How does this cover look?

I designed it on Create space with their templates. It still needs editing as the back flap has a gap in the last paragraph but the cover editor is not available right now. I also had to reformat the page size from letter to 8X5 inches, but it is coming along.

I'm finished editing it but still have to get the converted version of the story from my laptop to my desktop computer, then it will be visible and ready to download to anyone's computer for sale. I cleaned up the text on the back and reduced it to a teaser. I changed author's pictures to one that didn't have so much distracting color on a black and white cover. I'll post it when I'm done.

I just got the book and there was no cover

You got the first submission. I guess they go by the number of pages as to what to charge for it because the original was sent in letter format. They booted that version out and made me reformat it to 5X8 inches like a paperback. This pushed the page count way up. They set the price originally at $7.99. When I resubmitted they set the absolute lowest price at $12.73. If I sell any I'll make $8.40 per book. Here's the new cover I hope...

I like the second version better too. Very debonair!

It can be downloaded to any pc by going to amazon and downloading "kindle for pc" it's free. We printed out every version for typos and my wife and I would sit on the porch in the evenings and go over it. So you can print it out if you want to buy a pack of paper and a printer cartridge. On the new cover I named her as the co autor as she contributed so much.

I can order actual proofs, real printed books which I intend to do but I don't know what they will cost. I'll find out and if they aren't too much maybe I can get a few and autograph some copies for Angelica, Freddie Peepers, Batu, Isabel, Yon Zack, and the others. In the third book which I'm working on now I have included a lot more of the kids friends. This could get expensive unless they all want to pay for their own books as Jake, Rooney, Xavier, Stony, Cody and others are in it. Stony is gay and he asked me, "Can you work in a flaming drag queen?"

I told him, "I'll see what I can do." so I wrote in a gay character, he really likes Batu which irritates the piss out of him. So, they need more recruits and go to a pirate bar...

An arm wrestling match was going on between two brutish men as they grunted and sweated. Burning cigars were on saucers where the hands would be pinned. A drunk man stood against the wall, laughing then screaming as his friend threw darts at him. He had two sticking out of him as they watched the third one be thrown. The man threw the dart hard and it stuck him right between the eyes. He screamed, then laughed.“It is a good thing that your skull is so thick!” the man said, I have been trying to punch through it all evening.” The man was indeed covered with small holes all over his face and arms.

Felipe and the others went to the bar and ordered rum. They then turned and rested their elbows on the bar, surveying the room. A tall man went to the bar and also ordered rum. He too turned and looked out at the men. Batu looked at him and the man smiled at him, Batu smiled back briefly then returned his gaze to the room.
Out of the corner of his eye, Batu could see the man still looking at him. He turned and the man was still smiling at him. He wrinkled his brow and said “What are you smiling at?”
“I am smiling at a big, handsome brute of a man.”
Felipe and the others overheard this and began to chuckle. “Be gone fool before I beat you within an inch of your life!” Batu shouted.
“Oh, I would not try that if I were you. The only thing that I like more than big, handsome brutish looking men is fighting.”
Felipe and the others laughed out loud. At this, Batu put his drink down and stepped away from the bar facing the man. “This should be interesting.” Andreas said.

Fast as lightning, the tall man jumped and grabbed Batu’s head in both hands and kissed him full on the lips. Batu struggled to break free but the man was very strong, Felipe and the men howled with laughter, especially Felipe.
Batu hit the man hard in in ribs with both hands , the man pulled his face away and hit Batu in the eye. The fight was on as the two huge men fought across the tavern to the cheers of all of the other men. Batu’s eye was swelling shut but he managed to get a solid hit on the other man’s eye as well. After a few minutes, it too was swelled shut. They burst through a window, out into the street as the men poured out of the door to watch. They fought all of the way down the street until at one point, the man had his back to a water trough. Batu seized the moment, grabbing his head and shoving his head beneath the water. He held him there as the man struggled.

Waiting almost a full minute, he pulled the soaking man’s head up coughing and sputtering, “Do you concede?” The man again grabbed Batu’s head and pulled him forward, kissing him on the lips. He released Batu’s head, smiled at him. Batu again plunged his head under the water, holding it there, “This man does not learn!”
“I think that he likes you.” Felipe said.
“I know that he likes you.” Jean Pierre laughed.
Bubbles were rising, then stopped, “I think you had better let him up before he drowns.” Andreas said.
Batu pulled his head up and the man looked at him with his swollen eye and smiled. “Do you concede?” Batu again asked, “And if you kiss me again, I will not let you up this time.” Felipe and the others fell about themselves laughing at this when finally the man said, “Alright, I will not kiss you again, I concede.”

