The following books are currently available via Amazon and Kindle

http://michaelwoodhead.ca

The Devil's Playground

An Episodic Novel

Pine Village Estates -- where friends, neighbors, and strangers live in close proximity; and, where anything could happen to people such as --

  LILYA SERGEYEV and her mysterious friend, Zasha

  OWEN and ANGELA HILL, who have kept a damning secret for years

  DAVID SCOTT, who likes glittering items much like a pirate with his treasure

  GENEVIEVE PENFIELD, who enjoys giving special massages

  JAELYNN MORGAN, plagued by guilt and remorse

  TRAVIS BAKER, a writer with his own life's intriguing plot
-- as well as other unique individuals whose lives interact and connect in ways they might never have imagined.All in the space of one month.Here in The Devil's Playground...

CoverGirls

A Novel

Mark Antony Noble is an amateur photographer who dreams of seeing his work on the cover of Vogue magazine. Chrystal, LaRoux and Holly are three young women with dreams of stardom in some capacity. Synchronicity brings Mark in touch with them, and together they press on towards their goals, each from a different background, each progressing in a different direction, each embracing their inevitable outcome.

 

 

The Sands of Time

A Novel

With the publication of his first novel, author Paul Dunsmore frets over how family, friends, workmates, church members, and various other citizens of the small town in which he lives will accept it. It doesn't take him long to find out as positive and negative reviews begin to trickle in. Soon, they begin to have an effect on his relationship with his wife, his church pastor, his role-playing game group, and the woman with whom he's having an affair. At the same time, Paul struggles with various aspects of his personal life as he tries to come to terms with questions that have plagued him for some time, spiritual conundrums, and sexual quandaries. It seems some of the misgivings he had about publishing the novel have manifested themselves. Will he be able to get through them?

 

Child of Promise

A Novel

Prologue  to and Part Four of

The Righteous and the Wicked

A Spiritual, Sexual & Creative Odyssey

What if it were possible to travel through Time to view and assess significant times of your life; and, not only your life, but those of your family as well? Keiran Russell is given the opportunity to do this, but not in a way he would have imagined or wanted. For, he dies and undergoes an out-of-body experience. Once in the Spirit world, he views what some Eastern mystics call the Akashic Records -- a theosophical term that refers to a universal 'filing system' which records every thought, word, and deed. Child of Promise, an episodic novel, is both a Prologue to and Book Four of, a generational tetralogy entitled The Righteous and the Wicked. It's sub-titled “a spiritual, sexual and creative odyssey" since those are the areas with which the series primarily deals.

 

 

Wizard of Vasuda

A Historical Fantasy Novel

The First Scroll

From

The Scrolls of Solomon Magus

The Life & Times of a Wizard From Vasuda

This story takes place some five thousand years ago in the Mediterranean and Middle East. Shipwrecked and orphaned as a boy on the island of Ithamar, Solomon the Strange becomes apprenticed to a sorceress named Narmada Magus. Over the next several years, she teaches him not only the arts of magic, but also the arts of love. As a young man, Solomon leaves the island and experiences both supernatural and amorous adventures in his quest to understand his world and its peoples.

 

 

Amazon Squad

A Screenplay

This time, they took the wrong woman…because this one fights back! When a deranged scientist abducts bodybuilder, Stormie Magnusson, and subjects her to a series of psychotronically-induced experiments, she escapes and plans revenge. In a short while, she assembles a group of friends she knew years earlier and, together, they form a forceful platoon determined to bring the scientist to justice, one way or another. They are the—AMAZON SQUAD!

 

Valkyrie

A Comedy-Drama Screenplay

Brynnhilda, a Valkyrie; Brokk, a mischievous dwarf; and Siegfried, a libidinous barbarian embark on a quest to throw a destructive magical ring into a bottomless pit. Would that it were that easy! Fleeing and fighting an evil sorceress intent on getting the ring for her own nefarious purposes; disobeying the commands of Brynnhilda’s father, Odinn; facing numerous other assorted evil entities and natural obstacles—the three unlikely companions resolve to complete the quest come hell or high water. And that might very well be the case. Their journey takes them to an ultimate battle— a savage dragon leading an army of undead creatures against a coterie of Valkyries and a host of warriors from Valhalla. Along the way, the trio experience friendship, insight into each other’s lives and, perhaps, even love.

