Lewis, J.S. 1972- (Jon Samuel Lewis)

PERSONAL:

Born 1972; married; children: daughters. Hobbies and other interests: Pro (Minnesota Vikings) and college (Arizona State University) football, Major League Baseball (Minnesota Twins), basketball, ultimate fighting, Norse mythology, European fairy tales, World War II, the history of the Middle Ages, comic books, The Simpsons, Star Wars, the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, collecting vintage toys from the 1970s and 1980s, 1980s music, biblical theology, spending time with family.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Phoenix, AZ. E-mail—jslewis@greygriffins.com.

CAREER:

Writer. Has worked in a variety of fields, including video game development, animation, college football color commentary, news reporting, radio production, voice-over talent, multimedia design, mural painting, speechwriting, marketing, and advertising.

WRITINGS:

"GREY GRIFFINS" SERIES; YOUNG ADULT FANTASY NOVELS

(With Derek Benz) The Revenge of the Shadow King, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 2005.

(With Derek Benz) The Rise of the Black Wolf, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 2007.

(With Derek Benz) The Fall of the Templar, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 2008.

ADAPTATIONS:

Producer Mark Gordon is adapting a book in the "Grey Griffins" series to film. The Revenge of the Shadow King was adapted as an audiobook, Scholastic Audiobooks, 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

J.S. Lewis grew up in the Midwest, a fan of football and comic books. He worked in a number of jobs, including video game development, animation, advertising, broadcasting, and marketing, before teaming up with his childhood friend Derek Benz. Together they began to write the "Grey Griffins" series of adventure books for young adults. The books draw heavily from Lewis's fascination with Norse mythology, European fairy tales, World War II, and the history of the Middle Ages, as well as his early love of the stories of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. The Grey Griffins is a secret club whose members are children who have sworn to save the world from whatever happens to threaten it, from evil warlords to aliens.

The Revenge of the Shadow King, the inaugural title in the series, begins with the formation of the Grey Griffins club by Max Sumner and his best friends, Harley, Ernie, and Natalia. Strange things have started to occur in their small town in Minnesota, but the kids find that they are the only ones who seem to notice. Events reach a climax when fantastical creatures begin arriving in Max's backyard, such as fairies, unicorns, and goblins. These beings seem to have jumped right off the faces of the cards in a game the kids like to play. The creatures are intent on taking over the world, and the Griffins are determined to stop them. A Kirkus Reviews critic remarked that "constant danger and some humor keep this adventure moving despite clunky prose."

Book two of the series, The Rise of the Black Wolf, continues the adventures of the Grey Griffins. In this volume, the kids set off to Scotland to visit Max's father for the holidays. Mr. Sumner lives in an old castle, so it is no real surprise when the Griffins set out to explore it and discover a new set of creatures against whom they must do battle. When Max's father disappears the kids must figure out how to save him. Kids Reads contributor Chris Shanley-Dillman commented: "Non-stop adventure and excitement bombard the likable heroes throughout the pages. Vivid descriptions will put readers right next to Max and his friends as they fight for peace and freedom."

The Fall of the Templar is the third book in the series. It pits the Grey Griffins against the evil machinations of Morgan La Fey and Lord Sumner—Max's father, who has betrayed his son and the rest of the Griffins.

Lewis told CA: "My mother brought home a recorded book of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, and I fell in love with the fantasy genre right away. I was already an avid comic book reader and loved the ‘Super Friends’ cartoon. Then the Star Wars movies came along and changed my world. The combination of all those influences gave me a passionate desire to one day create worlds of my own.

"In addition to J.R.R. Tolkien, I am influenced by the writers C.S. Lewis and Maurice Sendak; the movie director George Lucas; the Marvel Comics artist and writer Stan Lee; and the radio personality Garrsion Keillor.

"My writing process is more like creating a movie than a book. I come up with some key characters and a basic plot, then I start sketching the characters and creating ‘character sheets’ with all kinds of information that covers everything from height, weight, and eye and hair color, to allergies, hobbies, and what the character's grandparents did for a living. I want to know as much as I can about my characters so they become real. Then I outline the book in a fairly detailed manner, and for scenes with lots of action, I will do a storyboard. It isn't until then that I start to write. My theory is that you wouldn't show up at an airport and then decide where to go on a vacation—how would you know what to pack? So I apply that to my writing. However, I do leave room for the story to flow as it will, and make constant adjustments.

"There are three things that have surprised me as a writer: (1) how much kids look up to you; (2) that librarians treat you like a rock star—and they're a blast to hang out with; and (3) that educators and parents are desperate for books that engage and inspire children instead of making them feel like reading is nothing more than another droll chore in their lives. In a world dominated by video games and blockbuster movies, it's not easy to ‘sell’ books to kids—but once you make that connection—once a child finds a book he or she loves—it lights a fire that can never die. That is truly inspiring.

"I hope that my books will inspire kids to dream, and to dream big. An imagination is a powerful tool, and if you can tap into the potential of what your imagination holds, you can literally change the world!"

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, March, 2006, Karen Coats, review of The Revenge of the Shadow King, p. 301.

California Bookwatch, July, 2006, "Scholastic Inc."

Children's Bookwatch, July, 2007, "Scholastic Inc."

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, November, 2007, Linda Broughton, review of The Rise of the Black Wolf, p. 286.

Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2006, review of The Revenge of the Shadow King, p. 37; December 15, 2006, review of The Rise of the Black Wolf, p. 1264.

Library Media Connection, August 1, 2006, Jennifer L. Hartson, review of The Revenge of the Shadow King, p. 72.

School Library Journal, April, 2006, Susan L. Rogers, review of The Revenge of the Shadow King, p. 134; September, 2006, Tricia Melgaard, review of The Revenge of the Shadow King, p. 72; March, 2007, Farida S. Dowler, review of The Rise of the Black Wolf, p. 203.

Voice of Youth Advocates, February, 2006, Paula Brehm-Heeger, review of Revenge of the Shadow King, p. 496; August, 2007, Jacob Gilles, review of The Rise of the Black Wolf, p. 251.

ONLINE

Armchair Reviews,http://reviews.armchairinterviews.com/ (January 12, 2008), Linda Lee, review of The Revenge of the Shadow King.

Grey Griffins Home Page,http://www.greygriffins.com (January 12, 2008).

International Reading Association Web site,http://www.reading.org/ (January 12, 2008), Linda Broughton, review of The Rise of the Black Wolf.

Kids Reads,http://www.kidsreads.com/ (January 12, 2008), Chris Shanley-Dillman, reviews of The Revenge of the Shadow King and The Rise of the Black Wolf.

Lyre Online,http://cc.ysu.edu/lyre/ (January 12, 2008), Joe Wallace, review of The Revenge of the Shadow King.

Medlibrary,http://medlibrary.org/ (January 12, 2008), profile of J.S. Lewis.