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Seven #1-7
Seven Bundle
Seven novels of adventure in one ebook bundle. When David McLean, well-loved grandfather and avid adventurer, dies, he leaves behind an unusual will that outlines sevens tasks he has set for his seven grandsons. Eric Walters, John Wilson, Ted Staunton, Richard Scrimger, Norah McClintock, Sigmund Brouwer and Shane Peacock bring their signature writing styles to a series of adventures that take readers from the top of Kilimanjaro to the bottom of the Mediterranean.
ebook
First published January 1, 2012
9 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Eric Walters
157 books909 followersEric was born in Toronto in 1957, which makes him "real old". But, as Eric says, "Just because I have to grow old doesn't mean that I have to grow up!" In his many roles as parent, teacher, social worker, youth sports coach and writer he is in constant contact with children and young adults. He draws from these experiences and feels that this helps him to capture the realistic interaction between young people—the conflicts, tensions, stresses and interests that make up their lives.
Eric began his writing as a teacher. He taught in classes from kindergarten up and his stories often reflect the curriculum that he was teaching. He always read stories—picture books and novels—to his students and this helped him to understand what children liked, responded to, and were inspired by. He enjoys the enthusiasm of his students and often looks at them to provide him with the inspiration to pursue a particular topic in both the classroom and in his writing.
Eric tries to write every day. When he has a story idea he starts with research. This could involve reading books, watching a documentary, or trying to experience the things that his characters are going to go through. This could include rock climbing or riding white water (for Stars), spending time in a wheelchair (Rebound), playing and walking with tigers (Tiger by the Tail), hanging around a tough biker bar (Diamonds in the Rough), standing out in his backyard in a blizzard wearing a T-shirt and shorts (Trapped in Ice), or traveling to Africa (Alexandria of Africa).
"The most important thing anybody ever told me about writing was to write what you know . . . and the only way to get to know things is to do your homework and research before you write," Eric stated.
Once the writing begins the story is always playing around in his head. He takes any opportunity, even if it's just a few minutes between presentations, to put things down, either with pen and paper or on his laptop.
Prior to entering teaching and writing Eric was a social worker (B.S.W., M.S.W., B.A.Hons—specialized major psychology). He worked in a variety of settings including child welfare, private practice, a mental health centre, and, for twenty years on a part-time basis as a Crisis Social Worker in an emergency department. He stopped teaching 4 years ago and left the ER only last year.
The majority of Eric's time is spent in the company of his wife, children and dogs (Lola a big standard poodle and a little white dog named Winnie the Poodle).
Eric began his writing as a teacher. He taught in classes from kindergarten up and his stories often reflect the curriculum that he was teaching. He always read stories—picture books and novels—to his students and this helped him to understand what children liked, responded to, and were inspired by. He enjoys the enthusiasm of his students and often looks at them to provide him with the inspiration to pursue a particular topic in both the classroom and in his writing.
Eric tries to write every day. When he has a story idea he starts with research. This could involve reading books, watching a documentary, or trying to experience the things that his characters are going to go through. This could include rock climbing or riding white water (for Stars), spending time in a wheelchair (Rebound), playing and walking with tigers (Tiger by the Tail), hanging around a tough biker bar (Diamonds in the Rough), standing out in his backyard in a blizzard wearing a T-shirt and shorts (Trapped in Ice), or traveling to Africa (Alexandria of Africa).
"The most important thing anybody ever told me about writing was to write what you know . . . and the only way to get to know things is to do your homework and research before you write," Eric stated.
Once the writing begins the story is always playing around in his head. He takes any opportunity, even if it's just a few minutes between presentations, to put things down, either with pen and paper or on his laptop.
Prior to entering teaching and writing Eric was a social worker (B.S.W., M.S.W., B.A.Hons—specialized major psychology). He worked in a variety of settings including child welfare, private practice, a mental health centre, and, for twenty years on a part-time basis as a Crisis Social Worker in an emergency department. He stopped teaching 4 years ago and left the ER only last year.
The majority of Eric's time is spent in the company of his wife, children and dogs (Lola a big standard poodle and a little white dog named Winnie the Poodle).
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 30, 2015
Overall, the median of the bundle comes out at 3 stars. Most books are easy to read, some of them are even interesting and catchy. The idea of the whole bundle is interesting and it is very interesting to follow seven different voices coming from the same place. Some of the stories were a bit too much, though all the books had something quirky and different about them. It's an interesting literary experiment and an interesting read.
07/08 - Between heaven and earth: Exactly the kind of light reading I was looking for and expecting. Only minus for book one, Between Heaven and Earth, is that it had too many bodily functions and too little details about the climb. The book itself I give three stars.
07/16 - Lost cause: Way better than the first one, I give it 4 and a half stars. Kept me much more interested, my eyes glued to the journal pages which were so real it hurt.
I found the falling in love was way to easy, but given the age of the protagonist it's actually believable.
I'm a bit afraid to move on to the next, what if it completely ruins the mood?
07/31 - Jump cut: Not really my style, though creative. It was a bit like watching a bad version (a really bad one) of Lock, stock and two smoking barrels. I understand what the author was aiming for, but it didn't quite pan out. No more than two and a half stars.
07/31 - I have a feeling I will skip 'Ink me'. I find it leans towards offensive, it is hard to read because of the spelling, and the plot is ridiculous. I will give it another 20 pages and then skip to the next one.
