by Morris, Chad
Knowing that I couldn’t promote my book, a slew of amazing people took up the torch and sent out the message through blogs, tweets, Facebook . . . the works. Maybe that was a little thing to them, but it was huge to me. A lot of them have never met me; they are just great people. Even some best-selling authors like Brandon Mull, James Dashner, Shannon Hale, Christopher Paolini, and Ally Condie spread the word. Other authors like J. Scott Savage and Frank Cole filled in on the school assemblies so a bunch of excited kids weren’t left high and dry. And hundreds more people heard about my daughter through social media, put on all sorts of mustaches, and sent pictures to cheer her up. Thank you.
After we finally brought my daughter home and she was recovering well, she and my wife practically kicked me out of the house to go after my dream. My sister-in-law Kimmie Loose insisted on helping my wife at our house every day so I wouldn’t miss any more school assemblies or signings. And when I finally got out, hundreds of people asked me how my little girl was doing. Kids drew pictures and sent letters. An entire school even wore mustaches when I came to visit.
The world is full of amazing people. Thanks. Sincerely, thank you.
Of course, I missed my deadline for this sequel. It was a bit of a rough time to try to write. But Shadow Mountain was patient and supportive as always, and I think it was worth the wait. Specifically, I owe a lot to Chris Schoebinger and Heidi Taylor for loving the sequel and giving feedback to make it better. Thanks to Derk Koldewyn for his editing awesomeness, and to Karen Zelnick for doing so much to set up my school visits, signings, presentations at ComicCon, etc. Thanks to Richard Erickson and Rachael Ward for the design and typesetting. Plus my agent, Rubin Pfeffer, is supportive, fantastic, and very helpful. And I should say thanks as well to Deborah Warren, also with East/West Literary Agency. Oh, and Brandon Dorman can paint a robot gorilla like nobody else! Seriously, have you ever seen a cooler one? I didn’t think so.
As always, I need to thank my friends and family. So many have rallied and been so supportive. Of course, my wife and kids top the list. My wife is my sounding board, my first reader, and quite possibly the best and hottest woman in the world. She gives great feedback and reassures me when I’m pretty convinced everything I write is boring slop. Plus she runs our crazy household and finds ways of letting me write. And my kids are my main motivation for writing. The thought of making them laugh, gasp, or call out a “That’s awesome!” or “No way!” brings a whole new level to my story. And when I read to them at night, and the story works, it’s a total thrill. I think I’ll always remember the night we read the scene when Rafa reveals his secret. When I finished, my kids were bouncing in their beds. I turned off the lights and asked them to sleep, but they stayed up for another hour and a half talking about my crazy story. They even made up a Cragbridge Hall song. Yeah, I recorded it on my phone. That will probably go down in history as one of the coolest author moments of my life.
I’m also grateful for my group of great beta readers: Dan Reed; Brooklyn and Matthew Hatch; Jessica, Jared, and Lauryn Moon; Mindy Waite; Platte Clark; Sarah Scheerger; Will Mason; and Matthew Crawford. Thanks for all the great feedback. Plus, my mom did a thorough line edit of my galleys and saved me from some pretty embarrassing mistakes.
Thanks to everyone who read The Inventor’s Secret. Thanks for giving me a chance. I hope you loved it. And thanks for picking up The Avatar Battle. If you liked it, please share it with your friends. It means a lot. And look me up on Facebook or Twitter (@chadcmorris), or send me a message through chadmorrisauthor.com. I’d love to hear from you. And check out cragbridgehall.com to watch the book trailer, check for my tour stops, and jump on the mailing list for updates.
For those of you who still ask about my daughter, she’s doing very well. As of right now, you’d never guess she’s had major surgery. A major point of The Inventors’ Secret was that it is in the hard times that heroes are made. Well, I happen to know one; she just turned ten a few weeks ago.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. In English class, Abby had an assignment to tell how books have inspired people in real life or how real life has affected books. How have books affected your life? Have you ever been inspired by a book? Which books and how?
