Lemony Snicket Interview

Speaking of The Series of Unfortunate Events, I just listened to a great interview with Daniel Handler, the, er, official representative of Lemony Snicket. The interview is free to download from Audible.com. It's a little old — apparently it took place last year before the release of the movie — but it's still interesting, and Handler displays his characteristic wit. (When the interviewer told him her nephew was devouring the books, he replied that the boy should be reading them, not eating them.)

Download the Lemony Snicket/Daniel Handler interview here

I love Audible.com. Once a week, I make a 2-hour round trip drive, and the audio books I download from Audible.com keep me sane. Also, my son and I love to listen to audio books together when we are driving. I have a subscription which allows me to download two audio books per month and gives me a discount on any additional ones. Since I only listen to unabridged audio books, (I can't stand abridged books in any form!) which tend to be expensive if purchased separately, downloading one free book each month usually pays for the subscription. The second book is a bonus.

The next "ology" will be...

Avast, lubbers! Candlewick Press has announced the next book in the wonderful "ologies" series. The newest sequel to Egyptology, Dragonology, and Wizardology will be:

Pirateology!

Amazon.com lists the release date as July 11, and it's probably no coincidence that it will be only a few days after the release of the new Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest movie. Pirate fever will be in full swing this summer!

Personally, I was hoping for Faerieology, but I guess it's not to be this time. I'll just have to hope for that one in 2007.

Preorder Pirateology from Amazon.com

April 19, 2007, edited to add: For those of you who just came here from Google, this is an old post. The new "Ology" for 2007 will be Mythology. Click here for more information on Mythology.

Series of Unfortunate Events: Book 13 Release Date?

Yesterday, I received this newsletter from Harper Collins:

Less than two weeks after 2006 arrived amidst great excitement and optimism, something terrible happened at 12:01 a.m. this morning: Friday the 13th arrived.

Under normal circumstances, today’s date would be unfortunate. This year, it is even more ominous, a word which here means “extremely worrisome.” That is because this terribly unlucky day occurs TWICE in 2006.

Associates at LemonySnicket.com predict that the second time, Friday, October 13, will bring The End. Of what, however--the Baudelaire orphans? Lemony Snicket himself? Thursday, October 12th?--remains unclear.

There is much to fear in the coming months--alarming puzzles, distressing notations, a series of communications from someone named Beatrice. All of us at AuthorTracker will continue to try to locate the elusive Mr. Snicket, gather information, understand the truth, and share our findings with you.

Still, we are sorry to ruin your year after only 12 days. Perhaps 2007 will be cheerier.

With all due respect,
HarperCollins Publishers

HarperCollins doesn't say exactly what will happen on October 13, but I think it's no coincidence that it will be almost exactly a year since the release of The Penultimate Peril. Could it be the release date of Book the Thirteenth of The Series of Unfortunate Events?

I'm baa-aack

No, I didn't fall into another dimension ot travel back in time. The explanation for my absence from this blog is much more mundane. Between the holidays and some health problems, I just haven't had time to write. But, it's a new year and things are getting back to normal, so I hope to be able to get back to the routine of writing. So, as of right now, I'm baa-aack!

The Living House of Oz

Some of my earliest memories are of my mother reading the Oz books to me, even before I could read them myself. Later, when I learned to read, I read my mother's battered copies over and over. As an adult, I purchased new copies and read them yet again. So I was delighted to receive a review copy of a new Oz book, The Living House of Oz, by Edward Einhorn.

Buddy lives in a very strange house. Not only the furniture, but the house itself, are alive. But Buddy doesn't think that's odd, because he's lived in the house his whole life. His best friends are his bed, the dresser, the window, and all the other furniture in his room, but especially the Earl of Haberdashery, the irrepressible hat stand.

Buddy has lived in a variety of places, but he hasn't seen much of the world outside the house, because he and his mother are in hiding. His mother Mordra is a sorceress, and it's against the law to practice magic in Oz. For safety, Buddy isn't allowed to stray far, and every time they are in danger, Mordra moves the house to a new part of Oz.

But Mordra can't hide forever, and eventually she is arrested by Glinda and taken to to the Emerald City to stand trial. Buddy is determined to rescue her, and sets off for the Emerald City along with the house, all its furniture, and the Earl of Haberdashery leading the way.

