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Come find out more about THE FAMILIARS and authors Andrew and Adam!
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With the release of The Familiars: Circle of Heroes this past Tuesday, we have been circling the blogosphere talking all things heroes. Here's where we've been so far!
Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile
Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf
Mundie Kids
The O.W.L.
Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Tif Talks Books
Writing on the Sidewalk
And we're not finished! We've still got a few more stops go go next week. So be sure to check back in, as we talk everyday heroes, favorite book and movie heroes, and my personal favorite question so far... what would be our hero theme song?
Electrifying Reviews
Literary Asylum
Page Turners Blog
Reading Tween
Hogwarts results are in: Batman, Hermione, Neo, King Arthur, Rocky, Lisbeth Salander, Jack Sparrow, and Indiana Jones win!
Things are really getting interesting now. We're moving on to the second round.
Here are all the match-ups (with each remaining competitor's odds of being crowned the ultimate hero).
KRYPTON BRACKET
Luke Skywalker (5:1)
Odysseus (75:1)
Frodo (75:1)
Thor (25:1)
Percy Jackson (50:1)
Lara Croft (100:1)
Wolverine (15:1)
Katniss Everdeen (8:1)
GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY BRACKET
Superman (1:1)Mario (100:1)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (5:1)Captain America (20:1)
Gandalf (30:1)Buffy the Vampire Slayer (75:1)
Scooby Doo (100:1)Han Solo (2:1)
MIDDLE EARTH BRACKET
Harry Potter (3:1)Iron Man (15:1)
Princess Leia (10:1)Spock (100:1)
John McClane (50:1)Sarah Connor (75:1)
Wonder Woman (5:1)James Bond (15:1)
HOGWARTS BRACKET
Batman (3:1)Hermione Granger (30:1)
Neo (50:1)King Arthur (75:1)
Rocky Balboa (100:1)Lisbeth Salander (75:1)
Jack Sparrow (15:1)Indiana Jones (2:1)
Odds to be the last hero standing:
1:1 Superman
2:1 Han Solo
2:1 Indiana Jones
3:1 Batman
3:1 Harry Potter
5:1 Luke Skywalker
5:1 Obi-Wan Kenobi
5:1 Wonder Woman
8:1 Katniss Everdeen
10:1 Princess Leia
15:1 Jack Sparrow
15:1 James Bond
15:1 Iron Man
15:1 Wolverine
20:1 Captain America
25:1 Thor
30:1 Gandalf
30:1 Hermione Granger
50:1 John McClane
50:1 Percy Jackson
50:1 Neo
75:1 Buffy the Vampire Slayer
75:1 Frodo
75:1 Lisbeth Salander
75:1 Odysseus
75:1 King Arthur
75:1 Sarah Connor
100:1 Lara Croft
100:1 Mario
100:1 Rocky Balboa
100:1 Scooby Doo
100:1 Spock
The votes from the Middle Earth Bracket are in... Harry Potter, Iron Man, Princess Leia, Spock, John McClane, Sarah Connor, Wonder Woman, and James Bond are moving on.
Now for the final first round match-ups, we go to the Hogwarts Bracket!
Batman vs. Lassie
It's the Caped Crusader versus your grandma's favorite Rough Collie in what can only be described as one of the most lop-sided match-ups in the Tournament's entire first round.
Winner: Batman
Hermione Granger vs. Sawyer from Lost
She's Hogwarts precocious Muggle-born wizard. He's the Island's resident bad boy and con man. Can smoldering good looks defeat adorkable magic?
Winner: Hermione Granger
Neo vs. He-Man
Will it be The One or the Master of the Universe in this epic showdown? By the power of Grayskull, your vote decides!
Winner: Neo
King Arthur vs. Ben-Hur
One wields the mythic sword in the stone. The other is a heck of a Roman chariot racer. It's a duel for the Ages.
Winner: King Arthur
Zorro vs. Rocky Balboa
The dashing black-clad masked outlaw steps in the ring with the linguistically challenged Italion Stallion. Who will get the knockout?
Winner: Rocky
Lisbeth Salander vs. Daredevil
It's the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the blind, red-suited Man with no Fear. Super hacker versus Super hero.
Winner: Lisbeth Salander
Jack Sparrow vs. MacGuyver
The legendary pirate of the Black Pearl goes up against the crafty secret agent in this first round hero smackdown. Will Mac's duct tape and Swiss Army knife be enough to stop Captain Jack?
