Blog Archives
The Story Even Tricked Us
In The Crow’s Ring, readers follow a group of friends who find themselves pulled into a long-buried robbery when they try to save a beloved tugboat from the scrap pile. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
We planned from the beginning that the protagonist and his friends would get older in each of the three books. In The Crow’s Ring, the kids are going on fourteen, so we knew the opening could be suspenseful and more complex. And by book three they had formed very strong friendships, so we wanted all of them to be involved in the opening drama.
On a personal level, as a young boy living in Iceland, Thorir loved making regular trips to the harbor to watch the ships come in. He remembers having a special interest in the tugboats with their rugged character and charm. Those memories were translated into the storyline of Captain Hodges’s tugboat, the beloved Maryanne. Middle-grade readers love the challenge of solving puzzles, and this inspired the cold-case mystery. We have to admit sometimes when we were writing, the story even tricked us.
Did you draw on a real place or community when creating Riverside and Stony Creek?
Since writing the series, we’ve learned that the name Riverside is among the most common city names in our country, found in forty-six of our fifty states. However, our Riverside is fictitious, inspired by our days living in the shadows of the nation’s capital, near Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, a charming historical town where we were married. It also sits by the river, providing access to the Atlantic Ocean. On the other hand, the concept of Stony Creek has no connection to us. It rose organically in Thorir’s mind as he was writing.
Ralph isn’t just a fun addition—he actively drives the plot. What made you decide to give the crow such an important role?
Yes, we made the crow a star! In The Big Dream, book 2, we planted a seed for Ralph’s leading role. This happened when he flew to Brandon’s rooftop with what the boys thought was a junk ring, and then he eventually took off with it. Now, the ring is back… what did Ralph do with it? The kids are older, and their friendships have deepened. Likewise, they know and love Ralph, and he interacts with all of them. However, they are keenly aware of the strong connection between Brandon and Ralph.
Realizing many young people make lasting memories with their pets, we highlighted Ralph helping Brandon. Since crows are notoriously smart, it was realistic for him to do many of the antics in this quirky and humorous mystery. It would be something this boy would never forget. He and his crow… working together to solve a hometown crime!
Can you give readers a glimpse inside the next book in this series? Where will it take them?
The Crow’s Tales was intended to be a three-book series. However, we’ve drafted book four, but its fate remains undetermined. The Crow’s Ring (without spoilers) ends with a hint on the closing page. If there is book four, it may take place on an island in the Atlantic Ocean. “Holy ravioli!”
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Instagram | Website
Another Rollicking Adventure
What begins as a fun summer turns wild and crazy when thirteen-year-old Brandon Woodberry and his best friends meet a salty old sea captain with ties to an unsolved 1930s jewelry heist. Determined to both crack the case and save the captain’s tugboat before it’s hauled off for scrap metal, Brandon & Co. follow their noses and a series of enticing clues.
But the heat is on after Brandon’s pet crow, Ralph, turns up with a valuable missing ring, and the line between hero and villain gets murky. Can Brandon and his friends — both feathered and non — solve the cold case, clear their names, and rescue the tugboat before time and luck run out?
Join Brandon for another adventurous summertime romp as he searches for the truth and discovers a curious bond to the sea.
Don’t forget to read THE BIRD CAPER and THE BIG DREAM in The Crow’s Tales series. Laugh-out-loud mystery adventures to entertain young readers and adults, too!
THE BACKSTORY
The Crow’s Ring was always going to be a mystery adventure, like the rest of the series. The Captain’s tugboat, the Maryanne, is key to the story. It’s based on Thorir’s childhood in Iceland, where he’d go to the harbor and watch the ships his father sailed on. He especially loved the look and character of the tugboats.
Another interesting point is that in book two (The Big Dream), Brandon’s pet crow, Ralph, finds a ring. The ring turns up again and plays an important role in this story. Look at the ring on the book cover—it’s a copy of the one Victoria’s dad gave her many years ago when she was a young girl. The ring is meaningful to her since she didn’t have her dad in her life growing up.
Near the end of the story, Brandon and Josh are served a beautiful Corn Flake Cake. This is a delicious cake with pineapple, whipped cream, and cornflakes. Thorir’s Icelandic mother used to make this, and we both miss this tasty dessert. His sister, Ragnhildur, knows how to make the cake, but unfortunately, she lives far from us. We’re hoping to try and bake it someday!
Is The Crow’s Ring the last book in TheCrow’s Tales series, or is there more to come? We originally intended to write only one book, the 1st edition of The Big Dream, for our grandchildren, as a gift for them for the holidays. Little did we know we would fall in love with writing for middle-grade and with the fun and heart-warming characters we had created. It didn’t take long to figure out there was more to young Brandon’s story and his adventurous relationship with his pet crow, Ralph.
Instead of a series of loosely connected stories, we decided to focus on the characters’ journey through middle school. This allowed us to show how our protagonist, Brandon, and his friends matured in their interests and relationships. In book one, The Bird Caper, Brandon is 10 years old. In book two, The Big Dream, he’s 12. And in book three, The Crow’s Ring, he’s 13, turning 14. As the stories’ characters — Brandon, Josh, Penny, Skip, and Sophie — age, their challenges become increasingly complicated and exciting. This approach to the series has opened the door to endless adventures and insights.
So, if you’re wondering, “Will there be a book four, five, or even more?” The answer is mostly up to you, the fans!
The Crow’s Ring
The Crow’s Ring is a middle-grade adventure mystery that follows Brandon and his friends as they try to save Captain Hodges’s beloved old tugboat, the Maryanne, from being scrapped, only to get pulled into a long-buried robbery tied to Stony Creek, a missing ring, and Brandon’s sharp-eyed pet crow, Ralph. What starts as a summer restoration project turns into a kid-led investigation full of hidden clues, family history, and plenty of chaos, with the tugboat itself feeling almost as important as any person in the story.
I liked how readable and alive the book feels. The voice is direct, funny, and easy to settle into, and it keeps moving. I could feel the authors leaning into cliffhangers, comic timing, and the energy of a close-knit friend group, and for the most part it works. Brandon is a likable guide through all of it, and the supporting cast each gets a clear shape fast, especially bold Penny, unpredictable Josh, and of course Ralph, who is not just a cute detail but a real engine for the plot. I also liked the way the book lets Captain Hodges be more than a gruff old eccentric. His attachment to the Maryanne, and the way the tug carries his grief and memory of his wife, gives the story a warmer, deeper current under all the antics.
What stayed with me was the book’s sense of place and its belief that kids can matter. Riverside, the marina, the creek, the rooftop with Ralph’s stash, all of it gives the novel a lived-in feel that keeps the mystery grounded even when the plot gets wonderfully busy. I was especially drawn to the way restoration and investigation mirror each other. The kids are not just fixing up a wrecked boat. They are also piecing together a damaged story, and in doing that they help give Captain Hodges a future again, especially once the old case starts opening doors and the Maryanne’s survival begins to look possible. That idea lands well without getting preachy. The book sometimes piles on the coincidences and broad comic beats, still, the warmth carries it.
I’d recommend The Crow’s Ring most to readers who enjoy middle-grade fiction with adventure, humor, friendship, and a mystery that feels old-fashioned in a good way. It has the pull of a summer caper, the structure of a clue-driven detective story, and just enough heart to make the whole thing feel grounded. I think it will especially click with younger readers who like ensemble casts, lively pacing, and stories where community, loyalty, and curiosity do real work. It feels like the kind of book you hand to a kid who wants excitement, but also wants to care.
Pages: 334 | ASIN : B0GHZM4DMT
