Hail Readers!
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
