When you’re in a bookstore, you read the first few pages of a book to see if you like it before purchasing. You have a similar option at Amazon.com, too. If you click on a book’s cover image, a Look Inside link appears.
If you click on Look Inside, you can read the first seven pages of my rock & roll Christmas fantasy.
I’d like to make it even easier for you to do that right here, so you can see what the story is like, how Elvis is portrayed, how well the writing is done, etc. Please read following Chapter 1 of the book. I’m confident you will enjoy it a lot, and maybe you will be motivated to click on this Amazon link to buy a copy. [Note: the illustrations are not in the book, but it is a blogger axiom that you must break up large chunks of text with pictures.]
– Chapter 1 –
A Trek to the North Pole
Late September, 1977…
The relentless arctic wind swirled over a harsh and desolate world. Glacial fields, broken by jagged ice outcroppings, stretched between ridges of foreboding mountains. A solitary figure, with a backpack and guitar case slung over his shoulders, climbed up one of the lower slopes. He slipped and stumbled, beaten by wind-driven snow, as he fought to reach the top of the ridge.
Without warning, his footing gave way and he slid downward at a frightening speed. His shoulder bounced off a large crag, slowing him down. He flailed wildly with both hands, and grabbed an outcropping to stop his fall. The man clung there, panting, and shifted his feet around until he found a solid foothold. He pulled himself together, checked to see that the guitar case was undamaged, then struggled on.
He clawed himself to the top and saw the object of his incredible trek – an inviting valley, bathed in sunlight, with beautiful evergreen trees and holly bushes all around.
And, right in the middle, stood Santa’s castle. Not far from it, a tall red and white object stood by like a sentinel. Even from this distance, the traveler felt certain it was the North Pole.
He took a deep breath and started down the incline toward the castle with new resolve. Suddenly, a shaft of energy shot down from the sky, locked onto his body, and lifted him three feet in the air.
“What the heck!”
~~~~~~~~~~
“Weasel, put that man down immediately.” The thin old man’s outburst shattered the quiet hum of the spacecraft’s command bridge. He managed to get his anger under control, but his disposition remained as dark and grim as his soiled black lab coat and tangle of unkempt hair.
Weasel jutted out his chin, flashing his displeasure with the command, but he grumbled, “Yes, sir,” and moved a lever on his control panel.
The old man continued his rant. “You need to get over this idea that I’m merely a brilliant scientist. I’m also the commander of this spacecraft, and you guys don’t make the decisions. I do. Sometimes you Humbahs are so stupid.”
Weasel headed a group known as the Humbahs, four elves who had washed out with Santa a few years earlier. They were all surly and stubborn, especially Weasel. He had purple spiked hair, and wore a heavily studded, sleeveless black leather jacket. His face sported several piercings, and numerous tats covered his little arms.
The commander turned back to his telescope monitor screen and watched as the traveler settled slowly back to the mountainside. Dammit, I really have to keep these Humbahs under tighter control, he thought. Evil elves with no qualms about ruining Christmas ought to make the right crew for my plot, but sometimes that independent streak of theirs drives me crazy.
Then the old man twisted to face the elf again. “Weasel, what the hell did you think you were doing?”
“Just having a little fun,” he said with a tone of insolence. “I wasn’t going to hurt the man – just shake him up.”
“We’re not here to have fun. We’re here to complete a mission.”
Weasel straightened up in his chair and puffed out his chest. “Well, we’ve tested our prototype transporter beam on big rocks and stuff, so why not on a person? It didn’t do any harm.”
The scientist snorted at Weasel’s continued defiant attitude. “You better hope there’s no harm. That man is obviously going to Santa’s castle. Suppose he tells what happened to him, and Santa gets suspicious and figures out we’re back with another plot this year to ruin Christmas.”
Weasel shot back, “Even if he does, there’s nothing Santa can do about it.”
The commander shook his head in exasperation and turned back to the monitor screen.
~~~~~~~~~~
The traveler settled gently onto the mountain slope. He sat there for a moment, unhurt, wondering what just happened. Then, he looked ahead and locked his eyes on Santa’s castle. His mind spun back to the task at hand, and he stood up, shrugged, and continued his journey.
About halfway down the mountain, the traveler realized it was getting warmer – but the snow was not melting. The lower he went, the warmer it got. When the slope leveled off, he thought, it feels like a gorgeous spring day, but there’s snow on the ground. This is pretty cool. He unzipped his heavy parka and pulled back the hood.
Soon he reached a point where he could make out the details of the North Pole. It looked to be almost two feet in diameter and over thirty feet tall. The traveler hadn’t known what to expect, but its massive size surprised him.
The traveler spotted two young elves ahead playing in the snow. They looked up and stared at him, then scurried off around the corner of Santa’s castle and out of sight.
As the traveler passed the North Pole, he noticed a small compartment door about three feet off the ground. It looked like it might cover some sort of control panel and had a combination lock securing it. He wondered why it was so low, then smiled when he realized the answer. That door is set for elf height. I’ll bet one of them opens it up and works some kind of switches or dials. Wonder what it does?
