Tag Archives: The Great Adventure

Thoughtful Words About My Books

Posted on by under 0001. Announcements, In Search of the Meaning of Life (An Autobiography), The Great Adventure

My books are all about journeys, dreams and adventures, and of wishing for something more out of life and then living and fulfilling those dreams.  Everything I’ve written stems from my youthful dreams of adventure, and in publishing my books I’m completing those dreams and taking them full circle.  I include everything I’ve learned along the way in my autobiographical books, children’s stories, adventure novels and self-help motivational books, so that you, too, can live your own hopes and dreams one day.  All-in-all, my books amount to the course I was never able to take in school, entitled: Adventure 101

I wanted to share a few thoughtful words written to me about my books by a dear family friend, who has known me since I was a young child.  She’s sent me two different notes about my books and I’ve included a few excerpts below:

“…I have enjoyed them immensely.  I have read books one through five.  I still have the novel and poetry books to read.  Please hurry and print more…!”

“…So many times in reading your books, I felt as though I was right there with you.  What a fantastic experience!  What a life experience!  Thank you for bringing it to the world.”

My hope is in sharing my journeys, dreams and adventures with you through my books, that you will also be able to live your own hopes and dreams one day!

Amazon Author Page: Mark D. Jones:

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/entity/author/B078RRS631?_encoding=UTF8&node=283155&offset=0&pageSize=12&sort=author-pages-popularity-rank&page=1&langFilter=default#formatSelectorHeader

Cheers!

Mark

Book Five – The Great Adventure (Part Three)

Posted on by under In Search of the Meaning of Life (An Autobiography), The Great Adventure

Book Five is the third book of the trilogy about The Great Adventure entitled In Search of the Meaning of Life (An Autobiography): Book Five – The Great Adventure (Part Three).  Here’s the book description:

“Bruce and I traveled 1,931 miles on the first leg of our bicycle adventure from the Flint, MI, area to Tallahassee, FL.  The second leg of our journey covered 2,594 miles and took us from Tallahassee to Key West, FL, and back, before following the Gulf Coast to Houston and down to Rockport, TX, where we were given jobs through the kindness and generosity of others.  The question before us was what would the third leg of our adventure be like?  Part Three of The Great Adventure would essentially be the second half of our journey, both literally and figuratively.

In many ways, the Western portion of our journey would be a completely different experience for us than the first two legs of our trip had been.  The fundamental question before us though, was how would we survive the endeavor?  We’d find out the answer soon enough, as we set out to traverse the vast distances across the West and hopefully make it to Seattle to prepare for what would be the rest of our lives…

I realized that I was compiling a record of what was a unique opportunity to live an adventurous life and take the path less-traveled by, and wanted to make sure I at least kept a record of everything I accomplished for the sake of my own memories.  It wasn’t until I began writing my autobiography in the early days of 1994, that I was able to connect the dots to clearly see the path in life my adventures had led me down.

It was at that point when I understood that telling my story was something that might be able to help others find their way in life, too, because it’s difficult to see the forest for the trees when you’re in the middle of it.  Once you realize that others have struggled along their paths in life as well, you realize it’s all part of the journey, because it’s impossible to have complete clarity when immersed in life’s adventures – but keep moving forward one step at a time – for movement creates opportunity and opportunity opens doors, and just a foot in the door can lead to the rest of your life!  Cheers!  Mark”

Kindle Link – open post to view it (Free on Kindle Unlimited):

Paperback Link (6)” x 9″:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1090342861/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p4_i4

Amazon Author Page: Mark D. Jones:

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/entity/author/B078RRS631?_encoding=UTF8&node=283155&offset=0&pageSize=12&sort=author-pages-popularity-rank&page=1&langFilter=default#formatSelectorHeader

Cheers!

Mark

Book Four – The Great Adventure (Part Two)

Posted on by under In Search of the Meaning of Life (An Autobiography)

This is the second book of the trilogy about The Great Adventure I call, In Search of the Meaning of Life (An Autobiography): Book Four – The Great Adventure (Part Two).  Here’s the description:

“Bruce and I completed the first leg of The Great Adventure, traveling 1,931 miles from southwest of Flint, MI, to my aunt and uncle’s house in Tallahassee, FL, over the course of 58 days on our bicycle adventure. We departed the Flint area on September 22, 1976 and arrived in Tallahassee on November 18th – low on funds and needing to recuperate at our third oasis on the bicycle trip to date.

The question remained though as to what would happen to us on this second leg of the adventure? We were almost out of money and had no idea what to expect in Florida and along the Gulf Coast, and soon our thoughts would begin focusing on looking for jobs – without having any concept of how that would work out or how we could make it happen. Would our adventure succeed or fail miserably, leaving us stranded on the road out of money and ideas? As they say, no guts no glory, and here begins the story of the second leg of The Great Adventure…

The opportunity to journey and adventure kindles the human spirit like nothing else can. For to immerse oneself in adventure and test your meddle beyond your known capabilities and prevail despite the odds, is to conquer and overcome your fears, and find within yourself the strength, reserves and will to endure and survive in the most difficult of circumstances. I wish you all the very best on your adventures in life, no matter where life’s path takes you on your journey of discovery.

Adventure is a mindset and a perspective, for one can find adventure in whatever endeavor you choose to participate in – it doesn’t have to be a physical challenge taking you to the ends of the Earth. ‘To adventure’ is to take life by the horns and try your very best, to blaze your own trail, and live your hopes, dreams and passions in life. Choose adventure, because life is so much richer and rewarding for having tried to live the life of your dreams no matter the outcome – win, lose or draw!  Cheers!  Mark”

Kindle Link (open post to see the link) – Free on Kindle Unlimited:

Paperback Link:

https://smile.amazon.com/Search-Meaning-Life-Autobiography-Adventure/dp/1798503298/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Mark+D.+Jones&qid=1552669216&s=books&sr=1-3

Amazon Author Link: Mark D. Jones:

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/entity/author/B078RRS631?_encoding=UTF8&node=283155&offset=0&pageSize=12&sort=author-pages-popularity-rank&page=1&langFilter=default#formatSelectorHeader

Cheers!

Mark

 

My Book: Book Three – The Great Adventure (Part One)

Posted on by under 0001. Announcements, In Search of the Meaning of Life (An Autobiography), The Great Adventure

My Book: In Search of the Meaning of Life: Book Three – The Great Adventure (Part One)

Here’s an excerpt from the first part of my U.S. bicycle adventure of 8,111 miles in 1976-1977 with my friend Bruce:

“The idea of going on adventures captured my imagination ever since the sixth grade when my friend Dan first introduced me to J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy set in the fictional world of Middle-earth.  I dreamed of going off on an adventure like Bilbo and Frodo Baggins through the Shire and beyond, but how does one take an adventure in the here-and-now of the real world?  I didn’t know how it might be possible, but understood it was up to me to figure out a way to turn my dreams into my reality.  Adventure was never an offered class in my curriculum or coursework in school while growing up, but I was convinced there must be a way to go on great adventures in life…”

A link to both the Kindle Version (free to read with Kindle Unlimited) and Paperback Version (134 pages, 6″x9″ format) – view this post online to see the link:

Here’s a link to my Amazon Author Page – Mark D. Jones:

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/entity/author/B078RRS631?_encoding=UTF8&node=283155&offset=0&pageSize=12&sort=author-pages-popularity-rank&page=1#formatSelectorHeader

Cheers!

Mark