Hubbell, Will (Morgan Howell)

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Hubbell, Will (Morgan Howell)

PERSONAL:

Married; children: Nathaniel, Justin. Education: Oberlin College, B.A.; Rochester Institute of Technology, M.F.A.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Rochester, NY. E-mail—willhubbell@frontiernet.net.

CAREER:

Has worked variously in public broadcasting, academia, and advertising; writer. Military service: U.S. Army; served during the Vietnam War.

WRITINGS:

FOR CHILDREN; AND ILLUSTRATOR

Pumpkin Jack, Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 2000.

Apples Here!, Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 2002.

Snow Day Dance, Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 2005.

SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS

Cretaceous Sea, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Sea of Time, Berkley Publishing Group (New York, NY), 2004.

"QUEEN OF THE ORCS" TRILOGY; AS MORGAN HOWELL

Queen's Shadow, Del Rey (New York, NY), 2007.

Queen's Mark, Del Rey (New York, NY), 2007.

Queen's Sacrifice, Del Rey (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Will Hubbell worked in a variety of industries, including public television, academia, and advertising, before turning his attention to writing full time. He splits his time between writing and illustrating children's books, the inspiration for which came after the birth of his son, and writing science fiction novels for adults. Hubbell came slowly to the idea of writing as a career. Though he wrote and illustrated stories growing up, it was always for his own entertainment. In college, he initially studied biology, then changed his major to art, which he pursued further in graduate school after serving in the army during the Vietnam War. His studies led him to work as a graphic artist, and later to teaching. Sharing his love of books with his son, however, inspired him to start writing again. The author remarked on his Web site: "Our son had a library before he was born, and I rediscovered children's literature. I felt then, and still feel, that the best picture books are artistic marvels. They represent a rare opportunity for a single person to combine both verbal and visual communication." Hubbell's interest in natural history led him to focus his children's book on everyday things in the world, as with Pumpkin Jack, Apples Here!, and Snow Day Dance. Booklist critic Carolyn Phelan called Pumpkin Jack "one of the best fictional picture books to follow the cycle of a plant." Bina Williams, in a review for School Library Journal, asserted: "Any child who has had to throw away a beloved jack-o'-lantern will appreciate this fine offering." Another contributor to School Library Journal wrote of Apples Here! that the book is "clear and informative enough to satisfy the very young and to stimulate questions from slightly older children." Connie Fletcher, in a review for Booklist, found the "cover illustration … invites children into this quiet, informative book." Regarding Snow Day Dance, a contributor for Kirkus Reviews enjoyed the fact that "the images of individual snowflakes are amazingly detailed."

Cretaceous Sea, Hubbell's first work of adult science fiction, is a time-travel novel that describes a world where the fabulously wealthy may travel back to see live dinosaurs. Of this novel, Kliatt contributor Sherry S. Hoy remarked: "Although it is more than fifty pages before this novel takes off, the ending is a roller coaster ride." Harriet Klausner, writing for AllSciFi. com, stated: "Will Hubbell has written a science fiction novel that will appeal to the action-adventure crowd." Hubbell's follow-up, Sea of Time, deals with a nineteenth-century woman mine owner who finds herself involved in a plot to change history.