THE WONDERLING
My current project is an illustrated middle grade epic fantasy series called
The Wonderling (published by Candlewick Press, 2017) which won the 2014 runner up for the
SCBWI Work-in-Progress Grant for Fiction. The two books in the series are titled
The Wonderling: Songcatcher, and
The Wonderling: Singing Tree.
The Wonderling is set in a slightly steampunk Victorian land ruled by the High Hats, while the Groundlings, the animal-human hybrids, live in servitude, working in underground factories in the City Below the City. Our hero, Number 13, is a shy, one-eared, fox-like foundling who, with the help of his bird-friend Trinket, escapes the
treacherous orphanage he was brought up in, and goes on a remarkable journey to
seek his destiny. The first book is now out in bookstores world-wide! The movie version, directed by Stephen Daldry and produced by Working Title Films, is currently in development. Stay tuned for future developments! For more information on the book series, go here: http://www.thewonderlingbook.com
THE ECHOERS
In order to write The Wonderling, I put aside (but not forever!) another illustrated trilogy for middle grade called The Echoers, set above the Arctic Circle in Northern Norway. It’s an epic story about Kristina, a Sámi (Lapp) girl, who must travel far and wide, and go through perilous trials in both the past and the future, in order to become the true Pathfinder (shaman) of her people. And she must also carry a precious gift across the tundra and across time itself, in order to save someone she loves. How far would you walk to save someone you loved?
ALTERNATE ENDINGS
Alternate Endings is an (as yet unpublished) illustrated
collection of retold
biographies of famous

(and not so
famous) dead people, animals, and forgotten towns. You can read selections and see illustrations from the book
HERE , published in the the Spring 2014 issue of the Massachusetts Review, and/or
WATCH AND LISTEN to me read a couple too.
THE FORGOTTEN ISLAND

I am also sporadically working on a top secret book with the amazing
Jedediah Berry, author of the award-winning novel
The Manual of Detection. I can’t say anymore about it (duh: it’s secret!) but you should know that there are fantastical beasts, forgotten islands, ancient manuscripts, and maps. And much of this project is determined by chance: by the toss of a pair of wooden dice, and mysterious clues pulled out of a 19th century trilby. A trilby is a hat. In case you didn’t know. At least I think it was a trilby...