Well, at least that’s what I think they will be called. These are members of the underground resistance that are hiding out in the secret tunnels beneath the Land of Een and trying to survive the tyrannical rule of Burdock Brown.

Given the hair, and the fact that she kept poking her nose into my Box of Whispers prop and hugging Prospero the Owl (immortalized in puppet form), I actually began to wonder if she was indeed an Een . . . who knows? She said she had to fly away and so wouldn’t see me for the rest of my time at the school!

I decided I wanted a more organic and whimsical look. I drew on some inspiration from one of my favourite architects, Antonio Gaudi, who is responsible for a lot of the wondrous sights in the magical city of Barcelona—easily one of my top five favourite cities in the world.

My new favourite popped up yesterday: Sacrification. When I asked the student why she didn’t just use “sacrifice” she looked at me rather blankly and then essentially suggested that “sacrification” sounded so much more severe (she has an astute answer for everything).

For the record, here are some of my other favourite student-invented words that I’ve collected over the past while:

Firstable: An ample replacement for “firstly.”

Snickled: I have no idea; I assume it’s like a snicker, but with a ticklish aspect.

Grumby: Grumpy, but way worse.

Examinated: When “examine” just won’t do.

Shruddered: Some people shudder, others shrudder—that’s just the way it is.

I have to admit, I love these words. Of course, many of you will remember Oki ever-expanding vocabulary in Kendra Kandlestar and the Crack in Kazah. Gayla and Leemus soon got into the act. Here are some of my favourites that they came up with:

Oojipooka: Something you say when you are surprised by a mysterious object that can’t be explained.

Zoomba: A mild curse word; usually spoken in response to a criticism.

Foogiewunda: Hooray!

Holy Hooglegum: An expression of surprise (like Holy Smokes).

Snorehog: A boring person.

Eekling: A frightened Een.

Ishymoosha: Sentimental and emotional.

Twiddleberry: A mild insult.

Frunzy:  A state of fretting or concern that is unequal to the situation.

Smingle-Smongle: Nonsense.

Eggoriffic: A horrible situation involving eggs (but let’s face it; aren’t ALL situations involving eggs horrible?).

The concept sketches below represent some brainstorming both in terms of plot and setting for an important sequence of events in the book. However, I’ve since decided for a different look for the city (which I will show in a future post).

Originally, one of my writing confidants (yes, Paige, it’s you) gave me the idea of calling the city Feenix, playing on the spelling of the mythical Phoenix, the bird that rises up from the ashes. You see, the City on the Storm represents a sort of rebirth of sorts, so we thought it would really fit.

But, upon further reflection, I decided that the city required a different name. So now it will be called something else. (And yes, I know what it is; I’m just not telling you—yet.)

The accompany note says: “It would be an honour if you took characteristics from Bony Mork and made Pugglemud look kinda like him (large pony tail, etc.). Mork could be a villain for book five!”

Well, Pugglemud is going to have a new look for Book 5 (as many of you know, he’s one slippery fellow, ever on the look out for a new job). But I must say, I do LOVE the name of Bony Mork . . . who knows, maybe he can slip in as fun character somewhere in the story. And we have to make sure that Fisher gets the credit!

Way back in 2008, during my first visit to Korea, I saw these incredible rock formations ornamenting the grounds of a university in Yongin. I instantly imagined them as the rocky perch for my city. Just recently I found them in a dusty old folder on my computer and was reminded about my original ideas for the City on the Storm. I’ve been working intensively on developing this locale the last few weeks, so the timing was perfect!

Great news! I’ve signed an agreement with Beijing-based publisher FLTRP to sell the Chinese foreign rights for The Chronicles of Kendra Kandlestar.

The deal is for the first four books in the series, which will all be published in simplified Chinese.

More details will come in the months ahead, but so far it seems the scheduled release date will happen sometime in 2013. The books will also include the artwork that appears in the English editions.

I must confess, I’m pretty curious to know how they will translate all of Trooogul’s dialogue—not to mention, Uncle Griffinskitch’s “humphs” and Oki’s “Eeks”!

I loved the different interpretations!

I was able to get a few pictures. Here’s the primary grades and their wonderful Okis:

And here’s some of the Teenlings . . .

And here’s a snapshot of the winning pieces from each grade:

Congratulations to ALL of the students who participated — and I hope you enjoyed your prizes (a copy of a Kendra Kandlestar book!).

Yes, I love the” Een-mails” I receive through kendrakandlestar.com, but it makes me all too sad when an avid Kendra fan writes me with an inactive return address. Emma, if you’re out there somewhere, know that I loved your kind letter and I’m grateful that you sent it. It’s just that I can’t reply to the address you gave me, no matter how much magic I try to wangle!

Also, apparently you got in trouble because for reading my book instead of just getting out the door to school. Just so you and your mom (and especially your mom) know, it’s NOT my fault. It’s Kendra’s. And possibly Oki’s. But definitely not mine.

