Jacqueline West's "The Books of Elsewhere"

 I was very excited to meet the author, Jacqueline West at the Best of Times Bookstore in Red Wing a couple Saturdays ago. She was giving a book talk for her newest book Spellbound. I read her first book, The Shadows (click to see review on a previous post) and am looking forward to continuing Olive's adventure.

She explained that while growing up in River Falls, her school bus drove past the house that inspired the setting for the Dunwoody's mansion. It looked haunted and had all sorts of gadgets and things laying around in the yard.An inventor lived there and she could just imagine all the artifacts occupying the house.  

I asked her what her favorite books were as a child and she said she loved Bunnicula and anything by Dahl or Milne, books funny and scary. Ms. West read the first chapter (funny and scary) aloud to a room of enthusiastic fans of her books. Many many children wanted her to sign their books. Including me!