2. To get his final key, Derick had to prove that he had the same determination and character as those who fought in the Civil War. Who do you know that shows determination and good character? What can you learn from them?
3. Abby spent a lot of time in this story worried about her grades. Have you ever been worried about your schoolwork or grades? How much do you think you should worry? In what ways are grades important? In what ways are other aspects of your education more important than grades?
4. Derick felt worried because of one of his previous failures. Have you ever failed at something? Did you try again? How did it go? Why do you feel it is important to keep trying after failure?
5. Rafa is Brazilian and speaks Portuguese. Do you know anyone from another country? What traditions or parts of their culture have you learned about? What can you learn from them?
6. Initially Derick thought giraffes were boring, but as he learned more about them, he discovered that they are pretty interesting. Can you think of something that you didn’t like initially but became interested in over time?
7. Socrates taught the importance of really wanting to learn, wanting it more than air. What do you have a strong desire to learn? How might you go about learning it?
8. Abby, Derick, and Carol all had the opportunity to build their own virtual worlds. If you had the chance to build your own virtual world, what would it be like?
9. Abby, Derick, and Carol also learned that when they make a decision it affects the people around them. How do your decisions affect other people? What good decisions have you made that may have influenced others? Are there any decisions you are making that you want to change?
10. The Crash enjoys playing sports with their avatars. They also learned new sports. What are your favorite sports? What sports would you like to learn to play?
11. Derick experienced what it feels like to go through a difficult surgery. What difficulties have you been through? What did you learn from them? Who do you know who has had to have a surgery or other difficult challenges in their life? What do you think you could learn from them?
12. Though Abby felt afraid for much of the book, by the end, she faced her fears. What are you afraid of? What have you done to face your fears? What happened? What could you do to face your fears now?
RECOMMENDED READING
For more information about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes:
Pascal, Janet P. Arthur Conan Doyle: Beyond Baker Street. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Doyle, Arthur Conan; illus. Rohrbach, Sophie. Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Speckled Band. Minneapolis, MN: Graphic Universe, 2010.
For more information about the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg:
McPherson, James M. Fields of Fury: The American Civil War. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2002.
Stanchak, John. DK Eyewitness Books: Civil War. New York: DK Publishing, 2011.
Vansant, Wayne. Gettysburg: The Graphic History of America’s Most Famous Battle and the Turning Point of the Civil War. Minneapolis, MN: Zenith Press, 2013.
Murphy, Jim. The Long Road to Gettysburg. New York: HMH Books for Young Readers, 2000.
For more information about the Hindenburg disaster:
Verstraete, Larry; illus. Geister, David. Surviving the Hindenburg. Ann Arbor, MI: Sleeping Bear Press, 2012.
O’Brien, Patrick. The Hindenburg. New York: Henry Holt, 2000.
Benoit, Peter. The Hindenburg Disaster. New York, Scholastic, 2011.
For more information about London and the Great Fire:
Clements, Gillian. The Great Fire of London. London: Franklin Watts Ltd., 2001.
Robson, Pam. All About the Great Fire of London. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2002.
For more information about Socrates:
Usher, M. D.; illus. Bramhall, William. Wise Guy: The Life and Philosophy of Socrates. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005.
Dell, Pamela. Socrates: Ancient Greek in Search of Truth. Mankato, MN: Compass Point Books, 2006.
For more information about giraffes:
Helget, Nicole. Giraffes. Mankato, MN: Creative Education, 2008.
Parker, Barbara Keevil. Giraffes. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publishing Group, 2004.
For more information about Abraham Lincoln and his assassination:
Stone, Tanya Lee. Abraham Lincoln (DK Biography). New York: DK Publishing, 2005.
Cary, Barbara. Meet Abraham Lincoln. New York: Random House, 2011.
Denenberg, Barry; illus. Bing, Christopher. Lincoln Shot: A President’s Life Remembered. New York: Square Fish, 2011.