about the book
Charlie Laird is convinced his stepmother Charlotte is a witch. His evidence: she dresses funny, serves strange food (i.e. kale pancakes), and runs a store call Hazel’s Herbarium. And she has a creepy purple mansion.
Everybody—even his friends—like Charlotte. What’s up with that?!
A new woman (WITCH!) in the family is stressful enough, but it’s not Charlie’s only problem. His sleep is always full of nightmares. They often star an evil witch who threatens to come into the real world and kidnap his brother. There are also gorgons, goblins, crazy clowns, scary bunnies, tests filled with gibberish, and President Fear.
What is real and what is a dream? As Charlie prepares to face his nightmares, everything is not as it seems.
about the authors
Jason Segel grew up in Los Angeles. Even though he was raised Jewish, he attended a Christian elementary school. By age 12, he had already reached his full height, a whopping six feet four inches! As he puts it, he was “this weird, gangly kid who was like ET trying to figure out how his limbs worked.”
As a teenager, Jason started making movies on his own and discovered acting. He landed his first TV role at the age of 18. After floundering around for a time, he landed a leading role in How I Met Your Mother. This success enabled him to create his own project, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which he both wrote and starred in. He has also voiced Vector in Despicable Me.
When he was 25, Jason was asked what project he wanted to work on next. His answer: “I want to bring the Muppets back.” Even though he was a little too young for “The Muppet Show” when it began, his mother taped every episode. It was as if she anticipated raising a “comedy dork kid.” He’s had Muppet posters on his walls forever, so reviving the franchise was the next logical step. He both wrote and starred in this movie as well.
The first thing Jason ever wrote (with the intention of selling) was a screenplay when he was in his younger 20s. He did sell it, but years later, the studio still hadn’t done anything with it, so Jason bought it back and rewrote it as a book with author Kristen Miller. Eventually the screenplay transform into Nightmares!
Jason used to have nightmares—just like his character in Nightmares!—until he was about 11 or 12. The recurring dream was about witches eating his toes! He thinks this stemmed from moments when adults pretended to eat his toes as a baby. His nightmares now are really mundane, like “I haven’t paid the bills!”
Jason still lives in Los Angeles. Make sure to check out this interview for some funny stories about his life.
Sources:
Author biography: Biography
Author interview: Chicago Tribune
Author interview: Radio Boston
Author interview: Boston Globe
Author interview: Red Tricycle
Also by Jason Segel:
Nightmares! : The Sleepwalker Tonic (Nightmares! Book 2) with Kirsten Miller. Delacorte Books for Young Readers. September 2015.
Kirsten Miller grew up in the mountains of North Carolina. She started writing stories in third grade, but none of her teachers appreciated her bizarre accounts of man-eating shrubs or haunted broom closets until she had Patricia Berne.
Mrs. Berne appeared prim and proper, but she would routinely jump up on her desk when she wanted to make a point, sometimes even snorting like a pig. Besides Kristen’s family, Mrs. Berne was the first person to encourage her to write more. This teacher also taught her that it’s good to be a little strange.
She owes her first book to something she calls “butt power.” It’s the ability to sit on your butt for hours at a time, staring at a computer screen. Lots of talented writers never manage to finish a paragraph, so clearly, the secret to writing book is butt power.
Because of this power, Kirsten has published over five novels, including the Kiki Strike books. She’s even co-authored the Nightmare! series with actor Jason Segel. After discussing the screenplay that Jason wanted to turn into a book, one of them would write a chapter and sent it to the other, who would then revise it. They went back and forth until they completed each book!
Kirsten is not a picky eater. She’s been served squirrel, bear, snake, and alligator—and she enjoyed all of them. The numerous bouts of food poisoning she’s had prove that she’ll eat almost anything.
When she was seventeen, Kirsten moved to New York City and has lived there ever since.
Sources:
Author biography: Amazon
Author interview: Book Browse
Jason Segel talks about working with Kirsten Miller
Also by Kirsten Miller:
Nightmares! : The Sleepwalker Tonic (Nightmares! Book 2) with Jason Segel. Delacorte Books for Young Readers. September 2015.
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