Ok, so here’s how it goes: Writer announces that he’s delving into World of Warcraft, purely for research purposes 😉 and doesn’t blog for nearly a month. A classic case of gamer widowhood? Not really (honest!) I have been busy and there is much to report. For instance:

Wild Ride has gone into its second printing AND has been picked up by the Scholastic Book Club for the 2008/09 school year. Very cool. This is first time any of my books have gone into a second printing and it’s completely due to my fantastic publisher, Orca Book Publishers, and their even more fantastic connections in the USA.

In addition to another printing, Wild Ride will also be available to school kids across North America as part of the monthly book club catalogue sent out by Scholastic. I remember being in Grade 6 and ordering the Lord of the Rings trilogy through the book club. It changed my life. I don’t think Wild Ride will have exactly the same effect on kids across America as LoTR, but it’s nice to know that a lot more of them will see the book.

Rockin’ Ramp Rats and Sneaky Soccer Sabateurs

And speaking of seeing the book, I got a chance to look at an advance copy of Ramp Rats in June and it rocks! Check out the cover at the top of this post. Michael Deas has yet again done an amazing job turning my incoherent rantings into a beautiful, action-packed graphic novel. Ramp Rats hits stores in September and I’m hoping to post a few preview pages before then.

There’s also new in the preview department: on Friday my editor sent me the pencils for Graphic Guide Adventure #3: Soccer Sabotage. This time around, Nadia is in Toronto competing in a national soccer tournament when a mysterious saboteur engineers several “accidents” throwing Nadia’s team into chaos. It’s up to Devin, Nadia and a host of new characters to solve the mystery and win the tournament. Like other GGA books, this one is packed with action and top tips on playing soccer. Mike’s pencils look amazing (as usual.) Soccer Sabotage will be published in Spring 2009.

Mad Media Making Skillz

Okay, I hear you saying: “But, Liam, that’s all news on what you’ve written. What’s been keeping you busy and away from here?” Good question! The answer? Media Makers!

Since June I’ve been busy working on the fourth book in the Graphic Guide Adventure series: Media Makers. Can’t really say much about it as the manuscript isn’t finished. But I can tell you that the characters you will meet in Ramp Rats: Bounce, Nima and Pema, all make a return and this time they’ve got another adventure on their hands. This time they’re battling the forces of corporate media and learning valuable media literacy skills along the way. They’re also learning how to “be the media”, take control of the message and become Media Makers. I’m having lots of fun with it and I think readers (and teachers) will like it too.

Leveling up my Shaman and Learning to Ride

Okay, okay, enough with the commercial, I know what you really came here to see: Kawendel, my Tauren shaman, getting his level 30 mount! Check out the video below for Kaw’s very first time riding his new Kodo mount. (He’s the one that looks like a walking bull with a big stick on his back.) Thanks to my Science guildies Drateist and Jalena for making it happen!

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Look at the amazing Kodo-riding skills I’ve picked up. Haven’t I always said that all virtual worlds are educational?