By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

PELHAM— Author of the popular “Thrones and Bones” children’s series, Lou Anders, made a special trip to Riverchase Middle School Oct. 21. Anders shared the artwork, characters and Norse mythology behind the books.

“I love asking kids questions, hearing their response and seeing what they respond to,” Anders said in an Oct. 29 interview. “I love getting to interact with them. I love the enthusiasm.”

Anders did five back-to-back presentations for each of RMS’s grade levels, the most he said he has ever done in a single day. He starts with a 45-minute PowerPoint, featuring photos from Norway and artwork of the monsters, maps and characters from the books.

From the two books that are published—“Frostborn” and “Nightborn”— Anders said three artists created more than 100 images that he shows the students.

Anders follows the presentation with a five-minute book reading, a question and answer session and a book signing. In addition to signing his name, Anders uses a stamp that depicts a phrase from the first book in Norse runes.

The series centers on a girl who is half frost giant and half human. Among the 15-to 18-foot-tall giants, she stands a mere 7 feet at age 12, so the littlest giant has a lot to prove.

She ends up going on an adventure with a human boy, being chased by a throng of monsters and fantastical creatures. Anders said the story is about finding themselves and learning to appreciate people who are different.

“I wanted to write a strong, strong female and a clever boy instead of what’s usually done,” he said. “I wanted to write a fantasy that would encapsulate all the things that I loved about the fiction I read growing up, but that would have parts for girls and parts for people who are not white. I wanted to write a fantasy for today’s kids.”

Anders explained that he grew up on the hobbit, which he loves, but it’s also a story about 13 little old white men.

Anders’ wife is from China, and his children are bi-racial, so he said he wrote the stories for his children and others like them. He also has a “really tough” daughter, which contributed to his strong female character.

Spending 15 years in the adult science fiction and fantasy genres, Anders said he mostly spoke to college-aged students before he got into children’s ficition. Now, he said kids are his favorite age group.

“I was terrified the first time they handed me a microphone and stuck me out in front of 600 children,” Anders said. “I found out they are the greatest age group to talk to. I like talking to kids way better than any other age group.”

For more information on Anders or the “Thrones and Bones” series, visit Thronesandbones.com.