Well, I can assure you that I’ve been working hard to help Kendra find the city in this new book. Here’s one of many sketches I have done of of her, standing on the bow of that magical airship, the Big Bang, as she seeks the city. Yes, I know; it doesn’t look like she’s doing much looking, but that’s the way of wizards—they’re always up to much more than it seems.

I suppose he’s everyone’s favourite character, surpassing even Kendra in popularity (after all, Oki has even been immortalized in tattoo form!).

Well, I recently discovered this little postcard sent by Oki to his family just after he took his apprentice job with Ratchet Ringtail (you’ll remember this happened in Book 2, The Door to Unger). It’s the first time we’ve ever seen the names of all eight sisters! (I can’t imagine how Oki’s parents kept track of all those mouselings!)

I think I will use this as inspiration for my writing class and ask my students to pick a favourite location from their own novels and then have a character send  a postcard. It might me a fun and inventive way to get them to think about setting!

Here you’ll find a review of the book by nine-year-old Sophia and a link to an audio interview with me. Enjoy!

I may decide to use these covers for future print editions—what do YOU think?

One thing about electronic editions of books is that they don’t have back covers. As a book designer I find this a bit disconcerting, like walking in the Shivering Wood without a torch. So last week I decided to design back covers to match my new fronts. Perhaps in a future update to the electronic editions I will add these.

In the meantime YOU can look at them. And, perhaps, if we go with this new look for the next print run, then my work is already done!

All four books currently in my Kendra Kandlestar series are now available through the Amazon Kindle store, featuring brand new cover art. I hope you like the new look!

I have actually yet to write any scenes with this character—but I can’t wait to do so. I think she will be one of my favourite characters to develop for this book. And when it comes to drawing, there’s no two ways about it; villains are just more fun!

As I was working on the sketches for this character, I came up with a few candidate names, which included Shungaaala, Tuuunga, Ooonga, Sooonga, and Rooonga. Well, you can see I was going for a hard “g” sound. In the end, I decided to call her “Shuuunga.” (And, yes, Ungers must have three vowels in each of their names.)

Of course, I love props and already have my very own Een museum:

But I didn’t want to use any of my existing props for my homework assignment (wouldn’t that be cheating?). I made a plan to visit one of the local antique shops, which always are brimming with inspiration. However, before I could get there, I found myself stuck on the latest version of my Kendra Kandlestar 5 manuscript.

I needed something to provide a warning for Kendra and her crew as they journey through a dangerous jungle. And then I remembered my recent trip to Korea and the interesting “guardians” I found at the entrance to a folk village. Called “jangseungs,” these totems are usually made of wood (though you can see one made of stone, below) and were meant to ward off demons.

I was reminded of that great scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indiana Jones is trekking through the jungle with his guides and the bats swarm out of a similar stone guardian. And anyone who has read Joseph Campbell’s writings on the hero’s mythological journey will be familiar with the term “Threshold Guardian.” A threshold guardian serves as that marker between worlds—the world the hero is leaving behind, and the strange, unfamiliar one he is about to enter. Of course, you see these threshold guardians all the time in western culture in the form of lions, dragons, or unicorns. They “guard” important or official buildings, or even homes.

With all this in mind, I decided that Kendra needed to encounter a type of jangseung in her own journey. I produced this sketch:

I decided that I would then build my prop. It’s not quite done, but I’ve done all the heavy lifting, carving it from foam and giving it a few coats of paint:

I may try to add some vines encircling its body, or growing from its crevices. But otherwise, it’s pretty much complete and I can say that my homework is done! (How about you, my dear students—is YOURS?)

One of the fun aspects of this interview was that nine-year-old Sophia (who also provided a great review for the book) asked many of the questions. I have never met Sophia, but I think she did a great job!

Also, don’t forget to participate in the Kendra Kandlestar contest by visiting Ten Stories Up—you can win! It’s easy, it’s free, and all you have to do is submit a question for Mr. Lee Edward Fodi (hey—that’s me!).

I hope you like them!

Many of you will recognize the illustration from the title page of the print edition of the book—it’s long been one of my favourite drawings, so I decided to feature it on the cover.

I started by doing a new version of the line art:

I then digitally coloured the illustration:

The artwork then was dropped into the layout:

However, I decided there was too much going on with the wood and tentacles and decided to just do an alternate version with just water:

You can see I made some other changes too, modifying the shape and scope of the black lightning.

1. One copy of each book in the Chronicles of Kendra Kandlestar series—yep, count ‘em, all FOUR books!
2. An amazing bag of Kendra stuff, including magnets, a journal, and a T-shirt in the size of your choice.

How do you win? That’s easy! Just head on over to the Ten Stories Up site for all the details! It’s open to everyone! But hurry—the contest only runs until MARCH 30th. EEK!