Laurel jumped when loud growling came from the front hall. Hooves clattered, and a howl filled the house with its high, eerie note. “There they go again,” she said.

“What now?” Ian hurried out of the kitchen. He slowed to step over the shattered pieces of a glass candle stand. “Boys? What’s the meaning of …!”

He was interrupted when a full-grown elk minced past with a young raccoon dangling from his antlers.

“Not in the house!” Ian started after them, but a snarling wolf zoomed between his legs, tripping him. For a moment, Ian was afraid the silver wolf was going to bite the elk. But the wolf only jumped and snapped at the raccoon’s ringed tail.

—excerpted from Byways, Book #1, On Your Marks: The Adventure Begins

“Not in the house!” Roughhousing takes on a whole new dimension when siblings can Change into animals. I’m excited to share brand new art for the Byways books, which was partially inspired by the above scene from Chapter 2: “Three Fine Sons.” Katie Hofgard, one of my favorite artists to work with, took Ewan, Zane, and Ganix out-of-doors for a winter scene with bittersweet and birches.

“Winter Trio” by Katie Hofgard

This illustration will soon appear on holiday cards for Byways readers! If you want to hop onto CJ’s mailing list, shoot her an email at milbrandt [dot] cj [at] gmail [dot] com, take part in the Hometown Challenge, or fill out the address portion of the sign-up form for either of her newsletters.

Introduce yourself to the Johns family for just 99¢ with Byways, Book #1,
On Your Marks: The Adventure Begins.  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo