Fantasy series opening new chapters for author John Flanagan

It's been four years since his first children's novel was published, but John Flanagan still gets a kick when he writes "author" on the paperwork he fills out when traveling overseas from his home in Sydney, Australia.

Flanagan is doing lots of traveling these days as part of a whirlwind U.S. tour to promote "The Battle For Skandia" (Philomel, $16.99), the fourth book in his best-selling series called "The Ranger's Apprentice."

It's quite a change from the advertising copywriting that Flanagan, 64, did for much of the past 30 years.

"I love the fact that I can say I'm an author when I'm asked what I do," a beaming Flanagan said in a recent interview during a visit to Politics & Prose, a Washington bookstore where he attracted 150 people, many of them kids who skipped school to attend the event.

Flanagan actually has been writing for years, just for a hobby, and then as a scriptwriter for an Australian television show he co-created. Two decades ago, he began writing the stories that eventually became "The Ranger's Apprentice" series. Flanagan hoped to use the stories to catch the attention of his son Mike, who was then 10 years old and bored by books.

To spark Mike's interest in reading, Flanagan created a fantasy world in which the hero is a 15-year-old orphan named Will. Small but agile and smart, Will is the apprentice to Halt, a leader in the Rangers, the intelligence corps of the kingdom of Araluen.

"Mike was a small boy, and all his friends were bigger and stronger," said Flanagan. "I wanted to show him that reading was fun and that heroes aren't all big and muscular."

Flanagan wrote 20 stories about Will's adventures and gave them to his son in weekly installments.

"By the third week, he came to me and said, 'Where's my story?' That's when I knew that I'd got him," Flanagan said.

Flanagan later filed away the stories, but took them out a few years ago at his family's urging. He showed the stories to an agent, who suggested that Flanagan rework them into a series of books.

Flanagan followed that advice, and the first "Ranger's Apprentice" book, "The Ruins of Gorlan," was published in Australia in 2004. In that first volume, Flanagan depicts Will's initial disappointment that he isn't chosen to be a warrior, and then his growing understanding of the important role played by the Rangers in ensuring the safety of Araluen's citizens from invaders such as the exiled -- and evil -- Morgarath.

The author also highlights Will's intense training with Halt, as well as his delight in Tug, the Ranger-trained horse he is given to ride, and his growing friendship with Horace, another orphan who is being trained as a warrior.

Flanagan's original stories portrayed Horace as a bully and Will's enemy. As he revamped the stories, however, Flanagan decided to "rehabilitate" Horace, who eventually becomes Will's best friend.

Flanagan has written eight books in the series so far, with seven published in Australia. He has plans to go to at least Book 10.

Only the first four books have yet been published in the United States, however, although all of the books eventually will be released here. The second book is titled "The Burning Bridge," while the third is "The Icebound Land." The series has been steadily growing in popularity and the latest book, "The Battle For Skandia" -- just released in March -- is on the best-seller list.

In "The Battle For Skandia," Flanagan tells how Will, Halt and Horace work to save their friend Evalyn after she is captured by the Temujais, enemies of the Araluens. The trio also discovers that Araluen may be the Temujais' next target unless they can convince the Skandians to join forces with them against a common enemy.

As always, Flanagan offer readers a high-quality adventure story, masterfully combining drama, humor, plot twists and likable characters. The result is a book that is almost impossible to put down.

"I consider myself an entertainer," Flanagan said. "I think I have a good sense of pace. And I think boys particularly like all the adventure in the books. ... But I think my real strength is creating my characters."

Flanagan says he's got lots of material for other books, both for adults and children. Meanwhile, United Artists recently won the rights to bring "The Ranger's Apprentice" to the screen, a prospect that Flanagan finds thrilling.

"You know, my life before (the publication of the first 'The Ranger's Apprentice' book) was fabulous," Flanagan said. "But now my life is unbelievable!"

(Karen MacPherson, the children's/teen librarian at the Takoma Park, Md., Library, can be reached at Kam.Macpherson(at)gmail.co