A fresh, funny and deeply moving novel set in the gritty world of mixed martial arts, with an unlikely main character and a story that will stay with you long after you finish listening to it. Perfect for fans of John Green and anyone who enjoys stories that are heartfelt and humorous.
When a car wreck leaves sixteen-year-old Dylan with one leg, suddenly everyone in his life treats him differently. His girlfriend dumps him, his parents want to wrap him in cotton wool and the jocks at his new school see him as an easy target.
As he struggles to come to terms with what’s happened, curiosity (and a humiliating schoolyard fight) lead him through the doors of a local MMA gym where he runs into Santana, a tough, Latina fighter with her own unique set of challenges.
With Santana as a reluctant mentor, Dylan begins training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a full contact martial art that makes learning to walk again seem easy by comparison. With his body bruised and his ego dented, Dylan finds himself pushed to the edge, not just physically, but also emotionally.
Can Dylan stay the course and find the courage and determination to change not just how the world sees him, but how he sees himself?
The Author
Writing as Sean Black, David Young is the author of the million-selling Ryan Lock series of thrillers. He is a winner of the prestigious International Thriller Writers Award.
He took up martial arts in his forties and in 2019 became the first ever amputee in Ireland to be awarded a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He competes internationally against able-bodied athletes and in 2022 took two bronze medals at the IBJJF European Championships in Rome.
The Ground Is My Ocean is his first YA novel. It's a book that he hopes will help everyone, especially kids and teenagers dealing with a disability or being made to feel 'different.'
Convicted of a series of horrific crimes against young women in the up-market California town of Santa Barbara, wealthy playboy Charlie Mendez has fled across the US border into Mexico.
As one bounty hunter after another meets a grisly end at the hands of the murderous drug cartel his family have hired to keep him safe, it seems that Mendez is one fugitive destined to remain beyond the reach of the law. Or at least that's how it looks until one determined victim persuades high-end security specialist Ryan Lock and his partner, retired Marine Ty Johnson, to take on the case.
Plunged into a nightmare world where no one can be trusted, least of all the authorities, the two men discover a city more deadly than any war zone. Worse still, when an attractive young American touristis snatched from the streets, it appears that Mendez has returned to his old ways. But in order to stop him before he claims another victim, will Lock and Ty have to pay the Devil's Bounty?
NEW YORK
It may be Christmas in New York, but for ex-soldier turned élite bodyguard Ryan Lock it's business as usual: his mission is to protect one of America's most ruthless businessmen.
A BLOODY SHOOT-OUT
Suddenly gunshots ring out. People run for cover. Innocent people are mown down. Amid the chaos, Lock's hunt for the killers turns into an explosive game of cat and mouse.
A DEADLY SECRET
Lock's search for the truth takes him from the rooftops of a New York skyscraper to a heavily fortified warehouse on the Hudson where he confronts one of the world's most dangerous women.
As the clock ticks towards midnight on New Year's Eve, all routes into and out of Manhattan are sealed, and Lock realises that not only is his own life in terrible danger but so are the lives of millions of others...
Adult movie actress, Raven Lane, is one of the most lusted after women in America, with millions of fans to prove it. But when a headless corpse turns up in the trunk of her car, she realises that fame carries a terrible price.
Fearing for her life, and with the LAPD seemingly unable to protect her, Raven turns to elite bodyguard, Ryan Lock for help. Lock stops bad things happening to good people, but can he stop the tidal wave of violence now threatening the city of Los Angeles as Raven's predator targets - and kills - those closest to her?
As events spiral out of control, Lock is drawn into a dangerous world where money rules, where sex is a commodity to be bought and sold, and where no one can be trusted, least of all his beautiful new client. But what he cannot know is the terrifying price he's about to pay - just for getting involved...
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