Wrapping Up Two Series and Launching a New One

Just over two years ago, I attended BEA for the first time. For those of you to whom that acronym means nothing, BEA stands for Book Expo America. It is the biggest publishing event in North America and one of the largest in the world. I was completely blown away. I got to listen to authors like Neil Gaiman, Veronica Roth, Mary Pope Osborne, and many others. I got to shake hands with Rick Riordan, who I apparently look like and was mistaken for several times during the show. I brought home a boatload of books. And I even had this happen.

It was a very exciting time, but it was also a little stressful. I had two series out, Farworld and Case File 13, and although they had both received good reviews, I had no idea how they were going to sell.

As an author, it’s hard to live in the moment. The book that people are reading now is one you finished a year or two before, the one you are editing won’t come out for a year or so, and what you’re really worried about is, “What am I going to do next?” One night my wife and I had dinner with Chris Schoebinger, the head of Shadow Mountain publishing and his family. Toward the end of the dinner, I asked Chris what he would like to see from me next. His response was both not as specific as what I was hoping for, and interesting enough to get me thinking. I don’t remember his exact words, but it was something like, “I’m looking for an idea that really stands out from other books on the market. Something we can all get excited about.”

That kind of comment is frustrating for an author. Of course I want to write something you’ll get excited about, but what excites you? Still, it got my imagination working, trying to come up with an idea that would stand out from everything in the market. The next night, my wife and I went to see the Broadway musical, Wicked for the first time. Any of you have seen the show know that the first thing you see when you walk into the theater is this.

You know those moments when a book idea just jumps, fully formed, into your head? This was not one of those moments. It took me well over a year before all of the pieces fell into place, but this was the moment when it all started. I looked up at the dragon and thought, “I totally want to write a book about kids building a mechanical dragon.”

Last month I signed a contract with Shadow Mountain for a new series called “The Mysteries of Cove.” Book one, which will come out this fall is titled, “Fires of Invention.” As part of the promotion, the publisher is having renowned Hollywood prop builder, producer, director, etc. Clark Schaffer, build an actual six foot tall steam punk dragon to take to shows and signings.

It’s still hard for me to believe is that in only a few months, two years after I saw the mechanical dragon above the stage while I was at BEA, I will be going back to BEA, this time with an actual six foot tall steampunk dragon. I can’t show you the dragon itself yet, that will be unveiled at the Life the Universe and Everything conference in Provo, UT, next week. I promise share lots of pics then, but in the meantime, here’s a sneak peek at the sketch of what the legs of this amazing creature will look like.

This is a bittersweet time for me, because I have finished the last books in both the case File 13 series and the Farworld series. I hate realizing I won’t be writing any more about the characters I love, but I am so excited about my new characters.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be writing more about finishing those two series and launching a new one. It’s been a very up and down two years, filled with both optimism and disappointment. If you want to be the first to know about these posts and all my other book news, contests, etc I have a new way to get updates by text message.

Just text the word dragon to 313131 and you’ll automatically be entered in all my contests and get my updates before anyone else.

I know many of you are anxiously waiting for Fire Keep. I am doing one last readthrough to look for typos and then I will be sending out to be typeset and printed. Again I’ll let you know here and on my text list first.

Thanks for reading my books and being my friends!