News from Peter Lerangis on The 39 Clues Tour

Well, everyone, the hunt is over. I have found all 39 Clues, hidden in very large fish that washed up on Lake Michigan. I win. See ya!

APRIL FOOL! (Worried there, weren't you?)

Greetings from Chicago! I figure it's time for an update on my tour promoting The Sword Thief — and the latest video episode in my clue search!

I am still nearly speechless over my visit to Los Angeles and Southern California. What a send-off I had — an entire day at a school where hundreds of kids gave me an Oscar-worthy entrance, all dressed up as characters from The 39 Clues! You can read about that (and see photos) here.

As for Chicago, well, it's one of my favorite places in the world. I lived here when I was an actor in a Broadway tour. This past Sunday, SNOW was on the ground when we arrived. Yup, flip-flops and palm trees one week, down coats and frozen fingers the next. Gives new meaning to THE DOUBLE-DEALING TOUR, huh?

At one point, we drove through a barrage of thick snowballs hurtling onto the street around us and realized we were in a hailstorm. Chicago is called the Windy City, the City of Big Shoulders, and That Toddlin' Town. Well, The 39 Clues has blown into the Windy City and shaken its shoulders. I've been to tons of schools and bookstores, had a TV interview, even spoken to a school group in which kids were bussed in from three different states!

The best news? I've made more progress on my hunt! Okay, as you saw in my Los Angeles post, I found my elusive code-cracking friend, Charisse Rachel Johnson. Just as I predicted, she solved the mystery of the San Francisco message. But the solution set up an impossible task for me — plus I received ANOTHER coded message from Janus headquarters by cell phone! Were you able to solve it? I was. And it led me to Chicago: a dark alley on Monroe Street under the elevated train, where I found an odd, rather frustrated Russian man dressed in disguise.

Find out about what happened in my new video blog. Can you figure out the code that's vexing him?

Let me know. And I'll see you later this month, in Philadelphia!

— Peter Lerangis, Author

Peter Lerangis 39 Clues Exclusive!

An update from author Peter Lerangis:

Hey, Splotters!

Well, I'm home for a few days before heading off to the Windy City (Chicago). I'm pretty winded myself, but in a good way. A GREAT way, actually. It's been amazing to see the numbers of readers hooked on Amy and Dan's search for The 39 Clues. I visited a LOT of school groups on the West Coast, and wherever I went, I met students and teachers who were fun and enthusiastic and full of good, sharp questions.

But nothing quite prepared me for Mr. Bentz, Ms. Campbell and the Skyline School in Solana Beach, CA.

This visit was scheduled last on the West Coast leg of The 39 Clues Double-Dealing Tour. We'd seen the Skyline kids and their teachers, Michael Bentz and Ms. Campbell, in a video feed last December (the day of the webcast with Whoopi Goldberg and Gordon Korman). Their energy and passion for The 39 Clues was impressive. Mr. Bentz had even integrated the books into the school's curriculum. Well, we suspected they'd planned something for my visit last Friday morning, because when we called to say we were on our way, Mr. Bentz asked us to delay a bit while they "prepared." Uh-oh.

The 39 Clues Tour Exclusive: Greetings From L.A.

Greetings from sunny Los Angeles! I had an amazing time in the Bay Area (that's San Francisco and vicinity, for all you non-Californians). As you know, The Sword Thief is now in bookstores everywhere, and I'm so happy to hear that the book is on several national bestseller lists including The New York Times and USA Today. All over the country, kids are on the hunt for The 39 Clues! My son, Nick, even found the book on sale in a supermarket (and of course sent me a cell phone photo)!

Whew. Dan and Amy's quest is really going viral. Well, I talked about The 39 Clues EVERYWHERE — school visits, bookstores, conferences, radio and magazine interviews. I talked to thousands of kids of all clue-hunting persuasions — Janus, Tomas, Ekats, AND Lucians. I also went jogging along the Monterey Coast, had pizza with pineapple, and hung off the side of a cable car, screaming "BEWARE THE MADRIGALS!," to the chagrin of the driver (an Ekat!).

