Thankful: A Guest Post by Max Brallier

The Last Kids on Earth are back in a thrilling race against time. With danger lurking at every turn, monsters and laughs, Jack and Quint must face the enemy before earth’s civilization is destroyed for good. Read on for an exclusive essay from Max Brallier on writing The Last Kids on Earth and the Destructor’s Lair.

It’s the 10-year anniversary of The Last Kids on Earth, and I’m feeling lucky. And thankful. That’s really it—lucky and thankful. Incredibly lucky to have been able to write not just ten books in this series, but seventeen if you count the spinoffs and side-quest adventures. And thankful that the series found readers in the beginning—and continues to find new ones today.

A milestone like this makes you look back a bit. When I started writing the series, I didn’t have children. Now I have the two greatest kids that ever existed. I’ve lived in four different homes across three cities. I’ve met incredible people and made wonderful friends—authors, teachers, librarians, booksellers. This series gave me a whole community. Again: lucky and thankful.

The Last Kids on Earth began as a monster-of-the-week adventure in the small town of Wakefield; now, at Book 10, the characters are in another dimension battling massive other-dimensional villains (and still trying to stay upbeat and have fun while doing it). It’s all become bigger.

The story of writing and finding Book 10 really starts with Book 9. I outline obsessively before I start drafting—and every single time, without exception, the outline fails me. Falls apart. My Book 9 outline turned out to be two books’ worth of story, so by the time I sat down to write Book 10, I already had pieces of it written. Maybe that’s my new trick? I write an outline that’s way, way too long – and end up with a head start on the next book!

To the readers who have been around since Book 1, I want to say… geez, you make me feel old! While touring for Book 10, I met readers who are now in college. Readers who were eleven years old when the first book came out are now 21. Very strange, because I don’t feel ten years older—though when I look at photos from early events, yeah, I definitely look ten years older.

Looking back at the different entries in the series is a little like time travel. Like seeing a photo from a decade ago and suddenly remembering not just the moment in the picture but the entire day—what you were thinking about, what you were excited for, what you were worried about, the little errands you had to run. That’s what it’s like when I look at each cover or flip open a random book in the series.

To the readers who have been with me from the beginning—and to the new readers just jumping in—I also want to say: get ready. What happens in Books 11 and 12 is going to be big and very, very world-changing for The Last Kids on Earth. Hang on tight.