G-Man’s Blog

Okay … ZOOBREAK didn’t win, but I want to thank all of you for voting. The awards ceremony was a real Who’s Who of the kidsbook world, featuring Jeff Kinney, Suzanne Collins, Judy Blume, James Patterson, Katherine Patterson, Mo Williams and his ex-ambassadorship himself, Jon Sciezska.

It was really cool to be a part of it, which is why I didn’t start throwing furniture around when ZOOBREAK didn’t bring home the hardware.

Seriously, though, it was a blast to be nominated. I’m thrilled that SWINDLE and ZOOBREAK have brought in so many new fans. I can’t wait for FRAMED in the fall.

I’m going to be in another star-studded Scholastic webcast! On Friday at 1:00 pm I’ll be facing off against fellow authors RL Stine, Lisa Yee, and Christopher Paul Curtis in Scholastic’s SUMMER READING CHALLENGE LIVE.

It’s going to be a game show format, hosted by the Ambassador of Kid Lit himself - Jon Scieszka. It should be a blast!

You can log in at scholastic.com. Since most of you will be in school at the time, tell your teachers. There should be hundreds of thousands of classes watching.

Hope you can check it out.

Heads up to LA-area fans that I’m going to be appearing at the LA Times Festival of Books - at UCLA - on Saturday, April 24th!

I’ll be signing at the CM School Supply booth at 10:30 … the Whale of a Tale booth at 11:00… before my Tween the Lines panel with DJ McHale and Pseuonymous Bosch (12:30 pm, 100 Moore Hall). After that, one more signing - the main festival autographing - from 1:30-2:30.

I’m so pumped up to be a part of this amazing festival for the first time. Hope to see you all there!

Great news — ZOOBREAK is up for best 5th-6th grade book of the year!

Voting is open to the public, so visit http://www.bookweekonline.com/voting/5-6 and cast your online ballot for the only nominee that features The Man With The Plan, the team of kids that heisted a million-dollar baseball card, a reformed attack dog, and forty-something fugitive zoo animals. If that isn’t worth Book of the Year, I don’t know what is.

Represent!

… for THE EMPEROR’S CODE, the 8th 39 CLUES book, and my last contribution to this ground-breaking series.

Not that I want to distract anyone from the huge Book 8 launch tomorrow, but Entertainment Weekly online has released the titles and covers of Book 9 and 10, the final two instalments. Check it out at http://shelf-life.ew.com/2010/04/05/exclusive-news-about-the-39-clues/

And don’t forget to tell me what you think of THE EMPEROR’S CODE when it comes out tomorrow!

Happy spring!

I’m so psyched for the release of THE 39 CLUES BOOK 8: THE EMPEROR’S CODE on Tuesday. It has been such a thrill ride to be part of this amazing series.

In a way, I think I’m even more excited about THE EMPEROR’S CODE than I was for ONE FALSE NOTE back at the start of the clue hunt. It was great to be part of the birth of the series, but now I’ve had a chance to see what so many other talented writers have done with Amy and Dan and the Cahill clan. It was such a blast to return to the hunt near the end of the quest.

I talk to the other authors all the time. And while we agree that we love one another’s books, there’s also an element of competition to THE 39 CLUES. We’re all striving to raise the action and the stakes to level that’s never quite been reached before.

Have I succeeded with THE EMPEROR’S CODE? On Tuesday, April 6th, we’re all going to find out!

Gordon

For all clue-hunters waiting to hear about Book 8, I’m happy to say that the wait is almost over. Book 8, THE EMPEROR’S CODE hits the stores on April 6th, and there’s a cover preview online now. Just go to www.the39clues.com/theemperorscode to see the new cover.

Even better, the cover illustrations includes four hints that point toward the location of the Book 8 clue. Just use your mouse to move the magnifying glass over the picture.

Happy hunting!

Hi,all. Thought you might like to know that POP has been reviewed in the Valentine’s Day edition of the NY Times Book Review. Check it out at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/books/review/Sandomir-t.html?ref=books

Believe it or not, this is the first time in 32 years that one of my books has been reviewed there. (I had a profile in the regular NY Times way, way back when I was still the “kid” author, but this is my first official review!)

Greetings from Houston, Texas! Just wanted to remind all 39 Clues fans that Book 7 - THE VIPER’S NEST - is coming out today. It’s by the incomparable Peter Lerangis, who also wrote Book 3, so we can all look forward to another heart-pounding thrill-ride for Amy and Dan as the stakes get even higher in the clue hunt.

And, of course, the arrival of THE VIPER’S NEST starts the countdown to my next 39 Clues novel - Number 8 - coming April 6th.

See you on the hunt!

Happy New Year! Thanks for checking back in!

I think 2010 is going to be a great year. Busy - isn’t it always - but really exciting, especially for series fans.

We start it off with the 8th 39 CLUES, which coomes out April 6th. I still can’t reveal the title - all this Clue hunt secrecy takes some getting used to. (I’ll probably be authorized to tell you more when Book 7 comes out in February).

And, of course Swoobreakle (i.e, SWINDLE, ZOOBREAK, The Man With The Plan, etc.) continues in the fall with FRAMED, the third book in that series. That’s what I’m finalizing right now.

But to be honest, what I’m really wrapped up in at the moment is TITANIC. It won’t be published until 2011, but, wow, what an unbelievable story! I guess that’s why the Titanic thing keeps “resurfacing” decade after decade - even 98 years after the sinking.

And, of course, I’ll be on the road a ton, doing my usual school and library visits, meeting my readers to spread the word about projects old and new!

Best wishes for a fantastic 2010. See you on the site!

Gordon