But I never EVER forgot about my top-secret diamond hunt. And I have some good news about that! I did reach my code-cracking-expert friend, a former government official who is now a Janus operative. For security, she operates in very mysterious ways — but I managed to locate her people and hand over the coded telegram found by my jeweler friend, Rupert, in San Francisco. Watch the video blog VERY carefully — but before you do, make sure you have a pen or pencil in hand!

Aggh! The further I get, the more questions I find! What do YOU think? Can you help me, before I get to Chicago? I hope to get a little closer there, and then it will be off to Philadelphia. (Hey, what a progression: The City of Angels --> The Windy City --> The City of Brotherly Love. Maybe there's something in that . . . )

I'll report back to you from Chicago in a few days. In the meantime, if you want to sharpen your clue-hunting skills, try playing the game LABRAT at The 39 Clues headquarters on THE STACKS!

See you in the Windy City!

Peter Lerangis, Author

Hot Lead from author Peter Lerangis

Peter Lerangis is sooooooo busy with his diamond hunt AND book tour that he asked me to post his latest video blog for him. Peter flew all the way from New York to San Francisco to continue his diamond hunt (and to meet 39 Clues fans on his book tour, of course!).

Check out the latest video that Peter filmed during The 39 Clues Double-Dealing Tour. Peter received another hot lead that he wants to share with you. Make sure you pay close attention to the code that he shows at the end of the video. Can you crack the code before Peter does?

The next video blog will be coming to you next week from Los Angeles, where Peter knows an expert code-cracker! And don't forget, you can meet Peter and have him sign your copy of The Sword Thief if you live in the San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, or Philadelphia area.

Good luck on your hunt! And if you want to talk strategy or see what other Cahills are talking about, check out The 39 Clues message board.

—Whitney, The 39 Clues Team

The 39 Clues Double-Dealing Tour

I'm not used to double-dealing. But that's all changed.

As you probably know, today is the debut of The 39 Clues #3: The Sword Thief, by yours truly. Now, when I agreed to write this, I didn't know what it would do to my life. And now that I'm leaving on a coast-to-coast tour to promote The Sword Thief, I have a confession.

I'm obsessed. With clues.

I know, I know, this is supposed to be a book, not an obsession. I'm supposed to understand the difference between life and fiction, right? Well, while I'm visiting schools and bookstores, signing books and meeting fans in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia having fancy black-tie dinners with heads of state (okay, maybe I'm exaggerating that last part), I'll also be on my own secret hunt.

You see, there’s a rumor about a clue hidden with a famous diamond. And I'm after it.

This diamond is not a mere multi-thousand-dollar trinket, but one of the most valuable stones ever known. In fact, I'm bringing along a tiny videocamera to record my hunt. And some of my pals on the Scholastic blog team (whom I have promised not to name) have agreed to post these video blogs -- right here!

This is my first post -- the hunt begins in my hometown, New York City. Watch carefully. Each week I promise to report on any hot tips I find. In between, make sure to use The 39 Clues message board to discuss Book 3 strategy and share secrets with other Cahills. Oh, one thing -- please, if you plan to meet me during the tour, don't tell anyone about my secret, OK? And check www.the39clues.com once a week for my video blogs. You never know when they'll be taken down. The Lucians are all around us.

Cheers,
Peter Lerangis

Hot off the presses! Sneak Peek at 39 Clues, Bk 3!

I know you've been anxiously awaiting the release of the next 39 Clues book after hearing about Peter Lerangis's tour. Guess what? Here's a sneak peek at the next book in the series, Book Three: The Sword Thief!

Where are Amy and Dan Cahill headed next? And who is trying to stop them?

Click here to get all those answers and your first look at The Sword Thief (PDF)

Don’t forget, Book Three: The Sword Thief goes on sale March 3rd! Only another week and a half of waiting!

