For fans of Lacey Unger-Ware, the wait for the third book in the Oh My Godmother series will be over soon. Those of us at Kid Lit Frenzy are fans of the books and their creators, James Iver Mattson and Barbara Brauner and we are glad to host them, well James' cat Fred on the blog today.
Hi. I’m Fred. It’s time for the world to know the truth: even though my name isn’t on the cover of the Oh My Godmother books, there wouldn’t be a series at all except for me.
I’ve been here since the beginning. OMG’s main character, Lacey Unger-Ware, has an orange cat named Julius. Barbara and James deny it, but that cat is really me! Julius starts the whole story when he eats the fairy godmother, Katarina. I’ve never eaten a fairy, but I do eat a lot of bugs, and that’s where they got the eating idea. Don’t believe me? Have you ever seen them eat bugs?
Now there’s a third Oh My Godmother book called OMG: The Spell Bind. This time, Lacey has to help a boy named Martin Shembly who wants to invent a jet pack. That was my idea, too. One time I tried to jump up on top of a bookcase, and James said I was trying to fly. Then, bam! The very next book has a flying jet pack in it. Pretty suspicious, if you ask me.
Artwork by Abigail Halpern
I think the book turned out pretty well. There’s a funny part where Katarina accidentally gets turned into a little bear. (I like books about tiny animals, because they remind me of mice and mice are the best.) There’s a crazy part where Martin Shembly knocks over the water tower at his school and almost washes the cafeteria away. And at the end, Lacey creates a magic carnival where everything is about pickles: pickle rides and pickle games and pickle cotton candy. It would have been better if everything was about mice, but pickles are pretty funny, too.
I’m including a picture of me yelling at Barbara and James. If I don’t stay on the table and supervise, they just watch funny videos on YouTube instead of working. In fact, that’s what they’re doing right now, so I better stop being such a chattercat and tell them to get busy. But it’s been nice talking to you, and I do hope you like The Spell Bind, even if it doesn’t have enough mice in it.
About James and Barbara:
Barbara Brauner and James Iver Mattson have worked together ever since they sold a feature film script about a very, very, bad cat, “Fluffy,” to Disney’s Hollywood Pictures. Their romantic comedy film script, “Deliver Us From Eva,” was produced by Focus Features. “Oh My Godmother: the Glitter Trap,” is their first book.
Barbara grew up in a house that had so many books her father had to brace the floors. After she moved to Los Angeles to work in the movie business, she met James, who’s been her writing partner ever since. Barbara lives with her bite-y, scratchy, and yet still oddly lovable rescue cat Jeeves.
Before he started writing with Barbara, James worked in motion picture special effects, which, just like Oh My Godmother, often involved a lot of sparkles. James’ cat is named Fred, who is Jeeves’ sweeter-natured brother.
Giveaway: One lucky reader will have a chance to win a copy of OMG: The Spell Bind by entering the rafflecopter below. You must be 13 years old and have a US mailing address.