about the book
My name is Abigail Rook. I was brought up in England and my father is one of the country’s leading paleontologists. With such illustrious parentage, I grew up filled with scientific curiosity and hungry for adventure. Needless to say, all this is counter to the current culture that requires girls to engage only in pursuits that are deemed proper.
Though considered an indelicate pursuit for a young lady, I talked my parents into allowing me to attend the university. They acquiesced only because it was an excellent place to find a suitable husband. Just before I was to leave, I learned my father was off on an exciting dinosaur dig. Of course, I wished to go along. When they denied my request, I used my tuition funds to head for a dig in Ukraine’s Carpathian Mountains all on my own. Sadly, the experience was unsettling and I found myself short on cash and thousands of miles from home. The logical solution was to hop a freighter to America.
When the ship docked in Fiddleham, I had just a few coins and one lone satchel stuffed with the most inappropriate clothing, I was desperate for employment. After being turned down all over town, I spied an ad for an assistant’s position. Mr. Jackaby claimed his last assistant was turned into a mallard. Yes, a duck! Since the position included lodging, I ignored my qualms and took the job. I just didn’t expect to have a ghost as a neighbor!
In very short time, I found myself flung into a case that involved shape-shifters disguised as kittens, a banshee, a troll, an unidentifiable beast that attacks both animals and people, and a murdered reporter. It is my job to keep the eccentric and cerebral Mr. Jackaby focused, a very difficult task. A job made all the more difficult by the police, especially Chief Inspector Marlowet. I do have to say, though, that I find Junior Detective Charlie Cane…um, most interesting.
While Mr. Jackaby concentrates on the supernatural mayhem, I am an unflappable no-nonsense type who has a keen eye for observing details. We make an excellent team. I think you will find the results of our investigation most entertaining!
about the author
According to his publisher, the bio facts about William Ritter’s early years are varied and unreliable. He either grew up in the catacombs in Malta or in an average town in Oregon. Facts confirm that he attended the University of Oregon but rumors say he may not have chosen classes based on their practical value. We do know he studied trampoline arts and 17th century Italian long sword. He does hold degrees in English and education.
William currently teaches high school students reading, writing, heroes, and mythology (Norse is his favorite). One summer after teaching several very exciting writing classes, he had to get up in the middle of the night with his new son. After the babe fell back to sleep, William’s mind continued creating fantasies and new worlds. He started to write a novel, a detective story about a really unusual PI and his unflappable assistant. He admits that he does love odd characters. He’d only have time to write a few sentences or maybe a paragraph at each sitting. But those snippets were the beginnings of his debut novel, Jackaby.
The book gave him the excuse to do “research” into obscure fairy tales, legends, and mythological creatures. The character of Rook began life as an older man who, over time, morphed itself in Abigail, a more dynamic female. She is a little like William’s own wife, while the character Jackaby, William admits, is much more like himself! It is interesting to note that the manuscript was actually written on two different hemispheres and survived typhoons and hurricanes!
William lives in Springfield, Oregon, with his wife, four-year-old son, and two cats and two dogs. He is quick to point out that the boy is currently pursuing a career as a ninja turtle and that the pets are totally incompetent at figuring tax returns. In his spare time, William juggles and does sleight-of-hand magic tricks. Practical skills if he decides to run off to the circus some day.
Sources:
Author interview & biography: Algonquin Young Readers
Author interview: A Fantastical Librarian
Also by William Ritter:
Ghostly Echoes (Jackaby, Book 3). Algonquin Young Readers. August 2016.
Beastly Bones (Jackaby, Book 2). Algonquin Young Readers. 2015.
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