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Showing posts with label derek the ghost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label derek the ghost. Show all posts

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Zillions of Zombies (Scary School #4) by Derek the Ghost {review, guest post, giveaway}


I'm thrilled to feature another spooktacular book, perfect for Halloween time, today! Plus, Derek the Ghost stops by with a fun guest post and awesome giveaway...


Zillions of Zombies
(Scary School #4)
by Derek the Ghost
Sept. 1, 2015
After defeating the fearsome Ice Dragon, the students of Scary School were in full celebration mode with an awesome parade leading up to the Dance of Destiny. But when a bearodactyl snatches Charles Nukid and flies him to Monster Kingdom, his friends have to figure out a way to rescue him before he's served as lunch to one of the kingdom's horrifying creatures. Little do his friends know that he's actually been taken there to be crowned the next monster king after defeating King Zog in battle. But no sooner is he crowned than he is challenged by Turlock the Troll. While trying to avoid getting crushed by Turlock's crew, one of them breaks the Zombie Control Lever, which was keeping all the zombies of the world good and not ravenous for brains. Charles's friends arrive in the nick of time after barely surviving a zombie attack at Scary School. Reunited, they now have to find the one unicorn in existence whose magic is powerful enough to turn all the zombies back to good before every monster and human alike are turned into the mindless brain-eating dead. 
amazon / barnes & noble



Other books in the Scary School series
(click cover to learn more)

Praise for Scary School

"I died laughing!"- Dan Gutma

"A laugh-out-loud offering that should find a broad and appreciative audience among boys and girls alike." - Kara Dean, Booklist

"The book was downright funny to the point of me wetting myself!" - Annemarie Ager, Best Books

"Scary School achieves a new level of awesome." - Ricochet Reviews

"What a great comic storytelling talent Derek the Ghost is. I wish he’d been around when I was a kid. School would have been a lot more fun! - Charles Busch, author and star of Psycho Beach Party

"Spooky, ooky, and kooky! Scary School reminds me of my middle school!" -Chris Grabenstein, award-winning author of The Haunted Mystery series

"Everything is so funny...a perfect book for getting ready for school." -KidsReads

Fresh from their victory over the Ice Dragon, the students at Scary School are ready to celebrate at the Dance of Destiny. But before the festivities even begin, Charles Nukid is grabbed by a bearodactyl and taken to Monster Kingdom...not to be eaten, but to be crowned their new king. Meanwhile, back at Scary School, the dance is interrupted by zombies. Zillions of very hungry, recently turned bad zombies! Charles’ classmates must find a way to save their friend AND hold back the hordes of killer zombies. When Charles and his friends are reunited, they learn that they must find the one real unicorn and convince him to hand over his horn, in order to turn the zombies back to good. Can the Scary School kids save the day? Will Charles let his power go to his head? Will Dr. Dragobreath eat one of your favorite characters?!

Derek The Ghost (aka Derek Kent) returns to his rollicking, wildly entertaining middle-grade Scary School series with the fourth and final book, Zillions of Zombies. Like books one, two and three, Zillions of Zombies is full of Derek’s signature outrageous humor, frightfully fun storylines, spooktacular settings, and one of a kind characters.

Young readers will be delighted by the thrills, twists, and side-splitting laughs found on every page of Zillions of Zombies! The age-appropriate, yet completely amusing and wickedly exciting, scares are a fun mix of funhouse whimsy, haunted house spooks, and sideshow marvels. Both Scary School itself and the realm of the Monster Kingdom, make for deliciously creepy and endlessly fascinating settings. With fast-paced, captivating storytelling, Zillions of Zombies is a real page-turner!

One of the things I love most about this series, is all the unforgettable and charming characters! From dragons, wolfboys, flower-girls, a talking T. Rex, vampires, trolls, evil dolls, mythological legends, and everything in between, Zillions of Zombies is bursting with engaging, fantastical characters for readers to enjoy.

As the final book in the Scary School series, Zillions of Zombies offers a wonderfully satisfying and cheer-worthy ending that fans will appreciate and love.

my final thoughts: This has quickly become one of my favorite middle-grade series and, even though I’m sad to see it end, it couldn’t have concluded with a better final book. Fans of the series will definitely be happy with Zillions of Zombies and new readers have a wonderful fourth book to look forward to!

MY RATING
5/5 yummy cupcakes

DEREK THE GHOST’S
TEN MOST SURPRISING WAYS TO SURVIVE A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

Hello folks! This is your favorite 11-year-old “ghost writer”, Derek the Ghost. If you’ve been reading my book series Scary School, you’ll know that the students are used to all sorts of horrors on a daily basis, from a dragon teacher that eats his students, to Archie the Giant Squid in the school moat, to an invasion by an army of karate monsters. But nothing compares to what they go through in the latest and final book in the series, Scary School #4: Zillions of Zombies.

Myself and all the students learned all the tricks of the trade to surviving a zombie apocalypse, so now I’d like to share some with you. For more info on zombies and all my books, feel free to visit ScarySchool.com or DerekTaylorKent.com. Happy reading!

10. Walls never work as well as you think. Remember in World War Z when the zombies formed a huge pile of themselves to climb over the walls in Jerusalem? There are all sorts of ways to get over, under, and through walls that zombies are really good at. In Scary School #4, my sister Jacqueline builds a wall out of the wood from her haunted house. It lasts a while, but eventually the persistent zombies find a way through and we were in BIG trouble. Best to stay out in the open because if zombie’s bust through a wall, you’ll be trapped with no chance of escape! H 15  zombies break through the wall.jpg
9. Don’t ever trust a dead zombie. Have you ever seen a show where there’s a zombie corpse lying motionless on the ground. Then one of the characters starts dancing around it or kicking it for no good reason, only to have it come back to life and bite them on the leg? That’s literally a zombie’s favorite game to play. They play possum to draw you close then CHOMP. Assume all zombies are still alive and stay at least twenty to thirty feet away from the at all times. Remember, zombies don’t ever die. That’s their whole thing.

8. Don’t open window blinds. Ever seen a movie when people are locked up in a house. They start hearing pounding on the walls and windows. They open the blinds and hundreds of zombies are there! Moments later they break through the window and pour inside. Duh! They did that because they had confirmation you were in there when you opened the blinds, silly characters. If you had ignored them, they probably would have moved on to the next house.

7. Give ‘em a job! The reason zombies do nothing but wander around in search of brains is because they have nothing better to do. That’s because it’s very hard to get a job as a Zombie-American. Employers just don’t want to hire someone who might bite their co-workers, scare customers away, and can only say “braaaains.” That’s why Scary School takes pride in hiring zombies to be its wait staff in the lunch hall. The work keeps their minds focused and off of eating the students’ brains. Want to stave off a zombie apocalypse? Hire a zombie! unchHallZombie copy.jpg

6. If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em. It’s true that zombies get a lot of flack for being gross, decaying, evil, and dead. But many in the Scary School community deem that to be an unfair assessment. Most would point to Ramon Fernandez, one of the most popular kids at Scary School and gold-medalist in skateboarding, snowboarding and sky-surfing. Oh, and did I mentioned he’s a zombie kid? The fact that he’s already dead makes him fearless in all extreme sports, which gives him the edge he needs to become a champion. He would like everyone to know that there’s nothing wrong with being a zombie, though having friends around to help put you back together when your limbs fall off is helpful. Best way to survive a zombie might just be to become a zombie. It’s not for a everyone, but it’s a perfectly acceptable option.ohnnyRamonePeter copy.jpg

5. Play some one on one. It’s a lesser-known fact that zombies love basketball. Their zombie-ness makes them all “dead-on” shots and they will drain three-pointers on you all day if you give them an inch. If a zombie is chasing you, do your best to run to the nearest basketball court. Then challenge them to a game of one-on-one. Make a deal that if you win, they have to leave you alone. Note: I would only use this strategy if you are an NBA-level hoops star.H 3_b_ Ramon dribbles.jpg

4. Tell them a joke. Zombies have great senses of humor. It’s a common misconception that they are always in a bad mood and starving for flesh and brains. I mean, who isn’t cranky when they’re hungry. Sometimes a funny joke is exactly what a zombie needs to snap him out of his hunger-crazed attack. For instance, one time a zombie had cornered me, so I said, “What’s a zombie’s favorite toy? A deady bear!” The zombie laughed so hard that his jaw fell off. With no jaw he couldn’t bite me and I was home free.

3. Walk the walk. Zombies are not the most observant monsters. The weird shuffling “zombie-walk” is the only way they can tell the difference between themselves and the living. Perfect your best zombie walk (arms out is optional) and you can easily blend in during a time of crisis. But be careful, one skip or smooth move and they’ll be on you like flies on rotting meat.

2. Watch Bruce Lee movies. Did you know that martial arts was originally created to fend off zombie attacks? It’s true! Watch karate master Bruce Lee and copy all of his kicks and punches. Use the deadly arts only in the worst case scenario when a zombie is about to bite you. Local ninja girl/Scary School student, Lattie, likes to bounce off their heads and deliver swift helicopter kicks whenever her or her friends are in trouble. Hi-ya!
H 6_a_ Lattie Kcking Zombies.jpg

  1. All they need is love. Like everyone else in the world, all a zombie really wants, even more than brains, is a little bit of love. Not to give anything away, but in Scary School #4, the zillions of zombies attacking can be traced back to one incident when a zombie was rejected at the school dance. Perhaps giving a zombie a kiss on the cheek is all that’s needed to turn them back to good?
H 23  Frank  kissesRamon.jpg
Derek is an eleven-year-old ghost who haunts the classrooms and hallways of Scary School, writing down all the spine-tingling often hilarious things that go on there. Despite his ghostly state, Derek still enjoys reading comic books and hopes to one day become a master ninja. If that doesn’t work out, he will continue to share the fun of this very special, very secret school, so all kids can experience the scariest school on earth. Derek the Ghost communicates through the first-time ghost whisperer Derek Taylor Kent, who is a writer and performer in Los Angeles, California.

Win a copy of Scary School #1!
Derek has generously offered one paperback or ebook copy (winner's choice) of the first book in his Scary School series, to one winner.
DETAILS
-US only
-ends 10/16
please read full rules below

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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To enter, fill out the appropriate Rafflecopter form associated with each giveaway.
The start and end dates for each giveaway will be clearly stated and followed.
The specified amount of winners shall be selected in a random drawing.
Winners will be notified by email and must claim their prize within 48 hours. If a winner does not respond within 48 hours, then a new winner will be chosen.
Word Spelunking is not responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen prizes in the mail. Once a prize is dropped off at the post office, it is no longer my responsibility and I will not compensate in anyway for prizes not delivered because of the USPS.
If a third-party (author, publisher, etc) is shipping a prize, once I provide the winner(s)' mailing information to them, the prize is no longer my responsibility. I will forward your mailing info to the proper people within 48 hours after getting it from you. If you have not received your prize from an author or publisher within 8 weeks, it is your responsibility to contact them further.
By participating in any giveaway, you agree to adhere to these rules. Any breaking of these rules by entrants will disqualify them from the giveaway and their entries will be deleted.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Review: The Northern Frights (Scary School #3) by Derek Kent


Be sure to check out my reviews of Scary School #1 and Scary School #2



The Northern Frights
(Scary School #3)
by Derek Kent
Pub Date: 6/25/13
Pub: Harper Collins
Format: Hardcover
Source: from pub and author
In The Northern Frights, the third book in the spooky Scary School series, Charles “New Kid” Nukid and his friends, including Lattie, a girl ninja, must fight an epic battle with an ice dragon to save their school. But first they must survive going to Scream Academy as exchange students. And that may be hard, because the Academy has an abominable snowman for a principal, a Headless Horseman as one of the teachers, and the students are yetis, trolls, and ogres! Will Charles survive to make an ancient prophecy come to pass and save everyone? The illustrated Scary School trilogy by Derek the Ghost, with its mix of humor, scares, and adventure, is a perfect pick for middle-grade readers of the Wayside School series and the Zach Files books.

Books 1 & 2

WATCH THE BOOK TRAILER


Derek Kent's spooktacular, awesomely kooky Scary School Trilogy comes to a wildly fun end with the third book, The Northern Frights. This is one of my absolute favorite middle-grade series, and while I'm sad to see this trilogy end, I'm happy to report that it goes out with a frighteningly fantastic finale!

In The Northern Frights Charles “New Kid” Nukid and several of his classmates, including Lattie, a new ninja girl, find themselves at Scream Academy as exchange students. Scream Academy is the scariest, wildest, most terrifying monster school there is. With an abominable snowman for a principle, the Headless Horseman as a teacher, and trolls; ogres; and witches as classmates, the Scary School kids are up to their eyeballs in all things spooky and kooky. And the scariest thing of all is an epic showdown between a huge ice dragon and the Scary School kids. Charles and his friends must defeat the ice dragon or lose their beloved school.

Derek Kent's (aka Derek the Ghost) over-the-top in the best way possible, a laugh and a fun scare a minute Scary School series is the epitome of fun reading! Everything I've come to love about this series- the pitch-perfect MG voice, the spectacular storytelling, the unforgettable characters, the awesome illustrations- is seamlessly and fantastically carried over from each book and really sparkles and shines in The Northern Frights.

Derek Kent knows his audience and “gets” them so well. Younger readers will be charmed by this series' silly humor, thoroughly entertained by the wacky situations the characters find themselves in, and utterly addicted to the world-building, which is equal parts whimsical, eerie, and fascinating. The Northern Frights, like books one and two, has the perfect mix of thrills and chills and humor and adventure, and is always appropriate for its intended audience. The spooks and kooks in this series are scary enough to be exciting, but never nightmare worthy. In book three, we get to explore a whole new setting, Scream Academy. I've said before that Scary School is like a crazier, zanier, but just as unpredictable and enthralling, Hogwarts...well if Hogwarts had an evil, bonkers twin, it would be the too cool Scream Academy. Just like the Scary School exchange students, readers will explore every dark corridor and classroom of Scream Academy with spine-tingling anticipation, and open every door and take every footstep with bated breath, never knowing what might just jump out, fall down, or magically appear.

I just adore the unique, eclectic bunch of characters in this series! Kent has a real knack for creating refreshing characters that are relatable and lovable, even when they may have a frightening appearance (or appetite!). All my faves are back and many new, awesomely unusual faces are introduced in The Northern Frights. I loved meeting the more monstrous students and teachers of Scream Academy, but Lattie the ninja girl is especially cool. But what I love the most about all these characters, are the genuine, surprising friendships and relationships they develop with one another. And as spooktacularly fun as this series is, these books also send young readers a really great message about the power of friendship, acceptance, and courage.

The Northern Frights will keep readers eagerly turning pages, especially when the thrilling and explosive battle with the ice dragon begins, and ends on a really satisfying and happy note (and ends with room for future adventures...I really hope there's more Scary School fun to come!).

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: The Northern Frights is the perfect enthralling and scary fun filled conclusion to this deliciously spooky trilogy. If you're a fan of the series, then you'll love book three. And if you haven't started the series yet, you're in for an awesome surprise. This must read book and series are excellent reads for younger readers (and grown-ups too!). I highly recommend them!

MY RATING

Purchase

Derek Kent
Derek is an eleven-year-old ghost who haunts the classrooms and hallways of Scary School, writing down all the spine-tingling often hilarious things that go on there. Despite his ghostly state, Derek still enjoys reading comic books and hopes to one day become a master ninja. If that doesn’t work out, he will continue to share the fun of this very special, very secret school, so all kids can experience the scariest school on earth. Derek the Ghost communicates through the first-time ghost whisperer Derek Taylor Kent, who is a writer and performer in Los Angeles, California.




Monday, July 2, 2012

Review: Scary School #2: Monsters of the March by Derek the Ghost


TITLE: Monsters on the March       SERIES: Scary School #2
AUTHOR: Derek the Ghost             PUB DATE: 6/26/12
PUB: HarperCollins                            FORMAT: hardcover, 256 pgs
SOURCE: from author in exchange for an honest review

Scary School #2: Monsters on the March

As winners of last year's Ghoul Games, the students of Scary School are off to Monster Forest. School may be scary, but the forest has a few frights of its own, including:
Bearodactyls—so terrifying we can't even show you pictures of themPrincess Zogette, the Monster King's toad-faced daughter, who falls for Charles Nukid . . . hardCaptain Pigbeard, fearsome leader of the Monster-Pirates and Princess Zogette's fiancÉ (well, former fiancÉ, thanks to Charles)And when Zogette follows Charles to Scary School, the Monster King and Captain Pigbeard raise their armies and chase after her. But the monsters have no idea who—or what—they're dealing with.In this clever, funny sequel to the frighteningly hilarious Scary School, Charles, Penny Possum, Dr. Dragonbreath, and all the students and teachers prove that scary monsters are no match for Scary School!

WATCH THE TRAILER FOR BOOK ONE...IT'S AWESOME!!!

THREE WORDS: Kooky, Spooky, Fun

MY REVIEW: Scary School #1 was one of my favorite MG reads last year, so I was super stoked to read the next book in the series. And this second installment does not disappoint! It not only captures the spooky-fun essence of the first book, it takes things to a whole new level of whimsy and awesomeness.

The students of Scary School are about to collect their reward for winning the Ghoul Games: a trip to Monster Forest to meet the Monster King, King Zog. And the Monster Forest is exactly how it sounds, a forest full of monsters: bearodactyls, fearsome pirates and a toad face princess. And when Princess Zogette falls for Charles Nukid and follows him back to Scary School, King Zog and Captain Pigbeard (Zogette’s fiancé) are not happy and wage war on Scary School. Back at Scary School the students prepare to fight the monsters while having spooky and kooky adventures of their own and of course, Derek the Ghost is there to write them all down.

Derek the Ghost returns with a spectacular and wild second installment in this tons of fun series. Once again, the author weaves a story that is both laugh-out-loud hilarious and deliciously chilling. Fast paced and packed full of thrills, giggles and awesome gross-outs, this book is never boring! Pitch perfect for its intended audience, the author continues to create an addicting voice that is equal parts whimsical, childlike and acerbically witty.

Old favorites are back (Charles Nukid, Penny the Possum, Principle Headcrusher, Frank whose name is pronounced “Rachel”, etc) while some new delightful and even creepy characters are introduced. Some of my new favorite characters are Mr. Grump, the elephant man teacher; Ms. Hydra, the seven-headed hall monitor; and Tanya Tarantula, a new student I’m equally enthralled with and terrified of (dude, she’s a GIANT spider! Ick, but wicked cool, right?!).  No matter how hairy, slimy, smelly or icky any character may be, they’re always charming, relatable and lovable.

The world Derek has created is smart, vivid and endlessly imaginative. Scary School is like a giant fun/haunted house or creepy Hogwarts, and how cool does that sound? You never know what fantastical beasts or wonderment will pop up or out from every corner and door. The exciting adventures of the Scary School students are over the top in the best way possible, full of laughs and have enough thrills to be delightfully scary.

And I must mention the illustrations, which are once again done by the talented Scott M. Fischer. Fischer’s drawings so wonderfully bring Derek’s story to life. He has definitely captured not only the likeness of the characters, but their personalities and essence as well.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: This series has quickly become one of my favorite MG series and Monsters of the March is an awesome sequel. Readers of all ages will be captivated by the humor, chills and fantastical setting. This book and series is definitely a MUST read, especially a read-aloud!
  MY RATING

Find the author: Series Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook
Purchase: Amazon / B&N / Book Depository


Thursday, December 1, 2011

Review, Giveaway, Interview: Scary School ~5 Cupcakes~

Be sure to check out my interview with Derek the Ghost (Derek Kent) and enter to win a hardcover copy of Scary School below my review

TITLE: Scary School                              SERIES: Scary School #1
AUTHOR: Derek the Ghost                   PUB DATE: 6/21/11
PUBLISHER: HarperCollins                  FORMAT: hardcover
SOURCE: from author in exchange for honest review



You think your school's scary? 
Get a load of these teachers: Ms. Fang, an 850-year-old vampire. Dr. Dragonbreath, who just might eat you before recess. Mr. Snakeskin—science class is so much more fun when it's taught by someone who's half zombie. Mrs. T—break the rules and spend your detention with a hungry Tyrannosaurus rex!Plus Gargoyles, goblins, and Frankenstein's monster on the loose The world's most frighteningly delicious school lunchAnd The narrator's an eleven-year-old ghost!Join Charles "New Kid" Nukid as he makes some very Scary friends—including Petunia, Johnny, and Peter the Wolf—and figures out that Scary School can be just as funny as it is spooky!
 You MUST watch this trailer!

THREE WORDS: Awesome. Clever. Laugh-out-loud-funny (it’s totally one word!)

MY REVIEW: I dove right into Scary School as soon as it arrived in the mail! I mean, I couldn’t resist that fun cover and that wicked cool trailer and song! Have you watched the trailer above yet? No? Go watch it…now…I’ll wait *waits patiently*…See? I told you! And yes, that song WILL be in your head all day *smirks*

As you can tell, I LOVED this book! It’s pretty much made of awesome. Written and narrated by Derek the Ghost, an 11 year old former attendee at Scary School who died a year ago in a science lab accident…but don’t worry, he’s kinda cool with it. Derek the Ghost recounts the many adventures and happenings of Scary School. And just what is Scary School? Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like, duh! Scary School is an elementary school, open to both humans and scary children, run by scary teachers. With a principle named Principle Headcrusher, teachers like Ms. Fang and Dr. Dragonbreath, and a T.Rex as a librarian and detention monitor, well you never know what’s going to happen. In this first installment of a new series, we follow Charles “New Kid” Nukid, as he makes his way through his first terrifying year at Scary School. A year that is made even more exciting with the Ghoul Games.

Author Derek Kent, aka Derek the Ghost, offers up a delightfully funny, entertaining and positively spellbinding new series. This is the type of book that I would have gone crazy for as a kid! It’s whimsical, laugh out loud funny, smart, and full of fun surprises. The narration is a perfect blend of childlike silliness and deadpan sarcasm. This book is reminiscent of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events  and The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids series, both of which I adore.

There is a wonderful cast of characters, human and scary alike. In this book, Derek introduces us to many of Scary School’s more interesting students, such as Peter the Wolf, Jason the hockey mask, chainsaw wielding hockey player, Petunia the purple skinned flower girl, Ramon the zombie, Penny Possum who’s boss at playing dead, and Frank which is pronounced “Rachel”. Each character is engaging, likable, and perfectly childlike. I truly loved every single character, but I think my favorite so far is Penny Possum.

This is a book that kids will just get. The silly, sometimes gross, out there humor is pitch perfect for the MG and younger crowd. But, this book will surely entertain adults as well. It definitely captivated this grown up! This would make an excellent read aloud book for kids and adults to share.

But, just because this book is a hoot a page doesn’t mean it has nothing meaningful and important to offer. There are many valuable lessons to be learned in this book as well, such as:   Never judge a person by their appearance
·         Friends can come in all sorts of packages
·         Always be yourself
·         Don’t anger a vampire
·         Always follow a dragon’s rules
·         Lunchtime is NOT a good time to visit a T.Rex
·         When in doubt, use Monster Math: the bigger the number, the better.
For example: 2+2=…if you said 4 then you’d be wrong. If you said 18,478 or 2,674,198 or Infinity, then you’d probably be right…who knew, according to Monster Math, that I was a mathematical genius all along?!

I have to mention the illustrations done by Scott M. Fischer because they are awesome! His simple, yet wonderfully vivid pictures really capture the scenes and bring the book to life.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Ten year old me is sad that this book wasn’t around when she was in elementary school, but grown up me is so glad to have found this book in the present. Scary School is a superb first installment in what is sure to be a beloved and adored new series. Readers of all ages will be delighted and captivated by its humor, magic, and awesomeness. You absolutely MUST read this book!

MY RATING
5/5 CUPCAKES
You can learn more about this series and the author here:
You can purchase this book here:





Derek is an eleven-year-old ghost who haunts the classrooms and hallways of Scary School, writing down all the spine-tingling often hilarious things that go on there. Despite his ghostly state, Derek still enjoys reading comic books and hopes to one day become a master ninja. If that doesn’t work out, he will continue to share the fun of this very special, very secret school, so all kids can experience the scariest school on earth. Derek the Ghost communicates through the first-time ghost whisperer Derek Taylor Kent, who is a writer and performer in Los Angeles, California.

Q. What inspired you to write Scary School? Where did the idea come from?

Interestingly, the idea for the book actually came from my editor at HarperCollins. Previous to Scary School, I had written a book called RUDY AND THE BEAST: Book 1 - MY HOMEWORK ATE MY DOG! (but originally it was called Scary School: Book 1 - My Homework Ate My Dog!) The editor really liked the book, but suggested I use the title Scary School to write something lighter and funnier and more school-centric. So since I had a fan and a bite, I plunged into writing the new book, which they loved right away and gave me a three-book deal for. I drew on a lot of my favorite things for inspiration for the book. The great thing about it is that it's format allows me to create new wild things from chapter to chapter, so I drew on a lot of the classic horror motifs (gothic castles, giant squids, dragons, dinosaurs) and current horror trends (vampires and werewolves and zombies), and then put a comedic spin on it so that I'm poking fun at all of it. I'm a comedy writer by nature, but also have a deep love of scary books and movies, so I wanted to create something that would be laugh-out-loud funny, but not disappoint those seeking thrills and chills. Oh, and if any of your readers want to check out Rudy and the Beast, it's a super-fun adventure story and is available through the website ScarySchool.com and is only $2.99 on Kindle!

Q. Are any of the characters, especially the scary teachers, modeled after real people? Did you have a Dr. Dragonbreath growing up?

