Week 8: The Poet’s Flower (interactive Thousandworld story)
Illustration: George Rosvall
Download the PDF here (recommended)
Or read in browser here (if the links in the PDF don’t work on your device)
18-year-old Zardrin, a poet studying at Pallantor’s famed Academy, is caught between love and loyalty to his family. Your choices may lead him to the heights of success or the depths of despair, amazing discoveries or perilous battle. This interactive story is a bit longer, more polished and more serious than previous stories of the week. Readers of Adventures in Thousandworld will recognize some characters and perhaps gain new insights into some of their backgrounds, as The Poet’s Flower takes place a few years before The Darkenstar. But no previous experience with Thousandworld is necessary to read and enjoy this story.Week 7: Another World (a Thousandworld story)
Click here to download Another World
“Another World” is a brief vignette that provides some background to Adventures in Thousandworld. It takes place the night of the moon landing, 1969, as 13-year-old Lars-Petter is preparing a late-night surprise for a young friend. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoyed Adventures in Thousandworld 1: The Darkenstar, or any readers age 10+ (or maybe 8+ for read-alouds) who are curious about my “real books”. If you have not yet read The Darkenstar, I can recommend checking it out here. Week 7’s second option (for those looking for some absurdist humor) is “Wacky Facts for Kids (with Really Good Pictures)”. This work defies description, but here is one of the illustrations:
Week 6: Joseph and the Lost Hat
Click here to watch Joseph and the Lost Hat (Youtube)
“Joseph and the Lost Hat” is a short, fun and fairly kid-friendly interactive video. It contains some cartoonish violence and a number of “unhappy” endings, but no blood, profanity or other objectionable content. After about a minute or two of story, the viewer may choose what happens next by selecting the desired option from the end screen.Week 5: Edgar and the Dragon
Click here to read Edgar and the Dragon
(Click here for the Swedish edition)
If you are new to my English books, Edgar and the Dragon is a must-read. It is a humorous fantasy adventure for ages 6-9 — a quick, fun read-aloud with short chapters, dragons, Brussels sprouts and Bible verses. Clicking the link above will bring you to a page where you can get the English e-book of Edgar and the Dragon for free on multiple platforms. You can also order the paperback version and the sequels, if you have already read the first one.Week 4: Salt and Vinegar
Click here to read Salt and Vinegar
Salt and Vinegar is a kid-friendly, interactive story based on a reader request: a bag of chips and a loaf of pickle bread approach the Council of Pickles in an attempt to be accepted as pickles. None of the endings are particularly nasty.Week 3: Animal Rescue
Click here to read Animal Rescue
Animal Rescue is a kid-friendly, interactive story based on some requests from young readers: 1) animal rescue, 2) wolves, 3) space, 4) trains, 5) sheep and 6) Jesus. A moose gets stuck in the church’s apple tree, and you get to choose where he goes from there. As stories go, this one is fairly harmless, with no blood, death, ghosts or surströmming.Week 2 (non-safe option): Pitch and other Stories
Click here to read Pitch and Other Stories (discretion advised)
Pitch and Other Stories is a small collection of horror stories written with Noah Clark, who did his sixth-grade internship with me. As this is my first foray into writing horror, I feel obligated to stress the fact that these stories are not for children or the easily disturbed.Week 2 (safe option): Three Clever Hens
Click here to read Three Clever Hens
Three Clever Hens is fun, interactive story based on some reader requests: 1) A story that takes place at a restaurant, 2) A story with a dragon, 3) A story about chickens who accidentally save the day. (To request future Stories of the Week, subscribe below.) As interactive stories go, this one is quite short with relatively few paths, so it is recommended for one or at most two readings. It is kid-friendly, and all the possible endings are happy endings.Week 1: Snack Quest
Trolyrien 