— Whitney, The 39 Clues Team

39 Clues goes on tour!

Hey Splotters!

We're always talking about all the cool events we go to in NYC, but this time the awesome is coming to you. Peter Lerangis, the author of the 3rd book in The 39 Clues extravaganza, The Sword Thief, is going on tour! He'll be traveling to libraries and bookstores all around the country to talk about The 39 Clues and sign copies of his book.

These are some of the places where he'll be:

Author SPLOTlight: Peter Lerangis

Funny how time flies, huh? Seems like just yesterday that everyone here at The STACKS was getting really excited about the launch of the first 39 Clues book, and now we're only about a month away from the release of The Sword Thief (Book 3). Early reports indicate that it's just as good as the first two -- the  now-classic blend of action, adventure, history, and humor is still there -- so I thought this would be a good opportunity to introduce you to its author: none other than Mr. Peter Lerangis.

Most of us are pretty good at a bunch of different, unconnected, unrelated things. Sometimes people are really good at one thing. But then there are people that seem to be really good at everything, and they're the ones that drive you nuts. 

Peter Lerangis is one of those people.

Peter has written more than 150 books in a wide variety of genres. A small sampling: Smiler's Bones, the Drama Club series, the Spy X series, the Watchers series, the Abracadabra series, the Antarctica series, and novelizations of movies like The Sixth Sense and Beauty and the Beast. He went to Harvard, where he graduated with a degree in Nuclear Rocket Brain Surgery or something insane like that. And he spent eight years in New York working in musical theater before turning to writing. We are looking at a man with way too much talent for one person to have. Check out this funny bio from the Spy X site. (It's true, actually — he did go to Moscow with Laura Bush.) He also sang a cappella  at Harvard in the Krokodiloes, and whatever your thoughts on a cappella are, it's incredibly hard (youtube them if you don't believe me).

I'm really wondering where he gets the brainpower to do all that stuff and write novels on top of it. But I guess that's the kind of guy you want writing your books, right? I have a feeling that we 39 Clues fans are in good hands. March 3rd can't come soon enough! Can't wait to find out the identity of the mysterious warrior Dan and Amy are tracking . . .

PLUS, this just in — we’ve heard that Peter will be going on a 39 Clues nationwide tour in March and April. Stay tuned for more details!

And in case you missed it, here's the awesome 39 Clues trailer!

Till next time, Splotters!

— Jack, STACKS Staffer

Game On!

Are there any Cahills out there who are up for a new challenge? I thought so! Starting this week there's a new way to test your skills on The 39 Clues website. When you sign on at www.the39clues.com you can now take part in the Weekly Challenge!

I know you've all been busy playing games like Dogfight and Skeet Shoot in the Arena 39 section of The 39 Clues website. Well, now you can take part in the Weekly Challenges, too. Do you want to know the best part? You can earn thousands of bonus points each time you play! Do you want to know the other best part? New challenges are added EVERY week, so just as you master one game, there will be a new one for you to tackle.

You can play each week's challenge as many times as you want and rack up extra points each time you play. Bonus points are automatically added to your score at the end of the game, so all you have to do is sign in and accept the challenge. Earn as many points as you can, and you may have the chance to win cash prizes! (NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. For complete details and official rules, click here.)

This week's challenge is a game called NITPIX:

You need to be alert and quick to win this one. In each round you will see two pictures that seem identical, but when you look closer, there are subtle differences that even the most observant Cahill could miss. Once you spot the five differences in each picture, you advance to the next round. The further you get in the game, the more points you’ll earn.

I want to see your name on the Arena 39 High Scores Leader Board! Think you can handle the challenge?

— Whitney, The 39 Clues Team

Play Double-Cross!