He trudged forward to Santa’s castle, a sprawling stone structure with multiple turrets and Tudor-style wood trim on the gables. The snow on the roof made it a picture-perfect image, and it beckoned him with an irresistible pull.
The traveler reached the steps, climbed up to the porch, and paused in front of the door. Well, this is it. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
In a few seconds, the door opened to reveal a familiar face. Santa smiled broadly when he saw his new visitor, and said, “Welcome to the North Pole. We don’t get many visitors here, but we’re real glad to see you, Mister….“ Santa paused.
He didn’t greet me with ‘Hello Elvis,’ so I guess he doesn’t know, or else he’s cuttin’ me some slack. Yeah, that’s probably it. “Well, sir, aaah, aaah…you can call me… aaah….Big E.”
Santa reached out and shook his hand. “Well, Big E, won’t you come on in?”
“Thank you, Santa,” he said as he passed through the door. “I’m really sorry to show up unannounced like this, but I’m hopin’ I might be able to stay here for a while. There’s some stuff goin’ on with my life, and I need to get away, you know?”
“You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like, Big E.” Santa looked at the guitar case. “I presume you can play that guitar or you wouldn’t have gone to all the trouble to lug it up here.”
Big E laughed. “There’s some debate about that, but I can hit a few licks.”
“Well, four of the elves entertain us with music occasionally,” Santa said. “They would like to play rock and roll, but it’s not going so well. Maybe you could work with them and help them along.”
“Oh, I’d love to. It would be great to get back to makin’ music again, just for fun.”
“Excellent. Say, can I help you get that heavy parka off?”
After Big E shed his gloves and coat, he tugged on his loose pants and shirt. “I guess I lost about fifty pounds making this trek. It’s been years since I’ve been this trim.”
“That’s nothing,” Santa said. “It’s been centuries since I’ve been trim.” They both laughed.
Big E looked around and took in the grandeur of Santa’s living room. Massive beams and sturdy wood decking towered over rough-sawn walls and a dark-pegged hardwood floor. A huge couch and two overstuffed armchairs formed a semi-circle facing the massive stone fireplace. Christmas decorations adorned the tables and walls, and a sturdy Christmas tree somehow supported an extensive display of ornaments.
“Oh, wow,” Big E said. “This is some place you’ve got here.”
Santa nodded. “It suits Mama Claus and me quite well. Say, let’s go out to the kitchen and I’ll introduce you to her.”
As they headed across the room, Big E asked, “I noticed the temperature around your castle is quite mild, but the snow doesn’t melt. Why is that?”
Santa stroked his chin. “For now, let’s just say that it’s one of the many magical properties of the North Pole. I’ll explain it all to you later, but you’ll be happy to know that anyone living at the North Pole never gets any older.”
Big E smiled but did not reply. Oh, man, this is going to be even better than I thought.
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of BIG E and the SANTA MAN. Like any good writer, I tried to work in as many things as possible to hook the readers. There’s our two iconic title characters, an evil villain and his bad-elf henchman, hints about all the magical properties of the North Pole, and mention of the four musically-inclined elves who will pair up with Big E to play some serious rock & roll.
Of course, the whole idea is total fantasy, but it sure makes for a fun story. I say this every year: BIG E and the SANTA MAN is the perfect Christmas present for Elvis fans. Please click here to go to the Amazon page, then email the link to your sweetie with this in the subject box: I want this book for Christmas.
Or. if you live in the U.S. and want a signed copy, and you have a PayPal account, send an email to philarnold@charter.net. Tell me what inscription you want on your book, and I’ll take care of the rest.
I would like to end by paraphrasing the message on the above magazine cover.
Who is this Big E guy?
And will he be under your Christmas tree?
Thankyouverymuch,
Phil Arnold, Original Elvisblogmeister
ElvisBlog Mini-Nuggets # 20
I can’t believe it’s been three years since I last posted Elvis Mini-Nuggets. These are always kind of fun. Someday when I retire from ElvisBlog, I might get a Facebook page and do nothing but Elvis Mini-Nuggets. Maybe a new picture every day with comments. I’ve got like a million of them in my files. Anyway, here’s an extra-long mini-nugget post to make up for not having one last weekend.
Expressions of Sympathy and Encouragement for My Wife:
After posting a short message about my wife’s lung surgery, twenty-two kind comments came in from ElvisBlog readers. In addition to the one above from Maggie in Sweden, there were also messages from France, England and Canada. My wife and I appreciate all the concern and encouragement from you readers. She is doing okay in a long, slow recovery.
International Readers of ElvisBlog:
Speaking of ElvisBlog readers from different countries, here is the Top Ten. It still freaks me out to realize that only 57% of you readers are from the U.S. If you compare the relative populations of some of these other countries versus the U.S., ElvisBlog is doing really good there.
Where’s Elvis?
If you study this picture, you will probably recognize George Jones in the photo top right. This is the room in his Franklin, Tennessee home where he got his haircuts. Look closely at the framed photo to the right of the window. It is Elvis getting his Army haircut. Here’s a bigger view of it.