Batu let go and he fell back into the water trough. Batu turned and walked back into the tavern. Felipe and Andreas helped the man out and waited for him to catch his breath. They spoke to him while he did this, he fought very well. They walked back into the bar together. Batu looked then said, “Oh No! He is not joining us.”
“Oh come now,” the man said, “You fought very well, I will not bother you any more.”
“You learned your lesson then?” Batu said.
“No, actually you are not that good of a kisser.” the man replied with a smile. The entire tavern erupted into laughter as they both looked at each other with one eye swollen shut. The man held his hand out and after a moment, Batu shook it. “My name is Luke Tanner, but my friends all call me Stoney.” Batu introduced himself and they went to get a table. They discussed the need for more men, Stoney agreed to help them. He rose and went about the tavern speaking to the men. The men playing darts were the first to arrive at their table, both had a dart right between their eyes. “I am Cody.” one said, “And I am Blaine.” the other added.

I sat on the porch last night and linked Vengeance Three to Goldfish. Balam talks to Andreas and tells him the spirits want to talk to him. As Felipe told him, he is getting old. He sees a vision and for the next two weeks works making the gold maps that they found in Goldfish. The maps are an enigma, even Jean Pierre can't decode them. Andreas knows that their ancestors will have more knowledge and be able to decode the maps as Felipe does in "Goldfish". You have to make the stories all flow together.

He also instructs them not to bury him at sea, but in the mountains of Belize with the second map under his crypt. This will lead up to them finding the second map in "Goldfish". I'm also taking Vengeance Three in a whole new direction. I dropped Azul and Celeste altogether. Juan Carlos wants to kill this king who is responsible for Andreas's death.

Felipe is telling Juan Carlos that the king is his mother's father, he would be killing her father. He discusses it with her and now, with Andreas killed and Juan Carlos swearing vengeance, she reveals the letter.Victoria finally admits that she and Isabel searched Chavez and found a decree from the king ordering her and her mother's death as well at Belize. She didn't want to tell Felipe because she feared it would outrage him to the point that he would do something irrational.

Thank you JW, I don't know if you remember when Andres got killed chasing another ship into the hurricane. I had to have the golden maps made, then one of them placed under his crypt so the ancestors in the future will find it there in the book "Goldfish". This leads them to the horde of gold that is hidden in the small Mayan temple in the jungles of Belize. I had to go back and make this possible, this is how I did it...

CHAPTER TEN


VISIONS



Andreas was sleeping soundly when something woke him up. He sat up rubbing his eyes, he smelled coffee. He thought it was strange, he had never smelled coffee brewing in his cabin before, it was far from the pavilion. He just thought that perhaps the wind was blowing just right for the first time.
He got up and dressed, then poured some water into a bowl and splashed his face then toweled it dry. He walked to the pavilion, it was just barely daylight, the sky was light but the sun had not risen yet. Someone was sitting under the pavilion but his eyesight was poor now, he strained to see who it was.


As he got closer, he was surprised to see that it was Balam, “How did you get here?” he asked.
“That is not important, sit down and have some coffee, I made it just for you.” he poured a steaming cup of coffee into a stout porcelain cup.
Andreas added some sugar then blew on it to cool it off, looking at Balam who just smiled at him, “Drink, drink, you need to wake up.” he said.
Andreas drank the hot, rich coffee and after a few minutes Balam asked him, “Are you awake now?”
“Yes, I am awake, what are you doing here?”
“The spirits want to talk to you. Let us go to your cabin.” He reached down on the ground and picked up a rolled up mat and placed it under his arm. He rose and followed Andreas back to his cabin.


Entering, he sat cross legged on the floor, “Have you any water?”
Andreas poured him a cup of water and handed it to him, “Sit, here in front of me.” he said and Andreas sat on the floor cross legged as he facing him.
He rolled the mat out. It was mainly a deep blue, but it was black on one corner. From the darkness, spirals of white emanated out in all directions like a whirlpool. Smaller white lines connected the larger white spiral lines like a spider web. Andreas looked at the mat.
Balam took a small leather pouch off of his belt and opened it. He reached inside with two fingers and withdrew a small dreid button shaped object and handed it to Andreas, “Chew this.”
Andreas looked at it, “What is it?”
“It is the button of the peyote cactus where the flower comes out, chew it.”
Andreas placed the button in his mouth and began to chew. It was very dry and tough at first, but then it became soft like a fibrous pulp and was easier to chew. Balam saw that he was chewing easier now and handed him the water instructing him to swallow it. He repeated this three more times until Andreas had eaten four of the buttons.


He then pursed his lips and began to blow on Andreas's face. His lips made a whistling sound like the wind, rising and falling in pitch softly but gradually getting louder and stronger.
Very soon, his hair began to blow and the wind became much stronger. He couldn't understand how Balam was making such a strong wind with just his lips. The wind rose and began to howl, raindrops began to hit his face. Soon the wind was raging and the rain was pelting his face, he had to bow his head against it and squint his eyes.


The wind was now shrieking at gale force, he looked at the mat and the spirals were moving in a rotating pattern. The smaller white lines also were spreading out from the center. He began falling slowly toward it as if he were very high up in the air.
For the first time, he saw three small brown shapes on the map. They were moving in the same direction. He was drawn to one of them, the wind was becoming more fierce and now howled like a banshee. The shapes were ships, he could make them out now. Two of them were pursuing the other one that fled toward the darkness through a driving storm. The lead ship was going right into a tempest to escape.


