. . . . . .

"Do you have questions or comments about the TIMEBENDERS books? Email me and I may post your letter—and my answer—on this page. Include your name (either your first name only or your first and last name) and the town you live in. Let me hear from you soon!"

JIM DENNEY

Write to Jim at jimdenney@comcast.net!

 

A parent sent this question:

My son Matthew is ten and loves the Timebenders books. When he isn't reading, Matthew is drawing. We appreciated your advice to young authors, but do you have any ideas for young illustrators?


It was fascinating to hear of Matthew's love of drawing. When I was a boy, I spent a lot more time drawing that writing. I liked to draw futuristic cars, rocket ships, and scenes on other planets. For a long time, I thought I was going to be a comicbook artist—I collected Marvel Comics in the 1960s and drew my own comic strips. If I had really pursued an education in art, I might be an illustrator today.

I would encourage Matthew to be a sponge for learning and ideas; to experiment with all kinds of styles and media, from oils and acrylics and inks and watercolors to computer graphics; to seek out instructors who can impart technique while encouraging him to keep his imagination free.

My biggest mistake was that I thought I could teach myself how to draw by just observing and reading books on illustration. I think it's important to reach out to people with skills and experience and to ask them for help. We learn and grow faster with the instruction and encouragement of teachers, mentors, and role models.

Finally, of course, I hope that Matthew will dedicate his life and his artistic gifts to serving God. There is no better way to live than that! —J.D.

 

Dear Mr. Denney,

Thank you for writing such exciting books. But why did you put in such a jerk like Toby?

Sam T. from Minnesota

 

Hi, Sam, and thanks for reading the Timebenders books. I enjoy hearing from readers and finding out what they like—and what they don't like—about the books.

As for Toby Brubaker—well, I put him in the Timebenders books for a number of reasons. When I thought of Toby as a character for the first book, I didn't realize how important (and annoying!) he was going to become.

As I wrote, I discovered that Toby's bad qualities, like his selfishness and lying, actually helped to make the stories more exciting. In the first book, Battle Before Time, he was the main reason Max, Allie, and Grady got stuck in the past. If Toby hadn't done what he did, the time travelers wouldn't have had the scary adventure they had. It was a mean thing
for Toby to do, but it sure made the story more fun!

I think it was also important for Max, Grady, and Allie to learn how to be kind and forgiving toward Toby, even though he was being mean to them. This is something I had to learn when I was growing up, and I think it was important for Max and his friends to learn it, too.

So even though Toby was mean and annoying, he served an important purpose. If you've ever met any people like Toby, then you know how hard it is to show kindness toward them. Sometimes we all need to be reminded that God loves everybody, even people like Toby Brubaker. —J.D.

 

 

Hi! My name is Brandon. I've been reading the Timebenders books and I LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!!! So I was wondering . . . when is the next Timebenders book coming out?

Brandon

P.S. I'm 10.

 

Hi,
Are you going to write #3 in the Timebenders series? I really liked #1 and #2. They were awesome. If you are going to write a third, what is it going to be about? I have a suggestion for Book #3—Put spiritual warfare in it like the first one, that was really cool. Thanks.

Matthew R.

 

Brandon and Matthew wrote to me in the summer of 2002, soon after the first two Timebenders books came out. Now, of course, there are four Timebenders books for you to read.

Book #3 is called Invasion of the Time Troopers, and I think you'll like it. It has a different kind of warfare in it (no exploding planets this time), and the evil Silver Dragon is back, but it's also a very different story from the first two. I think you'll find it full of surprises.

Book #4 is called Lost in Cydonia, and it involves a return to Mars, a visit to the International Space Station, and many more surprises. Both books were released in November 2002. After you read them, write and let me know what you think of them! —J.D.

 

Dear Mr. Denney—

I noticed that the school Max goes to is "Victor Appleton Middle School." Did the name of the school come from the pen name of the author of the Tom Swift science fiction series?

P.S. I love both of your books!

John E.

 

That's right, John, I named Max's middle school after the "author" of the popular Tom Swift books. The forty-book Tom Swift series began in 1910 with Tom Swift and His Motor Cycle (left) and ended in 1941 with Tom Swift and His Magnetic Silencer. I think the only book in the series I read when I was growing up was Tom Swift and His Planet Stone (1935), a book my father had kept from his childhood. But I thought it was appropriate, since I was writing a series about a young inventor, Max McCrane, that I tip my hat to the original boy inventor, Tom Swift.

The Tom Swift series was the creation of publisher-editor Edward Stratemeyer, who created several other popular series for young readers, including the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and The Bobbsey Twins. "Victor Appleton" was the pen name for Howard R. Garis, whom Stratemeyer selected to write the Tom Swift series. Garis was famous under his own name as the author of the Uncle Wiggily stories which ran in the daily newspapers for some fifty years. Those stories have since been collected in such books as Uncle Wiggily's Story Book.

—J.D.