The Story Behind the Casey Grimes Stories, Part 3

We're heading into the wild unknown

We’ve got a lot to get to. There was a big response to the Bog Creep aka Murder Cat art assignment, and that will be coming in a few days. Since creeps are black and orange with some brown thrown in—white, red, and yellowish green, if you count their hateful faces—they are kind of autumnal monsters. If you’d like to join in last minute, get me your drawing pronto. The sketch clue is here.

Before we get to that and other posts in the works, it’s time to talk about what’s been going on with the Casey stories and Lion & Co Press—by which I mean me, my wife and kids. In case you missed it, Lion & Co is our family publishing business. For better or worse, we are totally responsible for the Casey Grimes books.

But first…

Well, it’s been a weird year for us at the Vanderhorst Monster Control School. About this time 2023, we started making plans for a cross-country move. We wanted an outdoorsy location that was family friendly. Some possible destinations (suggested by you) were South Carolina, Kentucky, Oregon, Arkansas, Western Kansas, and Bali. I think I’m leaving a few out, but there were plenty of good ones.

Over the last year, we’ve discovered how hard it is to make a move when you’re a big family (six kids) with an unusual job (writing Casey Grimes books) and property you have to sell first before you can go somewhere else.

All of these factors plus extra ones, like crashing ads and neighbors who don’t like adventure, have made for a long year. But it looks like something is finally changing. All the work and mess we’ve been dealing with—painting the house, fixing broken garage doors, packing up two million stuffed animals, and much, much more—is leading somewhere.

We are moving.

Or should I say, We are moving!!!

But honestly, We are moving is more my speed. I’m pretty worn out.

Unless someone drops a grenade—or a campfire inferno—down the chimney, we’ll be leaving Kansas City early in the new year, and heading to Fayetteville, Arkansas. How did we choose Fayetteville?

Research and road trips. I’ll spare you the details, but Fayetteville won the Vanderhorst sweepstakes because 1) the area is pretty Sylvan with trails, forests, lakes and rivers, 2) we found a house with acres where we all fit, 3) we can afford it…barely. But compared to some other destinations, it’s a bargain.

We’re looking forward to a change. At our current place, the walls were closing in. We’re ready for a new adventure.

As I’ve said before, I like to read and think about philosophy, God, and the stories that shape our lives. That means I’m familiar with the Bible. One of the most famous Bible stories is about Abraham, a middle-aged man who packed everything up and left his daily grind, his house, his regular—and headed out into the unknown with his family. He wasn’t sure what would happen. He didn’t have a handle on the new normal. All he knew was God wanted him to do it, and good things would happen if he did, although the good things would probably not be easy.

I’m obviously not Abraham, who is a towering biblical figure, but I do think we have a little in common. I’m a middle-aged dude taking my wife and kids, packing everything up (a horrible task), and heading into the unknown. Yeah, it’s just Arkansas, not the land of desert tyrants and marauding warriors—but to us it is shrouded in mystery and we’re not sure what will happen. We’re hoping for good things, better things, even if they don’t come easy.

Wish us luck. And if you know the area, say hi.

What does this mean for the stories?

It means writing has been slow while I do all the stuff you have to do before you make a cross-country move. Honestly, the level of chaos over here is pretty high. But once we arrive and start to settle in, work will resume. I expect to get Casey #7 pounded out in the first half of 2025. We have another big surprise on the way, likely arriving the first quarter of next year. And in the meantime, the lineup of posts here will continue, with Behind the Scenes, Writing Advice, Sketch Clues, Breaking News, and more.

One more update before I wrap this up.

As you may remember, I signed with an agent over the summer. His goal was to sell the movie rights to Casey Grimes. When I chatted with him last week, he told me the market for live action film rights is pretty bad right now. Apparently business-as-usual in Hollywood is not working these days...which honestly does not surprise me. (Hey Hollywood, make movies people actually want to watch.) However, he asked if I’d be ok with him looking into the animated market, and I said, Creeps, why not? And he said, Hubba hoy!

Actually, he said, What do you think? And I said, Yeah man, let’s go for it.

Getting Casey Grimes optioned to an animation studio would be the first step. After that, the stories would have a chance at getting produced as films or a series. So that will be something to keep an eye on.

Last thing, we’ve got a sale for you. 30% all books with checkout code MONSTER. (Dents & Scratches excluded because they’re always on sale.) This is a deep discount at the author store that you’ll find nowhere else, and now would be a great time to grab the next book in the series or line up the perfect adventurous Christmas present. Enjoy, and talk soon.