I recently got the opportunity to travel to Ireland with a long time friend. The whole experience was quite moving,  visiting places made famous by films, authors, and poets.  One such place was the Cliffs of Moher along the Wild Atlantic Way. This western coast of Ireland was stunning and, if I visited again, would be the place I would spend most of my time. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince filmed "the cave" scene here and Princess Bride filmed the "cliffs of insanity" at this location. It was so windy and cold. I am smiling in the picture but I was shivering all over.  If you ever have a chance to visit any part of Ireland I highly recommend traveling along the Wild Atlantic Way. My buddy and I spent 8 hours on a bus that day but it was well worth it. 

I personally think that's a pretty cool looking fish.  Kind of reminds me of a Lion Fish. It's actually called a John Dory. Now, you've got to admit that's a pretty darn piratey sounding name and a perfect one for the new Jr. High introduced in the third book of Jack Ferrington.  However, it may just mean "gilded" and "yellow". Check out more about this cool fish at its wiki site. 

Anyway, the second book, Jack Ferrington and Blackbeard's Lost Treasure hasn't even been released yet and I'm already starting on book three. I've got the basic concept down and it's working title is Jack Ferrington and the Kraken's Curse. Oooohhh, scary. :-) 

The next book will continue to expand the theater in which the stories take place, moving outward to another island or two in the "Wrecked Archipelago".

The new school, John Dory Jr. High, is located on that tiny island in the center of the Island of Magic. They'll face off against Moray Middle in the waters in the center of the archipelago, in the "All Hallows Eve Brawl and Ball". 

It's going to be a great event with Free-Dive Treasure Grabbing, Skiff Races and Pumpkin Pounding (a school favorite). But danger and surprises surface as the games move on. Can Jack handle the new threat. Can Moray Middle bring the "Dominus Chest" back to their school? You know what? I don't know either. :-) As the story unfolds I guess I'll find out too. 

Until next time, stay piratey my friends. 

My kids used to watch this Disney show called Octonauts. It was a pretty cool show that gave great info on both obscure and well known sea creatures. It inspired a song which led to an illustrated book. However, what you see here is my only copy and is now with my agent. He better not lose it. Well, unless he gets a deal with it. Then he can do whatever he wants. :-) 

It has fourteen sea creatures inside with a rhyming riddle on each creature's preceding page. It's funny because the book printer thought I had formatted the book incorrectly due to the rhyme and picture not being on corresponding pages. I had to assure him it was formatted correctly because the kid is supposed to guess what creature will appear on the next page, as the answer to the riddle.

Can you guess the creature on the opposite page of the riddle you see? 

Oh and the song can be heard for free. When the book finally comes out you can even download the song and sing along with the whole thing. Totally fun! Check out the song below.  Even without the book I'm sure you can have a lot of fun guessing which creature I'm singing about. Just pause the music, guess, then see if you're right! Enjoy!

I've been asked, "Why did you name your title character Jack Ferrington?" I've got to be honest, for a long while I didn't really know. I mean, Jack is a great pirate name so, even if cliche, that part came naturally but Ferrington just popped into my head. Why? I didn't really know, but I liked it and went with it. 

My kids started asking me, recently, about my first guitar. I was telling them about this Kramer acoustic-electric cutaway I borrowed from my neighbor, on which I learned my very first song, "R O C K  in the USA" by John Cougar Mellencamp. I remember the kids in my freshman guitar class thinking I was so cool for knowing how to play that song, but I digress.  Anyway, I googled a pic, and guess what I found out? That model was called the "Ferrington". 

This blew me away because the name "Ferrington", if googled, is auto-corrected to "Farrington". It would appear the "e" is the incorrect, if you will, way to spell that name. So why didn't I pic a different name or one that was spelled correctly.   couldn't help but think that in the deep recesses of my mind I still remembered the name of the guitar that started me down the road of a love and passion for music and that thirty years later I would name the title character in my first novel, that would set me on a road of a love and passion for writing, the same name. Gosh, I get chills a little as I type this.  What are the odds? Two passions, decades apart, linked by the same name. To me that's a "Wow!".  I wonder, what else is unconsciously remembered that influences my day to day life? What else is in there? The mind is an amazing thing.  Too bad so much of it goes to waste. 

#guitar, #boohoocrew, #jack, #pirates, #novel, #middlegrade, #ferrington, #kramer, #clintjustclint