Author: W. C. Peever
Publisher: Savant Books & Publications, 296 pages (July 23, 2010)
Order Online: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Synopsis: Charlie is an awkward twelve-year old living a normal life till he is abducted and thrust into a world of ever-looming danger, a world of Magic, of Angry Gods, and Creatures that are should only exist inside of fairytales. Charlie and his three friends must unravel the mysteries of their new found abilities, save the father Charlie has never known, and uncover a secret that will change their lives forever.
The Jumper Chronicles: Quest for Merlin’s Map is the first book in the Jumper Chronicles series by author W. C. Peever. Quest for Merlin’s Map has already caused a stir prompting Bookfinds to call it “the best young adult fantasy in a long time, and The Midwest Book Review to praise it as “a riveting read, very highly recommended.” You can purchase the first book in the series on Amazon.com and BN.com right now and in a bookstore near you after the new year. If you would like to know more, or join one of the many contests surrounding this book please visit http://www.jumperchronicles.com/.
Six thousand years ago the Norse Gods were forced to leave their creations on Earth to fight an epic civil war. They charged the Druids of Britton with the protection of the human race while they were away, imbuing them with all of their abilities. The Gods never returned, and their abilities were passed down through the ages. Twelve year old Charlie Burrows is one of the most powerful of these descendants; he just does not realize it. That is, until today. Now the fate of humanity and the life of the father he never knew lie in the balance as he and his new friends struggle to discover the truth about the object the Merlin hid in both space and time.
How would you describe The Jumper Chronicles?
I think it would be best to let Charlie describe the book, after all he is the main character.
“Hi, my name is Charlie Burrows. I am twelve years old and am currently running for my life, I really don’t even have time to talk to you, so I need to make it brief. Eight months ago I discovered that I was a descendant of the ancient Druids of England. Big deal right? That’s what I thought too until my best friend (also a descendant) Bailey stared to be able to hurl huge boulders in the air using her mind, and I was able to jump into alternative dimensions. Ya…we have x-men like abilities that our parents never told us about! Thanks so much mom. You would think they could have at least been honest with us when we asked them to check for monsters under the bed. ‘Yes dear, that is just an escaped troll from the fourth kingdom, animal control is on their way.” To be fair my father who disappeared when I was two is the one who should have told me, but like I said he disappeared. So I was transported, well kidnapped really to this huge castle in Scotland where they train freaks like me to be part of the Order…which is too hard to explain right now, because I have the entire Vanari (Bad guys) army trying to find me before I can decode this ancient map that Merlin (my great great…really great grandfather, left behind. So to cap it off, it has been a rough year of dealing with my new abilities, trying to pass algebra, finding a father I never remember meeting and trying to keep humanity alive. Ok that splintering wood sound is the front door of the castle, I have to run. If you want to learn more about me, than read this book, but you’re probably better off not knowing, because I have not had a solid night sleep since I learned that monsters under the bed are actually real.
Where did you come up with the concept of The Jumper Chronicles?
When Abby (my first daughter) turned one, my wife and I decided that I would “temporarily retire” from teaching high school science and become a full time stay at home father. The decision was completely voluntary on my part and made a great deal of sense considering the fact that she made a great deal more money than me. I thought I had it made, play with my daughter, wash a few dishes and watch Ellen with my morning coffee. What didn’t occur to me at the time was that I was going from teaching organic chemistry and advanced placement environmental science to playing with a toddler, listening to Barney, The Wiggles and Big Bird. At some point, my brain started to feel like oatmeal…and not the nice steal cut kind… I am talking instant just add water. So my wife suggested I write; it was always a simple pleasure of mine, writing, and reading. So I looked out of the window of my sea side house in Massachusetts, it was a cold night in early January, the snow was drifting in that lazy way it dances across the street…and I wrote this sentence “The Wind howled outside the small, colonial blue, seacoast home, as February bared its teeth in the small New England town of Marblehead.” I had no idea where I was going to go from there, no plan, nothing…slowly the story just took on a life of its own; every chapter I wrote was a surprise for me! It was like reading one of those chose your own adventure stories that I grew up with. I was enthralled, and I fell in love with Bailey, Tillie, Charlie and Mick. A great deal of the story you are reading today was not in the first draft, I had an enormous amount of editing and re-editing to do but I am pleased with the end result. So pleased that I have written the second book; Path of the Templar was planned however, not as much fun, but a better book for it!
Would it completely shock you to find out that I had never in my life thought I would become a writer? It just never was on my mind as a possible path for me. Looking back over my life, I realize that I have always wanted to entertain people, I was the first to tell the ghost story around the campfire, the lead in all of my high school plays, the captain of my lacrosse team…I loved entertaining people, but I never thought I could make a living out of writing, because I am not a very serious person, I am a joker. In high school everyone in writing class tried so hard to be deep, the words “pregnant with meaning” were thrown around in every class. Everyone took themselves so seriously…I hated it! College was the same thing; I remember one night I was so sick of hearing about the new dark poetry readings that I stood up in the dining hall and announced that I would be reading from Harry Potter that night in my dorm. I got disgusted looks from all of the “serious” writers, as if I was the scum of the earth. But I had my reading, and to my surprise people actually showed up…not a lot of people, but people that I am friends with to this day.
That was a very long analogy-story that did not answer your question. But I needed to express that I am not a writer, I am a story teller who puts his words on paper and binds them in a book. I am sure that all the “serious” writers would agree that I am not one of them. As I am equally sure that the Judith Blacks and Odd Bodkins (my favorite story tellers) of the world would welcome me with open arms.
