BOO-k Bones!

"Well, hello there. My name was something or other, call me whatever you'd like. I'm a skeleton from a closet in the Begonia House, and I'm here to rattle my bones today. Been shut up in that old shack for ages, and I've secrets to spill. Keep your wits sharp; I'm lookin' for a fright."

"As one of many skeletons in the Begonia House, I'm delighted to have been picked to be a guest host, but my hollow buddies lost their heads over it. I was a nice guy, figured I'd give 'em all a shot. Here're three of their bits that tickled me bones. Grip your skin and settle in. Beware, this is haunted text and things in line can getcha!"



THE SHADOW BOX
From the gutter, a hill doth rise. See the distance with thine own eyes.
Scrambled lines shift a square, borders move here and there.
Impossible! A task at large, never certain who's in charge.
Wrangled meanings twist in line, sinking further toward the spine.
Fingers shake, doubt revels. This box is conjured by devils!

ALONG COMES THE SPIDER

Creeping onto the page, a spider takes center stage.
Once three stars held the space, now eight legs stick in place.
Words wrap in its web; they tangle up- flow, then ebb.
Watch them shift before your eyes, they scuttle off to woeful cries.

BLED TO DEATH

To the edge- don't pull over. Drag and drop a four-leaf clover.
Luck you'll need when you bleed; it's the head that must feed.
Run away, like a train- one more splice, you'll go insane.
Drained to death, a weary ghost- thwarted by a tricky host.

Hungry for more terror-iffic tales? Head over to Trick Or Reaters and devour spooky story snacks for brains!

HAPPY READING AND WRITNG! 

HAVE A SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN 😮

Weaving in the Backstory

The next case in the DMS files is open! Follow along with Fairday and friends as the mystery unwinds in the Talking Library.

Anything’s possible!

Fairday Morrow and the Talking Library

Book 2 in the Fairday Morrow Series
Jessica Haight & Stephanie Robinson

Illustrations by David SanAngelo

Publish Date: October 23, 2017

Publisher: Willow Press

ISBN# 978-0-9993449-0-3

Weaving in the Backstory

By Jessica Haight & Stephanie Robinson

Oh, the web we weave in writing! Crafting the second book in the Fairday Morrow series was much like putting together the Harry Potter puzzle with the lake. You know the one, where the whole center of picture is the same color blue— every piece. And when it’s finished you feel like something should happen, like balloons will rain down from the ceiling or someone’s going to hand you an award. And then you remember you’re in your house, and silently celebrate that satisfying feeling of fitting the last piece of the puzzle into place.

Back before we were co-authors, we lived as roommates. We did not collaborate on books at that time, but we did put together Harry Potter puzzles (we are big fans). This may sound a bit strange for two friends in their 20’s, living on their own. Not exactly a wild time, though we had our fair share of those. BUT, working on Harry Potter puzzles was fun, and it was an activity that gave us skills to collaborate on the Fairday Morrow series.

The room was quiet when we worked on puzzles together, with the exception of a few mumbles and groans. This is similar to how it is when we edit. Today, when we’re involved in a project, the conversations are held on speaker phone, and there’s still pretty much no talking.

So how do we communicate? Are we telepathic? Lol— no. We collaborate using Google Docs. That is the space where we fit the pieces of our puzzle into place— the Fairday Morrow series. When we’re in the editing stages, we work on the documents via phone and computer. The manuscript is on the cloud, so we can see the other person’s edits. This significantly speeds up the process of writing the book and makes for a much cleaner manuscript, especially when working with editors. The resolve button is a delight beyond measure!

Google Docs is a fantastic tool for weaving in backstory. It allows us to break the ms into individual chapters, so they’re easy to manipulate. With a basic layout and timeline set in place, it’s easy to find the parts of the story where you want to insert or omit content. Using Google Docs has helped us maintain continuity with our writing and a keep good flow with the pacing of the story.

When pieces of a puzzle are laid out on a table, you can see where they need to be based on their shape, even if they’re the same color. It might seem hard, but if all the pieces are there, you’ll sort it out. Working with an ms in Google Docs is a similar experience.

Fairday Morrow and the Talking Library is a stand-alone book, however the first mystery is tied into the second. Readers can follow along with the DMS to try to solve the case of the Talking Library without having read The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow (book 1), but if they want to delve deeper into the case file, they can familiarize themselves with the clues in book 1.

This was tricky business, as the backstory is quite involved, so having a tool that allows us to weave in scenes and explanations easily is priceless. Using Google Docs with our amazing editors, Betsy Thorpe and Nicole Ayers, was awesome, and seeing the final, clean manuscript in all its shining brilliant glory is definitely something to celebrate— silent, golden satisfaction. 😎

Jessica Haight & Stephanie Robinson, co-authors of the Fairday Morrow Series

Visit us on the web at: fairdaysfiles.com

Stephanie and Jess met freshman year of high school. It was in English class where they first discovered they liked the same books. Their friendship grew, and over the years they went on to work as servers together, go to the same college for a short time, and they even became roommates for a while. Many books were discussed, but none were ever written. Now, after the release of their first middle grade novel, The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow, Stephanie and Jess are excited to keep building the mystery in Fairday Morrow and the Talking Library.

