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 That's right, folks, you can now listen to Up the Creek, Unlimited, and The Water War, all of them narrated by Kimberley, BC's own Tanner De Bruyne. The audiobook versions are available on Amazon, Audible, ACX, and Apple Books. You can listen to the first chapter of The Water War for free here. They'll make for great listening on that end-of-summer road trip!
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The reviewer, Amy Westbury, was really hard on my first book, but I am continuing to win her over, getting 4 out of 5 stars! A brief excerpt: ". . . this third outing is an enjoyable read ripe with the fun of heat waves and summer vacation . . . a great choice for those looking for an engaging middle-school novel with a cavalcade of boisterous boys and humorous hijinks." You can read the full review here.
I've made a couple of forays into Manitoba this year as part of my multi-leg book tour for The Water War. While in Portage La Prairie, the local radio station came down to do a brief story, which you can see here.  It was a lot of fun, especially the chance to connect by phone with Rick and Glenn Larson, the two guys who inspired the original idea for the book. Have listen here.
Wow, what a great surprise to find another five-star review of The Water War on Goodreads. And this one's a doozy! Here's an excerpt: I think this is a great quality series (from a Canadian author!) that should be read to all children! Put this book in school libraries, use it for reading buddies, use it for library events and spread the word around! There are few books out there that have so much fun packed into one little book AND have a great theme. Read the full review here.
A brief excerpt: "I loved “The Water War”, a story that will intrigue and bring laughter to the younger patrons of my local library." You can read the full review here. But be warned: it contains a couple of spoilers!
As I've noted previously on this blog, The Water War was inspired in part by a game of Assassin that took place in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, in 1984 or 1985. The organizers were Rick and Glenn Larson, two college students looking to liven things up while at home for the summer. I dedicated the book in part to them and tried to track them down, to no avail. However, all that changed this morning. Hot cup of coffee in hand, I turned on my computer and found an email from Rick and Glenn's younger sister, Coreen, who happens to work at CBC Radio in Regina. She had seen a press release I sent out about the book and reached out to me with a brief note and the photo below. So great to finally make a connection with the family and know that, within a couple of weeks, the guys will have a chance to read the novel they helped inspire.  So glad to see this story run, seeing as The Water War was inspired in large part by n article I read in the The Yorkton Enterprise newspaper way back in 1984. You can read story here.
I just received this email from a school librarian in Saskatchewan, located fairly close to where I grew up. I was so excited to read your email and to find out the third book in your series is finally available! I have had students read and re-read the first two books, and at least one student a week has asked about the third in the series. I'm scheduled to hit the road again at the end of January, staring in Saskatchewan. If you're interested in bringing me to your school, use the contact page on this website to reach me.
You've no doubt heard about "back of the envelope ideas." Well, that's exactly how the cover concept for The Water War came about. This past August, I was in an airport somewhere in the American Midwest in production on my latest documentary when I decided it was time to get Kierston going on the cover. So, as my son and I were eating lunch, I quickly sketched up the following.  I sent it off to Kierston, along with a brief description of the scene, and she was off to the races. Her ability to interpret such horrid drawings is just one of the many reasons I enjoy working with her so much.
To see more of her work, check out her website. To see the finished version of the cover, visit my store--and pre-order a copy! |
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