J. R. STAMPFL

"One word that describes THE MOON KEY: enchanting. THE MOON KEY is an excellently woven fantasy tale for young adults, that will keep them guessing until the very last page."

Erika Sorocco, The Community Bugle

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Congratulations to the winners of THE MOON KEY Trivia Game - Ashley, Emily, Anna, Flora, Francesca, Wendy, Nora, Kristin, Natalie, Anna!

The correct answers were:

THE MOON KEY
Trivia Game

1. How did the word "month" come to be?
d) It evolved from the word "moon"

2. What is a Blue Moon?
c) The second full moon in a month

3. Where is Belvedere Castle?
b) New York, New York

4. What other famous building did the designer of the Statue of Liberty design?
a) The Eiffel Tower

5. Where is the Whispering Wall in New York City
c) Grand Central Station


***I had some technical problems with my email from 12/15 until 12/19. If you sent me a game entry between those dates, you may qualify for a prize. Please send me a copy of the email you sent to me, so that I can review it.

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To my Readers:

I’m so glad that you’ve read THE MOON KEY. People say that writers write what they want to read. And, that was certainly true in my case. I’ve always loved fairy tales. I used to go to my library, especially in the summer, and check out volume after volume of fairy tales. I read all the “color” books – the Red Fairy Tale Book, the Green Fairy Tale Book, the Yellow Fairy Tale Book - there were a lot of them! I devoured the Andersen Fairy Tales, the Grimm Fairy Tales… I could never get enough. I loved the fact that despite terrible things happening, everything ended up all right. I was enchanted by the ingenious and magical ways that the heroine or hero overcame their obstacles.

That’s probably why I got interested in the theater when I got older. In a way, the theater is a way to be part of real magic. The lights, the costumes, and the set all create an illusion. I loved transforming myself with make-up and wigs. I loved the freedom to be someone completely different, to be so much “in character” that I actually thought different thoughts. That must be why I have Wendy able to do so much more when she plays a part. That’s the way I always felt.

I went from playing the lead in my high school productions to majoring in Communications in college. That’s what led me into television and the soap operas.

And, that’s how I ended up moving to New York from the Midwest, where I grew up. I had visited New York City for the first time the summer before 5th grade. I remember I was sleeping in the car until we went through the tunnel under the Hudson River. The whoosh of the tunnel, the glare of the bright lights on the white tiles woke me up. (Now, that I think about it, it was sort of like the whoosh that transports Wendy to LATCH) We came out the other side, and the world had changed. It was this glittering, charged world of energy. I had never seen anything like it. The buildings were so tall and so close together. There were so many people. It was like a giant theatrical set. I promised myself right then that I would live in New York one day. And my 10 year old vow came true, about 14 years later.

You’ve read about some of my favorite places in New York City. I visited and researched all the locations that Wendy visits in LATCH. I sat in the Yankee Stadium dugout. I climbed up the nosebleed steps to the top of the stage at the Metropolitan Opera. I learned the names of the sea lions in Central Park. And they’re really Seaweed, Scooter and April!

But, the most fun part was imagining what might happen at those places after midnight, after everyone was gone. That’s when the magic begins. Didn’t you ever want to step into a painting, or climb up the torch of the Statue of Liberty? Who knows what happens at those places when everyone is gone? Don’t you believe that animals can talk?

I’m currently working on the second book of the LATCH Series, MOON MUSIC. Just wait until you find out what Wendy ends up choosing for her self-projection project! Not to mention what happens to April and Phillip.

I’d love to hear from you if you have any questions or comments about THE MOON KEY. I look forward to reading your email.

To the Moon…
To Dreams…

J. R. Stampfl