A guest post by 39 Clues author Jude Watson

Attention fans of The 39 Clues! We are so excited about The 39 Clues: Doublecross, a new 4-book spin-off the mega-popular series for tweens.  We’re also thrilled to have 39 Clues fan favorite author Jude Watson, kick off with Book 1: Mission Titanic to be released on February 24, 2015. Over the next three days, Jude will be posting exclusive interviews with the new authors in the series: C. Alexander London (Book 2), Jenny Goebel (Book 3), and Sarwat Chadda (Book 4).

Welcome new 39 Clues authors and take it away, Jude!

Greetings, OOM readers! 

It’s Jude Watson, and I’m honored to have written for every 39 Clues series since the whole adventure began in Grace Cahill’s library. The story has continued at breakneck speed ever since, and we haven’t stopped yet. Announcing The 39 Clues: Doublecross, a new four-book series debuting in March 2015. Doublecross is the wildest series yet with the Cahill kids racing around the globe to stop a madman from recreating four of history’s most infamous disasters. 

We needed three authors of mystery and adventure to step up to help us continue the tale, and a wide search turned up the best of the best.  I’m interviewing each one of them for the On Our Minds blog, and today it is my very great pleasure to welcome C. Alexander London, author of the Dog Tag series, to the game.  

C. Alexander London has graciously agreed to answer a few of my questions.  (Shhhh.  He has no idea what he’s in for!)

I understand that you are a celebrated author.   Yet “C. Alexander London” has a dubious ring.  There’s nothing wrong with an alias, but this seems rather… obvious.  Did you name yourself after your favorite city?  What does the C stand for?  Cromwell? Caligula?  Copenhagen?

The C. stands for Charles, although I am not named for the Prince of Wales nor any other member of any royal family past or present. I am named for a towel. Before I was born, my parents saw a towel in a department store with the initials CAL on it and they loved the monogram. I came along years later, and was named to fit the fabric. They did not, to my dismay, buy the towel. My name represents my true terry-cloth parentage and reminds me that I am, in a sense, a textile orphan. But it is convenient to have an alias (or two...or three...there are others, but I won't reveal them...). No one knows what to call me, so no one can blow my cover. 

Other aliases, eh?  The plot thickens!  Tell our readers a bit about the books you’ve written. Which do you enjoy more, writing adventures or having them? 

I've written all kinds of books, from adult nonfiction about my travels around the globe (One Day the Soldiers Came), to middle grade military stories (Dog Tags, Tides of War) and crazy adventures about couch potatoes forced to trek the globe with their daredevil parents (The Accidental Adventures series). I did have crazy adventures myself in my younger days—I really did eat a salad niçoise while a volcano erupted on the rebel controlled city, I was in in the Congo, and I really did watch SpongeBob Squarepants during the Saffron Revolution in Burma—but I prefer writing adventures these days. Danger and derring-do are much more enjoyable to inflict on others than to endure oneself.

The salad niçoise was, however, delicious.

I understand you’ve been a world traveler.  The 39 Clues authors are no strangers to being wanted in foreign countries.  Are there any arrest warrants out on you at this time?

Not that I'm aware of, but I cannot guarantee that our emails are not being read by at least five government agencies, some of whom do not belong to friendly governments, a few of whom might not even be terrestrial. I would suggest we communicate in code from this point on, but I seem to have let my dog eat the cipher key. Odd, because he's always been more into physics than cryptography until now.

My associates have informed me that you’ve recently returned from the Philippines.  Did you connect with a spy network while you were there? 

I met several members of the Cahill Philippines network, who provided me with warm welcome and safe passage and for that, I am eternally grateful. The information they provided will certainly come in handy and I know they can be counted on for their loyalty when push comes to shove.

Is there any country you would love to bring Amy and Dan?

They have done so much world travel, I fear Amy and Dan must be tired of border crossings by this point, so I'm not sure there is another country to which I'd like to bring them, at least not against their will. They've earned the chance to sit back, relax, and gaze at the stars. Although, since you brought it up (or did I? details details...), ever since SpaceShipOne won the XPrize for the first manned private spaceflight and partnered with Virgin Galactic, the stakes for reaching up to those stars have been massively raised. Billionaires are taking the place of governments in the race for space and competition is fierce. I wonder if Amy and Dan, who've seen so much of this world, would have any interest getting off this world for a little while?

Did you take the Cahill test?  Can you reveal your branch?

The test determined that I am a member of the Janus branch, which surprised me, because my readers know I can be cruel and cunning with my plots as the most devious Lucian. But I am fond of both Shakespeare and Cousin Jonah, so I'm glad to be a relation to both of them.

On your website, you encourage young people to eat bugs.  Do you prefer your bugs spicy, or plain?

I prefer them sweet! I like my bugs candied or baked into cookies! The world needs more high protein deserts and chocolate chirp cookies (made with crickets), almond grub cake, or strawberry scorpion pops could certainly fill those cravings. 

Be sure to come back tomorrow and see Jude’s interview with author Jenny Goebel!