Rockin’ it After Surgery

by Chad Morris

People keep asking about my girl, Maddie, so I thought I should give you the update. It has been over a month since her neurosurgery and she is doing really well. She’s back in school  and mentally sharp. She rocked her latest report card (thanks to the teachers who worked with her on make-up work) and loves to crack jokes (She  really has some great timing). In fact, the night before April Fool’s, she and her older brother conspired to draw mustaches on their younger brothers while they slept.

She can see well and I think her peripheral vision is even improving a little. She has back all the movement she lost on her left side and is getting stronger.  She’s even back to breaking out in a few crazy dance moves every now and then.  Maddie is also getting used to the small pharmacy of meds she has to take. Such a trooper. And the docs approved her to go on a vacation!  

Shelly and I have noticed that she giggles more than before. What an awesome side effect! I don’t know if certain hormone levels have changed, or if she just wants a good reason to laugh after all she has been through, but she breaks out at the littlest things. To a mom and dad who love a little comedy, this is just plain awesome. We haven’t made her pee her pants yet, but perhaps we’ve gotten close.

On a related note,  I met Carolyn Swerdloff from Simon and Schuster when I helped out with Brandon Mull’s launch party. She had heard about Maddie and asked if she could send her some books. Of course I agreed. Well, we got a box this week full of awesomeness for the whole family. Maddie is devouring some Dork Diaries while the boys are snagged some Captain Awesome, Keeper of the Lost Cities, and even Bad Unicorn (It doesn’t come out until April 15). That was extremely nice! Thanks Carolyn and S&S! It reminded me of others of you that sent books for my kids! They love those as well. You are fantastic. 

We are still hoping her pituitary will kick back in, but all in all, Maddie is rockin’ it after surgery. Thanks again for all the support, help, and prayers.

I have also been asked a lot how my book is doing and how I like touring. Maybe I’ll tackle that one tomorrow.

Beyonders: Seeds of Rebellion

Look what I just finished!!! ------->

Yes, I'm hiding behind the book, but that is irrelevant. Did you see what book it is? It's book two in the Beyonders series by Brandon Mull.

It comes out in March and you can read reviews and the blurb summary on Goodreads already (GOODREADS.) I'm not going to post it here because I just can't stand spoilers but if you want to know more about the story before picking it up you can follow the link.



But I will one sentence blurb the first book--- 
Beyonders: A World without Hero's follows Jason and Rachel, two kids from America, who find themselves thrust into a new world and a bitter conflict that they could have never imagined. (Did you know it was one of Amazon's Best Books of the Month in March of 2011 AND a #1 New York Times Bestseller- one of these things is considered more prestigious but I can't remember which)
You can read more reviews and summaries by clicking on the book cover on the left or you can watch the trailer below.

---My Thoughts on Beyonders---

Brandon Mull never seems to lack creativity. The stuff that guy can come up with can capture your imagination again and again. I do not doubt that there is still world-building to be done in book 3 that will blow our minds.

For journey books these things are all over the place. There are so many twists and turns, places and people. I must admit that I think these books are the middle grade gateway to adult fiction novels. They remind me more of the fantasy greats than what you normally see in a middle grade story.

These are no small books. Around 500 pages each.

At the end of the first book I was not thrilled with the ending. It was alright, since I knew it was a series, but I was still disappointed that I was going to have to stop there and wait a year for the next book. (Think the end of the second Lord of the Rings film.)

Towards the end of the second book I was so worried that it was going to have a similar ending but in the final fifty pages tied things together well enough I would say it ended better than the first.

Talking to Brandon over Christmas he talked about how the story of Beyonders was originally a single book and he knows that the endings of the 1st and 2nd book are cliffhangers but that he believes that the ending in the third book (what would have been the end of the original book) will pull everything together in a way that it will pay off the patience of the readers. I trust him. I'm excited for the third book more and more.

One thing I must say that I LOVE about Brandon Mull's books is his vocabulary. This guy uses absurdly large words and kids eat it up. I love well used verboiosity (and I love making up words.)

So pre-order your own book 2 HERE
AND if you're in the Salt Lake City area there is a FREE launch party (PAR-TAY!) in March. More deets to come.

Have you read any Brandon Mull books? 

What are your favorite middle grade fantasy stories?

Brandon, Liesa, and Shannon (and a Party!)

My loyal readers know that I'm a bit partial to Beyonders

and Brandon has WONDERFUL things to say about his editor at 

Simon & Schuster

Liesa Abrams,

who is one of the coolest,

batman-loving,

gluten-free,

editors that I know 

(I don't cyber stalk the poor girl. This all came up in the ONE conversation I had with her)

Well, Liesa scored in her acquisitions of 

Keeper of the Lost Cities

by the ever amusing

Shannon Messenger

(Yay, Shannon! Yay, Leisa!)

Here's the news

S&S Takes Messenger’s Middle-Grade Debut

Keeping up with the high-priced deals, Liesa Abrams, executive editor at Simon & Schuster, took North American rights to three books, in a six-figure pre-empt, by newcomer Shannon Messenger. Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary brokered the deal for the middle-grade fantasy series, and the first book, Keeper of the Lost Cities, is scheduled for fall 2012. In Cities, a 12-year-old girl who can read minds, and is something of a social outcast, discovers the reason she has her abilities when she meets a mysterious boy. Rennert elaborated: “She’s never felt at home because she isn’t. There are secrets buried deep in her memory, secrets about her true identity and why she was hidden among humans, that others desperately want and would even kill for.” Messenger is in her 20s and is one of the founders of the free, online writer’s conference, WriteOnCon.

Cool, huh?!?!

Well Shannon is so ding-ding excited she's throwing a party over on her blog.

She has decided to become a genie to one lucky follower

and grant a wish 

Plus a bunch of other wonderful prizes! She's so generous :)

So if you wanna, jump over to her blog HERE, congratulate her, enter her contest, and browse around her great blog.

If you write MG cross your fingers that you might get to work with her talented editor, Leisa Abrams.

And if you are just looking for something fun to read, might I suggest, Beyonders?