From time to time we like to ask authors some pretty quick, pretty personal rapid-fire questions. Today, Harold Hayes, Jr. and Craig S. Phillips, the author team behind Rucker Moses, are in the hot seat. Their new book, Kingston’s and the Magician’s Lost and Found, is out now!
Night owl or early bird?
Craig: Night owl
Harold: Early bird Â
TV, Books, Movies or Podcasts? Put them in order fave to least fave:
Craig: Books, movie/TV for the tie, podcasts
Harold: Movie/TV, books, podcasts
Chill night in or out on the town?
Craig: CHILL NIGHT IN. THERE’S TOWN TO GO OUT IN?Â
Harold: Chill night in.
Best thing about parenting?
Craig: Seeing my kids discover the world and that wonder being passed on to my wife and I.
Harold: I thought I would have to grow up, but I actually get to let myself act like a kid and play with my kids on their level more than I first imagined.Â
Favorite superhero / why?
Craig: FLASH. There’s many versions of him. He lives in many dimensions. Can Time Travel. And he was a scientist.Â
Harold: SUPERMAN. Even though he’s an alien he sees himself as a human with a strong moral code.Â
Favorite villain / why?
Craig: DR. DOOM: The mask of course. And he’s the ultimate villain. Stan Lee modeled him after death itself. Scary and bad ass.Â
Harold: LEX LUTHOR: He’s a dangerous super-intellect that believes in human potential, especially his own to a flaw.Â
First concert ever attended?
Craig: Beach Boys.Â
Harold: Dixie Chicks – I was running spotlight.Â
What was your first job?
Craig: Dishwasher at a steak house when I was 15.Â
Harold: Entrepreneur: Lawn mower and car washer.
Writer’s block cure?
Craig: Reading.Â
Harold: Driving.Â
Best /favorite exercise?
Craig: Running.
Harold: Swimming.Â
No. 1 Bucket List wish?
Craig: Go to space.Â
Harold: Go to space.
All-time favorite comedy movie?
Craig: Amelie, I think that’s a comedy.Â
Harold: Waterboy.Â
All-time favorite drama movie?
Craig: Heat, I think that’s a drama.Â
Harold: Heat.
Nickname?
Craig: Leapfrog.
Harold: Bad Rock.Â
Least favorite holiday and why?
Craig: Easter. Not sure. I think I got freaked out by a giant bunny when I was little.Â
Harold: Columbus Day. He didn’t exactly discover the land now known as America.
Favorite meal ever?
Craig: Probably eating the most insane, fresh seafood on the beach every day on the island of Penang in Malaysia.Â
Harold: Roasted Jidori chicken with Anticucho sauce with a side of vegetable with spicy garlic sauce at Nobu London ShoreditchÂ
Something no one knows about you that you want to share?
Craig: My brother and I were attacked by yellow jackets when we were kids. It was like a horror movie. And we both get easily spooked by bees to this day.Â
Harold: I want to get a pilot’s license one day.
Any tattoos?
Craig: Yes.Â
Harold: No Â
Title of your next book or work-in-progress?
Craig: Stormbreaker.
Harold: Stormbreaker.Â
What are you looking forward to in 2021?
Craig: Eating out at a restaurant.Â
Harold: Hanging out with friends and family in person.
About the Authors:
Rucker Moses is the pen name for the combined creative talents of Harold Hayes, Jr. and Craig S. Phillips. They both hail from Atlanta and started telling stories together at the University of Georgia. They’ve been friends now for more than twenty years and business partners for the last fifteen.Â
Together, Harold and Craig have been nominated for three Emmys for writing in a children’s program and have written for TV shows based on books by R. L. Stine and Christopher Pike. They also make virtual reality experiences and have owned and run SunnyBoy Entertainment, a boutique creative content agency based in Pasadena, CA, for the past thirteen years.Â
Their first book, Kingston and the Magician’s Lost and Found, which they wrote with acclaimed novelist Theo Gangi, launches a new contemporary fantasy series for young readers. The novel will be published by Penguin Random House on February 16, 2021. Â
In no particular order, Harold’s and Craig’s favorite things to write about are ninjas, magic, space, and abandoned amusement parks. When not doing all that, they are hanging with their wonderful families at home in Los Angeles.
Visit: https://www.ruckermoses.com/
Kingston and the Magician’s Lost and Found by Rucker Moses, out now!
Magic has all but disappeared in Brooklyn, but one tenacious young magician is determined to bring it back in this exciting middle grade mystery.
Kingston has just moved from the suburbs back to Echo City, Brooklyn–the last place his father was seen alive. Kingston’s father was King Preston, one of the world’s greatest magicians. Until one trick went wrong and he disappeared. Now that Kingston is back in Echo City, he’s determined to find his father.
Somehow, though, when his father disappeared, he took all of Echo City’s magic with him. Now Echo City–a ghost of its past–is living up to its name. With no magic left, the magicians have packed up and left town and those who’ve stayed behind don’t look too kindly on any who reminds them of what they once had.
When Kingston finds a magic box his father left behind as a clue, Kingston knows there’s more to his father’s disappearance than meets the eye. He’ll have to keep it a secret–that is, until he can restore magic to Echo City. With his cousin Veronica and childhood friend Too Tall Eddie, Kingston works to solve the clues, but one wrong move and his father might not be the only one who goes missing.
