mysterious and lonely rock anthem to heart-breaking country tunes, R&B acoustic compositions, and a powerful rock lullaby. And all of the songs are appropriate for all ages.

The members of the band are: Mark Boliek, guitar; Jill Boliek, vocals; Scott Jackson, lead guitar; Jon Murray, guitar and vocals; Evans Nicholson, drums; Jim Gilliam, bass; Mary Summerlin, keyboard and vocals; and Chris Summerin, guitar.

“The Mahogany Door Project serves up a lot of fun, laughter, and good music,” Boliek said, noting that

Band leader/author Mark Boliek

he will also have copies of “The Mahogany Door” and CD on hand to sell. “We’re extremely grateful for the opportunity to be a part of such an exciting event as the Carrboro Music Festival.”

The band recently performed at Broad Street Café in Durham to a full house.

To hear a preview of the songs, go to www.jmarkboliek.com/the-music. The CD can also be heard through a variety of online sources including iTunes, Napster, Amazon MP3.

For more information on “The Mahogany Door,” a fantasy-adventure book for young readers, visit www.jmarkboliek.com.

Since its inception in 1998, the Carrboro Music Festival has drawn musicians and music lovers from all over the state. Performances take on 25 stages from one end of Carrboro to the other and the all-day event is free. The complete schedule can be downloaded at www.carrboro.com/carrboromusicfestival/.

Cat’s Cradle is located at 300 East Main Street in Carrboro, NC 27510 (919-967-9053). For more information and directions, go to www.catscradle.com.

Band Facts:

Musical Style/Genre: Pop, Rock, R&B, Country, Folk.

City of origin: Durham, North Carolina

Key Points of Interest:

  • Recorded new CD together (in association with Split Rail Multimedia)
  • Performs songs from the CD that are appropriate for all ages
  • Recordings of the songs can be heard at www.jmarkboliek.com and at other online resources
  • Facebook: www.facebookcom/jmarkboliek.

Nine-Year-Old Book Critic Praises “The Mahogany Door”

Categories: blogs, book series, books, children's books, entertainment, kids' issues
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Author J. Mark Boliek reaches, and impresses, his target audience.  

August 31, 2011 (Durham, NC) – A positive review from a professional book critic is any author’s dream-come-true. Yet for J. Mark Boliek, author of “The Mahogany Door,” a new fantasy-adventure book for young readers, no review will mean as much to him as the one he recently received from the kid in Pennsylvania who writes the blog “This Kid Reviews Books.”

In early August, nine-year-old Erik (last name withheld for privacy) requested a review copy of Boliek’s 353-page book and the all-original soundtrack CD that comes with it. Delighted to have the chance to hear an honest opinion from a member of his book’s target audience (nine to 20-something), Boliek quickly obliged.

This Kid Reviews Books blog logo.

Erik’s synopsis of the book: “What would you do if you could save someone who was lost in a different world? Years ago, JT, Kali, Michael and Charlie traveled to the world of Bruinduer through The Mahogany Door, a magical portal. The friends thought Charlie died in Bruinduer, but he didn’t. He is just trapped and the others now realize it and they vow to get him back. JT, Kali and Michael have to travel back through The Mahogany Door. They’ll face old enemies, fight in a war, cross a desert, have to find trust in Billy (their guide in Bruinduer) and convince Charlie (who wasn’t happy to see them) to come back home.”

Erik was so pleased with the book, in fact, that he wanted to interview the author.

“I liked ‘The Mahogany Door’ so much that I asked Mr. Boliek if he would answer some questions about his book and music. He was very nice to let me do the interview,” he wrote in his post on August 25.

“I have to say, when I first started into the story, I thought it was going to be too much like ‘The Witch, Lion and the Wardrobe,’ but it wasn’t,” he writes in his review. “The story of ‘The Mahogany Door’ is unique. The story really kept me reading (seriously, I couldn’t put the book down)… I recommend it to everyone!”

He even gave “The Mahogany Door” his highest ranking, “5 out of 5 bookworms,” which means “You have to read this book!” according to the blog description.

