German author Cornelia Funke

Cornelia Funke, born in West Germany, moved to the US in 2005 and still writes in German. The successful author of the “Inkworld” trilogy returns with a new book and a new creative partner.

Read the LA Times story:

The writer of the Inkworld trilogy returns with a fresh work, ‘Reckless,’ and a creative partner, Lionel Wigram. Tucked in the back of a lush garden exploding with flowers, Cornelia Funke’s study is a wonderland of books. Her desk is cluttered with tomes about fairy tales, which are stacked next to those about mining, alongside travel guides for Spain, France and England. A sliding ladder leads to an upper tier of titles, next to a closet that is also chock-full of hardcovers and paperbacks.

Much like Meggie and the other characters in her Inkworld trilogy, the 51-year-old author of fantasies for middle-schoolers is a self-described “book maniac,” whose writing room is ringed with the works that have helped her research — and the string of books that research has helped yield: “Dragon Rider,” “The Thief Lord” and now “Reckless,” which will be released on Tuesday. With an initial worldwide print run exceeding 1 million copies, “Reckless” is the first in a series for readers 10 and older about two brothers lured through a mirror into a world populated with dwarves and fairies and gargoyles.

And it is a first in many other ways as well. It is the first time a Funke book will be simultaneously released in 12 countries. The first time Funke will do an international webcast to be screened at live events around the globe (10:30 a.m. Tuesday PST, http://www.get-reckless.com/events.html). The first time she is touring the U.S. with a theatrical storytelling event, including a stop at the Brentwood Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday.

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