 

I Shall Not Wholly Die

A Chronological Autobiography

Volume I: 1947-1973

Michael Woodhead’s life contains what he invariably weaves into his novels—spirituality, sexuality, and creativity. However, that didn’t become apparent to him until he began organizing his boxes of memorabilia and journal entries, as well as trying to formulate a timeline for his autobiography. At first, he endeavored to place things in order of the places in which he’s lived for any period of time—Lancashire, England; Toronto, Ontario; Greenwood, Nova Scotia; Grostenquin, France; Bagotville, Quebec; and Calgary, Alberta. Then he tried developing it from his interests—music, art, writing, photography. theatre, etc.—but that got a little muddled after a while because of the variety of things that clamored for his attention. His next approaches included a written narrative, topical lists, chronological lists, illustrated lists… Eventually, he settled on this illustrated chronological path.

To clarify the narratives in this series: -

✤ Volume I: 1947-1973 could be considered the age of innocence and discovery

✤ Volume II: 1974-1989—the age of Christianity

✤ Volume III: 1990-2005—the age of disillusionment, depression, and despair

✤ Volume IV: 2006-Present—the age of reformation.

Overall, a candid and insightful glimpse into the life of an oft-tormented creative, but someone with whose experiences others might identify.

 

The Road to Mandalay

A World War II Memoir by Frank Woodhead

Edited by Michael Woodhead

From the villages of Lancashire and East Yorkshire to the jungles of India and Burma, this memoir by Michael’s father, Frank Woodhead, relates an assortment of anecdotes, memories, personal thoughts, and observations during his time as a firefighter before World War II, and his six-year stint as a medical orderly with the 99th Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry Field Regiment. Oftentimes poignant, humourous, and candid, Frank reveals much of what went on 'behind the scenes' on the fields of battle, and how serendipity frequently helped him get through some of the worst times of the war.

 

EarthGirls

A Lyric & Lead Sheet Songbook

This series of songbooks present a variety of original songs by Michael Woodhead—primarily over 700 of his Graffiti Pop, Galactic Ballads, and Fantasy Folk songs. 'EarthGirls' presents fifty-eight lyrics and melodies he's written that were inspired by various girls and women he's known since the early 1960s, and to whom he’s dedicated many of them.

 

Crucified with Christ

My Complete Christian Lyric & Lead Sheet Songbook

After Michael became a Christian in 1973, some well-meaning—but (what he feels were) misguided—Christians persuaded him that anything he created before his conversion was 'of the devil' and that he should destroy them. He did this with a lot of his early fiction works. However, he just couldn’t discard his songs,  so he attempted to make some of his songs more 'spiritual'. That is why a few of these Christian tunes have lyrics and melodies based on several of his over 700 Galactic Ballads, Graffiti Pop & Fantasy Folk songs. This 400-page volume contains many of the Christian/Gospel/Spiritual songs he wrote between 1973 and 1990.

 

 

Graffiti Pop

Volume One

A Lyric & Lead Sheet Songbook

After I heard the Beatles sing I Wanna Hold Your Hand on the radio in 1964, I started to write lyrics. As soon as I could, I acquired my first six-stringed guitar, and began to set my lyrics to music. Later, I switched to a twelve-stringed guitar since I liked its more mellow quality. Now, fifty-odd years later, I’ve written close to 1000 songs.

         I took music theory and a couple of years of piano and singing lessons when I was a child, but I’m basically self-taught.

         From 1965 to 1973, I sang my songs—as well as top ten hit parade songs from the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s— in public parks, private parties, on radio and television, in hotel lounges, restaurants, and anywhere that people who wanted music were willing to invite me.

         These days, I’m in the process of arranging and orchestrating the songs I’ve already written, a daunting enough task as it is, but highly fulfilling nonetheless

           All my own tunes have a very melodic, light folk-pop feel to them, and can be basically fitted into four different categories:- Graffiti Pop, Galactic Ballads (or Filk), Fantasy Folk, and Christian Pop-Folk. This is the first book of my songs that contains lyrics from A to L.

