THE OWL KEEPER by Christine Brodien-Jones

• Publication Season/Year: Spring 2010
• Publisher: Delacorte Press
• Release Date: April 13, 2010
• ISBN (hardcover): 978-0-385-73814-9
• ISBN (paperback): TBD                         

Maxwell Unger has always loved the night.  He used to do brave things like go tramping through the forest with his gran after dark. He loved the stories she told him about the world before the Destruction — about nature, and books, and the silver owls. His favorite story, though, was about the Owl Keeper.

According to Max’s gran, in times of darkness the Owl Keeper would appear to unite owls and sages against the powers of the dark.

Gran is gone now, and so are her stories of how the world used to be. Max is no longer brave. The forest is dangerous, the books Gran saved have been destroyed, and the silver owls are extinct. At least, that’s what the High Echelon says. But Max knows better.

Max Unger has a secret. And when a mysterious girl comes to town, he just might have to start being brave again.  The time of the Owl Keeper, Gran would say, is coming soon.

THE OWL KEEPER Book Trailer:

Discussion Guide for THE OWL KEEPER

Release Date: October 1, 2010

NIGHTSHADE CITY by Hilary Wagner

“Fans of Redwall and the Warriors series will love this heroic tale of good versus evil in a subterranean society of rats. The world of the Catacombs is so compelling readers will wonder if it really might exist under our city streets. Expect great adventures in Nightshade City.”
–Rick Riordan, Author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series

Deep beneath a modern metropolis lies the Catacombs, a kingdom of remarkable rats of superior intellect. Following the Bloody Coup, the once peaceful democracy has become a dictatorship, ruled by decadent High Minister Killdeer and his vicious henchman Billycan, a former lab rat with a fondness for butchery. Three young orphan rats–brothers Vincent and Victor and a clever female named Clover–join forces with Billycan’s archenemy, Juniper, and his maverick band of rebel rats as they plot to overthrow their oppressors and create a new city–Nightshade City. This impossible-to-put-down fantasy explores timeless themes of freedom, forgiveness, the bonds of family, and the power of love.

Author Visit Information

Hilary is willing to travel nationally.

Example presentations and workshops:

• How to hook that agent, tip and tricks:
  • Ways to make your queries better,
  • Do’s and don’ts,
  • Dealing with rejection (after rejection)
  • Find out about Hilary Wagner’s own crazy road to publishing.
• Inspiring children’s writers of tomorrow.

At the same time, Lewis and Tolkien would be the first to acknowledge their debt to much earlier sources, such as Norse mythology. When I set out to write my debut novel, a fantasy called Watersmeet, I too went back to earlier sources: folktales, hero quests, mythology and legends. After all, what are these tales but fantasy stories? Odysseus making his way back to Ithaca and fighting the Cyclopes, Scylla, Charybdis and the Lotus Eaters. Fantasy! Atlas with the world on his shoulder. Fantasy! Uncle Remus and the Br’er Rabbit stories. Talking animals are definitely fantasy. Scheherazade and the One Thousand and One Arabian Nights. Native American stories of Coyote the Trickster. All are fantasy stories. It seems as if from the moment language was invented, people gathered to tell stories about monsters, magic, heroes and powers beyond our understanding.

Fantasy connects with a very deep vein. Even today, when our society is so rational, so technological, so scientific, fantasy sells–and bookstores can  be mobbed at midnight for the sale of a book about a young wizard.  I think the call of fantasy is even stronger now because so much mystery and magic is gone from our daily lives. It’s no wonder kids are flocking to the genre.

When I started sending out my first novel–a fantasy–the Harry Potter phenomenon was just beginning.  An editor read my book and had nice things to say about it but offered no contract. (Yes, I got what we know in the writing business as a “good rejection.”) One of her comments stuck with me: “Fantasy always sells.” In fact, it’s been selling for thousands of years! As a fantasy writer today, I feel like I am adding my own individual voice to an ancient and ongoing conversation.

EYES LIKE STARS

• Publication Season/Year: Summer 2009
• Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
• Release Date: June 18, 2009
• ISBN (hardcover): 978-0312380960
• ISBN (paperback): TBD                             

EYES LIKE STARS introduces Beatrice Shakespeare Smith. Behind the curtain at the Théâtre Illuminata, you can find the characters of every play ever written. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book–an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family–and she is about to lose them, and the only home she has ever known.

Other

Seventeen-year-old Gwen hides a dangerous secret: she’s Other. Half-pooka, to be exact, thanks to the father she never met. Most Americans don’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for Others, especially not the small-town folks of Klikamuks, Washington. As if this isn’t bad enough, Gwen’s on the brink of revealing her true identity to her long-time boyfriend, Zack, but she’s scared he’ll lump her with the likes of bloodthirsty vampires and feral werewolves.

When a pack of werewolves chooses the national forest behind Gwen’s home as their new territory, the tensions in Klikamuks escalate–into murder. It soon becomes clear a serial killer is methodically slaying Others. The police turn a blind eye, leaving Gwen to find the killer before the killer finds her. As she hunts for clues, she uncovers more Others living nearby than she ever expected. Like Tavian, a sexy Japanese fox-spirit who rivals Zack and challenges her to embrace her Otherness. Gwen must struggle with her own conflicted identity, learn who she can trust, and–most importantly–stay alive.

Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter

• Publication Season/Year: Spring 2009
• Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books
• Release Date: April 28, 2009
• ISBN (hardcover): 978-0061554742
• ISBN (paperback): 978-0061554749

Youngest and boldest of all the faeries of the Oak, Knife fearlessly battles the savage crows and other predators who threaten her dying people. But when she strikes up a forbidden friendship with a human named Paul, she arouses the wrath of the powerful Faery Queen herself. With the help of some unexpected allies, Knife sets out to solve the mystery of the Oakenfolk’s missing magic – but she soon discovers that the truth may cost her everything…

Also available in the UK as KNIFE in January 2009.