by Jeff Gunhus
Bocho was waiting for me at the base of the stairs.
“Don’t forget tah offer up a Ratling position to the youngsters,” he said. “Need more help to feed this lot. Ya see the size of that ogre kid? He’ll eat for five people, that one will.”
“I’ll remember, Bocho. I promise.”
“Right, then,” he said, also getting a little emotional. “Up there with you then. Proud of you, Jack. Jus’ got to say it. Really, really proud.”
The big man buried me a giant hug that nearly knocked the wind out of me and then hustled me up the steps as if I was the one slowing things down.
I climbed the stairs and took stock of my friends doing what they’d always done. Standing behind me, supporting me. Doing what great friends do. I couldn’t have asked for better people to be in my life.
I faced the assembled crowd. A mix of human and Creach. I saw goblins, ogres and Minotaurs. Werewolves and vampires. Because of what we were trying to do here, the parents of the new students were there too. Both human and Creach. It was a good group, carefully chosen from a surprisingly high number of applicants. Both sides were weary of war and conflict. It would be up to this group to start the long march to peace.
“Welcome,” I said, all too aware of the weight of this moment. I knew what I wanted to say and I’d practiced it a hundred times. But I always stumbled on how to start. How to introduce myself.
I decided to keep it simple.
“My name is Jack Templar. And I am no longer a monster hunter.”
THE END
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Acknowledgments
It’s fitting in this last installment of Jack Templar to take a look in the rear-view mirror and thank a few people who made the series possible. The desire to write a middle grade book came from my son Jackson’s reluctance to read when he was in the 5th grade.
At first I thought it was a lack of interest, but it turned out that he avoided reading because he also wasn’t a very strong reader. To work on this, he and I woke up early before school to read Harry Potter and Percy Jackson together. This worked at first, but it wasn’t long before his interest dropped off again. Worse, I was turning reading into a chore.
Not my goal.
So I decided that a book, especially a book about monsters and sword battles and friendship, where he was the main character, was just what we needed. My next oldest son, Will, wanted in on the action, so Jack Templar Monster Hunter was born, with Jack as the main character and Will as the best friend.
It wasn’t meant to be something we shared outside of the family, but odd things happened and now kids (and many, many adults) have purchased Jack Templar books from literally all over the world. They have been translated into other languages, featured in magazines, narrated for audio books and have won several awards. It’s been quite a ride.
Along the way, several people joined the team to help shape the books.
Nicole Cardiff created the original artwork for books 2-6. Her renderings of the world I’d described on the page are even more beautiful than I’d been able to imagine in my head.
My talented brother Eric Gunhus designed all the covers, taking the artwork and transforming the covers into a distinctive look for the series. He designed the cover of my first book when I was twelve years old (The Amulet), and I am blessed to have his talent still.
Ben Kass, the pitch-perfect voice actor, narrates all six books. His voice and delivery bring the books to life and add an important access point for many reluctant readers who can read a page and then listen to a page.
Sher A. Hart found me early on as a reader who just couldn’t stand the editing errors in my first book. She sent me a file with her revisions just as a good Samaritan. Once I discovered she was a freelanced editor, I immediately hired her, and she’s edited the series ever since. Often I feel that she knows this world even better than I do, reminding me of things from three books ago that had slipped my mind. This series has been made substantially better from her involvement. Remaining errors tend to be mine, messing up the file somehow along the way!
So many authors influenced the books: RL Stine, JK Rowling, Rick Riordan, JRR Tolkein, Neil Gaiman, to name a few.
I met Bob Stine at a conference and asked for advice on how to deal with my then-upcoming book where Jack and friends go after the Lord of the Zombies. My problem, I explained to him, was that I couldn’t figure out how to make the zombies interesting since they kind of shuffle around and don’t talk. He laughed and said, “Yeah, zombies are tough. But you still have to find some way to scare the heck out of the kids. Maybe make them fast zombies or something.” Good idea.
Whenever I thought I might have gone too far in a story with gore or scares, I’d read a Goosebumps book and then revise my work to make it even scarier. Bob Stine is the master and I’m thankful he continues to scare kids so badly that parents think my stuff is all right to read.
My family has been a constant source of support for these books. All my adult books are dedicated to my wife, but the Jack Templar series is for my kids. My hope is always that when they read them they hear their dad’s voice, especially during those moments where Jack learns the value of friendship and bravery and doing the right things for the right reasons. My hope is that their own kids will one day read these stories and think their grandpa (or great-grandpa) was at least a little bit cool. Weird to be sure, but cool too.
I’m most thankful to you, the reader. While I like to say I’d write fiction every day even if no one read the books, having an audience ramps up the fun factor exponentially. I was at first surprised by how many adults became fans of the books. In retrospect, it makes sense because I was writing the kind of story I still like to read as an adult. Many of them went on to discover my adult books as well, but often tell me Jack Templar is still their favorite. I share that feeling with them.
But it’s the kids who really pull at my heartstrings. I love the emails and pictures of Jack Templar book reports for school. I love the constant suggestions at book signings of what should happen in the next book. Or when kids tell me they are working on their own books because they want to be a writer when they grow up.
But my greatest joy is reserved for the reluctant readers in the world. Early on, I received an email from a parent to thank me. Their son, who swore he hated books and reading, tried Jack Templar and read it three times, even sleeping with it under his pillow. They bought him Jack Templar and the Monster Hunter Academy (Book 2) when it came out and he read that cover-to-cover in just a few days. I admit there was a little something caught it my eye as I heard the story. Since then, I’ve heard that tale dozens of times and it fills me up every time.
As I typed the last words of this book, I had a mix of emotions. Pride from what I think is a pretty darn good story. Relief that I’d finished the long journey started years before. But sadness too.
Jack, Will, T-Rex, Eva, Daniel and the others have been alive in my head over these last few years and I know that I’ll miss them. But I feel like they made a good showing. They remained true to one another, sacrificed for the greater good and never gave up the fight.
I hope we can all say the same thing in our own lives.
Thank you for taking this journey with me. And remember…
Do your duty, come what may.
Jeff Gunhus
About the Author
Jeff Gunhus is the author of the Middle Grade/YA series The Templar Chronicles. The first book, Jack Templar Monster Hunter, was written in an effort to get his reluctant reader eleven-year old son excited about reading. It worked and a new series was born. His book Reaching Your Reluctant Reader has helped hundreds of parents create avid readers. As a father of five, he leads an active lifestyle with his wife Nicole in Maryland by trying to constantly keep up with their kids. Jeff also writes bestselling thrillers and horror novels for adults, reaching the top 100 on Amazon. In rare moments of quiet,
he can be found in the back of the City Dock Cafe in Annapolis working on his next novel…always on the lookout of Creach monsters that might be out to get him!
Come say hello at….
@jeffgunhus
jeffgunhusauthor
www.JeffGunhus.com
[email protected]
