I'm a traveler, language learner, filmmaker, cartoonist and writer. I grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico and have lived all over the world, currently in Berlin, Germany.

I was raised on adventure and fantasy stories from across the globe, from Japanese and Greek mythology to Star Wars to the Moomins to Tintin and Asterix. The thrill of traveling to foreign lands, encountering new cultures and people, eating curious foods and watching constellations under a strange, starry night sky - these are the feelings I want to convey to a new generation of readers, wrapped in a fantasy universe of flying carpet caravans, fresh-baked breadclogs and windmill-ships called the Merry Mariner.

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Questions & Answers

Real questions from real kids, and real answers from me.

Liam: Do the Wicklow kids go to school?
Sailing around the world is already a useful practical education. You learn reading and writing, history, geography, culture, mathematics and astronomy (from navigation), foreign languages, business and trade, gardening and botany, mechanics, the science of wind and water, zoology, as well as useful everyday skills like cooking and baking, ropes and knots, and bodily health. If the Wicklows need to learn something new to aid them on one of their adventures, the ship's study is chock-full of books on every imaginable subject.

Why does the car have a propeller?
Because the Wicklow's motor-car is amphibious - this means it can travel as easily on water as on land. The motor-car makes its first aquatic appearance in Mamma Troubles the Trolls.

Emmett: Are the spiral stairs of the ship attached to the shaft?
Yes, but only the outside casing, so the stairs themselves don't turn. That would just be unsafe.

Jenny: Do the Wicklows play any musical instruments?
Fritz and Felix play the fiddle and accordion. They like to sit out on the deck during furious storms at sea and play their storm-song into the wind and salt spray.

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Fan Art

(TOP) Waldo's poisonous flying tarantula, from Waldo and the Spider's Sting by Liam (10) and Emmett (8)
(BOTTOM) Troll eating breadclog, from Mamma Troubles the Trolls by Emmett (8)

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Special Thanks:
Erik Rempen for the occasional co-illustration
Jon Amar for the webmastery
Candace Lewis for character design help
Erik, Jon, Claudine Gueh Yanting, Norma Guzman, and Stella Cabot-Wilson for notes, advice, and support


As seen on Free Stories Center!

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I never send junk - just an infrequent but always fun newsletter with info and updates about the Merry Mariner!