After Monday's webcast and Tuesday's book release, you were probably thinking there was no way we could possibly have any more exciting news for The 39 Clues. Well, we now have a FREE game for fans of The 39 Clues series. I know you're all busy reading One False Note, which went on sale December 2nd, but once you're done reading you have to check out this amazing new game, Double-Cross. All you need is your 39 Clues game cards, a FREE 39 Clues playmat, and a couple of friends. Did I mention that it's FREE?!

The game is really fun and involves sabotage, secret missions, and stealing your opponent's points! In order to play Double-Cross, you need to send the Agents from your game cards to Locations in order to uncover Cahill secrets and earn points. The first player to get 39 points is the winner! Double-Cross is for 2 to 4 players and works best with the more game cards you have, so don't forget to use the game cards from your books AND from the card packs.

To learn all the rules and the best ways to sabotage your opponents, go to www.the39clues.com/double-cross. You can also download your free playmat from the site and watch a really cool video explaining how to play.

I know you gamers out there are dying to show off your skills! Good luck! And watch out for the double-cross!

— Whitney, The 39 Clues Team

Author SPLOTlight: Patrick Carman

If you're like me, as soon as you finished reading Maze of Bones (the first book in The 39 Clues series) you went online to find out everything you could about the next books and their authors. Or maybe you're not like me and don't share my constant, burning need to find out every single scrap of information I can about a subject I'm even only slightly interested in. Annnyyywwaaayyy. . .

Turns out that the fifth book is to be written by none other than famed children's author, ex-entrepreneur, Washington State resident, and all-around Renaissance man Patrick Carman! You may know Patrick from such books as Stargazer (the latest Land of Elyon title), the Elliot's Park series, or this ridiculous video.

To help you get to know Mr. Carman, I'm going to give you a quick web tour of everything related to PatCar (that's my nickname for him).

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention this great interview, in which he talks about his entry into children's fiction and his life before that. (He ran his own ad agency for nine years!)

And finally, in addition to The 39 Clues book he's got coming out, PC (that's his other nickname, but only use it if you know him well; otherwise it's offensive) is working on something called Skeleton Creek. I should just let this scary video do the talking . . .

Spooky! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what else he has up his sleeve.

Later, Splotters!

— Jack L., STACKS Staffer

The 39 CLUES: In the Webcast Control Room

If you're a true Cahill, then I'm sure you already know that today was a big day for our family — The 39 Clues Book 2: One False Note hit stores this morning! Dan and Amy are off to Austria as they continue on their dangerous quest to discover the secret behind Cahill power. Could Mozart's sheet music hold a key? You'll just have to read the book to find out! (If you don't have your copy yet, download the first chapter now.)

To celebrate the release of Book 2, Scholastic hosted a  big event yesterday: an internationally-broadcast live webcast with Gordon Korman, the author of One False Note. And he was interrogated — er, I mean, interviewed — by none other than actress Whoopi Goldberg! Turns out she's a big fan of The 39 Clues series! If you missed the webcast, you can catch the video replay and get the highlights from Carly H.

And while Carly was sitting in the audience, I was up in the control room. That's right — I was manipulating the whole thing. Mwahahaha!

No, not really. Seriously, you think I have the technical know-how to run a webcast? Um, no.

There was one person manning the lights, one person controlling the audio, one person operating three different cameras and simultaneously editing together a live video, one person cueing up the video and the slides that were projected during the webcast, and one person monitoring the live online feed. And then there was little old me. What was I doing, you ask? Well, you know those polls that launched every once in a while during the webcast? Yeah, I was in charge of those.

Anyway, it was my first time in the Scholastic Auditorium's control room, and I was totally psyched to be there — right in the thick of the action. To give you an idea of how fast-paced it was: before the webcast began, Colin, the head AV guy was like, "Karen, when the webcast starts, I'll need you to be sitting down because I'll be running around back here." In other words: stay out of my way! And I was like, "Yes, sir!"

But I did get a chance to snap some photos before the audience trooped in, Gordon and Whoopi took their places onstage, and things got really crazy. Check out these pics for my behind-the-scenes experience of the webcast:

— Karen, STACKS Staffer