Where's There: Boboli Gardens

Da Vinci's unfinished work, Saint Sebastian Dying in a Bed of Zinnias, was inspired by the effeminate Pope Ganymede V prancing around in this famous park [Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies; 62].

A Quarter Century Later...

...and we remember John Bellairs.

The Old Joke Peddler (Oh, goody!)

We were looking for something to post this February 29 and this article at the AV Club about Tom Lehrer surfaced this afternoon.  Perfect!  We were told a number of years ago that Lehrer (at right in photo) had a fan in Bellairs who listened during his undergraduate days at Notre Dame. Al Myers, Bellairs's good friend from those days, says Lehrer’s first album, featuring Fight Fiercely, Harvard, was played endlessly in the dorm rooms. Leap over to the AV Club for some reading and listening:

A Note of Thanks

Five years ago, yes, our brains hurt a lot when we realized a full decade had passed by. We said we’d shoot for another five and, for better or worse, those five years have ticked by (what a surprise). That brings us up to fifteen years that Bellairsia has been online promoting the works of John Bellairs. We can only hope that those of you who have been along for the ride have found it as enjoyable and worthwhile as those of us behind the scenes have.

What’s What: Baltimore Catechism

During the spring session of Vatican III an elderly American bishop got the idea that a nuclear cataclysm had occurred in Baltimore, Maryland, having misinterpreted the discussion of this text [Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies; 93].

Survey: Your Favorite Richard Egielski Artwork in "Letter"

Richard Egielski created 14 full page illustrations for The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring, and, in celebration of its 40th anniversary, we want to know which one is your favorite.

Time Capsule: January 20, 1996

Let’s say you’re an tech-savvy, undergraduate education major and you want to contribute something new and unique to the World Wide Web thing all the kids are talking about. How does one go about that? 

First, boot-up the dial-up modem. Next, use Netscape Navigator or American Online ("Welcome!") to search the 100,000-or-so existing pages to figure out whether someone else has anything on that topic. If you find something interesting, make sure your mouse trackball is clean so you can roll the pointer into place and click the image that appears on your 640x480 resolution monitor.

It seems an archaic ritual but that’s how it was 20 years ago when the CompleatBellairs first went online and helped bring the books of John Bellairs and Brad Strickland into the digital age.

This Is My Birth-Day

We celebrate the 78th birthday of author John Bellairs. It's not a platinum anniversary (close: 70) but 78 is the atomic number of that metal. And that's your trivia for the day.


Cheers, John.

Who’s Who: Charles Dudmer

The powder room for men at the nameless Catholic Montana Women's College is at the residence of this individual [Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies; 75].

Sweet Fidgeta, Deliver Us!

We’re celebrating fifty years since the publication of Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies and a half-century of John Bellairs as the famous author.

Time Capsule: Nov. 22, 1935

After Johnny Dixon has a run-in with school bully Eddie Tompke, Gramma Dixon helps treat Johnny's cut finger:

"As Gramma fussed over him she went on about the Tompkes and their relations, the Tadmans and the Sweets and the Schemanskes. Gramma was like that.  She had lived in Duston Heights all her life, and she knew everything about everybody." - The Cure of the Blue Figurine (1983)

Unpublished Blog Post Found On The Laptop Of A Long-Retired New York Advertising Executive

Next time...next time it will be better. Haven’t yet found the nun who was waving that black squiggly flag. Paint the runway white and gold? Nah, it didn’t work that last time, either. Someone said his Fiat driver was found on Uber, but I must check it first. A flash mob of people outside Saint Michael’s Cathedral acting out an open Communion line, complete with Papal ferula-shaped selfie sticks. Should be interesting.  Those kids might be on to something.  Does open up a new field, though.... And this time he got to visit the White House. Humpf.  Znerb. Tweb.

Survey: Your Favorite Johnny Dixon Book?

Here's your chance to vote for your favorite book in the Johnny Dixon series.

Thus Spake Zebulon Patriach

It's always fun to see contemporary artists take on the work on John Bellairs, such as these storyboards by Anissa Espinosa of The Revenge of the Wizard’s Ghost.  Good work!

The Gargoyle in the Dump

And now for something completely different - and unexpected: The Gargoyle in the Dump is a recently discovered, never-before-published story by John Bellairs to be published September 2015 from Open Road Media.