He was getting closer, he could see Felipe and Jean Pierre standing on the bow of the ship chasing the other. They were waving their swords and shouting. He looked to the side and saw Juan Carlos and Neo in their ship, also chasing the lead ship. He drew his sword and prepared to battle.
Now he was standing next to Felipe, the salt spray splashed his face, he licked it off of his lips and turned to look at Felipe. Felipe looked at him and he smiled and winked at Felipe, then turned back toward the fleeing ship waving his sword.


Suddenly there was a very bright light, it surrounded him. He saw all of his loved ones around him looking down at him, the storm was over and a sense of peace enveloped him. He saw not only Felipe, Jean Pierre, the princess and Angelica, but also his father and mother. Even his grandparents were there smiling at him. He did not understand at first, they had been dead for many years.


They lifted him up and carried him high up in the mountains, he saw the tribe gathering around him. Two golden tablets stood at a slight angle. There were markings on them. He rose and walked to look at the markings but every time he tried, the tablets rotated away from him. Finally he walked the other way and the golden tablets stood still. He could see through them at the markings and he understood now. He went back to his family and they laid one of the tablets on the floor of a cool, dark cave. Then they laid him on top of it.


His eyes sprang open, Balam was gone and the sun had now risen. He felt totally refreshed and found it hard to believe that he had slept all day and another night. He walked to the pavilion where everyone was sitting at the table.
They smiled at him as he approached, “Balam was here yesterday.” he said.
They all looked confused, “Balam was not here yesterday Uncle Andreas.” Felipe replied.
“Yes he was, he was here at the first light. I smelled coffee and came here. None of you were up yet.” Andreas replied.
“Yesterday I was here at first light.” Felipe said, “You woke up a little later and we put the boys through manhood training, this took all day, remember? Balam was not here, it must have been a dream.”
“No, it was not a dream. If Andreas saw Balam, he came to him. That is how he visits people, in their dreams as he did Jose. Do you remember what he told you and what happened?” Gabriela asked Andreas.
“Yes, I remember everything, vividly.” a deep look of thought crossed his face. Nobody spoke for several moments while they watched him, “I must go, I have something I have to make.” He rose and walked to his blacksmith shop.


They all got a puzzled look and looked at Gabriela, “What, what happened” Felipe asked her.
“I do not know, but if Balam came to Andreas in a dream he had something very important to tell him.” she replied.
“How does he come to people in a dream?” Felipe asked.
“I do not know, there are many things in this world that we know nothing of and do not understand. But you can believe this, Balam came to Andreas to tell him something”
For the next two weeks they saw very little of Andreas. He stayed in his blacksmith shop working from sun rise to sunset, only pausing to come out, get some food, then return eating it there. They heard the sound of the bellows and the pounding of his hammer, loud at first then softer. Obviously he was making something very intricate.


Finally he came to the pavilion where Felipe and Jean Pierre were sitting at the table, “Please come with me, I have something to show you.” They followed him to his shop. On the table were two golden tablets. They were thick and as long and wide as a man's arm from the elbow to the fingertips, “Tell me what they are.” he said.
Felipe and Jean Pierre studied them. They saw a coastline and mountains. A trail was marked out with a small X on the end, “They are obviously maps.” Jean Pierre said.
“Correct, of what area?” Andreas asked.
They both studied the golden maps, neither one of them could recognize where they maps indicated, “This is no land that I have ever been to, but you have sailed more of the world than I have.” Jean Pierre said and Felipe agreed.
“The maps are a puzzle, they are for our ancestors far in the future. People gain more knowledge all of the time and get smarter as the generations pass. Our ancestors will be able to decode these maps, they are for them. See the numbers at the top? Map number two is to go with me, you are to place it under me.” Andreas said.
“Go with you where? What do you mean place it under you?” Felipe asked.
“You will understand in time. I am very hungry now, I have barely eaten in two weeks. Let us go to the pavilion.” he turned and walked out of the door and they followed him. When they got outside, he paused, “I have been thinking, I am getting a little old. When my time comes, I do not want to feed the fish, do not bury me at sea. Instead, seal me in a stone vault and carry me high up in the mountains in Belize where Buziba and the tribe lives. There is a cave there, place me in that cave and put map number two under my crypt. The second map must stay on the Vengeance, my time is coming.”
“Do not speak of such things uncle, you have many years before you.” Felipe replied with a concerned look, “Besides, they never showed us a cave.”
“It is there, and that is where I will lay waiting for our ancestors to find me.” he smiled and turned, walking toward the pavilion.

Juan Carlos wants to honor and avenge Uncle Andres. Jean Pierre as usual is making new explosives, together they make a good team. I wrote the final chapter last night, I just jumped forward because I know how the book is going to end. It was at 35,600 words until I changed course and removed Azul and Celeste, now it is just above 31,000 words.

"The Tribe" is now on Amazon also for sale.