Winner: Jack Sparrow
Indiana Jones vs. Eowyn
The archaelogist with the bullwhip (that doesn't sound nearly as cool as Indy deserves) takes on the Lord of the Rings shield-maiden.
Winner: Indiana Jones
Today, my five and a half year old daughter drew her first pictures of The Familiars. I told her that I would post them on the blog and she had a request to go along with it.
"Hi. My name is Penny. Could you send me a picture of the Familiars that you made? Bye."
Email the pictures to [email protected]. I think Penny would really appreciate it.
First the winners from our second day of Krypton Bracket match-ups: Percy Jackson, Lara Croft, Wolverine, and Katniss Everdeen.
Today we move into the Galaxy Far, Far Away Bracket.
Superman vs. Mace Windu
It's the man of steel against the purple light saber weilding jedi in a galactic smackdown. Will Mace prove to be Superman's kryptonite? Only your votes will decide.
Winner: Superman
Mario vs. Jason of the Argonauts
Plumber or sailor... who will take home the crown in this mash up. There will be no power-ups to rescue Mario today and Jason will have to wield his sword without his companions' aid. The Gods can favor only one.
Winner: Mario
Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Aquaman
Will Obi-Wan sleep with the fishes? Or will Aquaman feel the power of the force?
Winner: Obi Wan
Captain America vs. Snake EyesBoth fight for America. But only one can stand. Who will come out bearing the flag? Knowing is half the battle.
Winner: Captain America
In advance of the release of THE FAMILIARS #3 - CIRCLE OF HEROES (due out September 4, 2012) we are celebrating the heroes in our lives, those who have played an important role in making us who we are today.
In the weeks leading up to the 4th, we will also be hosting a tournament pitting the greatest fictional heroes of all time against one another. And by tallying your votes, only the ultimate hero will be left standing in the end.
Finally, we'll be inviting you to send in stories about your own heroes, the real people who have had an impact on your life. Parents, grandparents, teachers, and friends. We'll be featuring them here, on our Twitter feeds, and on our Facebook page. We want to know who's in your Circle of Heroes. The ones voted the most inspirational will win a signed copy of book #3.
Sony Pictures Animation celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2012 with a robust slate of upcoming films. Following box office hits and award-winning favorites like Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, The Smurfs and Open Season, Tartakovsky’s Hotel Transylvania is next up in September, after which Sony Pictures Animation will welcome the July 2013 release of The Smurfs 2, the follow-up to the 2011 global sensation. Cloudy 2: Revenge Of The Leftovers, a sequel to Sony Pictures Animation’s popular comedy, will reach theatres worldwide in February 2014. Also now in development are Popeye; The Familiars, directed by Doug Sweetland (who previously helmed the Academy Award ® nominated Pixar short Presto) and co-directed by Fergal Reilly; Kazorn And The Unicorn, with Kelly Asbury (Shrek 2, Gnomeo & Juliet) at the helm and co-directed by Troy Quane; and Pooch Cafe, based on Paul Gilligan’s popular, long-running comic strip.
Exciting news! Here is the Publishers Weekly Announcement for our brand new book series, STARBOUNDERS, coming in March 2013. See the full story here. In the second deal, which was for two books, Hoffmann sold North American rights to a tween sci-fi series called Starbounders by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson. Barbara Lalicki at HarperCollins Children’s Books is the acquiring editor. Epstein and Jacobson are the authors of the successful middle-grade fantasy series The Familiars (which is also published by Harper and is currently in development at Sony Animation); Starbounders is about a boy who leaves his quiet suburban home to train at a secret academy called Indigo 8, which produces "starfighters." The first book in the series is scheduled for March 2013.
So interesting to see the differences between the artwork in the U.S. version of The Familiars and the foreign translations. Here take a look at the very different interpretations of the scene from Book One when the familiars battle Agdaleen and her Octopot. The first illustration is in the US copy. The second one is in the German version.
These foreign book covers are always so much fun... especially the German ones! Here's Aldwyn, Skylar, and Gilbert front and center for Animal Wizards: Das Geheimnis der Krone.