What inspired you to create the character Charlie? Do any of Charlie’s characteristics, qualities, or childhood relate to your own?
My sister read the book and then immediately facebooked me with a question. “Is Charlie you? I mean you grew up without a dad; your best friends have always been girls; you went to a private school; you were kind of a dork…” I will stop there as she gets kind of personal! When I wrote Charlie, the only trait I thought I was giving him was the name of my grandfather, but what my sister said really hit me. I guess part of Charlie came from me. It was unintentional, and fully conceived by my subconscious, but…a good chunk of who Charlie is…is me.
If you could save one character from The Jumper Chronicles in the event of a disaster, which one would it be? Why?
{Laughing} Sorry, this was exactly the question that I asked myself when I was writing the second book…and I do something particularly {spoiler} to one of the characters in the book, based on the answer. Let see here. The selfish part of me wants to save Bailey, because she was based on someone I love quite a bit. But if I had to shove that testosterone filled, protective lion in the closet and save based on importance…it would have to be Charlie. Without him, well…Let’s just say this. Charlie is the key to everything, the fulcrum between good and evil…losing Charlie would unleash hell.
What is your favorite line from The Jumper Chronicles?
“Then we are in this together?” said Charlie
“Guess so,” they replied as one and walked to the dining hall, not to celebrate their victory but to toast their friendship.”
I will not tell you where in the book this falls, to avoid any potential spoilers, but to me these lines represent what this book is all about. Friendship. In the next book Mick makes a joke about a fellowship, and gets teased incessantly about being a Lord of the Rings geek, but I wrote it in there because that’s exactly the word that sums up the entire feeling of the book.
These kids have been thrown into a world of monster, vengeful Gods, backstabbing friends, and that’s just high school! Forget that they have super-normal abilities, they would not make it one moment alone. Mick can heal, Bailey can toss things with her mind, Tillie can see the future, and Charlie can get them to where they need to be to save their world. Separately their powers are useless, but together they have a chance, a slim chance, but a chance.
Life is all about the friends and family we have, because in the end that’s all that matters.
What advice would you give to budding writers?
Read as much as you can, and don’t limit yourself to general that you think you’re in love in, you will miss out on so many other books that are out there!
That’s the first bit of advice. The second comes from the five to ten pieces of writing that are sent to me every week, from fans who want help with their writing. Description is key! You should feel, smell, taste, and bleed with the characters that you read. I read so many chapters where I find myself creating a setting in my mind only to have that illusion crashed when the author finally decides to add a bit of description. It ruins the flow of the book. You as an author are in control of what the reader feels and sees… so TAKE CONTROL!
What does it mean to be a writer?
For me it means creating a world for my readers to escape into. Our lives can be boring, normal, busy, scary…well they run the gambit. But every once in a while it’s nice to just escape into a world not our own. For me I love YA fiction, because it seems that YA, is the only medium that takes our normal world, and can make it supernatural, and still make us believe that this supernatural world could possible exist. We muggles just can’t see Hogwards. The mist keeps us non Demi-Gods away from the empire states building’s real top floor. And Buffy’s sacrifice keeps the vampires from my door. It’s the writers job to create a world that suits every one of us, and it is up to we the readers to find that world.
What books are currently on your bedside table?
The Lost Hero, Artemis Foul book six, and Reckless are on my bedside table, and The Search for the Red Dragon, book two in the Imaginarium Geographica is on my ipod which I listen to doing chores around the house as a stay at home dad/servant.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
I grew up with C.S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Susan Cooper, Norton Juster. They were more than writers, and more than story tellers, these men and women were world builders. Who could read their novels and not feel the brush of a mink coat across your face, hear the roar of Aslan, shiver with Bilbo in Gollum’s cave, and find the signs to save humanity in the world around us.
Later J. K. Rowling would be added to this list of world builders, and make it on my list of people who inspired me to put my stories to writing.
What are you currently working on?
Becoming super dad…the cape is being designed by the woman from The Incredibles… I hear it is FABULOUS! Editing book two PATH OF THE TEMPLAR, sketching out another series and pondering on Book Three of The Jumper Chronicles. Right now there is a lot on my plate, I love writing, I love my fans, but I do not want to miss a moment in my baby girl’s life, so they come first. That’s not to say I am not chained to my desk when their lights go out, it just mean I have my priorities where they need to be.
Bill, or is it W.C.?
{Laughing} I like Bill a whole lot better, W. C. was my publisher’s idea.
Bill, is there anything else you would like to add before I let you go?
Yes, thank you. I would like all of your readers ages 11-19 to know that Savant and I are holding a contest to find the next J.K. Rowling! You can find all of the information on my website www.jumperchronicles.com but basically you send me a chapter of your writing, and the best chapter wins the honor of being published! The last contest we ran for a cover artist was crazy, and we expect this one to be as well. After all, it would be a huge deal fro someone so young to be published, we are talking College applications to finding yourself an agent later in life! Anyhow I am really excited about it, so check it out. And thank you so very much for having me as a guest on your blog.
Cheers,
Bill
Thanks so much for stopping by Bill! It was great
to have you here.
Find W.C. / Bill Online:
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Quest for Merlin's Map!!
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Contest ends: Dec. 6th, 2010
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Thank you such detailed answers Bill! As a fellow Harry Potter fan, I can't blame you for passing up the poetry for a little HP time.
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