MICHAEL GRANT - LIGHT (GONE) UK BLOG TOUR - DAY 6 - EGMONT/ELECTRIC MONKEY

Thanks to Vincent who was foolish enough to hand his blog over to me. 

Thanks Michael for popping over as well to Mr Ripley's Enchanted books on the final stop on the Light UK blog tour. 

People like famous people.  Which I believe may be the cause of fame to begin with.  I’m sometimes asked whether I’m famous.  The answer is: No.  I am not famous.  In the States I’m even less famous than I am in the UK.  I will admit to being better-known than the average grocery store clerk or insurance salesman, but no one has ever come up to me in a random public place and said, “Oh!  You’re Michael Grant!”

Thank God.  I’ve never understood why people want to be famous.  I am altogether on-board with rich.  Rich is excellent.  Money is real and you can use it to do things and own things and have people killed.  (Just kidding.  I do all my own killing.)

Fame just means you have people watching as you try on clothing that no longer fits.  Fame is people overhearing you threaten your bratty children with water-boarding.  (Hey, it’s not torture, if you believe the previous American president.)  Fame is a bunch of strangers all up in your face then rushing off to Tweet that you had a booger.  Who wants that? 

I get asked whether I know various famous writers.  I’ve never met JK Rowling.  Sorry.  I’ve never met Stephen King, though we have emailed.  I was at a dinner once with Veronica Roth.  (She’s very tall and pretty.)  I’ve exchanged a few words with RL Stine.  Ditto Lois Lowry. Did a  panel once with Lemony Snicket. And I met Chris Colfer.  You know, Kurt, from Glee.  Oh, and Teller of Penn and Teller is a distant cousin.  I think that’s it for the famous people I’ve met.  Or failed to meet.  

I do know a fair number of other writers, and count Andrew Smith, DJ MacHale, Lisa McMann, David Lubar, Paolo Bacigalupi, Alex London, Mike Mullin, TM Goeglein, Beth Revis, Jon Scieszka  and a few other great writers as buddies.  But they’re no more famous than I am.  Believe me, we can all sit together in a bar drinking and absolutely no one bothers us for autographs.  I know this because we’ve put that to the test.  Again and again.  

Oh, wait, I met Henry Winkler (the Fonz) and interviewed Weird Al Yankovic.  So there’s that.  

But probably the most famous writer I’ve met is my wife, Katherine Applegate, who won the Newbery for THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN last year.  (It’s a big-deal prize she won for some book about a talking monkey.)  And really, when we’re sitting around in our sweatpants and food-stained t-shirts watching YouTube bootlegs of THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE-OFF we seldom ask each other for autographs.  

Fame is stupid.  Money is cool.  Don’t be famous, be rich.

Oh, wait!  I forgot to mention my new book series, MESSENGER OF FEAR.  See, it’s that failing to mention stuff that results in you not being famous.  

Website: http://www.michaelgrantbooks.co.uk/

News: Michael Grant, meets the winner of GONE Online on the EDF Energy London Eye

                                      

Author of the bestselling GONE series, Michael Grant, meets the winner of GONE Online on the EDF Energy London Eye

www.gone-online.com

On Saturday 4 May, the bestselling author of the GONE series, Michael Grant, met the winner of GONE Online.  The game was created to celebrate the publication of LIGHT, the sixth and final book in the GONE series, which was published on 28 March and topped the children’s bestseller charts in both the UK and Ireland.

Lucy Woodcock, aged 18, whose gaming alias was Dionysus, won the game beating over 2,400 players to the prize.  She wins an Apple iPad and met Michael Grant during a trip around the EDF Energy London Eye. Lucy is from Wolverhampton and is a college student at Dudley Sixth in the West Midlands.

GONE Online (www.gone-online.com) was launched in March and ran over 6 weeks, seeing a series of mini games released on a weekly basis.  They were designed to challenge, infuriate and test the players’ skills.  Some games rewarded time and speed, others ability and knowledge of the books.  Using the latest in location-based marketing, players could pick up extra points by checking in with their smart phones at specific locations – bookshops or libraries.

By the close of play, over 53,000 games had been played with 57 million points scored in total.  Lucy Woodcock was a clear winner scoring over 226,000 points.  She comments, “I started playing the games because I really wanted to meet Michael Grant, and I wanted to see what the games were like especially the word search and the quiz. After playing them for a little while I got into the competitive element of the games and I was really enjoying playing them.” 

The game is hosted on a dedicated website and can also be played on smart phones.  Players of any age were able to play but only UK residents aged 21 years or under were eligible for the competition.  The game is still available to play, although no prizes are now available.

Michael Grant comments, “I am amazingly bad at games, so I’m particularly impressed by the fans who have done so well.  Thanks to them for their enthusiasm and support.  It’s very humbling.  Thanks to all who played and all who outscored me … which was probably everyone.”

GONE was the first instalment in the epic teen series which has become hugely popular with teenagers internationally and has been lauded by Stephen King as ‘exciting, high-tension … told in a driving, torrential narrative that never lets up.’  

Over 400,000 copies of the books have now been sold in the UK alone.

