1980s Fantasy · Retro Science Fiction · Time Travel · Footnotes
A Wonderful Day for a Launch
The quest survived the Middle Ages. Now it has to survive the Machine Age.
Ancient magic collides with personal computers, arcade games, artificial intelligence, time travel, and the far reaches of space in a new series continuing the misadventures of A Wonderful Week for a Quest.
Book One · Coming Soon
Launch Time
A prophecy written in binary. A wizard powered by a computer. A launch no one is ready for.
Decades after the Beandom vanished beneath the earth, J.D. Zaubermann has reinvented himself as a journalist in 1984. His magic is fading, his old friends are ghosts, and modern life has replaced spellbooks with computer manuals and potions with Coca-Cola.
Then a glowing piece of the DEM crashes back to Earth and delivers an uppercase prophecy in ones and zeros. J.D. connects its ancient power to a personal computer, creating GOPAT—a cheerful synthetic intelligence capable of programming spells and opening doors that should probably remain closed.
Meanwhile, struggling New York actor Gary Baumgartner receives the offer of a lifetime: two million dollars to join a secret expedition and open a portal only his bloodline can unlock. What begins as a suspiciously well-paid acting job soon collides with J.D.’s quest across sunken kingdoms, altered futures, and the dangerous edge of the stars.
Launch Checklist
- One piece of world-altering magical machinery
- One primitive personal computer
- Several ghosts with unfinished business
- An accidental time traveler
- A suspicious millionaire
- More extraterrestrial singing than anyone requested
Publication details will be added when available.
From Quest to Launch
A Wonderful Day for a Launch continues the world and comic voice of A Wonderful Week for a Quest, but moves the story into the 1980s. J.D. has survived into the age of Walkmans, MTV, arcades, and home computers. His former companions have not entirely moved on, either: they linger as ghosts, convinced that one final purpose still binds them together.
The new series blends the original saga’s clean fantasy comedy, found-family adventure, prophecies, and opinionated footnotes with retro technology, artificial intelligence, alternate futures, extraterrestrial creatures, and interstellar travel.
Incoming Transmission
“The blue screen approaches for all of existence.
The Uppercase Prophecy
Averting disaster will require persistence.
The ghosts of the past must assemble as one
To inspire a new cast if the job’s to be done.”
Meet the Cast
Heroes, ghosts, villains, survivors, merchants, machines, and one extremely suspicious tree.
Gary Baumgartner — The Aspiring Leading Man
A thirty-five-year-old New York actor who has spent years waiting for his big break. Gary is funny, insecure, ambitious, and more courageous than he realizes. When a mysterious recruiter offers him millions for a role tied to an ancient magical bloodline, he finally lands the part of a lifetime—though the stage is much larger than Broadway.
Vincenza — The Archaeologist
A warm, perceptive Sicilian archaeologist brought along to interpret ancient sites and document a secret expedition. Vincenza combines professional curiosity with steady courage, and she refuses to let Gary face the unknown alone—even when the ruins prove far more magical than academic.
Sergio — The Survivor Out of Time
A practical survivor from a future overrun by deceptively cute singing creatures called Trebles. Sergio is accidentally carried back to 1984 and quickly decides the past is preferable to his own ruined world. Resourceful, skeptical, and adaptable, he becomes an essential bridge between the quest’s present and its possible future.
GOPAT — The Synthetic Magical Intelligence
Born when J.D. combines a piece of the DEM with a personal computer, GOPAT is equal parts spell programmer, cosmic database, cheerful assistant, and source of unsolicited commentary. Its knowledge reaches far beyond Earth, though its understanding of human judgment remains a work in progress.
Petra — The Ghost Queen
A former queen and veteran of the original questing party, Petra remains J.D.’s sharpest adviser and most reliable ethical safeguard. Pragmatic, brave, teasing, and unimpressed by magical theatrics, she keeps watch for the precise moment when good intentions begin sliding toward world domination.
Rightbeard — The Anti-Pirate
An old rival with a new name, Rightbeard has become a formidable anti-pirate, accomplished sorcerer, and surprisingly skilled interpreter of prophecies. His history with J.D. makes cooperation difficult, but few living people understand the vanished magical realms—or their dangers—better than he does.
The Bean Witch — The Lost Sorceress
A powerful sorceress shaped by grief, isolation, and an impossibly long search. The Bean Witch can be insightful, compassionate, volatile, and terrifying—sometimes within the same conversation. Her knowledge of the sunken realms may be invaluable, provided desperation does not overwhelm reason.
Mr. Mercury — The Mysterious Recruiter
Imposing, controlled, and very well funded, Mr. Mercury recruits Gary for an expedition tied to the ancient Order of the Crimson Leaf. He promises wealth, destiny, and restoration—but reveals only as much truth as necessary to keep everyone moving toward his hidden objective.
The Blue Messenger — The Interstellar Merchant
A cosmopolitan merchant, collector, and shipmaster who trades in objects that are rare, magical, powerful, or simply fascinating. The Blue Messenger knows routes far beyond Earth and may provide passage to the edge of the cosmos—assuming J.D. can meet his unusual price.
Felgarath’s Tree — The Living Prison
A vast magical tree rooted in the remains of the Beandom and entwined with the imprisoned power of Felgarath and Gwyneth. It is part monument, part prison, part source of impossible energy—and its branches reach into Gary’s ancestry, J.D.’s prophecy, and the future of more than one world.
Perfect for Readers Who Love
Retro Adventure
Walkmans, arcades, early computers, neon clubs, and unapologetic 1980s energy.
Science-Fantasy
Ancient sorcery blended with artificial intelligence, time machines, spaceships, and alien worlds.
Clean Comedy
All-ages humor, genre parody, found-family warmth, and footnotes that refuse to behave.
Time-Travel Trouble
Alternate futures, accidental passengers, paradoxes, and plans that become more complicated by the decade.
Continuing Quests
Returning characters, unfinished business, buried kingdoms, and a new generation learning how to become heroes.
Prepare for Launch
Launch Time is the beginning of a new quest through the 1980s, the future, the sunken magical realms, and the stars.
Michael D. Young | Family-Friendly Fantasy Books & Christmas Devotionals 