Dashing Madly Out The Door!

Wow, I had SO hoped to get back in here this week to blog, but the week exploded on me frankly. And now I'm out the door to the East Coast for school visit and book signing FUN!

I am taking my camera and hoping to get some pictures to post here. And I SHOULD be able to write a blog entry on the flippin' plane, at least.

I will leave you with the news that NATHANIEL FLUDD, BEASTOLOGIST, The Basilisk's Lair has shipped early and is in stores now. And the reviews have begun to come in!

THE BASILISK’S LAIR / HOUGHTON
Jun 2010. 160 p. hardcover, $15.00. (9780547238678).

Picking up immediately where Flight of the Phoenix (2009) finished, Nathaniel Fludd, Aunt Phil, and the gremlin Greasel pursue an escaped Basilisk, the highly dangerous king of the Serpents. Despite his previous success in the field, Nathaniel is an uncertain beastologist, although wise Aunt Phil finds ways to incorporate Nathaniel’s preexisting skills, such as his artistic abilities, as he hones his new ones. Familiarity with Nathaniel’s previous adventure is helpful though not necessary, and fans can look forward to a return to Batting-at-the-Flies as the trio investigates the disappearance of Nathaniel’s parents in theforthcoming volume.
—   Kara Dean

Kirkus review: THE BASILISK’S LAIR: Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book 2 / HOUGHTON

When his Aunt Phil flies to the western Sudan to recapture an escaped basilisk, she takes Nathaniel Fludd along, reassuring him that he is only to “watch and learn.” Instead, he and his gremlin friend, Greasle, play important roles. This satisfying middle-grade adventure features a hesitant, unskilled hero, a miniature sidekick straight from Where the Wild Things Are and an exotic setting in colonial British West Africa in 1928. The basilisk is appropriately scary, and straightforward storytelling leads to an exciting climax. Readers won’t get and don’t need the entire back story from Flight of the Phoenix (2009), the first in the Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist series, but those who have read it will surely enjoy the return of the supposed orphan and his formidable aunt. Murphy has provided a full-page pen-and-ink illustration as well as several smaller sketches for almost every chapter, and Nathaniel contributes drawings, too. Sharp-eyed readers will realize that the chapter numbers are counted in animal bones. This story is complete in itself, but the ending promises more adventure to come. (Guide to People, Places, and Things) (Adventure. 7-10)





Phew!