Lucy Woodcock continues, “I first started reading the series because the cover caught my attention while I was in a book shop, I read the blurb and I was interested in reading them so I bought GONE. When I'd finished reading it I was really impressed! I searched online to find out when the next one would be out because I couldn't wait to find out what would happen to everyone. I was really glad that it wasn't a book that censored the violence because that's what made the story more realistic (except the powers) knowing that anything could happen to them at any time and not everyone would be able to cope with being trapped, especially teenagers. I've loved following the books and trying to guess how the FAYZ happened, what the Gaiphage was or how little Pete was involved, although I wasn't impressed when Michael killed my favourite character! I was really happy with how the series ended overall, even though it was really emotional.” 

Mike Richards, Marketing Director at Egmont Press, comments, “This competition was part of a broader campaign for the publication of LIGHT and we’re delighted that it has been won by such a big fan of the series. We’re also celebrating the book having launched straight into the bestseller charts and I take a good deal of personal pride in outscoring Michael in the first trivia game.”

Press Release: Michael Grant's - Gone Online Goes Virtual - Egmont Press

                                     

Gone Online 

A new online game based on Michael Grant’s GONE series for teens marks the sixth and final book

www.gone-online.com

To celebrate the publication of LIGHT, the sixth and final book in Michael Grant’s bestselling GONE series, Egmont Press has created an online game, Gone Online, based on the books.  It launches today, Monday 11 March.

GONE was the first instalment in the epic teen series which has become hugely popular with teenagers internationally and has been lauded by Stephen King as ‘exciting, high-tension … told in a driving, torrential narrative that never lets up.’  Over 400,000 copies of the books have now been sold in the UK alone.

Gone Online can be played at www.gone-online.com over a six week period.  It draws on content from all five of the books so far and leads up to the much-anticipated publication of LIGHT, on 28 March.  Starting with four games at launch - Zeke Zap, Word Search, Hacker and a GONE quiz - there will be further games and challenges released on a weekly basis until the winner is announced. 

The object of the game is to score as many points as possible.  Highly addictive, the games are designed to challenge, infuriate and test your skills, and to get you completely hooked.  Some of the games will reward time and speed, others ability and knowledge of the books.  Using the latest in location-based marketing, players can pick up extra points by checking in with their smart phones at specific locations – bookshops or libraries.

The winner of the game - the highest scorer at the end of the six weeks - will win an Apple iPad and the chance to meet Michael Grant in a private capsule on the EDF Energy London Eye on 4 May.  Participation will also be rewarded with prizes along the way, including signed editions and book tokens as well as never-before-seen content such as extra chapters and video messages from the author.

Michael Grant comments, “If you’ve been reading the GONE series all along, you probably know that we have reached the end. I have to admit that I felt a bit sad typing the last sentence of LIGHT.  It seemed strange that I would no longer be spending quite as much time with the gang.  I was concerned that some of you, the true fans, might have a bit of withdrawal.  So now you can play the game, which is all about the GONE universe. You do have to read the books to play some of the games so I consider this gaming of the best kind.”  

Gone Online was created with the help of special think tanks –children from Horniman School in South London and Stoke Newington School in Hackney, East London.   Thirteen year-old Maliaka from Stoke Newington comments, “I love the different dilemmas and problems that the children have to go through to survive the FAYZ.  I am very excited about the idea of a game based on the series. It has been one of my favourite books to read so I can’t wait for the game.  I loved being involved with coming up with ideas for the game. It was really fun to get our heads together to make it as great as possible.  I spend any free time I have reading and I play games either with my family or friends. I love books and all the different characters and stories. It is like travelling through different worlds. ”

Mike Richards, Marketing Director at Egmont Press, comments, “We wanted to have some fun with the publication of LIGHT and give the fans of the series something challenging with a great prize – and it doesn’t come much better than being locked in a revolving glass pod with Michael Grant. Publishers are becoming more creative in the way that they connect authors with readers and I think this is a good example of that. I particularly like the element of the game that connects readers with bookshops via a physical check-in, which reinforces the idea that this is all about a game experience around Michael’s amazing novels, not for its own sake.”

Gone Online is hosted on a dedicated website and can also be played on smart phones.  Players of any age can take part and you don’t have to be a fan of the books, but it will certainly help.

After the initial six week competition, fans of Gone Online can continue to play, though no prizes will be available.

About the series

The six books in the series, published by Egmont Press, are GONE (2008), HUNGER (2009), LIES (2010), PLAGUE (2011), FEAR (2012) and LIGHT (28 March 2013).

The story starts when everyone over the age of 15 disappears in the blink of an eye, leaving hundreds of children trapped in a Californian town encased by a mysterious, impenetrable dome.  Inside, it is a matter of survival.  With no adults there are no rules and somehow the physics of the universe as we know it have changed, causing some of the children to develop strange powers.

Michael Grant 

Michael Grant has always been fast-paced.  He’s lived in almost 50 different homes in 14 US states, and moved in with his wife, Katherine Applegate, after knowing her for less than 24 hours. His long list of previous occupations includes: law librarian, cartoonist, bowling alley mechanic, restaurant reviewer, waiter, documentary film producer and political media consultant.  

Michael and Katherine have co-authored more than 150 books, including the massive hit series Animorphs, which has sold more than 35 million copies. Working solo, Michael is the author of the internationally bestselling series GONE and the ground-breaking transmedia trilogy BZRK. Michael, Katherine and their two children live in the San Francisco Bay Area, not far from Silicon Valley.