Erik also liked the accompanying CD so much – “The songs are really great” – that he posted a link to Boliek’s website so his readers can hear the songs for themselves.

“This is it,” Boliek said after Erik’s review was posted. “This is straight out of the mouth of a member of my target audience. I can’t even say how much Erik’s review means to me. I’m also extremely impressed by Erik’s love of books and his writing quality. He’s an amazing kid.”

Erik began reviewing books in January 2011 because “I love books, so that’s why I have this blog. The reason I’m doing this is for parents to approve of a book, and for kids to find an excellent book, too,” he writes on the “About” page.

Who reads his blog? “Other kids, parents, teachers, librarians, authors, publicists, publishers, illustrators, and people who just like books have all visited my blog,” he said via email. “I think it’s actually pretty cool how people from all over the world visit my blog.”  (The latter statement is confirmed by his blog’s statistics.)

Erik’s entire review of “The Mahogany Door” and his interview with the author can be read at http://bit.ly/pcyMAA.

“The Mahogany Door” is currently available at The Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC, Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, NC, and The Moravian Books & Gifts shop in Winston-Salem, NC. Ebook versions, including an enhanced version with imbedded music, are available at the iBook Store, Amazon, and other outlets. For more information visit www.jmarkboliek.com.

Facts about The Mahogany Door:

Author: J. Mark Boliek.  Publisher: Split Rail Books.  Publication Date: May 2011.  Genres: Fantasy-Fiction, Adventure-Fiction.  Illustrator: Lauren Gallegos.  Age Group: 10 and up.  ISBN: 978-0-9832900-0-1.  Paperback: 353pp.  Retail Price: store’s discretion.  Website www.jmarkboliek.com. Ebooks are available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and iBookstore.

Durham Author, Composer Featured on “The Bookworms: Young Adult Book Reviews” Blog

Categories: blogs, book series, books, children's books, kids' issues, NC musicians, people, Triangle music scene
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To discuss the songs on his new book’s soundtrack CD 

J. Mark Boliek

August 19, 2011 (Durham, NC) — J. Mark Boliek, the author of The Mahogany Door and composer of the book’s accompanying all-original soundtrack CD, was the featured guest on “The Bookworms: Young Adult Book Reviews” blog.

The Mahogany Door is a 353-page urban fantasy-adventure novel about three friends – JT, Michael and Kali — who have been separated for years by a tragedy, but who must reunite to return to the fantasy land of Bruindeur beyond the mahogany door to fulfill a destiny before that world collapses. The journey back to the world behind the door leads to self-discovery and to the realization that things in life are not always as they seem. The songs on the CD capture themes and emotions from the book.

For The Bookworms blog, Boliek focused on his three favorite songs from the CD: “All Alone,” “In The Afternoon,” and “Goodbyes.”

“All Alone” is the theme song of the book, he said. The main characters “find themselves alone in their own little space in the world, and it is not until they are able to reunite will they be able to face the demons from their past and conquer them.”

The song also speaks to the reason he wrote the book: “Many bad things have happened in my life, and along the way I have felt very much alone. It is when I started to find my true inner self that I could move forward, in some cases dealing with the mundane of everyday life.”

“In The Afternoon” addresses the way a single event can drastically change one’s life in just a few hours. “For JT in the book,” Boliek said, “he wakes up on his farm bee-bopping around, and by the afternoon his whole world has been turned upside down by a little boy who comes to him and tells a crazy story about his past.”

Boliek told The Bookworms that “Goodbyes”, however, is the most special song on the CD to him, yet it’s also the most difficult for him to listen to even today.

“I wrote it during one of the worst times in my life. It is so hard to say goodbye to the ones you love, but sometimes it is closure that humans need to move on,” he said. His character Kali “wants closure to everything that has happened to her, but it will not be easy for her to find.”

The Bookworms blog provides audio files for listening to the three songs from the CD. To see the entire post, go to http://thebookworms.org and click on “Guest Post: J. Mark Boliek” under Recent posts.

The Mahogany Door is currently available at The Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC, on the author’s website, and in e-book versions at Barnes & Noble and Amazon. For more information on the book and the accompanying CD, visit www.jmarkboliek.com.

About author J. Mark Boliek:

J. Mark Boliek, the author of The Mahogany Door and the entire Bruinduer Narrative series, grew up in Eden and Durham, North Carolina. An avid writer and athlete, he received a football scholarship after high school but chose to join the Navy instead. He graduated from Concord University in Athens, WV, in 1997 and lived in Wilmington, NC, for a while, where he began to develop The Bruinduer Narrative, a fantasy-adventure series for young readers, as well as the soundtrack CD that accompanies The Mahogany Door. Mark and his wife Jill now live in Durham, NC, where they own and operate Split Rail Books and Split Rail Multimedia LLC. For more information on the author and The Mahogany Door, visit www.jmarkbolief.com and his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jmarkboliek.

Midwest Book Reviews Recommends “The Mahogany Door”

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New fantasy-adventure book makes MBR’s July Fiction Shelf 

July 12, 2011 (Durham, NC) –  “The Mahogany Door,” a new fantasy-adventure book by J. Mark Boliek, accompanied by an all-original soundtrack CD, has received a positive review and strong recommendation from the reputable Midwest Book Reviews (MBR).

Under the headline “A fun fantasy aimed at young adult readers,” MBR says of the book:

“Friendship can stay true through the worst of it all. ‘The Mahogany Door’ follows amnesiac JT Davis and his two friends as in the efforts to restore memory lead them through a Mahogany door and into a fantasy world that will challenge their very concepts of reality and test their friendship to the fullest as they look for a way to return and make things right. Complete with a CD with music designed to go along with the book, ‘The Mahogany Door’ is a fun fantasy aimed at young adult readers, very much recommended reading.”

Out of 1500 book submissions MBR reports that it receives each month, MBR reviewers select only 450 to read. “The Mahogany Door” was one of those and, as such, is placed on the Fiction Shelf of MBR’s July Small Press Book Watch.

“The Mahogany Door,” with original illustrations by California artists Lauren Gallegos, is the first title released by Split Rail Books in Durham, NC. It is the first in a trilogy of books entitled The Bruinduer Narrative, which will continue the friends’ adventures in the fantasy Vryheids world of Bruinduer.

Established in 1976, the Midwest Book Review publishes monthly book publications specifically designed for community and academic librarians, booksellers, and the general reading public. It is a major Internet resource for publishers, writers, librarians, booksellers, and readers of all ages and interests. For more information, go to www.midwestbookreview.com

“The Mahogany Door” and accompanying CD are currently available through the author’s website, www.jmarkboliek.com. The Kindle® edition is available on Amazon and available for iPad on iTunes and iBooks as well as Nook from Barnes and Noble. The CD is also available for download from iTunes, Amazon Mp3 and many other online retailers.
Facts about The Mahogany Door:

Author: J. Mark Boliek. Publisher: Split Rail Books. Publication Date: May 2011. Genres: Fantasy-Fiction, Adventure-Fiction. Illustrator: Lauren Gallegos. Age Group: 10 and up. ISBN: 978-0-9832900-0-1. Paperback: 353pp. Retail Price: $27.99. Currently available: www.jmarkboliek.com.

About The Author:

J. Mark Boliek, the author of “The Mahogany Door” and the entire Bruinduer Narrative series, grew up in Eden and Durham, North Carolina. An avid writer and athlete, he received a football scholarship after high school but chose to join the Navy instead. He graduated from Concord University in Athens, WV, in 1997 and lived in Wilmington, NC, for a while, where he began to develop The Bruinduer Narrative, a fantasy-adventure series for young readers, as well as the soundtrack CD that accompanies “The Mahogany Door.” Mark and his wife Jill now live in Durham, NC, where they own and operate Split Rail Books and Split Rail Multimedia LLC. For more information on the author and “The Mahogany Door,” visit www.jmarkbolief.com and his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jmarkboliek.

Broad Street Cafe To Host The Mahogany Door Project

Categories: book series, books, children's books, entertainment, events, music, NC musicians
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An acoustic performance of original music from the new book’s soundtrack CD.

