Here at team Spradlin we are constantly working to bring you the best most fascinating books possible. Using the latest technology we look a variety of metrics, meta-data, verticals and other such buzzwords (and we have no idea what they mean) to bring you exciting stories, complex characters and books that will hopefully leave you wanting more. One of the most frequent questions I’m asked by readers is “What are you writing now?”

The answer to that question can vary. For example right this moment I just wrote the words ‘right this moment.’ Now I am writing different words. But I know that I just tricked you and what most of you want to know what BOOKS am I writing next. And the answer to that question is: it depends. Now that I’ve sucked you into this blog with vague and annoying answers to questions I’ve posed myself, I’m ready to tell you about my next project. Right after I tell this story. (Seriously, I’m getting to it. Relax.)

One of the great things about being a writer is getting to meet other writers. Almost nine years ago, I was invited to a Children’s Literature Festival at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri. It was after my first book The Legend of Blue Jacket had been published (which School Library Journal called “a well-researched labor of love, beautifully and accurately illustrated, just sayin’…) and it was my initial introduction to conferences and lit festivals. And at this conference, I happened to meet Roland and Marie Smith. Mainly, I got to meet them a lot because at this conference we stayed in a dorm/conference center and I kept locking them out of our shared bathroom. So embarrassing.

Anyhoo, Roland and Marie and many other authors and illustrators I met there have become great friends. And as you write more books, you go to more conferences and see your friends throughout the year, and talk about books and writing. And at a conference last year Roland and I were talking and he mentioned his very popular I,Q series. He was working on book 3 . And he really wanted to do more books but like many of us, he had a lot of other projects in the works and wasn’t sure he could devote more time to it past Book 3. Then he looked at me and said “Hey! Why don’t you write the next three books? We’ll work out an outline and story arc and then you can pick up the characters and story in Book 4 and continue on with them! It’ll be awesome!” So I did what any writer would do. I looked at Roland and said: “‘kay.” Then he got in touch with the publisher and they said “‘kay.” And it was done.

This story does not have a beginning or an end without Roland Smith, a kind an generous man. So we will be teaming up. I get to be the Robin to his Batman. The Hutch to his Starsky. The ah…er…co-writer of the next three I,Q books! It’s like being asked to take the Ferrari for a spin. You just try to hold on through the curves and hope you don’t crash it.

My recommendation to you is to go out and pick up the first book I,Q: Independence Hall and dive right in. (To the book. Not Independence Hall. They tend to frown on that.) I,Q tells the story of Qwest and his step-sister Angela. Their parents are famous musicians, recently married, who take off on a cross-country tour. Along the way, Qwest learns that Angela’s mother was a Secret Service Agent who died in the line of duty. But everything is not as it seems, and when a mysterious terrorist organization called The Ghost Cell surfaces, Angela learns a terrible secret. And she and Qwest, along with the mysterious roadie ‘Boone’ are drawn into a web of intrigue that follows them where ever they go. Like all of Roland’s books, I,Q is full of action, suspense, fantastic characters and  intrigue. You’re going to love them. The second book is I,Q: The White House and this October comes I,Q: Kitty Hawk.

And I’m just going to try to make sure I don’t crash the Ferrari.

Your authorness

Michael P. Spradlin

Visit the I,Q website!

www.iqtheseries.com

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

But the thing about reading is, it’s a personal choice. And I know the subject matter of The Hunger Games would be difficult for me to deal with. Reading is an intense emotional experience for me. And I’m certain the idea of children being forced to fight to the death for food, no matter the reasons or circumstances, would bother me. Again. I don’t have a problem with Suzanne Collins writing about it, people reading it or watching it on the screen. I want to be clear. It just not for me. I know a lot of authors, but I’ve never met Suzanne Collins. But from reading about her she seems like an imminently likable, nice person and and an obviously talented writer. I congratulate her on her success. But I won’t be reading her books. At least not The Hunger Games.

I realize it sounds like a contradiction for me to say, as someone who has written about the Third Crusade in my Youngest Templar series, a particularly violent period of human history, that I don’t want to read a book like this. My characters face battles and death and all things the people of that era faced. But I also try to show them avoiding violence whenever possible. Resorting to violence only when it’s necessary to defend themselves or someone else. I also try to show that violence has consequences. It changes a person.

And I understand the concept behind The Hunger Games of a young girl doing what she feels she must to save herself and her family. But as a father, upon reading the books or seeing the movies, and cursed with a vivid imagination, I know I would imagine my own children in a similar predicament and it would upset me. I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it. I tend to do this all the time. I love reading Dennis Lehane for example, but I have never read his book Gone Baby, Gone because it deals with a kidnapped young girl. I know I would instantly imagine my own daughter in that situation and become emotionally distraught by it. I can’t watch movies or TV shows or read books where children face this kind of danger. Like I said, it’s a personal thing. Maybe it is a naive viewpoint, heck it probably is. But its how I feel. Maybe I’m just a big ole wuss.

But I will watch the success of The Hunger Games with a smile. I rejoice in the fact that we live in a place where books like The Hunger Games are published. Where books that inspire, teach, entertain, speak to and sometimes even anger people, are readily available. And I’ll especially rejoice that we live in a place where we are free to make our own choices.

So if you’re going to the movie this weekend, I hope you enjoy the experience. If you are a parent taking your child to see it, I congratulate you for allowing books like The Hunger Games to be read in your home. I hope you’ll discuss it with each other, reveling in the parts that spoke to you. And when the movie is over, I sincerely hope you’ll stop by the bookstore or library on your way home and pick out something else to read.

I would love to know your point of view. Are you going to the movie? Have you read the books? Love them? Not love them? If not why not? Tell me what you think. No spoilers please for those who may not have read the books or seen the movie.

Your authorness,

Michael P. Spradlin

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

It’s hard to believe we are almost a month and a half into the year 2012. The last year of human existence if you believe the Mayans. Personally, I think they just ran out of space on the rock.

I see it sort of like this. Two Mayans carving the calendar into a rock…

Carver 1: “2010…2011…2012…uh, dude we’re out of space. Bigger rock?”
Carver 2: “No. I’m good.”

So just in case, and because this blog is mostly about me, I’m giving myself a reverse promotional calendar! Luckily all my new books this year will be out before the world ends in December. So in reverse order, here is what readers have to ‘luck’ forward too in 2012.

The way the publication has aligned for Blood Riders my first adult novel almost makes me believe in stuff like the Mayan calendar. Blood Riders will go on sale on September 25, 2012 which also happens to be my 30th wedding anniversary. It’s a fitting day for my venture into the world of writing for grownups for there is no one who has helped me become a better adult than my loving, lovely and gracious wife of thirty years. What can I say? I married up. And I’m the luckiest man in the world.

Blood Riders is what we call in the writing game a ‘mash-up.’ It takes several genre conventions and mixes them together for what I hope will be a fast-paced, action packed thrill ride. It starts on the plains of the Eastern Wyoming Territory in the 1870′s. Captain Jonas Hollister leads a platoon of troopers on a search party for a missing group of settlers. He finds their camp, with the settlers apparently murdered by Lakota raiders. His instincts warn him that something is wrong and when he and his men enter the camp, they are set upon by the settlers who have come to life. Only they are no longer human. His men are killed, and only the rising sun saves Hollister from death.

Of course the army doesn’t believe his wild tales of strange creatures. He is court-martialed and cashiered from the Army and thrown into Leavenworth prison. There he spends his days digging wells, until one day the famous detective Allan Pinkerton shows up with an offer for Hollister. These creatures have been killing again. There is a survivor and this time, as the son of a famous politician, he is believed. Pinkerton offers Hollister a chance at redemption. Find these creatures kill them. And you’ll be pardoned.

Hollister knows what he is up against. He has seen what these creatures can do. With a few conditions, Hollister sets off with Pinkerton and another inmate from Leavenworth, a young man named Chee. With the help of Pinkerton and some of his associates Dr. Abraham van Helsing and Oliver Winchester among others. In a specially outfitted train he follows the trail until it leads him to these creatures who have grown in strength and numbers. And he and Chee encounter a mysterious woman named Shaniah who is also tracking the creatures for her own reasons.

As I said, there is action, adventure, steam-punk, the supernatural and as with all of my books, lots of stuff blows up.
You can read more about the book on my Coming Soon page. And it’s now available for pre-order at all of your favorite booksellers. Think of it as The Wild, Wild West meets The X-Files.

August 17th is the publication date for The Monster Alphabet my newest picture book for young readers. With the most delightful illustrations by artist Jeff Weigel, readers can follow Morgan Marvin Marshall the world’s best monster hunter as he travels the world looking to find a monster for every letter of the alphabet. In full color and priced at only $7.99 you won’t want to miss this one. It’s also available for pre-order and you can see more of the illustrations on my Coming Soon page.

This summer (date to come) will see the publication of my very first short story Running With Geronimo in Boy’s Life Magazine. It’s a thrill for me to be published in Boy’s Life, which has published authors like Jack London, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. It’s a thrill and an honor to be published there.

So there you have it! The entire year in reverse chronological order. While you look for these books, I’ll be busy storing up on canned goods and bottled water. You know. Just in case the Mayans are right. So I hope you’ll stock up on these books and get copies for your and your friends. I mean if the apocalypse actually happens, you’re going to need something to read!

Your authorness

Michael P. Spradlin

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Author writes first book SPY GODDESS: LIVE AND LET SHOP. Gets great reviews. A nomination from Mystery Writers of America for Best Young Adult Mystery. Fans rejoice.

Author writes second book SPY GODDESS: TO HAWAII, WITH LOVE. More great reviews. More fan rejoicing.

Author writes third book SPY GODDESS: THE SPY WHO TOTALLY HAD A CRUSH ON ME and…the publisher says “Sorry no more Spy Goddess novels.”

Ouch.

We try a couple of Manga versions of Spy Goddess to see if that will work. It doesn’t. And I get angry letters from readers who ‘hate’ manga and actually ‘curse’ me for turning their beloved novels into ‘cartoons’.

So the manuscript sits there lonely on my hard drive, yearning to breathe free. Fans continue to email and send letters. Actual hand-written letters, asking me when the next book will be out. And all I can tell them is there won’t be another book.

Except now there is. While all of this time passed, these things like I-Pads and Nooks and Kindles and Kobo’s and Lions and Tigers and Bears started cropping up all over the place. And I started thinking, I bet if I could put SPY GODDESS: THE SPY WHO TOTALLY HAD A CRUSH ON ME out as an ebook, people would buy it. So will they? Time will tell. But if you’ve been waiting for more adventures of Rachel Buchanan and Mr. Kim and Blackthorn Academy this new book picks up right where SPY GODDESS: TO HAWAII, WITH LOVE left off. For all intents and purposes the Manga never happened. Never. Happened.

I’m considering this as an experiment. If it works, then more Spy Goddess books could follow. I hope you’ll pick up…err…download a copy (I’ll never get used to saying that) and let me know what you think.

And tell all your friends!

Your authorness!

Michael P. Spradlin

PS For those of you who don’t have an e-reader, fear not, follow this link and you can download a PDF that you read on a computer!

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/98104

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Neither the Green Arrow or Hawkeye are what could be considered major characters in the Marvel or DC Universes. As I’m always saying, anyone can be a Superman or Spiderman fan but it takes real dedication to favor the Red Tornado or Nightwing. And for a long time the only place where I could find the Green Arrow or Hawkeye was when they teamed up with another more popular character or they went to the Justice League (Green Arrow) or Avengers (Hawkeye) meetings. In those cases my two favorite archers might get off a wise crack or two and that would be it.

I was thrilled, when I found that Marvel had started a new four issue series called Hawkeye: Blindspot. And when I read it, I was even more thrilled, not just because it’s a great story, but it’s also a great introduction for young readers to learn about a member of the Avengers. And remember how I’ve said that we have an opportunity to use the power of popular culture to inspire kids to read? Hawkeye: Blindspot is a great place to start because next summer we’ll see him in the Avengers Movie in theatre’s everywhere and Hawkeye will have a major role. Reading Blindspot will give your young reader an introduction to Hawkeye and his role in the Avenger universe as well a summary of his life story and how he became a hero and an Avenger whom Captain America himself said “might be the very best of us.” (Also, if you’ve seen the Thor movie, you’ve already seen a cameo by Jeremy Renner who will star as Hawkeye in the Avengers movie).

So here are four reasons why you should try out Hawkeye: Blindspot on your reluctant reader.

1) It tells Hawkeye’s story, so you need not have read anything about him before you read Blindspot

2) It’s a great story filled with action and a great premise. Hawkeye is the worlds greatest archer. But on a mission he is injured and is losing his vision. Not a good thing if you’re an archer.

3) A villain from Hawkeye’s pasts shows up and Hawkeye, like all heroes and despite his handicap, most find a way to stop this evil person from wreaking havoc on the innocent.

4) As mentioned next summer The Avengers will be the biggest movie events of the summer. Hawkeye will help your young reader get up to speed on what is sure to be a fantastic movie event. And who knows. They just might want to read more!

And that’s the point of it all, isn’t it!

Your authorness,

Michael Spradlin

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Lately, I’ve been on a crusade to encourage kids to read more comics. I’ve also been trying to inspire teachers, librarians and parents to let kids read more comics. I think we now have a tremendous opportunity with Hollywood cranky out so many movies based on comics and graphic novels, to use this medium as a tool to help reluctant readers, especially boys, get hooked on reading.

