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Lost Cause — Seven: The Series by John Wilson (Orca $9.95)
Origin of the Series
Seven: The Series [see story below] was born when Eric Walters started thinking about a story in which a beloved grandfather dies and leaves his grandson the task of spreading his ashes from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro... Then he wondered what if he had more than one grandson? What if he had seven?
"I thought about my favourite writers and their different styles and wondered how each writer would approach this same narrative,"; Walters says.
"I made some phone calls. Some of the writers plunged in before the end of the call. Others needed a day to think it over.
"In quick succession though, all seven of us signed on and we were off. Instantly, messages started to fly between the writers as we crafted our individual stories and then 'reshaped' aspects to fit in with what the others were writing.
"For my book, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. There, atop the mountain, I sent a text message to John Wilson, just as the character in my book sends one to the character in John's book.
"I can only hope that the readers will enjoy these unique books as much as we all enjoyed writing them.";
You've heard of the Magnificent Seven and The Seven Samurai. And Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. And Seven Wives for Seven Brothers.
Now along comes Seven: The Series, for readers aged ten and up-seven novels by seven writers released simultaneously, all involving quests for seven grandsons
as laid out in their grandfather's will.
The eldest grandson has the task of spreading grandpa's ashes atop Mt. Kilimanjaro, as outlined in Between Heaven and Earth (Orca) by Eric Walters, who brought the series idea to the publisher.
The seven novels can be read in random order. The contemporary action of each book occurs at the same time as the seven grandsons are dispersed around the world according to their grandfather's instructions.
Electronic chapters are being made available each month, for seven months, prior to the official release date of October 10.
The lone B.C. author in the series is John Wilson with Lost Cause (Orca $9.95), in which grandson Steve investigates his grandfather's activities in Spain with the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War.
"I was approached by Eric early in the process,"; he says, "and we decided to make our characters twins. Their relationship is established early in both books and develops through exchanged texts as they undertake their adventures.
"This is an exceptional case with the Seven books. The only point of commonality is reading where each character is given their task/quest. After that, the stories go their own ways as envisaged by each author.
"Obviously, I have read Between Heaven and Earth. I can't speak for the other authors, but I plan to read all the books. I'm intrigued to see the different directions taken by my colleagues.
Wilson says he's in awe of Sarah Harvey, who edited all seven books and who undertook the task of making sure that everything in each book fitted with what the other six characters did in the other books.
Lost Cause, for John Wilson, is an attempt, like most of his historical fiction, to relive a time for which he was born too late. "I have long been convinced that, had I been 20 in 1936, I would have gone to fight in Spain in the International Brigades.
Fortunately, since so few came back from that war, I never had the chance. Steve is me, reliving the experiences I wish I could have been a part of.";
978-1-55469-944-5
[BCBW 2012]
Seven: The Series [see story below] was born when Eric Walters started thinking about a story in which a beloved grandfather dies and leaves his grandson the task of spreading his ashes from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro... Then he wondered what if he had more than one grandson? What if he had seven?
"I thought about my favourite writers and their different styles and wondered how each writer would approach this same narrative,"; Walters says.
"I made some phone calls. Some of the writers plunged in before the end of the call. Others needed a day to think it over.
"In quick succession though, all seven of us signed on and we were off. Instantly, messages started to fly between the writers as we crafted our individual stories and then 'reshaped' aspects to fit in with what the others were writing.
"For my book, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. There, atop the mountain, I sent a text message to John Wilson, just as the character in my book sends one to the character in John's book.
"I can only hope that the readers will enjoy these unique books as much as we all enjoyed writing them.";
You've heard of the Magnificent Seven and The Seven Samurai. And Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. And Seven Wives for Seven Brothers.
Now along comes Seven: The Series, for readers aged ten and up-seven novels by seven writers released simultaneously, all involving quests for seven grandsons
as laid out in their grandfather's will.
The eldest grandson has the task of spreading grandpa's ashes atop Mt. Kilimanjaro, as outlined in Between Heaven and Earth (Orca) by Eric Walters, who brought the series idea to the publisher.
The seven novels can be read in random order. The contemporary action of each book occurs at the same time as the seven grandsons are dispersed around the world according to their grandfather's instructions.
Electronic chapters are being made available each month, for seven months, prior to the official release date of October 10.
The lone B.C. author in the series is John Wilson with Lost Cause (Orca $9.95), in which grandson Steve investigates his grandfather's activities in Spain with the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War.
"I was approached by Eric early in the process,"; he says, "and we decided to make our characters twins. Their relationship is established early in both books and develops through exchanged texts as they undertake their adventures.
"This is an exceptional case with the Seven books. The only point of commonality is reading where each character is given their task/quest. After that, the stories go their own ways as envisaged by each author.
"Obviously, I have read Between Heaven and Earth. I can't speak for the other authors, but I plan to read all the books. I'm intrigued to see the different directions taken by my colleagues.
Wilson says he's in awe of Sarah Harvey, who edited all seven books and who undertook the task of making sure that everything in each book fitted with what the other six characters did in the other books.
Lost Cause, for John Wilson, is an attempt, like most of his historical fiction, to relive a time for which he was born too late. "I have long been convinced that, had I been 20 in 1936, I would have gone to fight in Spain in the International Brigades.
Fortunately, since so few came back from that war, I never had the chance. Steve is me, reliving the experiences I wish I could have been a part of.";
978-1-55469-944-5
[BCBW 2012]
Submitted on September 4, 2012 in By David.
