The Seven Prequels: coming September!

Once upon a time, 

seven outstanding authors of youngCanLit 

Eric Walters

Sigmund Brouwer

Norah McClintock

Shane Peacock

Richard Scrimger

Ted Staunton

John Wilson

came together and formulated a series like no other. 

It is called Seven (the series) 

from Orca Book Publishers, 

and all seven books were simultaneously published in October, 2012.

The seven linked books, which can be read in any order, 

focus on the 7 grandsons of David McLean 

and the 7 journeys his death sends them on.

Between Heaven and Earth by Eric Walters

Close to the Heel by Norah McClintock

Devil's Pass by Sigmund Brouwer

Ink Me by Richard Scrimger

Jump Cut by Ted Staunton

Last Message by Shane Peacock

Lost Cause by John Wilson

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Two years later, the Seven Sequels were born.

The seven cousins from Seven 

come together at their grandfather's cottage 

and discover evidence of David McLean's mysterious past, 

sending the seven out on a new set of adventures.

Broken Arrow by John Wilson

Coda by Ted Staunton

Double You by Shane Peacock

From the Dead by Norah McClintock

Sleeper by Eric Walters

Tin Soldier by Sigmund Brouwer

The Wolf and Me by Richard Scrimger

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Next month the Seven Prequels arrive!

This time the seven books emphasize the origin stories of the seven grandsons and their relationships with their grandfather and tell...

How It All Began

Weerdest Day Ever 

by Richard Scrimger

Barracuda 

by Sigmund Brouwer

Separated 

by Shane Peacock

Jungle Land 

by Eric Walters

The Missing Skull 

by John Wilson

Slide 

by Norah McClintock

Speed 

by Ted Staunton

Look for the books on September 20 2016 

and 

enjoy more news and extras (including the Seven teachers' guide) 

at Orca Book Publishers at

www.thesevenprequels.com

Jump Cut: Seven the Series

by Ted Staunton

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-55469-947-6

220 pp.

Ages 9-12

Release date October 10, 2012

While his 15-year-old brother Bunny is getting tattooed to fulfill his grandfather's last wishes (Ink Me by Richard Scrimger), Spencer O'Toole (17) is off to Buffalo with his dad, Jer, to film his kiss from the aging film star, Gloria Lorraine.  While his dad waits outside her retirement home, the tiny elderly woman, still platinum blonde and with heavy make-up, sunglasses, red fingernails and posing with a cigarette, insists that Spencer work for that kiss by helping her run "a few errands." With that, somewhere a director would be shouting, "Action!"

Starting in the fall, Spencer would be starting film studies at Humber College and he sees everything in terms of a script or lighting or scenery or direction.  And with her seemingly simple demand, Miss Lorraine, or GL to her friends, takes Spencer on an adventure that even he can't believe is real.

Stealing a white Cadillac convertible at the retirement home and picking up GL's granddaughter, AmberLea, GL has them heading to Canada.  Of course, there is the complication of the large man and chihuahua they find bound in the trunk of the car, with clear packages of white powder.  He's Al Capoli, a baker known as the King of Cannoli, and his dog, Mister Bones, and Al claims that another resident at the retirement home, Rocco Wings, wants to kill him for allegedly double-crossing him on a deal.  So, with Rocco and his sons in pursuit, the unlikely cast of characters heads for Torrance, Ontario so that GL can share a few secrets with AmberLea before it's too late and Spencer can just fulfill what seemed like a simple request from his grandfather, David McLean.  Unbeknownst to Spencer, though, his grandfather has an important role in GL's secrets, and their telling will help explain all.

Spencer realizes that GL is treating the adventure as if it were a movie in the making and, in fact, is trying to make her life into a movie.  After all, Miss Lorraine claims,

"Life is a movie with no jump cuts.  It's the cutting that makes the movie." (pg. 82)

 If Jump Cut were a movie, and it would make a fantastic film, it would an action thriller with a quirky cast and many surprises, and the audience would be relentlessly sitting on the edge of their seats and falling back with belly laughs.  Ted Staunton's sense of humour is divine, especially when verbalized by the indomitable Gloria Lorraine.  From continually getting Spencer's name wrong (is it Spanky, Spritzer, Skinner or Spunky?) and running into Tim Horton's and other places to change her Dependables (adult diapers) and shooting off a gun she believes is fake, GL is is larger than life.  Ted Staunton has enriched her with the voice of age, experience, compassion and life.  She has it all.  Luckily, Spencer, in a perennial state of disbelief, sees her and their story as a great epic, needing to be told.

Like Kill Bill, the movie Spencer is watching for the fifteenth time at the beginning of the book, Jump Cut has the eccentric elements of a cult classic.  But, I suspect, that Jump Cut and all the other books in Orca's Seven The Series will definitely stay in the mainstream for a long time with their popularity ensuring their status as classics.

SEVEN: Orca's upcoming series

Today's release of the following book trailer launches the hype for Orca's upcoming series, Seven. Watch the trailer to discover why the books of Seven will be much anticipated.

Uploaded by OrcaBookPublishers on Feb 7, 2012

As obvious as it may seem, the number seven is the key to the whole series.  In his will, adventurer and grandfather David McLean leaves seven letters for his seven teen-aged grandsons: D.J., Steve, Spencer, Bunny (a.k.a. Bernard), Rennie, Jim (a.k.a. Webb) and Adam.  In the letters, each boy is asked to undertake a specific task that will lead him on an adventure to Iceland, Spain, France, Tanzania or somewhere in Canada. Each book will tell the adventure of one grandson.

The series will be authored by seven of Canada's exceptional writers for young people.  As of today, the Seven website lists the following titles and authors as the books in the series:

• Between Heaven and Earth by Eric Walters;
• Lost Cause by John Wilson;
• Jump Cut by Ted Staunton;
• Ink Me by Richard Scrimger;
• Close to the Heel by Norah McClintock;
• Devil's Pass by Sigmund Brouwer;
• The Last Message by Shane Peacock.

Seven, unlike any other series, will have all seven books released on the same day: October 10, 2012.  Judging by the quality of these authors' writing, this is definitely a date to mark on your calendar.  I anticipate much thrilling action, vibrant settings and convincing characters, with each author bringing their own strengths to the books.  Readers can undoubtedly look forward to Richard Scrimger's sense of humour, Norah McClintock's sense of mystery, John Wilson's take on history, Shane Peacock's dark plotting, Eric Walters' character-building challenges, Ted Staunton's musicality, and Sigmund Brouwer's problem-solving strategies to enrich the tales. Definitely a series for all readers.

Details about the books (plus a countdown widget) are available at the Seven website.