Meet the Newest BRAIN-iac... Tony Parker!

The newest BRAIN-iac is the hugely talented Tony Parker.

Tony has worked on 120 RPG books, done over 130 CCG cards, painted book covers, and has worked on numerous comic projects with authors like Rob Osborne (1000 Steps to World Domination, Sunset City) and Brian Pulido.

We're lucky to have him on board!

Book Events Kick Off the Independence Day Weekend

ames A. Owen and Jeremy Owen will be signing their newest book, LOST TREASURES OF THE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, at the Taylor Museum on Wednesday, June 27 from 5 until 8 in the evening. James will also be signing his bestselling novel HERE, THERE BE DRAGONS for anyone who missed it last time – but neither Owen will be doing sketches this time to make sure no one has to wait too long to get a book signed!

James will also be doing a reading from his forthcoming novel, THE SEARCH FOR THE RED DRAGON, as well as doing a book signing at the Larson Library in Lakeside on Thursday, June 28 from 4:30 to 7 in the evening.

Copies of the books will be available for purchase at both signings.
And planned to coincide with the book events is the unofficial 'soft' grand opening of Crossroads Books, located next to Trappers Restaurant at 1 South Main in Taylor (across from the museum). Utilizing one of Taylor's historic homes, Crossroads Books is being founded by the Owen family to provide a much needed resource to the communities of the Silver Creek Valley and the White Mountains.

Crossroads Books will specialize in children's and young adult books, and also offer a selection of new and used books of all shapes and sizes. A story hour for younger readers is planned to begin weekly in July, and the bookstore will also be working with the local schools to help augment reading lists and coordinate educational events with publishers.

Crossroads Books will be open the evening of June 27, and will be open from 10 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday after that.

Web Firm Added

The SUPER AMAZING BRAIN SOCEITY announces the addtion of Marond Web to the BRAIN-iacs. Headed by principle, Daanon DeCock, Marond Web will host and design websites for both the S.A.B.S. and THE GATHERING PLACE project.

Welcome aboard, and thank you!!!

San Diego Comicon 2007

Some of the members of S.A.B.S. (know from here on out as BRAIN-iacs) will be at the 2007 San Diego Comicon July 26-29.

If you're in the area, be sure to stop by and visit Shannon Denton's Actionopolis booth -- cool new announcements, including some of the inside scoop on the new animated series WORLD OF QUEST that comes out this fall.

Also, three members (Jon S. Lewis, James Owen, and Derek Benz) will be on a panel run by a fourth member's bookstore (Jeff Mariotte)...

Panel: Demons, Devils and Evil Dictators (Creating Villains)
Date: Friday, July 27
Time: 4:30 - 5:30 PM*
Location: Room 4
Moderator: Maryelizabeth Hart, Mysterious Galaxy Books

*Signing in the Convention's Autograph Area to follow immediately

Other Panelists:
Holly Black (Spiderwick Chronicles)
DJ MacHale (Pendragon)
James Owen (Here, There Be Dragons)
Frank Beddor (Looking Glass Wars)
Laini Taylor (Faeries of Dreamdark)
Derek Benz (Grey Griffins)
Rebecca Moesta (Crystal Doors)
Nancy Holder (Silhouette Bombshell)
William Boniface (Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy)

Hope to see you there! San Diego is HEAVEN!!!

Bring in the Artists! Reid and Glendenning Join S.A.B.S.

Hello friendly neighborhood BRAIN-iacs. Jon back again with more exciting news. We just got confirmation that the Phoenix artist community is starting to jump on board! I am very proud to announce that Stephen Reid and Ben Glendinning have agreed to become official members of the SUPER AMAZING BRAIN SOCIETY.

Stephen is an entrepreneur and artist extraordinaire, and has worked as an "A" list animator on a host of television and major motion picture projects, including the TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, SPACE JAM, Titan A.E., and many more.

Ben Glendenning is an up-and-coming super star -- and I've already tabbed him as the artist to my story! He and I will be working on a very fun sci-fi/fantasy series together (yes, it will be our ode to STAR WARS and LORD OF THE RINGS), and I can't wait to get started -- if only we could find a way to clone ourselves!

