John Bellairs: Author Of The Imaginary

During Patrick Dunne's undergraduate years at Notre Dame - from which he graduated in 1960 - he was a fellow classmate of John Bellairs. Dunne shared some of his memories in the Autumn 2012 edition of the Notre Dame Magazine:

List, List, O, List!

This is the first time we've ever seen this sort of thing, so...yeah.

looking for a girl to read me a story. the spell of the sorcerer’s skull maybe or some of the one thousand and one nights. serious inquiries only (Craigslist; November 26, 2012).

 Go easy, Scheherazade.

Review: Face "One Of The Most Delicious And Sadly Under-Appreciated Books Ever Written"

Book review: The Face in the Frost

Where’s There: Hellespont

Standing in Leander’s Tower in 1453, Professor Childermass says that the tower “stands on a tiny spit of land in the Hellespont, the narrow body of water that runs between the Black Sea, which north of here, and the Sea of Marmara, which is below us [The Trolley to Yesterday; 28].

Edward Gorey: Artist of Contradictions

A post at Gathered Nettles celebrates Edward Gorey:

If Gorey’s philosophy of art was defined by ambiguity and contradiction, it certainly makes sense when seen in the context of his work. Not only is he frequently working in the in-between genre of the illustrated book (what is more important here? Words? Images?), the content of his books always hovered somewhere between sinister and humorous, at times deeply macabre while remaining childishly delightful. His style it is at once extremely minimalist and spare but also fastidiously detailed and specific.

Review: House "Kind Of A Great Little Horror/Mystery"

Book review: The House with a Clock in its Walls

Review: House "Noteworthy For The...Chills Of A Gothic Mystery...[And] Everyday Woes Of Being A Fifth Grader"

Book review: The House with a Clock in its Walls

Things Teeming with Autumn

And in time for the season, here is "The Haunting", written by Brad Strickland (Oct. 2009):

‘Twas late, late in October,
With a sky low, gray, and sober,
And few crisp leaves upon the boughs up high;
When the wind howled low and lonely,
And the air felt chill, and only
Seven stars shone faintly in the sky.

Zoë Archer: Chocolate-chip Cookie Fan

As Halloween fast approaches, USA Today's Joyce Lamb asked other authors to discover what book raises the hair on the back of their neck. In the Oct.28 edition, Lamb asks a number of romance authors, including Zoë Archer, about what's scared them:

Book News: Eden Feint

The third book in the Jim Dallas series has hit Amazon – and perhaps soon your Kindle, too?

Book News: Dallas Times Three

The first three Steve Dallas adventures are now available together in one edition.  Released Oct. 25, readers can now get caught up on the adventures of Jim and Sam in Atlanta Bones, Cuban Dagger, and Eden Feint.

Is There Still Room For Scares...?

We were surprised this morning to read an interesting tribute to John Bellairs and The House with a Clock in its Walls by Erik Adams at the Onion AV Club:

Interview: Sandra Frey

Imagine our surprise when we were approached by someone writing a thesis on John Bellairs. Excellent! Surprise escalated into bewilderment when we discovered it was being proposed by someone living in Germany!  Wie wäre es damit? Sandra Frey lives and works in Heidelberg and last year studied translation for English and Italian with her Bellairsian thesis her final project. She currently works for a translation agency and, in between that and her other hobbies, has graciously answered some questions about her project and provides us in the states with a European perspective on the books.

Presenting Snake Year Press

We stumbled upon a strange celebration of a singular moment from The Face in the Frost in the form a publishing group named for ... ewwww ... snake year cherry.  Author Quentin Dodd has this to say on his new publishing venture:

The Secret of the Enduringly Popular Author

Bellairs fan Daniel McInerny wonders what made Bellairs's books so fun to read: