Malanoche’s Curse follows two teenage sleuths who investigate a devastating drought and eerie supernatural events, and wind up uncovering an ancient curse threatening their Texas hometown. How does this installment in the series build upon the characters, relationships, and adventures established in the earlier Arthur and Marya mysteries?

I think that from the very beginning my intent was that the Arthur and Marya mysteries would be a trilogy. The events and key characters in the first book reappear in the second, and now the third. This is really one story told in three parts. In a sense, I think, it is Arthur and Marya’s hero journey.

How did you develop the supernatural forces at the center of your story, and what inspired their connection to the town’s history?

I knew from the beginning of this process that these kids were going to have to face some adversity. That’s what a hero journey is about. And not just ordinary adversity, because I also knew that their adversity would involve magic and would place them squarely in the timeless battle between good and evil. Even though they don’t understand it at first, they have been chosen to do some pretty amazing things in the name of “good,” while their adversaries tend to be people or creatures who are at least imbued with all sorts of magical qualities and abilities.

As for their connection to Coronado Springs, several factors come into play. First, I knew before I started that the story would be set in my favorite part of Texas. But beyond that, because magical events are featured so prominently in the story, I figured that the city itself should have a role to play. Thus, Dr. Chomsky reminds the kids that many worlds exist beyond the one we can see and feel. Sometimes, those worlds intersect our world at a particular, special place, and Coronado Springs is one of those special places. He also reminds them that only special people can experience that intersection, and they, Arthur and Marya, are among those special people.

How does Malanoche’s Curse explore how historical events and traditions can continue to influence the present?

Well, that’s really at the core of the story because it was an event that occurred in 1890 that set the entire story in motion. The event was the cruel treatment of a native American family by the white people in Coronado Springs. It was an event that some never forgot, and an event that stoked an ongoing desire for revenge. As William Faulkner said, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

What do you hope readers take away from the story’s emphasis on courage, curiosity, and questioning appearances?

That’s a good question because it goes to one of the things I hoped to achieve in all three of these books: encouraging the young reader to look around, to be aware of the magic all around him. That, of course, is easier said than done, but it was very much in the forefront of my mind as I was writing. In fact, it was probably the primary motivating force behind the trilogy. I wrote the first book for my Grandson on his ninth birthday, and I knew from the beginning that what I hoped to impart to him was that magic does exist, but one must be open to it.