First Chapter: Long Hair as Carlie Simonsen

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When Michael sees movie star, Ky Lin, taking down the bad guys with her long-hair karate, all Michael wants is to be able to do just that. He convinces his karate teacher to train him, and works hard, even when the kids at school tease him. Michael is super-excited when he finds out Ky Lin and her co-star, Joe Wy, are coming to visit his school, but when thieves strike, the visit is in danger of being cancelled. Can Michael discover who is stealing money from the kids and offices at school before the head master calls the movie visit off? Or will his long hair just get in the way?

Set in a world similar to our own, where long hair really can be used as a karate fighting style, Carlie Simonsen's Long Hair is a teen to young adult story that deals with issues of teasing and working towards one’s dreams even when those we want to please most don’t support us.

First Chapter Extract

The Girl with Long Hair

Michael saw a karate movie where the hero had long hair. The hero was a girl. Her hair came down to her feet.
She would braid her hair with wire and spikes and use it to hit the bad guys she went after. Her hair was deadly in a braid, and her name was Kay-Lin. She was in a lot of karate movies. Michael loved karate movies.
Michael did karate after school. He was getting good at it. He was two belts from getting his black belt, but that was going to change.
Michael bet he could grow his hair long and put it in a braid. Anything a girl could do, he could do. He might even do it better.
He could fight with his hair if it was in a braid. He could be as good as Kay Lin. And then he could be in movies as well.
Kay Lin had a partner. His name was Joe Wy. Joe’s hair was short. It was cut so close to his head that it looked like he had no hair. He was nearly as good as Kay Lin at karate, but he used jumps and flips. Joe was in a lot of movies, too, but not all of Joe’s movies had karate.
Like Joe, Michael had short hair. It stuck up from his head in short, sharp spikes. Like Joe’s hair, it was no good in a fight. Michael looked at his hair in the bathroom mirror. It looked back at him. Its short, sharp prickles were too soft to be any use, even when he added gel.
“I will grow my hair,” he said, “and no one will laugh, because I will be as good as Kay Lin and Joe Wy.”

END FIRST CHAPTER
 
If you would like to read more, this non-illustrated version of Long Hair can now be found at Smashwords, and will soon be available from Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iTunes.
Location: Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

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