Kindle Edition Download to your Nook (eBook) Download from Smashwords (eBook) Amazon Barnes & Noble.com George Matthew Cole George Mattehw Cole Category:  Young Adult/Teen Publisher: Createspace ISBN-10:  1480051810 Type: Fiction Pages: 232 Copyright: Oct 30, 2012 ISBN-13: 9781480051812 Colt O'Brien, a computer technologist with special psychic abilities is starting college. He will face personal and political challenges while trying to grow up. 19 year old Colt O'Brien is starting college at Western Washington University.  After going through his senior year of high school without knowing if he would even attend college, now he was in.  His girlfriend Amy Strong and his best pal Bobby Jones are with him.  His scholarship dictates that he will be a part of the campus computer support group.  Fixing computers is something Colt knows a lot about.  The cocky young man, with his flashy clothes and special psychic abilities is confident that freshman year will be full of success when facing the challenges ahead. As Colt will discover, life has a way of throwing curve balls at the unsuspecting.  He soon finds out that he is the only person doing PC trouble tickets and his boss Gerry gives him almost no support.  He rarely sees his girlfriend and his strait-and-narrow friend Bobby finds that partying is a fun occupation.  When he starts to stimulate his already developed psychic abilities, life spins him into a tornado of emotional distress.   In this compelling sequel to "Colt O'brien Sees The Light", Colt faces more challenges coming from all directions.  He is forced to change and mature or face the consequences.  And, he will find himself in psychic realms that he never knew existed.  It's time for Colt to grow up and embrace life with a clear head and smart actions.  But, it won't be easy. Excerpt ------Email------- From: Lathrop, Gerald[GeraldLathrop@WWU.edu] To: O’brien, Colt[ColtOB@yahoo.com] Subject: Welcome ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello Colt Welcome to Western. I am in charge of our diversified computing networkhere at Western. I look forward to having you on my team.We have a mountain of work with very little experience. Your talents will be needed and appreciated. Please come by my office as soon as you get settled in. I see this as a win/win experience for you and for Western. P.S. I know your background is with Microsoft operating systems. We have many PCs using Windows as well as a few NT Servers. Also, we have UNIX servers and workstations with a few Apple boxes. See you soon Gerry Lathrop ------Email------- The bright northwest sun radiated onto the Western Washington University campus. Nearby the small city of Bellingham lay nestled in northern Washington just south of the Canadian border. The dark blue Pacific Ocean sparkled and small waves lapped against Bellingham’s shores. This September day the campus resembled the PR materials that were sent to prospective parents, students and teachers. The golden brick buildings overlooking languid trees and green grass were the perfect image of an esteemed educational institution of higher learning. School opened in one week. This was the day for students to move into the dorm buildings. Harried, excited, teenagers and their parents had awakened the campus from the deep sleep of an overcast summer. Beneath the brightly shining sun, the air was thick with anticipation. Only the “out of state” newcomers took this sunny day for granted. Locals felt like a little bit of paradise had been given to them after the rather cool and cloudy recent months. Three freshman teenagers stood gazing at the gushing fountain in the center of the campus. The bright sun beat down forming miniature rainbows in the mist. All three seemed to be surrounded by an aura of optimism and connected by the bond of friendship. The girl stood at five feet seven inches tall with a trim athletic body. She wore aqua Bermuda shorts and a light green blouse. Her light brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail revealing an oval face of clear, lightly tanned, complexion, but little makeup. Amy Strong’s emotional world reverberated with realized and potential happiness. She glowed outwardly and within. Her thoughts projected a coming year of continued success on the soccer field and in the classroom. She relished the challenges that faced her. But, her most precious thoughts were of the young man who stood by her side. Being with him gave everything a deep satisfaction. Going through the coming months together would be a dream come true. Colt O'Brien at just under six feet, was the shorter of the two young men. He projected a sense of coiled energy behind a calm exterior. Dark black hair framed his intense deep blue eyes. He wore a pink T-shirt with gray denim shorts. His old-style sneakers were black. Colt foresaw achievement and success ahead of him. He pictured himself as a brave warrior attacking technical computer problems. For him, freshman year could not start soon enough. Schoolwork was important, but most of all Colt craved respect in his field of endeavor. Being anything but the best computer technologist was unacceptable. His job as a system administrator for the university network would give him the chance to prove himself. He envisioned Amy by his side, looking at him with pride and loving admiration. The bright blue eyes of the taller student, Bobby Jones, danced with excitement, while following the movement of the gushing water. Unlike his best friend, he appeared to be relaxed and available for life to come at him as it may. He wore a white T-shirt with shiny blue sweat pants and sandals. He thought of the happiness of his boyhood friend and hoped that he would be as happy some day. After seeing so many girls on campus earlier, it was difficult for him to focus on anything else. It was like he had been sleeping in a world where the female half of humanity did not exist; at least not as sources of sexual attraction. Now he was wide awake with pretty girls everywhere. He was caught staring more than once by friendly co-eds, some of whom stared back. It was late afternoon. The work was over and everyone involved was relieved. Because of the lack of parking and easy access, it had been a trying task to move the students into their new homes. The variety of vehicles that were loaded with furniture, computers and other belongings were lined up waiting for hours. With the anxious freshman students it had been especially trying. Earnest parents, siblings and friends had helped with the work that finally was finished. Now, the helpers were headed south toward Seattle on Interstate 5 and to other parts of the state on other highways. The sun shone like this rarely, in Bellingham, Washington. When it did, all residents felt rejuvenated. It was like emerging from a cave after a long hibernation. Even though it had been sunny for the past few days, the novelty had not worn off. Gray, rain filled skies could be upon them at any time. Colt O'Brien thought about his journey to this spot on this college campus. He turned to his friend and smiled. “Bobinator, I guess you never thought I’d be standing here at Western. Man, I was ready to just work and skip the whole college thing.” “Yeah, nobody thought you would be here. You can thank the geeky kids in the Microsoft cert program. Hell, without that certification you might be fixing PCs making ten bucks an hour. No way you would be living at home, either,” said Bobby Jones. “Hey, my old man would be really pissed if I wasn’t here. My mom would stick up for me no matter what, but it would be a pain. I guess I was into my own space then and needed a kick in the ass. Now that I’m here, I plan to do something great,” said Colt with a confident smile. “You sure got noticed with all the stuff that happened last year.” “I found out that there is more to getting an education than I knew about. Crap, I'm surprised that I made it through all that. But, all that studying paid off. And, I know how to do it now,” boasted Colt. As Bobby and Colt continued talking, Amy Strong, stared into the fountain as if it were a crystal ball divining the future. She smiled and her eyes began to glisten. “Dude, when school starts next week, I plan on attacking my classes like I did that cert test. And, I’m not beat up now like I was then,” said Colt “Man, I wish I had someone like Amy to help with studying. Doing it alone is a drag,” moaned Bobby. Colt's inner senses became attuned to his friend at the mention of Amy. In all the years of their friendship, Bobby had never demonstrated an interest in the opposite sex. The fact that he was an honor student also was an obvious tip off that something was different now. "Well, Amy sure helped me but I don't remember you needing any help," kidded Colt. Bobby's face reddened a bit as he nervously looked to the sky. "I guess I just might like to have a girl to study with," he said sheepishly. Colt grinned at his friend and winked. They both turned to Amy and were taken by surprise to see her light, blue eyes filled with tears. Colt put his hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?” asked Colt. Amy turned and hugged Colt while continuing to sob softly. “I’m so happy we’re here together. I have never been this happy.” Colt smiled with relief when he realized that the tears were of the happy variety. “I am too, I am too,” he said.