Yes, there are some characters that are taken straight from my life. Most obviously is the character of Jacqueline, who's my 8-year-old sister in the book, and is also my sister in real life. In the book, she builds a haunted house for me to live in, and in real life, she built an incredible, massive structure that was similar to a haunted house while she was an art student at UCLA. Many of the other characters are taken from classic horror stories - for instance there's a young Freddy Kruger and a young Jason. For the teachers, I did have a super-scary, strict teacher once in my life who reminds of Dr. Dragonbreath, and I think most kids do too, so that class is one they can relate to. But then I also took elements from some of my favorite teachers and gave Dr. Dragonbreath those qualities so that he's also likable - wearing bow-ties, and teaching in a very entertaining way.

 Q. Do you have a favorite Scary School character? Mine’s Penny Possum ;)

Oh, then you're definitely going to love Book 2 of Scary School (which comes out June 26) because Penny becomes one of the central characters and is even on the cover! I think my favorite character is probably Petunia. I like how she's strange even for School School (being completely purple and part-flower). She has a really tough time of making friends due to the bees buzzing around her all the time, and of course, she loves reading more than anything. She's very sensitive, so it's great having a character who can always be in a heightened emotional state.

Q. Can you give us any tidbits about future Scary School books? Any new characters or exciting adventures coming up?

Yes, there will be many new characters and some incredible adventures coming up! In Book 2, the students receive their prize for winning the Ghoul Games - a trip to Monster Kindgom to meet the Monster King. Well, as usual, things don't go as planned, and many of your favorite characters will have to get very lucky to make it out of there alive! You'll really be able to get a sense of what the world is like beyond on the Scary School walls, and in Book 3 you'll get to travel even farther so some of the other "scary" schools and see how those places work. One of my favorite new characters in Book 2 is an 11-year-old Stephen King, who becomes a student at Scary School and we get to find out where got all the ideas for his stories!

Q. If you were to participate in the Ghoul Games, what event would you compete in?

I'm kind of obsessed with word games, so I'd probably pick Boggle or Scrabble. I also once won a free-throw shooting contest, so maybe that too.

Q. What books did you love as a child? What books impacted you the most as a reader and writer?

One of my favorite books from childhood is Sideways Stories from Wayside School. In terms of humor, that was the go-to book for everyone at my school. There was nothing else even comparable. So when writing a book like Scary School, where the school is actually the main character, it made sense to use Louise Sachar's short-story format in telling about different events, and characters that shape the world of the school. I just made mine a horror-themed school and added in a storyline that you get to follow throughout the books. As an adult, the Harry Potter series is what made me want to write novels after ten years of working on dozens of illustrated picture books. I became enthralled with the idea of creating my own unique world like she did, filled with characters that become like family who the readers can get emotionally attached to.

Q. What made up or imaginary world from a book, tv show, or movie would you love to visit?  

How about one from each. From a book - obviously I'd love to be a student at Hogwarts. Who wouldn't?  From a TV show - it would be awesome to be living in the future on board the Starship Enterprise. From a movie - hmm.. trying to think of one not based on a book or TV show. There aren't many. Got it. How about the pre-heaven from Albert Brooks's Defending Your Life. That place is awesome.

Q. If you could magically bring one character from any book into the real world, who would it be? Why?

Johnny. I would track him down and announce that I found Bigfoot.

Q. If Scary School were to be made into a movie, would you rather it be a live action or animated movie?

Animated. It would be super-cool as a stop-motion or puppet too. We might see it as a TV series before a movie though.

Q. Ok, this is a toughie…Using Monster Math and no calculator or computer, although counting on your fingers, toes, eyes, ears, nose, tail, horns, etc is acceptable, please solve this equation:
 125 x 476 + 1234-222/11=  
Whatever the monster nearest you says it equals.


I want thank Derek for taking the time to answer my questions and giving us the chance to get to know him and his book a little better!


Derek has kindly offered one (1) Hardcover Copy of SCARY SCHOOL to give away!
Giveaway will run from 12/1 - 12/9 at 11:59 pm
  • Must be 13 or older to enter
  • Must be a GFC Follower
  • Open internationally
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  • Winner will be chosen randomly
  • Winner will be emailed and must claim prize within 48 hours or new winner will be chosen
  • I am not rsponsible for lost or damaged prizes as they are not coming from me
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GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED
THANKS :)