Kingdom Keepers 4

I first met Ridley Pearson in 1988 on his tour for Undercurrents, as he, along with Lou Boldt and Daphne Matthews, made there way to Tower Books in east Portland.  It was my first author signing and I was electrified as I stood in line waiting for him to sign my lone copy of Undercurrents.  I still have that book.  He inscribed it, “To John, watch out for The Angel Maker, Ridley Pearson.”  From that day forward I have been a book collector, and as such have every book he has written since.

Boldt and Matthews became regular visitors to my house each year.  In off years they would send others in their place, sometimes Chris Klick and more recently Walt Fleming.  There was even an odd visit one year by Ellen Rimbauer.

The excitement grew to a fever pitch when Peter and the Starcatchers reached our home.  Mitchell was 7 at the time and Evan had just turned 4.  Every evening we would read from “Starcatchers.”  The conclusion of each night’s reading you could hear the echo of young boy voices “one more chapter dad!”  We read the sequels in the same way, as Peter and the Shadow Thieves, Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, and Peter and the Sword of Mercy finally arrived.

Ridley with co-author Dave Barry

The boys are older now, (more…)

VJ Books has received: Jim Nisbet – Windward Passage, Dave Barry – I’ll Mature When I’m Dead, Robert B. Parker – Blue-Eyed Devil, P.J. Tracy – Shoot To Thrill, Scott Turow – Innocent, and Carlos Ruiz Zafon – The Prince of the Mist.

For those who wonder what happens inside Disney World after the gates close at night, you’ll find the answers in the Kingdom Keepers series by Ridley Pearson.

When Disney Imagineers installed hologram guides for the Magic Kingdom using teenage models, they had no idea the technology might backfire.  But backfire it did: some nights when the kids go to sleep, they wake up in one of the Disney parks as a hologram.

In Kingdom Keepers III, Finn, Philby, Willa, Charlene, and Maybeck are back as they search to find Wayne, their mentor and head Imagineer who has mysteriously gone missing.  Concerned that Wayne has been abducted by the Overtakers-Disney villains who, along with other Disney characters, take over the parks when the turnstiles stop spinning.  They desperately want to steer the parks to a far darker place.  The five kids pick up a major clue from a close friend, Jez, whose dreams often accurately predict the future. The clue leads the kids to… (more…)

VJ Books has just received:  Dave Barry / Ridley Pearson – Walt Disney’s Peter Pan,  Michael Crichton – Pirate Latitudes,  Sherrilyn Kenyon – Night Pleasures,  Sue Grafton – U is for Undertow.

VJ Books has just received:  Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry – Peter and the Sword of Mercy,  Louise Penny – The Brutal Telling,  David Baldacci – True Blue.

Grdankl the Strong, president of Kprshtskan, is plotting to take over the American government. His plan is to infiltrate the science fair at Hubble Middle School, located in a Maryland suburb just outside Washington. The rich kids at Hubble cheat by buying their projects every year, and Grdankls cronies should have no problem selling them his government-corrupting software.   What transpires is a hilarious adventure filled with mystery, suspense, and levitating frogs.

See it at www.vjbooks.com!

Hello friends!

2008 was a great year for books.  We had the pleasure of bringing hundreds of new titles to you this year, and introducing you to dozens of new authors.

When it was suggested to make a list of our favorites and give you one last chance to add them to your collection, I found picking titles kind of like choosing between my children! 
 
Of course all your favorites climbed the charts and we were proud to bring you new books by Michael Connelly, Patricia Cornwell, James Patterson, George Pelecanos, Janet Evanovich, Robert Crais, Clive Cussler, Jonathan Kellerman, Gregg Hurwitz, and all the other usual suspects.
 
So we have picked our favorites in ten different catagories.  If you didn’t already pick these up, here’s your last chance to get them, and save 25%.

Looking ahead, we have already ordered titles for the first quarter of ’09.  It promises to be another big year with exciting new authors making their first appearance in our store as well as new books from all the bestselling authors you’ve come to expect at VJ Books.  Take a look at our Upcoming Titles to see what is ahead for 2009.

For now, grab these before they are gone!
 
Good reading,
 
John

Best New Author:  Mark Alpert (Final Theory)
Best New Legal: James Scott Bell (Try Dying)
Best Psychological Thriller:  Alan Jacobson (7th Victim)
Best Political Novel: Eric Van Lustbader (First Daughter)
Best Spy Novel:  Dan Fesperman (The Amateur Spy)
Best Youth Novel: Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry (Science Fair)
Best from the UK: David Hewson (The Garden of Evil)
Best Movie Tie-in: James Rollins (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
John’s Top Pick: Joe Domenici (Bringing Back the Dead)
Best Anthology: Lee Child (Killer Year)
New Friend of VJ Books:  Iris Johansen (Dark Summer)
Best Translation: Alnauldur Indridason (The Draining Lake)

(The Sacramento Bee, Dec. 1, Allen Pierleoni)

Is it the start of December already? We’d best get on with rounding up some holiday- oriented books, which include mystery, humor, feel-good and romance:

“Dashing Through the Snow” by Mary and Carol Higgins Clark (Simon & Schuster, 240 pages): The mother-daughter (respectively) mystery writers set their fifth yuletide suspense novel in a small New Hampshire town. Two visiting sleuths must solve a puzzle involving a multimillion-dollar lottery ticket and a missing person.

“The Spy Who Came for Christmas” by David Morrell (Vanguard, 220 pages): The award- winning thriller novelist tells a Christmas Eve story about a wounded American spy in Santa Fe, N.M. who is trying to keep a very special baby safe from kidnapping by the Russian mob. He finds help from a distraught single mother and her 12-year-old son, who are themselves in a different kind of danger.

“Six Geese a-Slaying” by Donna Andrews (St. Martin’s, $22.95, 288 pages): The 10th title in the series involves amateur sleuth Meg Langslow’s search for a Santa killer (she’s hoping he won’t spoil the Christmas pageant).

“A Christmas Grace” by Anne Perry (Ballantine, 224 pages): The veteran novelist’s sixth Christmas-themed book is serious, but fast-moving. At a priest’s request, a niece travels to the remote Irish coast to comfort an ailing (more…)

(www.vjbooks.com, Sept. 2008)