Each book seems to try and be more and more original and failing more and more easily.
08/04 - Ink me: I couldn't go on with it, as I had predicted. So I skipped to the last chapters, realized I hadn't missed anything and moved on. I give it 2 stars.
'Close to the heel' started good, I hope it keeps at this level.
08/07 - Close to the heel: It was amazing! Except the whole thing with the names, which at times got really tiresome and confusing, the suspense build up was nicely done. And even though it was a bit too unrealistic with the being out in the blizzard for four days and getting out intact and not even feeling tired, it was still worth the read.
The author had a great and simple voice throughout a complicated story.That's something! It definitely deserves four stars.
08//24 - Devil's pass: I really enjoyed this one, though the sudden change from first person to third person was kind of off-putting at first. I liked how the story built up to the end, leaving space for mystery and wonder up to the last moment. I liked the characters and discovering them step by step. I didn't like the predictability in the Brent situation and the dose of inherent stupidity in the situation. What was he, kindergarten? But I felt a connection to the main character throughout and I loved the ending. Four stars.
08/29 - Last message: If this book was trying to imitate the voice of a 15 years old teen, it did a wonderful job. It was such a typical "I learned my lesson" book with lots of philosophical bull at the end. Nevertheless, it was an easy read, perfect for when you don't want to use your head too much. Two an a half stars.
07/08 - Between heaven and earth: Exactly the kind of light reading I was looking for and expecting. Only minus for book one, Between Heaven and Earth, is that it had too many bodily functions and too little details about the climb. The book itself I give three stars.
07/16 - Lost cause: Way better than the first one, I give it 4 and a half stars. Kept me much more interested, my eyes glued to the journal pages which were so real it hurt.
I found the falling in love was way to easy, but given the age of the protagonist it's actually believable.
I'm a bit afraid to move on to the next, what if it completely ruins the mood?
07/31 - Jump cut: Not really my style, though creative. It was a bit like watching a bad version (a really bad one) of Lock, stock and two smoking barrels. I understand what the author was aiming for, but it didn't quite pan out. No more than two and a half stars.
07/31 - I have a feeling I will skip 'Ink me'. I find it leans towards offensive, it is hard to read because of the spelling, and the plot is ridiculous. I will give it another 20 pages and then skip to the next one.
Each book seems to try and be more and more original and failing more and more easily.
08/04 - Ink me: I couldn't go on with it, as I had predicted. So I skipped to the last chapters, realized I hadn't missed anything and moved on. I give it 2 stars.
'Close to the heel' started good, I hope it keeps at this level.
08/07 - Close to the heel: It was amazing! Except the whole thing with the names, which at times got really tiresome and confusing, the suspense build up was nicely done. And even though it was a bit too unrealistic with the being out in the blizzard for four days and getting out intact and not even feeling tired, it was still worth the read.
The author had a great and simple voice throughout a complicated story.That's something! It definitely deserves four stars.
08//24 - Devil's pass: I really enjoyed this one, though the sudden change from first person to third person was kind of off-putting at first. I liked how the story built up to the end, leaving space for mystery and wonder up to the last moment. I liked the characters and discovering them step by step. I didn't like the predictability in the Brent situation and the dose of inherent stupidity in the situation. What was he, kindergarten? But I felt a connection to the main character throughout and I loved the ending. Four stars.
08/29 - Last message: If this book was trying to imitate the voice of a 15 years old teen, it did a wonderful job. It was such a typical "I learned my lesson" book with lots of philosophical bull at the end. Nevertheless, it was an easy read, perfect for when you don't want to use your head too much. Two an a half stars.
August 2, 2020
2020 Review: The premise of this series was thought up by author Eric Walters. In it, a recently deceased grandfather leaves, in his will, tasks for his 7 grandsons to complete. Each grandson’s story is written by a different author. Each story focuses on the relationship that the particular grandson had with the grandfather, and all of the stories have the grandsons learn something about themselves. These books can be read in any order, but I found that reading Eric Walter’s story first gave me more insight into the rest of the stories.
I read them in the following order:
Between Heaven and Earth by Eric Walters
Lost Cause by John Wilson
Jump Cut by Ted Staunton
Ink Me by Richard Scrimger
Close to the Heel by Norah McClintock
Devil’s Pass by Sigmund Brouwer
Last Message by Shane Peacock
I read them in the following order:
Between Heaven and Earth by Eric Walters
Lost Cause by John Wilson
Jump Cut by Ted Staunton
Ink Me by Richard Scrimger
Close to the Heel by Norah McClintock
Devil’s Pass by Sigmund Brouwer
Last Message by Shane Peacock
August 11, 2019
This book was a great way to spend a summer week since it's one of those books you simply can't stop reading. I had no idea what to expect from it, but I've seriously loved some of the stories, and enjoyed reading all of them. Somewhere between YA and new adult (the Iceland story makes it difficult to solidly place the bundle in either category, though), adventure, exploration, new stuff, old stuff, family, personal growth and, you know, Bunny. (Bunny <3) I will most definitely go on to read other stuff from several authors from the bundle.
September 27, 2014
The whole series is captivating and punctuated by the disparate voices of seven different authors. What a fabulous idea.
Want to read
November 13, 2016Amazing books they all finish their missions.Read these books
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews