Book Info

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Format

Hardback
224 pages

Author

Johnny O'Brien
More books by Johnny O'Brien

Author's Website

www.dayoftheassassins.com/

Publisher

Templar Publishing

Suitable for Ages

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Publication date

1st June 2009

ISBN

9781840116731

Publisher Profile

Templar Publishing is an imprint of templar publishing

Templar is one of the world’s most respected publishers of children’s fiction, novelty and picture books. Templar is based in Dorking in Surrey, and was founded in 1978 by Amanda Wood, the current Creative Director.
In 2008 Templar was named Independent Publisher’s Guild as UK Children’s Publisher of the Year and Independent Publisher of the Year. Later that same year Bonnier Publishing acquired Templar.  Templar books are sold in over 25 languages in more than 50 countries and the company has a reputation for innovation and creativity.

The Templar Treasures - Templar creates books that will be treasured by children of all ages. Its picture book list is one of the most respected in the business, including best-sellers such as The Pirates Next Door by Jonny Duddle and award-winners like Greenaway Medal-winner FArTHER by Grahame Baker-Smith.  Puppet books such as Calm Down Boris! and Snuggle Bunny have sold hundreds of thousands of copies.

In February 2010 the list was expanded to include fiction, and Templar Fiction now publish a wide range of titles for young readers and teenagers.  These include the critically acclaimed VIII by H.M. Castor and the hilarious illustrated adventures of Stinky in the My Hamster is a Genius series.

In 2013, Templar celebrates the tenth anniversary of its most famous brand: Ology World.  Since the release of Dragonology in 2003, over 16 million Ology books have been sold and an extensive licensing programme including toys, board games, apps and a movie has developed.

Templar also has a number of imprints including:

Amazing Baby is the award-winning imprint creating books for parents and babies to share. The series is all about having fun as parent and child read, play, explore and learn together. The Amazing Baby brand encompasses board books, cloth books and flashcards that help baby learn; toys and merchandise inspired by the books; and even books that parents can customise themselves.
Brubaker, Ford & Friends - With a wide range of best-selling authors, illustrators and exciting new talent, Brubaker, Ford & Friends offers inspiring picture books to encourage happy lifelong readers. The list includes I Spy with My Little Eye by Edward Gibbs, the lovable Olive and the Big Secret by Tor Freeman and the latest title from Sam McBratney (author of Guess How Much I Love You).
Pippbrook Books - Launched in March 2013 in the UK. This imprint will introduce some of Templar's best-loved authors and illustrators to a new audience through a range of products tailor-made for the gift and commercial market. Offering value for money, these fresh and exciting gift, novelty and picture books are designed to encourage interactive play and learning in young children.
Big Picture Press is the newest Templar imprint and will launch in September 2013. It features highly illustrated, artist-led books with an international flavour – titles that celebrate the book as an object. The list features Nina’s Book of Little Things, an activity book by the iconic artist Keith Haring, and Walk This World by Finnish designer and illustrator Lotta Niemenen.

Publisher's Website

www.templarco.co.uk/

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Day of the Assassins

Johnny O'Brien

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Julia Eccleshare's comment:

A thrilling war-time adventure that is a perfect mix of historical fact and fictional adventure, in which two boys are swept back in time and thrown into the real event of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914, the catalyst for the start of the First World War. It takes all their courage to face the incredible danger and their daring exploits bring history vividly to life. This debut novelist has created a real page-turner and once read no one can say history is dull.  It’s published in hardback but the cover, complete with bullet holes, make it worth the purchase for the packaging alone!

Day of the Assassins is the first in a series of Jack Christie Adventures.  The second one, which is due in 2010 will be set in Elizabethan England and the time of the Armada when Jack and Angus will don doublet and hose to save the world for a second time.

 

A message from the author:

'A few years ago my dad showed me some of my grandad's war medals had received during the First World War.  He explained that my grand father had been injured in the war and lost part of his leg.  Apparently my grandfather was reluctant to speak about how he got the injuries or how he won the medals.  I don't really know why.  But I know what he did was brave -because I have a citation at home signed by the Minister of War - Winston Churchill.  Anyway, unlike millions of others, my grandfather survived the war and went on to have children and live to a ripe old age - although I never knew him.  It got me thinking though.  He made important choices in his life - he chose to fight in the wr.  It seems he chose to do something brave.  later he chose to have a family.  If he had made different choices, of course, I might not be here.'

 

You could also check out www.dayoftheassassins.com

 

Who is Julia Eccleshare ?

Synopsis

Day of the Assassins by Johnny O’Brien is a fast-paced time travel adventure set within an accurate historical context.  It takes fifteen year-old Jack Christie and his friend Angus to the period just before the outbreak of the First World War.  Following a desperate chase across Europe the adventure climaxes in Sarajevo, on the day of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.  Here, Jack must make an agonising choice with momentous implications for himself, his family and for humanity.

See below for a special video made by the publisher.

About The Author

"Hi - my name is Johnny O'Brien.  I grew up in the Borders in Scotland.  I write mostly at the weekend - during the week I have a 'proper' job in an office where I work for a range of sinister global corporations.  These days I live in the south of England and have four sheep and a springer spaniel with floppy ears.  I am also married and have three kids - they all have normal ears!"

Johnny O’Brien was inspired to write the novel after seeing some of his grandad’s war medals in an old cupboard. “A few years ago my dad showed me some medals that his dad (my grandfather) had received during the First World War.  He explained that my grandfather had been injured in the war and had later lost part of his leg.  Apparently, my grandfather was reluctant to speak about how he got the injuries or how he won the medals. I don’t really know why.  But I know what he did was brave – because I have a citation at home signed by the ‘Minister of War’ - Winston Churchill. Anyway, unlike millions of others, my grandfather survived the war and went on to have children and live to a ripe old age – although I never knew him. It got me thinking though.  He made important choices in his life – he chose to fight in the war.  It seems he chose to do something brave.  Later he chose to have a family.  If he had made different choices, of course, I might not be here.”

Q and A with Johnny O’Brien

Where did the idea for Day of the Assassins come from? 
My wife, Sally, said that as I was always telling the kids stories I should write a book for kids.  I told her the idea was ridiculous.  Then, sometime later, I was looking through a cupboard at my Dad's house.  We came across some of his old medals and things from when he was an officer in the Irish Guards in the First World War.  There was an old trench telescope, a citation signed by Winston Churchill and even a bit of bone that he'd kept when he'd had his leg amputated after he was injured in 1918! That got me thinking...

How does it feel to have your first book published?
Great!  I hope people like it.

What sort of research did you do for the book? 
Well, I did history at university so that helped and the kids have been going through the GCSE curriculum - so I've been learning all sorts of new bits and pieces. Other than that it's mostly reading or the internet.  It's surprising the range you have to cover - everything from where the guns are
located on a Dreadnought to what time the sun sets in late June in Austria!

If you did have a time machine, which other eras of history would you like to
visit, or which historical characters would like to go back and meet?
The list is endless and there are lots of things that I'd like to have seen: in British history - the Battle of Britain, the Armada, Waterloo... probably nothing much original there... but there are also some questions it would be good to find out the answer to: who killed the Princes in the tower? (Or JFK for that matter) or further back how did Neanderthals co-exist with Homo Sapiens... in terms of people, well of course there are usual suspects – from Churchill to Cleopatra – but the person I would really like to meet is my Grand Dad – as I was too young to know him – and I would like to know about his experiences in the war and how he was injured.  I have never managed to find out.

Back to the Future or Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure?
Back to the Future – if only to see a DeLorean go at 88 MPH – although I understand in the later films they replaced the engine with a Porsche engine to give the car the requisite zip!

The Tardis or The SS Enterprise?
Tardis.  Enterprise has just too much tight nylon in a confined space – got to be a fire hazard.

What books did you read as a child? 
Oh Dear.  Ant and Bee; Richard Scarry's 'Busy Busy World'; Herge (the Tintin Books) endlessly, Goscinny and Underzo (the Asterix books) endlessly.  And that was about it.

What book would you take to a desert island and why?
Simon Schama's a History of Britain - it's very long – and it might sink in second time round.

What book character would you like to have been, or have met? 
Captain Haddock - lots of scope for misbehaviour, but a heart of gold.  Great house too, lots of strange friends and a cellar full of treasure.   What more could you want?

Where and when do you write?
I have an office at home - so usually it’s there at the weekend if I get a chance. Usually the dog comes and snoozes at my feet.  I've never understood a  dog can sleep so much during the day... and then all night as well!

How would you describe Day of the Assassins in one sentence? 
A time travel adventure set in a (reasonably!) accurate historical context.  The idea was that if you read it, you'd have fun - and you might even learn something by mistake in the process.  Sorry that's two sentences - three in fact.

What's next for Jack and Angus?
They're donning doublet and hose and heading back to the sixteenth century.  Why?  To save the world of course...  But I've ditched the idea of writing it in iambic pentameters...

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