Infinity Ring

I’ve recently mentioned a secret project I’ve been involved with, and I am excited to finally announce it. But before I talk about it, The New York Times just ran a piece on it, which I would recommend reading first. You can find it here. If you want to track down the print version, it’s on the front page of the arts section.

And here is the announcement on Scholastic’s On Our Minds blog.

From the press release:

Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, and the pioneering force behind the groundbreaking and international bestselling The 39 Clues^™ book series, expands its innovative multi-platform publishing program with the worldwide launch of Infinity Ring^™, an alternate-history time travel series for readers ages 8-12. To be written by a team of six authors, this exciting new adventure combines books, an interactive “Hystorian’s Guide” map feature (named for a centuries-old secret society featured in the books), and a fully-immersive online game experience where readers travel back in time to fix history. Infinity Ring will launch simultaneously in September 2012 in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, with “Book 1: A Mutiny in Time,” written by New York Times bestselling author James Dashner (The Maze Runner), who also outlined the program’s overall story arc. Dashner will be followed by a team of bestselling and acclaimed authors including Carrie Ryan (Book 2; November 2012), Lisa McMann (Book 3; February 2013), Matt de la Peña (Book 4; June 2013), Matthew J. Kirby (Book 5; September 2013), and Jennifer A. Nielsen (Book 6; December 2013). The last book in the Infinity Ring series also will be written by James Dashner (Book 7; March 2014).

The story…

History is broken, and a long-feared Cataclysm seems imminent. The capital of the United States is Boston. Lincoln’s face is nowhere to be seen on Mount Rushmore. Everyone’s buzzing about the French royal wedding. And an international group of men and women known as the SQ is more powerful than kings, richer than nations, and more fearsome than armies. When best friends Dak Smyth and Sera Froste stumble upon the key to time travel – a hand-held device known as the Infinity Ring – they’re swept up in a centuries-long secret war for the fate of mankind. Recruited by the Hystorians, a secret society that dates back to Aristotle, the kids learn that history has gone completely, and disastrously, off-course. Now it’s up to Dak, Sera, and teenage Hystorian-in-training Riq to travel back in time to fix the “Great Breaks”… and to save Dak’s missing parents while they’re at it. First stop: Spain, 1492, where a sailor named Christopher Columbus is about to be thrown overboard in a deadly mutiny!

And if you want to read the full, official press release, it’s here.

Pretty amazing, isn’t it?

When I got the call from David Levithan a couple of months ago asking me if this was something I would be interested in, I told him that this was exactly my kind of project. I love alternate history, I love science fiction, and I love computer games. I grew up reading books and playing old-school Sierra games like King’s Quest, Hero’s Quest (tragically renamed Quest for Glory) and Space Quest. Putting books and computer games together? Infinity Ring is the kind of integrated story and multi-platform experience I wish had been around when I was a kid. So yes, I wasn’t just interested, I was absolutely thrilled to be a part of it.

I’m also honored to be working alongside James Dashner, Carrie Ryan, Lisa McMann, Matt de la Peña, and Jennifer Nielsen. Such an amazing gathering of talent. The experience of working with them on this story – creating, building, firing ideas back and forth – has been remarkable. We were all together in New York City a couple of weeks ago for the Scholastic sales conference, and we had the opportunity for a face-to-face brainstorming session. The creative energy in the room was palpable. And to top it off, we all get along really well, and though I always respected each of them as writers, I now count them as friends.

There will be more details in the coming weeks and months, I’m sure. Check the official Infinity Ring website for news. But for now, I’m glad I can finally talk about it. Any questions?