Hi. My name’s Jack Brady. Nikki Sweet is
my cousin. Well, she’s not really my cousin, not by blood, anyway. But our
parents are best friends and I’ve always called her grandmother Grandma Sweet.
We’re family, and no one better say we’re not, because we are. So there.
Tomorrow, October 13, is Nikki’s birthday,
and I’m kinda writing this as a sorta birthday present for her. I’d better not
tell you how old she is because she’d punch me right in the eye, if I did.
Nikki’s one tough girl, I can tell you that. She’s brave and strong and way
more smarter than I am. She likes to collect river stones, which I think is
just really weird, and there’s one awesome stone she found one Halloween that
became part of an adventure we had together. Nikki’s also really, really bossy
and treats me like a little kid. I don’t always like that, even though we’re
both still kids and almost the same age, though sometimes she acts like she’s
my mother or my big sister. But she’s cool and awesome, and she has magical
powers, too. That’s really cool, too,
ya know? She doesn’t have any parents,
which always makes me sad, but she’s my best friend in all the whole wide
world, and I love her. Just don’t tell her I said that or I’ll never live it
down.
Now, not long ago, me and Nikki got ourselves
mixed up in a couple of pretty crazy wild adventures. Not long after that, we
met two authors named Erika M Szabo and Joe Bonadonna. We told them our story
but didn’t really think they’d believe us. But ha-ha — guess what? They
believed us! They believed us so much that they decided to write two books
about our Halloween adventures in Creepy Hollow, a really cool world of magic
and strange places and creatures. Pretty rad, right? The first book is called Three
Ghosts in a Black Pumpkin, and the second book is called The
Power of the Sapphire Wand because
that Black Pumpkin is what started our first adventure, and that Sapphire Wand
was pretty important to what we had to do on our second trip to Creepy Hollow,
which took place a year later, on Nikki’s birthday.
I think both these books about what we saw
and did and learned in Creepy Hollow are not only spooky and funny, they’re
also totally awesome adventures for middle-grade kids to read, too. We also
learned a lot of really good lessons about friendship, good manners, loyalty,
family and courage.
It all started when me and Nikki found
this weird black pumpkin in the forest near Grandma Sweet’s house one Halloween
day. That was about the same time Nikki also found some crazy stone in the
river — a magical stone it was, too! We also met this little silver skeleton
that was some kind of talking wind chime named Wishbone, who told us that the
ghosts of the Trinity of Wishmothers were trapped inside the black pumpkin and
couldn’t get free without their magical Wands, which had been stolen by this
evil dude named Hobgoblin, but then got stolen from him and hidden away by
Wishbone. Of course Nikki and I jumped at the chance to help, so Wishbone took
us to Creepy Hollow to get the three Wands he hid in three scary places: Red
Crow Forest, the Tower of Shadows, and the Cave of Spooks. Wishbone’s friends
joined us, too. One is named Ghoulina, and she’s a really beautiful vegetarian
ghoul. The other is called Catman because he’s part man and part cat. Now that’s
really, really, really rad! Believe
me, we had a wild time, and we had to face danger and conquer monsters and bad
guys every step of the way as we searched for the Wands before the wicked
Hobgoblin and his sicko henchman, Tasmanian Devil, could find where they were
hidden. And that’s all I’m gonna tell you about that adventure.
Now a year later, on her 13th
birthday, Nikki discovered that she had magical powers. Totally amazing! But
there were some bad people in Creepy Hollow who found out about that and wanted
to kidnap Nikki. Then one night at Grandma Sweet’s house we were attacked by
this ugly giant named Mutanto, who had a henchman called Howler and a whole
gang of Werewolves with him. But before they could take us all back to their
wicked witch of a boss lady, Evila the Grim Witch, Wishbone, Ghoulina and
Catman arrived to save us and tell us about Evila’s plans to conquer Creepy
Hollow. That’s when Nikki learned the truth about what happened to her parents
twelve years ago. So me, Nikki and Grandma Sweet went back to Creepy Hollow to
help our friends defeat Evila. That’s when I found out that I can talk to the
animals in Creepy Hollow. How cool is that, right? We also met a herd of Wild
Horses and I became good friends with Champ, a clumsy young colt. Hey, I even
adopted a young, orphaned dragon I named Sparky. This adventure was so much more dangerous and scary than
our first adventure, but I gotta tell you, me and Nikki conquered our fears and
got really brave. In this awful big battle against Evila and her army we
suddenly, with the help of some magic, became real warriors. And that’s all I’m gonna tell you about this story,
too.
You’re just gonna have to read the books
to find out more.
Three
Ghosts in a Black Pumpkin is a 2017 Golden Book Award Winner.
The Power
of the Sapphire Wand
Creepy Hollow Adventures Books 1 and 2 are also available in a single, paperback volume with b/w interior illustrations.
Amazon b&w PRINT:
https://tinyurl.com/ybecq233
B&N b&w PRINT:
https://tinyurl.com/yaz35xs7
B&N b&w PRINT:
https://tinyurl.com/yaz35xs7
And both books are now available in this lovely, special hardcover edition from Barnes-Noble, with full-color interior illustrations.
B&N color PRINT:
https://tinyurl.com/y7b59r75
https://tinyurl.com/y7b59r75
A few illustrations from the books:
Now here’s some really great stuff a couple of people have said about our adventures in the magical Land of Creepy Hollow.
“Szabo and Bonadonna’s story crackles
with action and excitement. Their storytelling moves with the speed of
lightning, but never lets the reader get lost. The atmosphere is just spooky
enough to be fun but never enough to be too scary. Nikki and Jack are terrific
characters. Their humorous bickering and genuine affection for each other make
them very relatable. Wishbone Jones and Catman are good-natured foils for the
snarky, sometimes cranky Ghoulina. Together, the band of heroes’ quick wits and
courage in the face of deadly crows, evil Shadows, and wicked Spooks, will
thrill anyone who picks it up. The megalomaniacal Hobart T. Hobgoblin is a
great villain, who chews up the scenery every time he shows up. Though we never
feel sorry for him, we learn enough about his past to understand him. There are
also some valuable lessons to be learned along the way. Nikki and Jack must
figure out for themselves that while selfishness and greed can lead to a bad
end, courage and self-sacrifice can help defeat evil. Szabo and Bonadonna weave
this into the story with great skill.”
~Fletcher Vredenburg
“I had the pleasure of editing The Power of the Sapphire Wand: Creepy
Hollow Adventures 2, by Erika M. Szabo and Joe Bonadonna, and was instantly
swept up into an adventure of limitless possibilities. Though written for
children, I as an adult felt drawn into a mystical place where anything can
happen—where children can be mighty warriors, and battle the forces of evil;
where animals talk, and join in the fight; where queens and princesses join
forces with commoners to save their people and their land; and where wishes
really do come true. The Power of the
Sapphire Wand is a wonderful, imaginative tale of adventure that is filled
with exquisite original illustrations by Erika Szabo, and though it is the
perfect Halloween treat, I find that it is a timeless tale that can be enjoyed
by children of all ages anywhere, at any time of year.”
~Lee Porche
Erika M Szabo
Erika became an avid reader at a very
early age, thanks to her dad who introduced her to many great books. Erika
writes alternate history, romantic fantasy, magical realism novels as well as
fun, educational, and bilingual books for children ages 4-12 about acceptance,
friendship, family, and moral values such as accepting people with
disabilities, dealing with bullies, and not judging others before getting to
know them. Erika also likes to encourage children to use their imagination and
daydream about fantasy worlds.
Joe Bonadonna
Much like Erika, Joe’s dad introduced
him to books, as well as movies and music, at a very young age. He was
encouraged to write as soon as he could hold a pencil. While Joe writes mostly
Heroic Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Horror and Science Fiction for an older
audience, he decided to reach out to a younger audience and write something
entertaining, as well as educational. This is his first collaboration with
Erika, and his first children’s book.
Hope you enjoy this video trailer for
Three Ghosts in a Black Pumpkin.
You can check out Erika's special Children's Books for Halloween blogpost HERE
~ Jack Brady
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