Here's a great snipped from Ben's acceptance note: "James Owen has been a HUGE influence on me (I met him when I was very young and he totally motivated me to become a professional artist!). And the help we can provide to Children is just too awesome, So I'm in!"

You can see Ben's gorgeous work at www.skulljammer.com (that's his satyr embedded in this blog post).

LIONS, TIGERS & BEARS... Oh My!

Jon here. I am really excited to announce this next writer. Mr. Mike Bullock, who is the writer/creator of the brilliant LIONS, TIGERS, AND BEARS comic books published by Image. If you have kids or love kids, this is the story for you. Who wouldn't want a stuffed animal who comes alive at night to protect you from the things that go bump in the night? Mike is the perfect addition to THE SUPER AMAZING BRAIN SOCIETY, and I can't wait to read his story.

LIONS, TIGERS, AND BEARS has some of my favorite art in comic history, done by the brilliant Jack Lawrence.

Mike's work has also been featured in the AZ REPUBLIC, where he teamed with the news giant and the Arizona Diamondbacks for their literacy program.

Welcome aboard, Mike.

You can find out more about Mike's amazing work at www.runemasterstudios.com

Jeff Mariotte Joins THE SUPER AMAZING BRAIN SOCIETY

Adding Jeff Mariotte to our cabal is amazing. THE SUPER AMAZING BRAIN SOCIETY just got a whole lot cooler. Jeff is a huge talent who has done amazing work in both comics and traditional publishing.

Ever heard of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ANGEL, STAR TREK, CONAN THE BARBARIAN??? Yeah, we thought so. Jeff is the literary face of those powerful titles. On the comics side, he's the man behind DESPERADOES, where he discovered X-MEN superstar artist, John Cassidy. He's also written comics for ANGEL, WildC.A.T.S. and C.S.I.

Jeff just released his latest thriller MISSING WHITE GIRL with Jove (May 2007).

Jeff gives "THE BRAINS" some instant credibility. He has been VP of Marketing and Senior Editor for comic book publisher WildStorm Productions, Editor-in-Chief for IDW Publishing, and a freelance writer. He and his wife Maryelizabeth Hart and partner Terry Gilman are the owners of Mysterious Galaxy, an independent bookstore specializing in mystery, science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

Welcome, Jeff!

Visit Jeff's website here

I'm SO competitive (or just a homework freak)

Hey, everyone, Robin here. Just wanted to officially note that I've begun the story I'm writing for our project. I know, the deadline is a month and a half away, but the good-girl-school-girl part of me always gets her work in ahead of time. It is kind of a sickness. Plus I came up with the idea for my story on the drive back from the first S.A.B.S. meeting, so now I'm itching to get it onto paper.

What's it about? Ha! Wouldn't you like to know! All I can say is it involves a 12-year-old girl who had something very . . . unusual happen to her. And now she gets to sort out how to deal with the consequences. I can't wait to see how it all ends! All I know right now is the beginning and some of the middle. What fun would it be to write a story if you already knew the ending?

So anyway, I hope everyone else already has some ideas percolating in their brains, because I can't WAIT to see what the Super Amazing Brain Society has in store for all of us. I wish the deadline were next week!

Welcome new author, Janette Rallison

I already like Janette... here's a quote from her acceptance note: "Count me in (if for no other reason then it will be so cool to tell people that I belong to the Super Amazing Brain Society. I think we should have business cards printed up . . .)"

Janette has written a fun book called IT'S A MALL WORLD (great title, and awesome cover art!) published by Walker & Company. And she recently completed short stories for compilations on the theme of "secrets" (Scholastic) and one for "crushes" (Putnam).

Welcome aboard!

Steptoe & Johnson LLP Agrees to Represent THE GATHERING PLACE

We just got word from a truly wonderful man, David Bodney, Partner at Steptoe & Johnson, that they have agreed to represent THE GATHERING PLACE project on a pro bono basis. It's absolutely incredible. This law firm is one of the best in the world, and has made huge efforts to be a major part of the community where their offices are located (Washington, New York, Chicago, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Century City, London, and Brussels). Among his many accomplishments, Mr. Bodney is listed in Southwest Super Lawyers 2007 for Media and Constitutional Law, as well as in Best Lawyers in America 2007 for First Amendment Law, and has has been listed since 1996.