Reading Edward Einhorn's book, I am immediately transported back to Oz and back to my childhood. The Living House of Oz is a delightfully fun, imaginative, and whimsical book - a true heir to the Oz tradition, yet innovative in its own way. The Earl of Haberdashery is a delight, and a worthy addition to the Oz pantheon of characters. I hope to see more of him in future books! The story is funny and exciting and moves along quickly, yet behind the humor lies a serious question about how much power governments, even just and well-loved governments, should exercise over their subjects. Is the law banning the use of magic just?

Beyond the story, the book is well-crafted and a work of art in its own right. The illustrations by Eric Shanower add much to the story. Shanower has managed to create illustrations that fit right into the Oz history - Ozma still looks like Ozma, for example - yet add his own unique style and vision.

Click here to buy The Living House of Oz at Amazon.com

Warriors Series and Erin Hunter Chat

Several years ago, we were traveling through North Carolina and stopped at a rest area late at night. We noticed a lot of cats prowling around, and we asked about them. The caretaker of the rest area told us that there were wild cats living in the woods around the rest area. At night they came up to the rest area in search of food.

I wondered what it might be like for these cats, living wild in the forest, especially those who had been pets and had gotten lost or run away. After reading Erin Hunter's Warriors books, now I have an idea! Erin Hunter has created a vividly imagined cat society, complete with its own customs, religion, and history.

I haven't read the original Warriors books yet, but I just read the first several books in the second series, Warriors: The New Prophecy, and I found them to be enjoyable, exciting and moving. The cats are fully developed characters who experience conflict and growth, and I quickly became attached to them. I see why these books are so popular with the teens and pre-teens.

Erin Hunter is really two authors, Cherith Baldry and Kate Cary, writing under a pseudonym. We're very excited that Cherith has agreed to participate in a chat with the members of our Wands and Worlds community on December 11.
Click here for more information about the Erin Hunter chat

EDIT: This chat was a couple of years ago, but we've had a couple more chats with Erin Hunter and other authors since then. For more information about our author chats, see this page.

Please note that blogger seems to be broken, and won't display more than 200 comments, even if you click the "Newer" link. So if you commented on this post and it doesn't show up, I'm really sorry. There doesn't seem to be anything I can do.

What to buy the fantasy fan on your list

If you are looking for the perfect gift for a child or teen who loves wizards, dragons, and the like, check out my Holiday Gift Guide for the Young Fantasy Fan.

Goblet of Fire Movie

Sorry that I haven't posted in a while! Things have been really busy.

We went to see the Goblet of Fire movie last week, and I was pleasantly surprised. I haven't really enjoyed any of the Harry Potter movies. For the most part they have just been recreations of scene after scene from the book, with all the subtlety and mystery lost. But I actually enjoyed this one. Director Mike Newell did it right: he didn't try to reproduce the whole book, and he changed what needed to be changed to make it a better movie. Film is a different medium than print, and what makes a good book doesn't necessarily make a good movie, and visa versa. I actually thought that the film did a better job than the book of conveying just how isolated Harry felt - how it must have been to have everyone, including Dumbledore and even Ron, think that he did something that he shouldn't have and that he was out for the glory. Newell also injected just the right amount of humor to balance the suspense, and it made for a very enjoyable film. The acting was good, and the three principal actors especially have really come a long way.

The movie wasn't without it's flaws. I wasn't impressed with the depiction of the maze, and I thought Wormtail should have been in a little more pain after cutting off his hand. But overall I thought it was a good movie.

The Penultimate Peril

The Penultimate Peril, Book the Twelfth of The Series of Unfortunate Events, is by far the best book of the series. Daniel Handler's keen wit, evident in all the books, has been honed here to a fine point. It's fun and funny, and there are many surprises and unexpected twists. But beyond that, it's a book of surprising depth and sophistication. The book is a dizzying feast of literary allusions, social satire, and philosophical exploration, wrapped up in a package that is, quite simply, fun to read.

Great Tree of Avalon: Shadows on the Stars

T.A. Barron's newest book in his Great Tree of Avalon series, Shadows on the Stars, is now available! Click here to read about this book