GUEST POST on Katie Talks About Blog
A writing partnership is a lot like a marriage. The two of us have been writing together for ten years. And we write every word, sentence, and paragraph together, sitting side by side or across from each other in an office. That’s a lot of time spent together. And like a marriage, there are ups and downs, good times and bad, but in the end you can work through every disagreement with compromise and every victory is sweeter with someone to share it with. So Adam will put up with Andrew’s long passive aggressive silences and unusual and sometimes awkward eating habits; and Andrew will put up with Adam’s constantly bouncing knee and distracted stares out the window. Our wives joke that we are married twicefold. But in our partnership our children are words on the page, and The Familiars is most definitely our baby. One that we don’t mind being passed around from hands to hands, or taken to the park by a stranger, or left unattended on a subway platform. No, we’ve created a baby that has Adam’s wild imagination and Andrew’s sense of humor and rich character. We only hope that we don’t pass down our male pattern baldness. Fortunately, it’s a book.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Starred Review from School Library Journal
From School Library Journal
Gr 4-7–This series opener won't disappoint. Escaping from a bounty hunter, a streetwise cat becomes the familiar of a boy magician-in-training. Almost before Aldwyn gets to know his new surroundings, Jack, his sister, and a fellow student are kidnapped and it is up to him; Skylar, a magic-adept bluejay; and Gilbert, a clumsy, red-eyed tree frog, to rescue their “loyals.” The consistently suspenseful narrative moves quickly and is full of twists and turns. The characters are genuinely familiar: Aldwyn feels inadequate and works hard to conceal his humble origins; Skylar has secretly studied human magic and can be arrogant about her abilities; bumbling Gilbert thinks mostly about food and fears the father he has disappointed. The history of the queendom of Vastia is smoothly worked into the narrative. This winning combination of action and humor will keep readers turning pages right up to the ending, which successfully concludes this adventure but leaves room for more.Kathleen Isaacs, Children's Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MD
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Gr 4-7–This series opener won't disappoint. Escaping from a bounty hunter, a streetwise cat becomes the familiar of a boy magician-in-training. Almost before Aldwyn gets to know his new surroundings, Jack, his sister, and a fellow student are kidnapped and it is up to him; Skylar, a magic-adept bluejay; and Gilbert, a clumsy, red-eyed tree frog, to rescue their “loyals.” The consistently suspenseful narrative moves quickly and is full of twists and turns. The characters are genuinely familiar: Aldwyn feels inadequate and works hard to conceal his humble origins; Skylar has secretly studied human magic and can be arrogant about her abilities; bumbling Gilbert thinks mostly about food and fears the father he has disappointed. The history of the queendom of Vastia is smoothly worked into the narrative. This winning combination of action and humor will keep readers turning pages right up to the ending, which successfully concludes this adventure but leaves room for more.Kathleen Isaacs, Children's Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MD
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
The Book Aunt raves about The Familiars
Read this great review of The Familiars from children's lit lover The Book Aunt Blog!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Rick Riordan Tweets about The Familiars!
@camphalfblood What a great idea for a book. THE FAMILIARS: http://bit.ly/d2Z57G Haven't read it, but I'll be checking it out. Pubs 9/7.
Woke up to this very exciting tweet this morning from Rick Riordan, best selling author of the Percy Jackson series and 39 Clues.
Seeing as how he has written two of the most successful and highly entertaining middle reader book series of all time, this was obviously quite flattering. And now he has another hot title in bookstores, The Kane Chronicles.
We can only dream of having a share of his success (tens of millions of books sold).
Thank you, Rick Riordan. We can't wait to hear what you think of the book!
Woke up to this very exciting tweet this morning from Rick Riordan, best selling author of the Percy Jackson series and 39 Clues.
Seeing as how he has written two of the most successful and highly entertaining middle reader book series of all time, this was obviously quite flattering. And now he has another hot title in bookstores, The Kane Chronicles.
We can only dream of having a share of his success (tens of millions of books sold).
Thank you, Rick Riordan. We can't wait to hear what you think of the book!
Friday, July 9, 2010
A Familiars-Themed Birthday Party
Before the book has even come out, we have a young Familiars fan who wants to have a Familiars-themed 10th birthday party. So, here are some ideas I'd like to suggest, per the birthday boy's mom's request:
A familiars scavenger hunt -- Send the kids on a hunt for magic and animal related items like cell phone pics of an exotic bird, holding a wand or wearing a wizard's hat, and a paperback copy of The Hobbit.
If you don't want to pay for an exotic animal trainer or magician to come to you, how about a trip to the local zoo or neighborhood magic store?
See if a local animal shelter needs 6 youngsters to volunteer for an afternoon, helping bathe or walk the rescue dogs.
A familiars movie marathon -- Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Golden Compass. Watch any or all!
Pick up a Mr. Wizard's potion kit and see what kind of magic the kids can conjure.
Make your own familiars -- if the kids are feeling crafty, have them draw or paint their familiars. Pick an animal and give them a special talent and a story. If you send pics to the blog, we'll post them!
Have an epic Dungeons and Dragons game!
I'd love for you to pitch in any ideas you have for a familiars-themed bday party. Which one sounds like the most fun?
A familiars scavenger hunt -- Send the kids on a hunt for magic and animal related items like cell phone pics of an exotic bird, holding a wand or wearing a wizard's hat, and a paperback copy of The Hobbit.
If you don't want to pay for an exotic animal trainer or magician to come to you, how about a trip to the local zoo or neighborhood magic store?
See if a local animal shelter needs 6 youngsters to volunteer for an afternoon, helping bathe or walk the rescue dogs.
A familiars movie marathon -- Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Golden Compass. Watch any or all!
Pick up a Mr. Wizard's potion kit and see what kind of magic the kids can conjure.
Make your own familiars -- if the kids are feeling crafty, have them draw or paint their familiars. Pick an animal and give them a special talent and a story. If you send pics to the blog, we'll post them!
Have an epic Dungeons and Dragons game!
I'd love for you to pitch in any ideas you have for a familiars-themed bday party. Which one sounds like the most fun?
EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK
It's the UK cover of THE FAMILIARS.
We think this is pretty awesome! How about you?
We think this is pretty awesome! How about you?
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