TRUTH LIES BETWIXT THE LINES.

Pick up a signed hardcover edition at Willow Press
Preview Chapter One: Strange Notes

It's A Boo-K Bash at the Begonia House!

Welcome to Mr. Morrow's Haunted Parlor! 
We're celebrating the release of book 2 in the Fairday Morrow series. The next case in the DMS files is open for investigation. 
Anything's possible! Mwahaha...

 Find out what's happening at the Begonia House. 
Catch the book trailer!

Fairday Morrow had no clue that moving from Manhattan to the small town of Ashpot, Connecticut, would lead to an unsolved mystery. Her parents’ dream of renovating a crumbling Victorian, called the Begonia House, into a bed and breakfast had seemed like treachery at the time. But Fairday found out that her new house kept secrets, and once inside its twisted front gates, anything was possible. When mysterious notes start showing up warning that a librarian is in trouble and a bookworm is eating words, Fairday thinks the Begonia House has more skeletons in its closets. What happens to stories when their words get eaten?

Early reviews for Fairday Morrow and the Talking Library

"Fairday jumps into a new world within her own, along with her trusty sidekick friends, and meets fascinating new characters. It's a world of bookworms (who actually eat words!) and wordweavers (cool job!) where children are needed to save books from disappearing. Books truly live and breathe in this story - literally! What a fun place to be where ink is alive and books can talk and you can enter stories and meet characters." 

~ Donna Galanti, Author

"Stephanie Robinson and Jessica Haight have created a satisfying sequel to the first book in the Fairday Morrow series. Once again, we return the the quaint town of Ashpot and follow Fairday, Marcus, and Lizzy (the DMS) as they solve a puzzling, paranormal mystery. The secrets of the Begonia House deepen and the DMS discover the Talking Library. Bravo to the authors for creating such a cool library with poisonous punctuation--brilliant! Loved the uniqueness of the world building there."

~ Kourtney Heintz, Author 

"If you love riddles, you will absolutely enjoy Fairday Morrow and the Talking Library. The second in the Fairday Morrow series, Fairday and her Detective Mystery Squad jump right into their next mystery."

~ Trina, Book Reviewer

Read a chapter excerpt

Pick up a copy online:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Search your local bookshop: 

Indie Bound

*Order a signed copy from

Willow Press

Co-Authors of the Fairday Morrow series, Jessica Haight & Stephanie Robinson
Visit us on the web at: fairdaysfiles.com

Stephanie and Jess met freshman year of high school. It was in English class where they first discovered they liked the same books. Their friendship grew, and over the years they went on to work as servers together, go to the same college for a short time, and they even became roommates for a while. Many books were discussed, but none were ever written. Now, after the release of their first middle grade novel, The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow, Stephanie and Jess are excited to keep building the mystery in Fairday Morrow and the Talking Library. Anything’s possible!

David SanAngelo, Illustrator
davidsanangelo.com

David SanAngelo is an award winning illustrator, a two-time Emmy nominated director of animated shows for children and he won a kite flying contest in the fourth grade. Dave attended high school with Jessica and Stephanie and they've all been friends for a billion years. Some of Dave's favorite things are: old monster movies, superheroes and shred-a-licious rock music. Although he grew up in New England, Dave currently lives with his wife and sons in Decatur, GA.

You're Invited to a Boo-K Bash at the Begonia House!

"Hello! I'm Fairday's mom, Pru, and I'm here to invite you to Fairday's "Boo-K" Bash on Monday, October 23rd on the blog. We're all excited for the Halloween party to celebrate the release of Fairday Morrow and the Talking Library. 

When Fairday and her best friend, Lizzy, came up with the idea to have guests come as their favorite book characters, I thought it would be such fun! But, my husband, Pat, and I were concerned about pulling it all together at such a busy time- with the renovations for the bed and breakfast and settling into a new home with two kids, it's been challenging.

We decided it would be good for Fairday to socialize with her classmates, plus the designer in me was itching to transform this grand, old beauty into proper haunted house. My husband's enthusiasm has been through the roof, and there has been a whirlwind of creepy creativity around here. I can guarantee Mr. Morrow's Haunted Parlor will make you scream. 

With limited time to manifest this frightful evening, I was pleased with the invitations by Paperless Post. I always insist Fairday invite every student in her class to parties, and this service makes the task simple and fun! I love being able to use my own design, and having the invitation open online like a real letter seems magical, like owl post, only sent on the web. 

Here is your invitation to the "Boo-K" Bash. Join us to celebrate the next case in the DMS files. Fear not the unexpected. Anything's possible!

You're Invited to the "Boo-K" Bash on Monday 10/23! 

Who will show up for the character costume party?