A thoroughly entertaining book
For those of us who enjoyed this author's first book: how exciting that the sequel has been published! I couldn't wait to dive into it, and was not disappointed: what a page turner! In this story, the main character Colt O'Brien starts college, and with that finds himself adjusting to many of the changes young adults face when they leave home for the first time. Old relationships change and new ones are not always easy. Colt struggles to help his friend Bobby when he becomes a little too involved with the campus party scene. Colt's high school sweetheart, Amy, is beginning to wonder about stronger commitments than just casual dating. And his boss at the computer repair program in college - a decidedly unpleasant and unstable man - makes Colt's life more than a little complicated. Throughout, Colt's own special relationship with dreams and spirituality takes on new importance. A thoroughly satisfying read for the older YA reader with a lot of crossover appeal.

Great book
Mr. Cole's series and especially this book, drop the reader right back into memories of both your own college years as well watching our kids attend college.

His writing style really captures that experience and goes further by sharing the real world challenges of the High Tech culture.

This book is well written and I for one am looking forward to more from this author.

A definite fun read
I was so glad to hear more about Colt O'Brien! ("Colt O'Brien Grows Up" -the latest edition in George Cole's series (I hope)) about a young computer whiz and his metaphysical awakening. Now I want the next book! Hurry up, George!!
George has a way of allowing us, his readers, into the private lives of his
characters and endearing these people to us - a feat missed by so many TV
series these days. If one cannot empathize with the folks one is reading
about, one very quickly loses interest! I finished the book in a few hours
(couldn't put it down) and now I am wanting to know more about Colt's and Amy's future; about Bobby and Suzie; about certain entrepreneurs and hackers and jerks! I got involved in ALL their lives. This book is an interesting blend of cyber-space and psychic-space. A definite fun read!