If you’re a parent who loved comics as a kid, why not start reading them again ? After all kids pay more attention to what you do, than what you say. Rediscover the love of Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman or Supergirl that you had as a kid. If  you start reading comics, I’ll bet your kids will too. And I’ll be willing to bet, once they start reading comics, they’ll start reading other things. Like, you know, books. Take them to a comic shop and let them look around. Tell them they can’t have an action figure, but they can have a comic book! (You can come back later and get them the action figure!) Note: If your community doesn’t have a comic shop, there are a ton of online comic sellers, so let your child browse their selection and find one they like.

I really believe we have a golden opportunity now to use the power of popular culture to inspire our kids to read more. And don’t just take my word for it. There is a ton of research showing that comics are a great way to get reluctant readers hooked on reading. Here is just one article.

And to encourage more kids, parents, teachers and librarians I’m going to do my part by reviewing comics on a regular basis. And trying to give you some of my recommendations of what I think you or your young reader might like. I think it’s a worthwhile experiment. Trust me. Reading comics as a kid, made me want to read other things. And I know a lot of my writer friends say the same thing.

So to kick things off, this week, I’m recommending FLASHPOINT #1. In brief, the original Flash, Barry Allan was killed a long time ago and replaced by the original Kid Flash, Wally West. But now Barry Allan is back from the dead. And as usual, when someone comes back from the dead, things have a tendency to go wrong. Way wrong. Like Universe altering wrong. And this story is a suspenseful page-turner as ‘back from the dead Barry’ is trying to figure out what the heck is going on and why the world is upside down. Things really get weird when Barry discovers that all of a sudden the world he knew is completely changed. There is no Superman. There is no Justice League. There is a Batman, but he is not the Batman you think he is. Intrigued? I was. And I think you will be. Flashpoint #1 is on sale now and I believe this is a good way for you and your child to connect over a book. It might not be a traditional book, but remember this:

Reading is reading.

More later

Your authorness

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

I grew up in a one stoplight town in Michigan. A little farming community of about 1500 people. A place where everyone knew everyone else. Before I get all maudlin

Layne and I with actor Barry Corbin

talking about how life was better then, simpler, less hectic and all the other things I find myself saying more often these days, as I slide ever closer to curmudgeonhood, let me just say, one of the fondest memories of my childhood were the TV and movie westerns that I loved. In my opinion, there is very little that can compete with a classic oater. Bonanza, Gunsmoke, High Chaparral, The Big Valley, these were the shows I cut my teeth on as a youngster. And I grew up with an appreciation of western history and all things ‘cowboy’.

My Wrangler Award enjoys the after party at the Marriott

And my love of the west didn’t stop with movies and television. In college, my specialty within my history major was American Westward Expansion. I learned the Turner thesis and studied the scholarship of western scholars. My love of western history is plainly evident in many of the books I’ve written like TEXAS RANGERS: Legendary Lawmen and OFF LIKE THE WIND! The First Ride Of The Pony Express! And to this day I still study and consume books and movies and documentaries on the American West.

This weekend, I found myself in Oklahoma City to receive the Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. The award was given for Best Juvenile Book for OFF LIKE THE WIND! The First Ride Of The Pony Express. The award was presented at a black tie gala and hosted by actors Ed Harris and Rex Linn. Some call it the “Cowboy Oscars” and having gone through it, I’d say that’s a pretty close description. From the red carpet arrival at the museum to having my award presented to me (along with illustrator Layne Johnson) by Patrick Wayne, (that’s right The Duke’s son!) seeing cowboy stars like Robert Fuller and Stuart Whitman and Barry Corbin…all I can say is what a night!

The Wrangler Award at the Black Tie Gala. That's me in the background

Not only was the event a fabulous evening, being able to share with my wife and daughter and with Layne and his family made it all the more enjoyable. I hope I’ll get to write and publish more books on the Great American West. And while my childhood dream of becoming a cowboy never became a reality, I think maybe this was the next best thing.

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Now I get to go to the awards ceremony in Oklahoma City this April and pick up my ‘Wrangler,’ a bronze sculpture, designed by western artist John Free. I get to wear a tuxedo attend all kinds of fancy soirees and watch lots of famous performers like Sam Elliott and others get their awards. I might nearly faint from the excitement. Especially if Sam Elliott is there again because he’s just about the coolest cowboy ever.

Folks say it’s always just as great an honor to be nominated for an award as it is to actually win it. Those folks are wrong. Winning is soooo much better. And of course, with OFF LIKE THE WIND! being such a collaborative effort, I must thank my friend, Layne Johnson for his incomparable talent in bringing this book roaring to life through his beautiful paintings. Congratulations to you Layne! And thanks to my wife and family and my editor Stacy Cantor at Walker Books For Young Readers and my agent Steven Chudney for actually suggesting the book!

