Below is a photograph my daughter Erinn took at a signing I did with five other authors on October 4th 2008 at Books of Wonder, 18W 18th St. NYC.
Elise Broach, author of Masterpiece, is out of camera range on the left, Tor Seidler, author of Gully's Travels, is next, then comes Marie Rutkoski, author of the Cabinet of Wonders, next comes Peter Hannan, author of Super Goofballs, and finally me.
Thanks to Peter Glassman at Books of Wonder and Barbara Fisch at Harcourt Houghton Mifflin for arranging it and making it a success.
To my wife Heather, who never stopped believing.
To Donna Brochu, my eighth grade English teacher, who introduced me to J.R.R. Tolkien, inspired me to write and settled for nothing less than my best.
To my Dad, who purchased all seven volumes of the Chronicles of Narnia for me in the course of one week -- a very long time ago.
The Faerie Door's first review -- from Kirkus Reviews.
...Echoes of MacDonald, Nesbit, Burnett and Tolkien thread through this archetypal tale...
...This story will reward the mature reader. The writing is heavily descriptive; the plot and quest narrative are complex and intricate...
...Maxwell recounts Victoria’s and Elliot’s stories in
alternating chapters, a technique that sustains suspense and tension in the
plot. The climax and resolution are particularly satisfying...
...use it as an introduction to the classics of the genre.
KirkusReviews.com
Specusphere
Maxwell has created wonderful worlds and characters in The Faerie Door. Victoria and Elliot, with their love of adventure and willingness to overlook minor faults in the name of friendship, represent children the world over. Maxwell brings them to life with realistic personalities.
Maxwell fills The Faerie Door with nonstop adventure, complete with continually-changing environments, mental and physical challenges for the children, and surprising plot twists. This tightly-plotted novel moves quickly, and is difficult to set down.
Victoria and Elliot must learn to interpret deeper meanings and, most of all, to trust themselves and each other. Maxwell offers these life lessons for children in such a deft and absorbing way few will recognize them as instruction.
Specusphere.com (Reviewer Katherine Petersen)
Voya
...a sequel is most definitely in order.
...an imaginative, edgy fantasy for younger readers....it is a very enjoyable novel about time travel, magic, and faith in family and friends. Feisty Victoria and humble Elliott will resonate with readers.
...Maxwell’s powerfully descriptive writing style is a treat.
Booklist
...Victoria and Elliot are appealing, well-drawn
characters...
...the terrors they face on their separate journeys are imaginative.