 

 

Graffiti Pop 2

Volume Two

A Lyric & Lead Sheet Songbook

I was 16 years old, in France, babysitting for a neighbor when I first heard 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' by the Beatles on the radio in January of 1964.I was awestruck. The melody, the harmonies, the music — it was as if I had never heard anything like that before. Undoubtedly, much of their success came from George Martin's production values, but hearing this new group inspired me to begin writing lyrics. The music for my songs -- even though I heard it in my head — would have to come a year or so later when I acquired my first guitar. Just over ten years later, in 1975, an editor of a Vancouver newspaper (The Georgia Straight) heard me singing some of my songs, and dubbed them Graffiti Pop because of the 1960s musical influence that seemed to be infused in them. The tag stuck with me, and I've used it to describe a lot of my music, in particular my love songs. This is the second book of my songs that contains lyrics from M to S.

 

 

Graffiti Pop 3

Volume Three

A Lyric & Lead Sheet Songbook

I was 16 years old, in France, babysitting for a neighbor when I first heard 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' by the Beatles on the radio in January of 1964.I was awestruck. The melody, the harmonies, the music — it was as if I had never heard anything like that before. Undoubtedly, much of their success came from George Martin's production values, but hearing this new group inspired me to begin writing lyrics. The music for my songs -- even though I heard it in my head — would have to come a year or so later when I acquired my first guitar. Just over ten years later, in 1975, an editor of a Vancouver newspaper (The Georgia Straight) heard me singing some of my songs, and dubbed them Graffiti Pop because of the 1960s musical influence that seemed to be infused in them. The tag stuck with me, and I've used it to describe a lot of my music, in particular my love songs. This is the third book of my songs that contains lyrics from T to Z.

 

 

Galactic Ballads

A Lyric & Lead Sheet Songbook 

 

This series of songbooks present a variety of original songs by Michael Woodhead -- primarily his Graffiti Pop, Galactic Ballads, and Fantasy Folk songs. Galactic Ballads presents songs he's written that were inspired by various science fiction authors, novels, movies, and superhero comics he's read and seen over the past fifty-odd years.

 

 

 

Fantasy Folk

A Lyric & Lead Sheet Songbook

 

In he mid- to late-1960s, I grew interested in stories about faeries and faerie folk, then heroic fantasy as portrayed in such movies as Hercules and other sword'n'sandal productions. For awhile, this interest naturally segued into writing songs centered around this type of subject matter. In addition, I drew pictures of faeries, fantasy folk, and heros, virtually all of which have been lost. Fortunately, the songs still remain.

 

MY CREATIVE JOURNEY - 1

My interest in theatre must have started when I was age six in 1953 as an extra in a summer camp production of Damon and Pythias.

 

I also recall making some photograms which may have piqued a rudimentary interest in photography.

 

A year later, I played the part of ‘The Page’ in a United Church production of Good King Wenceslaus.

 

My writing pilgrimage began when I was eleven years old. Several friends and I got together, strung up a blanket between two trees, and charged a penny admission for anyone who wanted to be in the audience. Then we presented a short skit I had written called The Ghost Story. 

 

I don't recall what the story was about, but it began an interest in the written word. 

 

Two years later, I wrote another one-act play entitled The Mummy which I’m sure must have been influenced by posters of various Universal and Hammer films I had seen at the time. The drama class of the school I attended produced it.

 

In my fourteenth year, I discovered Marvel Comics. Stan Lee, the main writer, inspired me to write some short stories using his style of writing. As a result, many of my earlier tales showed a lot of superfluous language.

Child of Promise

The Prologue to and Book Four of The Righteous and the Wicked quite literally took me approximately 40 years to write.

For one thing, when I started the series back in the early 1980s, I didn’t realize then that I needed to have more life experiences—not only with writing, but also socially, psychologically, and emotionally. For another, I didn’t really have a clue where I was planning to go with the books.

I originally began writing with a female lead character, but after a few years, decided to change her to a male since I felt that would be easier for me to understand him and write from his perspective.

For many years after that, I became bogged down with research, primarily on my own life since I would draw on various incidents as inspiration for the scenes in the novel, but also historical events since books one, two, three (and, to some extent, four) would borrow from various time periods; structure, i.e. chapter and scene titles, Earth and Spirit World locations, as well as timelines; and characters.

Much as I hate to admit it, procrastination also had a lot to do with the length of time it took me to finally get at least one novel in the series done.

Eventually, however, I managed to get an embryonic version completed, followed by several transitional adaptations, and then what I deem the definitive one:

eBook and Printed versions available on Amazon.

CHILD OF PROMISE