But mostly I would like to thank you. All of you: readers, librarians, booksellers, teachers and educators for supporting me and my work. If you don’t read my books, if you don’t buy my books, if you don’t recommend my books to your customers, students and patrons, then I simply don’t get published. And then winning an award is moot.

Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. And if you’ll forgive me for asking one more time, if you haven’t purchased your copy of OFF LIKE THE WIND! yet, will now is the time! Because baby… it’s an award winner!

Your authorness!

Michael P. Spradlin
Award Winning Author!

–

Check out the Preview Video for Off Like the Wind! The First Ride of the Pony Express below.

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

When did you know that you first wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer. In fact, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t. I must have started thinking about how I could get published when I was still in the womb.

–

What book or writer/artist do you feel influenced you the most?

That is really a tough question because there are so many. My earliest influences of the joy of storytelling were definitely the Brothers Grimm and Lewis Carroll. Those were the first books I read and they delight influence me still.

–

What book or books are you currently reading or have recently read that you’d recommend to others?

Rock ‘n roll biographies are my main guilty pleasure, reading-wise, so I was very excited to read Life, the new Keith Richards memoir. I just finished reading it and it was terrific – truly a cut above the rest. I highly recommend it!

–

If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would it be?

Don’t do it for the money! On a related note; don’t quit your day job. But ultimately, if you must write; meaning, if it truly calls you, then there’s nothing for it – you must do it. And if you must do it, then READ – as much as you can.

–

Can you share with us your next project or any information about the next book you’re working on?

I am currently at work on another novel – again in the area of psychological suspense – but there are other ideas brewing too.

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Were there really only nine?

By Stephen Dafoe

For the past few installments, we have been taking a close look at the final days of the Knights Templar and the myths connected to that part of their story. But the origins of the Order are equally clouded in legend.

Though we may not be able to recite all of their names by heart, most people who have studied the Templars know there were nine men who formed the original Order in the early years of the twelfth century.

But were there really nine?

The traditional list of founding members of the Knights Templar comes to us, not from the time of the Templars, but from the writings of the French historian Charles du Fresne du Cange (1610-1688) who recorded them in his book Les familles d’outre-mer, published nearly two centuries after his death. In fact, the Templars kept no minutes or records of their early days, at least none that have survived, so to form a picture of those early days we must examine what contemporary chroniclers wrote about them and their humble beginnings.

Our notion that Hugh de Payens and Godfrey de St. Omer were joined by seven valiant knights comes to us largely from the writings of William, Archbishop of Tyre (1130 – 1190), however, William does not tell us that there were nine at the start, but rather that in their first nine years of existence, the Templars could raise no more than nine men. Although William was born in the Holy Land, he was not an eyewitness to the formation of the Templars. In fact, the Templars had already existed for more than a decade when William was born, and his chronicle was written many years later around the time of the Battle of Hattin (1187) when the Templars were well established.

Another medieval chronicler contemporary with the time of the Templars was Michael the Syrian, Patriarch of Antioch. In Michael’s account of the Templars’ beginnings we are told that Hugh de Payens had travelled to the Holy Land and vowed to never return to France. After serving in King Baldwin II’s army for a period of three years, de Payens, along with the thirty knights who had accompanied him east, accepted the king’s advice to continue to serve the cause. According to Michael, Baldwin granted the knights a portion of the al Aqsa Mosque, believed to be Solomon’s Temple, and thus the Templars were born.

Although Michael the Syrian’s account has received less attention outside historical circles, it is certainly a more plausible account of the formation of the Templars than William’s assertion of just nine knights in nine years.

But there is another, more fanciful account of the early days of the Order that is worthy of mention; the story presented by Walter Map, the Archdeacon of Oxford and a clerk in the court of King Henry II of England. While both Michael the Syrian and William of Tyre credit Hugh de Payens as the leader, Walter introduces us to a Burgundian knight named Paganus, who single-handily took on the task of defending Christian pilgrims. In Walter’s story (more in keeping with Arthurian legend than medieval history) Paganus was troubled to see Christians regularly attacked at a horse pool near to Jerusalem. It was only after his opponents became too numerous for him to handle on his own that he petitioned for assistance. However, that assistance was not to come from the king of Jerusalem, but rather from the monks of the Temple of the Lord (Church of the Holy Sepulchre). Like the traditional account, Map’s story tells us that the canons of the Lord’s Temple granted Paganus a base of operations from which to draw more knights to the cause.

After several centuries, we will perhaps never know precisely how many Templars there were in those early days, but what remains important is the fact that the Order grew over the years to serve the cause of Christianity for nearly two centuries.

©2012 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.