You can learn more about Steptoe & Johnson by visiting here >> www.steptoejohnson.com.

Mr. Bodney's professional biography can be found here >> www.steptoe.com/professionals-47.html

We are deeply indebted for their service. Thank you!

Check That... It's FOUR Amazing Editors!

Just got word from Cape Cod (via our very own Tim Loge) that Lisa Bowen, our friendly neighborhood librarian from Stapley Junior High has signed on as a senior editor. Lisa heads a way cool group of kids at her school called the SLACRs. The acronym stands for STAPLEY LIBRARY ADVISORY COUNCIL, and they are passionate about books! Welcome aboard, Lisa!

Three Amazing Editors Added to the S.A.B.S. Team

The newest members of THE SUPER AMAZING BRAIN SOCIETY are Tim Loge, Michelle Aron, and Melanie Limbert-Callahan. Welcome to the madness!

Tim is a way hip media specialist at Fremont Junior High in Mesa, AZ. Michelle and Melanie are simply the sweetest librarians in the world (Michelle is at Barbara Bush Elementary School in Mesa, Arizona; Melanie is at Shepherd Junior High School). They'll all be pulling duty as senior editors for this little project.

All three of them work their backsides off to get their students excited about literature. They go WAY above and beyond, and we are super lucky to have them!

Meet the Cabal...

Yes. The world has now witnessed the birth of a frightening cabal of authors who live deep within the recesses of the sweltering deserts of Arizona. Banded together to promote fun, frivolity, and to help raise a ton of money for kids who really need our help, The SUPER AMAZING BRAIN SOCIETY is on the prowl.

The founding members are as follows:

* Robin Brande *
She rocks. Period! She wrote an amazing book called EVOLUTION, ME & OTHER FREAKS OF NATURE (Knopf) that will challenge young people to understand their beliefs on science and religion. Check it out on August 28. You won't be disappointed.

* Shannon Eric Denton *
From animation to anime, comics to novels, this guy has done it all -- and he's still doing it. The super popular ZAPT! series from TOKYOPOP is his baby! And he owns the entire Actionopolis line (if you like Spiderwick, you'll love it). There isn't a show on the Cartoon Network or Nickelodean that he hasn't been a part of, and he's writing and producing an upcoming animated series this fall called the WORLD OF QUEST. How cool is that?

* James A. Owen *
He runs this super cool compound for creatives with a mountain range behind him and a painted desert before him. The concept for his cool book (HERE, THERE BE DRAGONS, Simon & Schuster) is genius -- J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis are the heroes! Check out his follow up (THE SEARCH FOR THE RED DRAGON) in January.

* Jeremy Owen *
An artist exrtrordinaire, and part of the team that brought you the gorgeous LOST TREASURES OF THE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN (Simon & Schuster), Jeremy is a huge talent that is about ready to explode on the scene. He's also a comic veteran, James' brother, and an all around good guy!

* Faith Hochhalter *
The children's buyer at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, AZ (The Publisher's Weekly #1 store in America for 2007!!!), Faith is the sweetest, coolest, most passionate person about books I've ever met. Faith will one day write her memoires, and they'll blow you away!

* Jon S. Lewis *
Co-Author of the GREY GRIFFINS series (Scholastic, Inc.). Jon is currenyly working with Shannon Denton on an exciting children's picture book series called SUPER BUDDY AND THE KIDS OF COURAGE, as well as a novel based on a story written by his then 4-year-old daughter Bailey, a novel about Little League Baseball, and a smattering of other picture books, YA series, and a couple adult novels (one with his wife) about things he finds irresistible.

* Derek Benz *
Co-Author of the GREY GRIFFINS series (Scholastic, Inc.), who is working on a super cool spy series for YA kids. You're going to have a blast with it. Remember, Derek hunts down bad guys in cyberspace by day -- he's got a lot of good material to pull from!

Our first project? We'll tell you soon... but it's gonna be huge!