Alert ElvisBlog reader Chris Iroler spotted the Elvis Army haircut picture while watching a uTube video on Jones’ house: (Click here to see). Chris told me about it in a blog Comment, and he advised to go to 5:56 on the video if I didn’t want to read the whole thing. When George Jones died five years ago, I did a post about the connection between him and Elvis. Click here to read it.
More Info on Elvis Birthday Cake Photos:
Two weeks ago, I posted six photos of Elvis eating cake. Alert ElvisBlog readers commented with more information on several of them. Like the one above where Diana from Long Island wrote:
“I enjoyed the birthday scrapbook! Re: the one with Dolores Hart- I too always thought it was a birthday cake but recently learned from an authority that it was a movie wrap party after King Creole to say goodbye to Elvis before the army, and the cake had a guitar and soldier peeling potatoes and said We Love Elvis on it.”
Sharys Wheeler wrote:
“The picture at the Sahara was of Elvis and Milton Prell, owner of the Sahara and a friend of the Colonel.”
Sandy Van Horn wrote:
“About the picture of Elvis giving Priscilla a bite of birthday cake. If the year was 1960, and it was a birthday cake, think it had to be Elvis’ Jan. 8th birthday as he left active duty at Fort Dix, New Jersey, on March 5, 1960. Believe Priscilla’s birthday is May 24th.”
So, How Did the Elvis Auction Go?
You might remember that we looked at a dozen Elvis items that failed to sell in a 1999 auction and seemingly got stuck in storage until the January 6, 2018 Auction at Graceland. I compared the expected prices then and now, and made comments on several of the items. Here’s a look at how things went.
16mm Film and Acetates of Movie Songs from Love Me Tender:
1999 estimate was $5,000-7,000; current was $1,500-2,500. It sold for $5,000. I wonder why it didn’t go the first time.
Original Screen Door from Graceland:
The 2018 estimate was $1,500 – $2,500, and I said, “Sorry, if I had that kind of money to spend on Elvis collectibles, I’d get something besides a screen door.” But my friend Troy Yeary from the eclectic blog pastimescapes.com had this comment:
“Interesting piece, Phil. Thanks! I don’t know, if I had money to blow, I would seriously consider buying something like a screen door from Graceland. Just think how many times Elvis walked through or slammed that door? He probably interacted with it more than just about any other item in the auction.
Well, lots of folks must have agreed with Troy. Elvis’ screen door had 18 bids and sold for $2,500. Good call, Troy.”
Elvis’ Massive Wooden Desk from His Home Office in Palm Springs:
1999 estimate was $40-50,000, no bidders. 2018 estimate was $10-20,000, and I said I thought they would get it. Well, not really, just $7,500.
Elvis’ Portable Sauna:
1999 estimate was $8-10,000. 2018 estimate was $3-5000. I said I thought it was weird. Bidders agreed, nobody would spring for the minimum bid of $1,500.
Elvis’ Globe-Shaped Wooden Bar from His Beverly Hills Home:
1999 estimate was $4-5,000. 2018 estimate was $1,500 to $2,500. I predicted it would sell for a good bit more than that. Good call, Phil. It had 38 bids and went for $22,500. Wow.
Elvis’ Leather Rocking Chair from the Jungle Room:
999 estimate was $20-30,000. 2018 estimate was $10-15,000. I said I didn’t think it would sell. Bad call, Phil. It went for $17,500.
Original Acetate of Elvis Singing Beatles Songs “Hey Jude” and “Something”:
1999 estimate was $650-750. 2018 estimate was $1-2,000. I predicted it would sell for that much or more. Another good call as it had 34 bids and went for $4,000.
Signed Title to Elvis’ Circle G Ranch:
1999 estimate was $13-15,000. 2018 estimate was $10-20,000. I didn’t make a prediction, but hoped it would go high. It didn’t excite folks drawing just 2 bids and a final price of $6,250.
So, I blew it on the screen door, the desk, and the Jungle Room rocking chair. I had it right on the desk, the sauna, the globe-shaped bar, and the acetate of Beatles songs. I’ll take that.
Sincere Thanks for Your Support:
This was the third year I’ve done pre-Christmas promotion of my book BIG E and the SANTA MAN. It was the best year yet, and I really thank you.
My one disappointment was that I didn’t get Part 2 ready to promote until late November. Next fall I will push it hard, just like the original. As a preview, here is a review by Memphis Music on Amazon:
“I enjoyed this book as it can be read by itself, or as the continuation of the first book. As a lifetime dog lover, I also enjoyed the addition of a good ole hound dog! Kids and adults will enjoy this tale of two beloved icons; Elvis and Santa and their group of special friends. Phil Arnold’s descriptive writing make you feel a part of this adventure where good versus evil comes alive again to save Christmas. At this great price go ahead and get the first book too!
The review gave the book five stars. Every review on both books has been five stars. I’ll be reminding of you about that again later in the year.
© 2018 Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister All Rights Reserved www.ElvisBlog.net
Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.
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Posted in AUCTIONS / MEMORABILIA, BIG E and the SANTA MAN, ELVIS COMMENTARY MINI-NUGGETS, Main Page
Tagged Big E and the Santa Man, Elvis and George Jones, Elvis Army Haircut, Elvis auctions, Elvis collectibles, Elvis Eating Cake