June 29, 2011 (Durham, NC) – Broad Street Café in Durham will host an acoustic performance of original music from a new soundtrack CD when The Mahogany Door Project takes the stage on Tuesday, July 19, at 8:30 p.m.

The CD is the soundtrack to “The Mahogany Door,” a new fantasy-adventure book for young and teen readers by Durham author J. Mark Boliek. A musician as well as a writer, Boliek created the CD soundtrack as a way to capture the moods and themes of the book in songs. He wrote or co-wrote all but two of the songs, which range in style from rock and R&B, to country and even one full orchestral arrangement.

Katie Basden, a new name in country music, wrote one of the eight songs on the CD and will join the group as a special guest for the set, along with guest singer Ian Butts.

The process of creating the soundtrack was particularly special to Boliek because of the “closeness of friends and family” that it took to create the CD, he said. That bond will be celebrated at Broad Street Cafe when members of The Mahogany Door Project share stories and music from the book and CD during the live performance.

The event is free and open to the public. Young fans of fantasy-adventure fiction are encouraged to attend. Broad Street Café is located at 1116 Broad Street, Durham, NC 27705 (919-416-9707).

The entire Mahogany Door soundtrack CD can be heard on Boliek’s website at www.jmarkboliek.com/the-music.

For more information on book, visit. www.jmarkboliek.com and the author’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/JMarkBoliek.

“Twisted and Turned” Author T. Lyn Fletcher Launches New Website

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The site is designed to inform and intrigue future readers and fans.

June 14, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) – T. Lyn Fletcher, the author of the upcoming supernatural/horror/vampire book series “Twisted and Turned,” has launched a new

www.tlynfletcher.com

website specifically designed to capture the ambiance of the series and to keep future readers enthralled.

“It was a bit of a challenge to build a site as eclectic and dramatic as T. Lyn Fletcher’s needed to be, without making it difficult for a user to navigate,” said Karin Bilich, founder and president of Smart Author Sites.com. “I think we found a really nice medium in which readers can really feel like they’ve delved into the ‘Twisted and Turned’ series, while still being able to find any pertinent information.”

Against a black backdrop, where the gray form of a raven takes wing behind the author’s name, the team at Smart Author Sites created a window on the landing page that recalls a dark, worn desk. On the desk are various items — from an old, leather book to a 21st century cell phone — that become links to other pages as users scroll over them.

Fletcher’s photograph appears in a small black frame propped on the “desk” and leads to the “About The Author” page. A black leather-bound book becomes the link to “The Series” page for a synopsis and excerpt. A computer keyboard leads to a page of links to the author’s social media sites. An open address book goes to “Fun Facts,” and a newspaper on the desk will lead to reviews of the books. The cell phone links to contact information and downloads (including Fletcher’s head shots and promotional posters), while an ornate, pink envelope takes visitors to a page where Fletcher will post comments and questions readers submit to her by email. All of these items/links remain on the bottom of each page for easy navigation.

Throughout the site, Bilich has sprinkled dramatic photos of the author as well as esoteric symbolism and a sneak peak at the cover of the first book in the series, “Unholy Union.”

“T. Lyn Fletcher is quite an interesting woman, and we wanted to make sure that her personality really came through in the website,” Bilich said. “She has some great photos of herself, which we tried to work into the site wherever possible. It’s important that an author’s website reflects his or her personality, and I think this one does just that.”

The see the new website and for more information on the author and the upcoming “Twisted and Turned” series, visit www.tlynfletcher.com.

 

About T. Lyn Fletcher:

T. Lyn Fletcher, the author of the upcoming supernatural/horror book series “Twisted and Turned,” is a medical software designer in her “other life.” A native North Carolinian, she is a member of the well-known philanthropic Fletcher family of Raleigh, NC, and member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She active in a number of charitable efforts related to the environment and animal welfare. She has worked with the Washington Charity Awards and participates in Change.org. For more information go www.tlynfletcher.com, visit her Facebook page, or follow her on Twitter.