One rainy weekend during the summer of 2015, I was watching Jurassic Park with my kids and I thought to myself, why isn’t there a zombie theme park. I called my brother Eric, and pitched my idea. He said – ‘NO, it’s gotta be all the monsters.’ I started writing the character arcs that night and Monsterland was born. I self-published the original book and it quickly became an indie sensation. Fast forward one year later and I got noticed by an agent in London and he asked to represent me. I didn’t know the first thing about being represented so I reached out to a lady in a book named Susan Grode – who was an entertainment lawyer. Susan said she would like introduce me to a friend who is a literary agent. The local agent signed me and Monsterland got published. It was out for many years, but eventually the rights ran out and I bought the rights back. I finished the entire series, 4 books in total, and decided to release them under a new banner – Chelshire Publishing. I created new covers, added new chapters, and completely rearranged the screenplay. I got a new manager who is now shopping around the draft of the script based on the first book of the series. Publishing is fantastic, but if you’re not going to publicize the book yourself, no one is going to read it. The biggest change I’ve made is working with my wife to promote my books on Instagram. She is taking pictures of each of my novels and captioning the images across all my platforms. Additionally, I recently started going live on TikTok and the reactions have been positively overwhelming. With my writing literally every night of the week, balancing the screenplays and writing novels, and going live daily on TikTok my writing life has become a full-time job. I’m enjoying every moment.
Wyatt Baldwin’s senior year is not going well. His parents divorced, and then his dad mysteriously died. He’s not exactly comfortable with his new stepfather, Carter Wright, either. An ongoing debate with his best friends, Melvin and Howard Drucker, over which monster is superior has gotten stale. He’d much rather spend his days with beautiful and popular Jade. However, she’s dating the brash high-school quarterback Nolan, and Wyatt thinks he doesn’t stand a chance.
But everything changes when Wyatt and his friends are invited to attend the grand opening of Monsterland, a groundbreaking theme park where guests can interact with vampires in Vampire Village, be chased by werewolves on the River Run, and walk among the dead in Zombieville.
With real werewolves, vampires, and zombies as the main attractions, what could possibly go wrong?
Read a sample here.
Monsterland is available at Amazon.
MICHAEL OKON is a best-selling author and award-winning screenwriter whose compelling storytelling spans paranormal, horror, thriller, action-adventure, and self-help genres. With a BA in English and an MBA in Business and Finance from Long Island University, Michael merges his creative passion with entrepreneurial spirit to craft unforgettable narratives across his novels and screenplays.
Born into a family of avid writers and readers, Michael’s passion for storytelling runs deep—writing isn’t just something he does; it’s who he is. Ever since he first watched The Goonies as a kid, Michael has been captivated by the power of adventure, compelling characters, and the ability of stories to entertain and inspire. Whether crafting monster theme parks or penning insightful guidance in self-help, his goal remains the same: to create narratives that stick with readers long after they’ve turned the last page.
Michael is a lifelong movie buff, a music playlist aficionado, a horrendous golfer, and a sucker for esoteric & self-help books. He lives on Long Island’s North Shore with his wife and children.
His latest book is Monsterland.
Connect with Michael on X and Instagram.
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