Xander and the Rainbow-Barfing Unicorns...
Last year, Capstone Publishing asked me if I'd like to write a book series called Xander and the Rainbow-Barfing Unicorns. They had created the title and the idea that the main characters are zombies unicorns. But other than that, I was given free rein (puns always intended) to come up with Cradie, Blep, and Ronk, our very odd cast of characters.
I was a little unsure about the series at first, but when I mentioned the title to Lilly, my eight-year-old, she couldn't stop laughing. So I dove into the first book, excited to gear a series for kids her age (8-13) and hopefully, their parents. The result was easily the most fun I've ever had writing chapter books.
While the books in the series can be read in any order, Magic Smells Awful is the best place to start. In this book we learn how Xander, a 6th grader with an deep belief in magic, meets his rather uncouth zombie friends.
Here's how Capstone describes the book:
Xander Stone didn't believe in unicorns -- until one puked on him! In this adventure, twelve-year-old Xander first meets the Rainbow-Barfing Unicorns -- stinky, zombielike, upchucking creatures from the magical world of Pegasia. They've been banished to Earth for, well, being stinky, zombielike, upchucking creatures. However, Earth presents them with a great danger: HUMANS. Luckily, the dashing, naively heroic Xander vows to protect them and their disgusting secret at all costs.
The secret of the Rainbow-Barfing Unicorns is out and that makes Xander Stone sick! Twelve-year-old Xander is the only person on Earth who knows about the Rainbow-Barfing Unicorns. Except, of course, for a rich and crazy billionaire who will stop at nothing to capture these zombielike, upchucking creatures and get even richer and crazier!
Xander Stone travels to the home world of the Rainbow-Barfing Unicorns and it smells surprisingly good! Once banished for being stinky, zombielike, upchucking creatures, the Rainbow-Barfing Unicorns (still stinky, zombielike, upchucking creatures) return to their home world, Pegasia. Twelve-year-old Xander travels along, but Pegasia isn't the retched realm he expects. Instead, beautiful, brightly colored, tra-la-la-ing unicorns roam this fairy tale-ish world. Heck, even their farts smell strawberry-sweet! Which is a problem, since the Rainbow-Barfers just emptied their stomachs and are craving fruit-flavored unicorns!
Xander Stone must save the handsomest of all Rainbow-Barfing Unicorns! In this installment, the handsomest of all Rainbow-Barfing Unicorns, Stalor, is missing. (P.S. He's not really that handsome.) Twelve-year-old Xander and his other stinky, zombielike, upchucking unicorns set out to find him. Their naively heroic quest leads them to another dimension ruled by a diabolically bizarre king. Can the Rainbow-Barfing Unicorns save their relatively handsome friend, or will the plan throw up in their faces?
Each book features great, lively illustrations by Joey Ellis who helped bring Xander and his unicorns to life. All four books in the series are out now and can be ordered through the links above. Plus, two more in the series are due out this spring!
Happy reading!
To be continued...
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