Licensed Character Books
“Minecraft: Trouble Brewing” is Out NOW!
As I mentioned in my last blog post, I recently wrote a Minecraft children’s book called Trouble Brewing. Well, I’m happy to report that Trouble Brewing was published today by Penguin Random House. It was illustrated by the amazing Alan Batson.
Here’s the official publisher description of Trouble Brewing:
Minecraft is one of the best-selling video games of all time! And now learning to read has never been more fun for players of the game. Readers will get a great introduction to Minecraft’s mysteries and wonders when two players, Emmy and Birch—and their tame wolf Byte— find themselves trapped underground and must brew rare ingredients into powerful potions to survive the dark!
In other mining and crafting news, another Minecraft book I wrote, titled Mobs in the Mansion, was reprinted in a multi-story anthology called Minecraft: The Ultimate Collection, which also came out today.
Minecraft: The Ultimate Collection reprints five Minecraft adventures, all in one big book. The first four of those adventures were written by Nick Eliopulos, and the fifth one – Mobs in the Mansion – was penned by yours truly. All five tales were illustrated by Alan Batson.
Here’s the publisher description of Minecraft: The Ultimate Collection:
Players new and old can join Emmy, Birch, and their tame wolf Byte, as they explore mysterious biomes and encounter scary mobs in this collection of five exciting Step Into Reading Step 3 leveled readers. Features the stories:
• Survival Mode! (Minecraft)
• Mobs in the Overworld! (Minecraft)
• Escape from the Nether (Minecraft)
• The Sky’s the Limit (Minecraft)
• Mobs in the Mansion! (Minecraft)
And to see all of the books I’ve written for Penguin Random House (including these Minecraft books), click HERE.
Minecraft News!
Hey, look at what just came in the mail! These are my author copies of Trouble Brewing, a Minecraft children’s book I wrote. Trouble Brewing will be published by Penguin Random House on Tuesday September 3rd, 2024. The book was illustrated by the amazing Alan Batson. Here’s the official publisher description of Trouble Brewing:
Journey into the world of Minecraft in this Step 3 leveled Step into Reading! Learn about Minecraft biomes, potions, and more—all while learning to read! Perfect for kids who are ready to read on their own. Minecraft is one of the best-selling video games of all time! And now learning to read has never been more fun for players of the game. Readers will get a great introduction to Minecraft’s mysteries and wonders when two players, Emmy and Birch—and their tame wolf Byte— find themselves trapped underground and must brew rare ingredients into powerful potions to survive the dark!
And if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that Trouble Brewing is not the first Minecraft book I’ve written. That would be Mobs in the Mansion, which came out earlier this year.
Speaking of Mobs in the Mansion, that book’s been reprinted in a multi-story anthology called Minecraft: The Ultimate Collection, which also comes out on September 3rd. As you may have discerned from the title, Minecraft: The Ultimate Collection is a (wait for it) collection of five Minecraft Step Into Reading level 3 readers, all sandwiched together in one big book. The first four of those leveled readers were written by Nick Eliopulos, and the fifth one – Mobs in the Mansion – was penned by yours truly. All five tales were illustrated by Alan Batson.
And to see all of the books I’ve written for Penguin Random House (including these Minecraft books), click HERE.
So How Was Comic Con, Arie?
I went to the San Diego Comic Con last week. How was it? Pretty good. Here are a few things that happened:
On Thursday July 25th, I went to a mixer for animation writers organized by Charlotte Fullerton. It took place at Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop just a few blocks away from the convention center. I hadn’t seen Charlotte since the last time I was at SDCC, back in 2019. So it was great catching up with her, and with various other folks. Saw some old friends, made some new ones, had a ton of ice cream.
The following day, on Friday July 26th, I had lunch with fellow author Stacia Deutsch. Stacia and I both belong to an organization called the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, or IAMTW for short. After lunch, we went to the IAMTW’s Comic Con panel, which started at 2pm. Stacia was one of the panelists, and the panel doubled as the ceremony for the Scribe Awards, which are given out each year by the IAMTW. The Scribe Awards acknowledge and celebrate excellence in licensed tie-in works based on TV shows, movies, and games (video games, computer games, RPGs). It was a great panel, and even though I wasn’t one of the panelists, the panelists pulled me up on stage with them after the event to take a couple of pictures, because I am a member of the IAMTW.
In this first photo, you can see (from left to right) Scott Sigler, Chris Ryall, Jonathan Maberry, David Avallone, Stacia Deutsch, Deborah Daughetee, Jennifer Brody, and me.
In the second photo, you can see (clockwise from left to right): Me, Jesse J Holland, Stacia Deutsch, and Scott Sigler.
Although Jesse is also a member of the IAMTW, he was not on the Scribes panel. But he WAS on the panel I moderated at 7pm that very same day. This was the “Epic Myths and Legends” panel, which I put together to help promote my upcoming nonfiction book The Encyclopedia of Epic Myths and Legends. Aside from Jesse, the panelists were Mark Hoffmeier and Jonita Davis. During the hour-long panel, the four of us discussed the connection between ancient mythology and modern pop culture, a subject which is examined at length in my forthcoming book.
The panel went really well! There was a good-sized crowd, and the panelists were amazing. It was – wait, what do optimistic people say when they talk about how they enjoy something? Oh yes, that’s right: “Fun.” It was fun. The panel was fun.
Now, two days after the “Epic Myths” panel, I was also supposed to be a panelist on another panel discussion called “Neurotic Superheroes Across the Multiverses.” But my immune system had other plans, because early in the morning on Saturday July 27th, I tested positive for COVID. At this point, you’re no doubt saying to yourself “Oh, no!” To which I counter: “Oh, yes!” Because of my new – um – status quo, I had to skip the last two days of Comic Con, which obviously also entailed bowing out of the “Neurotic Superheroes” panel.
So now I’m at home in NYC, recuperating. And honestly, even though I was only there for the first 60% of the Con, I had a really nice time. That probably has something to do with the fact that I tried to pace myself this time around and not get too overcommitted with too many meetings and too many parties and too much hectic stuff in general. It probably also has to do with the fact that I tried to spend as much time as possible with my wife Nadine and daughter Aviya. But – you know – don’t tell them I said that. It would go against my hard-won reputation as a god-tier buzzkill. And I fear that my loved ones would reject the newer, sunnier, me.