Mustard Twins Set to Join Harry Potter in his Reign at the Top

Latest young adult fantasy novel picks up where J.K. Rowling and Phillip Pullman left off

LONDON — April 1, 2005 — What’s a wizard to do? Up-and-coming UK author, R.J. Nimmo, is set to rebut critics who accuse the spell being cast by young adult fantasy novels of becoming less potent with the release of his latest ‘crossover’ novel ‘The Ancient Egyptian Ennead’. The first in the six-book, myth-inspired ‘Mustard Twins’ series, to be published in February 2005 by Llumina Press, is innovative in that it eschews tired sword-and-sorcery retreads for actual myth and legend. Set in Egypt in the time of the Pharaohs, the book tells the story of time traveling identical twin sisters who are inadvertently responsible for influencing myths and legends as we know them today.

“Using well-researched source material in my books means the ‘magic’ in story terms is magic my readers can identify with — the magic of learning about ancient civilizations, gods, myths and monsters,” says Nimmo, who promotes positive reading and entertainment choices for kids through his Web site at www.coolkidzread.com.

“It’s the way forward for an increasingly lacklustre genre. With my young adult novels I am putting the magic back in the hands of the reader.”

Young Adult Fantasy Market Becoming Saturated

The children’s fiction market has grown at an inordinate rate during the last four to five years. The market has never been better for intelligent, fantasy-oriented kids’ books. Initially, this was due to the unparalleled success of J.K. Rowling’s wildly successful ’Harry Potter’ series. With readers’ tastes whetted, it was further compounded by the success of the ’Dark Materials’ trilogy by Phillip Pullman, and the ’Artemis Fowl’ novels by Eoin Colfer.

“In purely commercial terms, the rise and rise of the easily identifiable teenage magic-meister shows no sign of abating,” agrees Nimmo. “Nonetheless, witches, goblins, assorted djinns and demons seem likely to succumb to that well-known pitfall of every successful celebrity from boy bands to Britney: over-exposure. To progress a now saturated genre requires books where the popular ’fantasy’ elements are infused as part of well-researched, history-inspired stories.” Launch of the ‘Mustard Twins’ series

‘The Ancient Egyptian Ennead’ is available from February 2005 through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Ingram. Publisher: Llumina Press (February, 2005) ISBN: 159526227X.

Contact Information

RJ Nimmo

Author

www.coolkidzread.com

Contact via E-mail