Sunshine State Young Readers Award
In exciting news, The Familiars has been nominated for the 2012-2013 Sunshine State Young Readers Award Grades 3-5. We're so excited that young Floridians will be discovering our book series. Hopefully, all those kids who enjoy the first will also love book 2 (The Familiars: Secrets of the Crown) and book 3 (The Familiars: Circle of Heroes.)
Stay tuned later this week for a huge announcement about The Familiars book series!
See the list here.
We thought we'd share a few websites that just might help expand your mind and vision! Because when we're not writing, we're always searching for creative inspiration.
Brain Pickings is your LEGO treasure chest, full of pieces across art, design, science, technology, philosophy, history, politics, psychology, sociology, ecology, anthropology, you-name-itology. Pieces that enrich your mental pool of resources and empower you to combine them into original concepts that are stronger, smarter, richer, deeper and more impactful — a modest, curiosity-driven exercise in vision- and mind-expansion.
Because creativity, after all, is a combinatorial force. It’s our ability to tap into the mental pool of resources — ideas, insights, knowledge, inspiration — that we’ve accumulated over the years just by being present and alive and awake to the world, and to combine them in extraordinary new ways. In order for us to truly create and contribute to the world, we have to be able to connect countless dots, to cross-pollinate ideas from a wealth of disciplines, to combine and recombine these ideas and build new ideas — like LEGOs. The more of these building blocks we have, and the more diverse their shapes and colors, the more interesting our creations will become.
Visit Brain Pickings here.
The 99% is Behance’s research arm and think tank. Taking its name from Thomas Edison’s famous quote that “genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration,” the 99% includes a daily web magazine, an annual conference, and the best-selling book “Making Ideas Happen.” Through articles, tips, videos, and events, we share best practices that help creative professionals move beyond idea generation into idea execution.
Visit The 99% here.
TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design.
Visit TED here.Big Think is a knowledge forum. In our digital age, we’re drowning in information. The web offers us infinite data points—news stories, tweets, wikis, status updates, etc—but very little to connect the dots or illuminate the larger patterns linking them together.
Here at Big Think, we believe that success in the future is about knowing the ideas that allow you to manage and master this universe of information. Therefore, we aim to help you move above and beyond random information, toward real knowledge, offering big ideas from fields outside your own that you can apply toward the questions and challenges in your own life.
Every idea on Big Think comes from our ever-growing network of 2,000 Big Think fellows and guest speakers, who comprise the top thinkers and doers from around the globe. Our editorial team regularly sources ideas from these experts, asking them about the most important ideas in their respective fields. Our editors then sift through the submitted ideas and determine which qualify to appear on Big Think, subjecting each to our simple, three-pronged standard geared to your interests:
a) significance — how will this idea change the world and impact your life?
b) relevance — what groups and individuals does this idea most affect?
c) application — how can this idea change the way you think or act?
Big Think's editorial t
Over the past few months, THE FAMILIARS has been landing on the short list for a number of different regional awards. So far, we have been nominated for:
2013 Beehive Children's Best Middle Grade Book (Granite School District, Salt Lake City)
See all the nominees here.
The Bluestem Award: Illinois' Grades 3-5 Readers' Choice Award
See all the nominees here.
2012-2013 Nominee for the Mark Twain Award (Missouri Association of School Librarians)
See all the nominees here.
The Golden Sower Award (Nebraska Library Association)
See all the nominees here.
The 2012 Nene Award (Hawaii)
See all the nominees here.
EB White Read-Aloud Best Middle Grade
See all the honorees here.
Thanks to all of the kids who have discovered THE FAMILIARS and made it one of their new favorites!
http://www.facebook.com/thefamiliars#!/thefamiliars
Come get all the latest news on The Familiars. Giveaways, updates, and more!
The Familiars is happy to announce that it will be featured as one of the "Best I've Read" titles of 2010!
There are 9 Young Adult Blogs Participating:
Yara @ Once Upon a Twilight
Katie @ Mundie Moms
Stacey & Amber @ Page Turners Blog
Christin & Louise @ Between The Covers Blog
Kate @ A Reader's Ramblings
Heather @ Fire and Ice Photo
Jenn @ Late Bloomer Online
Cindy @ Books Complete Me
Kathy @ I Am A Reader, Not A Writer (ME)
The website for the event will be live on Friday, November 12:
http://bestiveread.blogspot.com
Adam and Andrew are interviewed in this month's SCRIPT MAGAZINE. Read it here!
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