THE BEAST OF CRETACEA
Greetings,
The Beast, as I call it, is my first science fiction adventure. In the coming weeks and months I'll be writing about it.
VISIT CRETACEA IN THIS MONTH'S
BOYS' LIFE!
I can't reprint the story here, but you can read
The Chase in the December 2015 issue, and
experience all the excitement of the book!
Feb 2015 - After nearly three years of writing and editing, the manuscript went back to Candlewick for the last time.
The first page, then and now. (Click to see the original first page and to read the beginning of the novel).
When the typeset galleys arrived in March it was yet another opportunity to revise!. (Click for a closer look)
(Watch the Beast of Cretacea music video by Barb and Todd)
The Advance Readers Copies (aka bound galleys) went out in June.
See a very cool video of mobula rays (related to mantas) sailing into the air.
(Read the Booklist review!)
Cover by Lia Strasser!!!!!
My kids!!!
It began during the summer of 2012 with an idea for an adventure novel about space debris. To learn how it became The Beast of Cretacea, click on image.
Throughout 2013 and 2014 my wonderful editor at Candlewick, Kaylan Adair, made many suggestions as I worked on rough draft after rough draft. Petra Deistler-Kaufmann, my German editor at Ravensburger, also offered much valuable counsel, as did my son Geoff, a serious fan of Sci-fi.
(Click to read how my daughter Lia created the cover)
For now, I'd just like to gratefully acknowledge my daughter Lia, who created the cover for this book, and my son, Geoff, who read a nearly 500-page version of the manuscript and made many insightful and useful editorial suggestions. It’s not only more enough to make the old man proud; it brings a tear to his eye as well.
