I’m excited (but also a little sad) to announce that today the third and final installment of Those Dreadful Fairy Books, Yet Another Dreadful Fairy Book, is now available in stores and from online retailers and anywhere else you can get books! When I wrote A Dreadful Fairy Book four and a half years ago, I had already failed to land an agent or publisher for the first book I had written (it’s still unpublished but I might circle back to it eventually and see what I can do with it) and wasn’t terribly optimistic about Dreadful doing any better. “Oh, well,” I told myself at the time, “At least I’ve written a story that my kids, wife, and friends enjoyed, and I had a lot of fun doing it.” And then I moved on to the next project.
I never could have guessed that my little book of ill-behaved, misfit fairies would land me an amazing agent (Adria Goetz), that it would find a home at a wonderful publisher (Amberjack Publishing), or that that publisher would become an imprint of an even bigger (and also wonderful) publisher with even wider reach (Chicago Review Press). And now, as of today, I’ve had three books published and have completed an entire series. For those of you who have asked, that’s it for Shade, Ginch, the Professor, and all the other residents of Elfame, at least for now. My agent is currently trying to find a home for a middle grade historical fiction book I wrote and I’m currently working on another one, which will probably be followed by a horror book for kids since both of my kids have been lobbying for me to write one for a while now. But I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point I step into a ring of toadstools and find myself back in Elfame once again.
Before I go and do something more productive than this (or perhaps less productive), I need to take a moment to thank a few people. First and most importantly, I need to thank my wife, my kids, my parents, and my friends for all the love and support they’ve given me in my writing endeavors and life in general. Adria Goetz, for being the best literary fairy godmother a writer could ask for. All the wonderful people at Amberjack Publishing and Chicago Review Press for all the hard work they’ve done getting the books published, out into the world, and letting people know about them, with special thanks going out to Dayna Anderson, who against all good sense and sound judgment thought it would be a good idea to sign a Mister Nobody from Nowhere like me to a three-book deal, and to Cherrita Lee, my editor and partner-in-crime for the whole series–the books wouldn’t have been the same (or nearly as good) without her. Adam Horsepool, for all the wonderful artwork in the series (his rendering of Shade on the first cover and his illustration of the Questing Beast are particular favorites of mine). All the libraries, bookstores, schools, and festivals who have been kind enough to host me and promote the book. And most importantly, all of you out there who have read the books. Thank you all for helping my childhood dream of someday having books sitting on shelves in libraries come true!
Jon Etter 