Wednesday, December 23, 2009

New Author Tracker!

Another Author Tracker was sent out yesterday. You can read it below:

AuthorTracker :: Erin Hunter

Hi everyone,

The holidays are almost here, which means only one thing: 2009 is nearly over, and it's time to say goodbye to our Year of Facts. Thanks for putting up with me on my voyage of discovery through trivia. For the last fact of the year, I thought I'd give you a chance to guess what I found out. Just for fun, no prizes (seeing as I'll be giving you the answer later on). You can just feel unbearably smug if you get it right.

The following are types of what: hexagonal plate, capped column, stellar plate, neddle, spatial dendrite?

Answer at the bottom!

It's been a pretty good year to be one of the Erins: fabulous and FUN tour in April, watching Seekers get a firm pawhold on the bestseller lists, having my suspicions confirmed that Bluestar's Prophecy could be the best Warriors book ever. As always, it's been a pleasure and a privilege to work alongside Kate, Cherith, and Tui and see the storylines come to life in ways I barely dreamed of. For us, the best Christmas gift has to be the response to the first book of Omen of the Stars, The Fourth Apprentice. You have no idea how relieved we are when you like the beginning of a new series! Oh, and for those of you who are still wondering, the Twolegs camped near the beavers' dam are indeed wildlife scientists who recently re-introduced beavers to the area and have stayed on to record their progress. It's hard to convey that kind of detail when cats wouldn't have words for photographic equipment or laptops, so Canny Purrs to those of you who figured it out!

If you're positively aching for a new book before the end of the year, Power of Three Book Five: Long Shadows comes out in paperback on December 22nd. Perfect for very last minute gifts, or an extra treat for yourself under the tree.

For those looking to escape from festive mayhem for a moment or two (I know I need to take refuge from the jollity for a couple of hours every day), don't forget to bookmark the Warriors and Seekers Fanatic Challenge on the Official Message Boards. The Challenge Host is still posting a weekly trivial question about feral cats or wandering bears, and the first ten fans to reply directly to the posted question with the correct answer will receive an exclusive Avatar upgrade. For official rules, visit The Warriors and Seekers Fanatic Challenge forum post.

We'll be back in the New Year with an exclusive Seekers podcast from Cherith, a sneak peek at Seekers Book Four: The Last Wilderness, and the first details of the Spring Tour. See you then, and Happy Holidays!

With love and good wishes

Erin x

P.S. They are all structures of snowflake! How cool (literally) is that? :-)



-Sorrelpaw
Regular updates will be back after the Holidays, Merry Christmas to all!

Friday, December 4, 2009

The Fourth Apprentice - Theories

With the release of The Fourth Apprentice, Warriors fans have begun to cook up new and exciting theories and possibilities about the rest of the series...

Warning! Spoilers ahead!

Theory #1 - Forbidden Love?

Perhaps one of the most probable theories is the DovepawxTigerheart theory. During various points of The Fourth Apprentice possible hints are dropped.

On page 131 of The Fourth Apprentice, Tigerheart says to Dovepaw: "Don't worry, I'll protect you." Throughout the book he continues to tell Dovepaw he will keep her save. Dovepaw, however, does not return his feelings. She seems annoyed, claiming that she can protect herself.

Perhaps the largest hint is when the journeying cats are saying their farewells. Tigerheart's farewell towards Dovepaw is especially warm:
"With a sidelong glance at his Clanmates, Tigerheart bounded up to Dovepaw and rubbed his muzzle against hers. "I'll miss you," he whispered. "I'll see you at Gatherings, right?"
Dovepaw had just enough time to reply, "Yes, I'll miss you, too," Before Toadfoot beckoned the younger warrior away with a jerk of his head." - Page 288 of The Fourth Apprentice.

Hmm... more forbidden love?

Theory #2 - Leafpool's End?

Leafpool fans where disappointed in The Fourth Apprentice - Leafpool was little more then a side character, appearing only a handful of times in the entire book. This brought up the question - could the Erins be getting ready to permanently retire Leafpool?

Rumors have been flying around that Leafpool will die a heroic death in the next Warriors book, Fading Echoes. One of the most popular rumors is that Leafpool will die saving Icecloud - because she sees how much Lionblaze loved Icecloud.

Another possibiliy is that Breezepelt will murder Leafpool. In The Fourth Apprentice Breezepelt is furious about Jayfeather and Lionblaze being kits of Crowfeather and Leafpool. Breezepelt attempts to murder Poppyfrost during The Fourth Apprentice as a way to hurt Jayfeather. Perhaps Breezepelt would find that killing Leafpool would be a perfect way to truly hurt Lionblaze and Jayfeather?

Theory #3 - New Enemies?

In The Fourth Apprentice Honeyfern tells Jayfeather that the cats from The Place of No Stars are breaking through the barrier, and soon there will be an all out war between StarClan and the Dark Forest. Brokentail helped Breezepelt try to kill Jayfeather. It is suspected that Breezepelt is now on the Dark Forest's side.

Lionblaze becomes concerned when he sees Tigerheart fighting during the book. Lionblaze tells Jayfeather that Tigerheart was using a battle move Tigerstar had taught him. The two suspect that Tigerstar walks in Tigerheart's dreams.

It seems as if the cats of the Dark Forest are recruiting living allies. Who else will be drawn into the conflict? Theories have surfaced about Ivypaw being a recruit. This could be possible... Ivypaw isn't very happy in The Fourth Apprentice when Dovepaw is chosen to go on the journey to find the beavers. I would imagine that Ivypaw would be pretty jealous should she discover her sister's part in the prophecy...

Do you have any theories about the new series? Post here! More theories will be posted soon! Also keep a look out for Ravenpaw theories - to be posted soon!
-Sorrelpaw

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

The Fourth Apprentice Spoilers!

As many of you know, Omen of the Stars #1, The Fourth Apprentice was released on the 24th of November. This book revealed to us the identity and ability of the final Prophecy cat.

Warning, Spoilers for The Fourth Apprentice!

"After the sharp-eyed jay and the roaring lion, peace will come on dove's gentle wing." Is the prophecy that Yellowfang sends to the last remaining cat of the prophecy. As many of you know, that cat is Dovepaw. Daughter of Whitewing and Birchfall, sibling to Ivypaw.

Dovekit and Ivykit become apprentices early in the book. Dovepaw's mentor being Lionblaze, and Ivypaw's being Cinderheart.

The book is set during a terrible drought that has plagued the cats of the Clans. The lake has dried up, becoming little more then a puddle that cats must soak moss in to bring water back to their Clan. Of all the Clans, RiverClan is doing the worst. Their main source of food, the fish, have died due to the drought. RiverClan is starving. 

At a Gathering, Leopardstar announces that RiverClan is laying claim to what remains of the lake, stating that prey is hard to come by for them. Leopardstar later sends out patrols to guard the little remaining water. No cat may fish, but the patrols grudgingly allow cats to bring back water for queens, kits and elders. When Rainstorm, a RiverClan tom, becomes stuck in the mud when confronting a ThunderClan patrol, the ThunderClan cats save him and take him to their camp for him to rest. A ThunderClan patrol is then selected to return Rainstorm home after he has rested. Without entering the camp, Dovepaw detects the presence of a severely sick cat in the camp.  She asks Lionblaze about this, to which he stares at her. The golden tom begins to have suspicions about Dovepaw being The One. His suspicions are confirmed when Dovepaw identifies the source of the drought - large brown animals (beavers) who are blocking one of the lake's main streams.

Her ability is super-enhanced scenes. She can smell, hear, feel and see things better then any other cat. This allows her to detect the presence of the beavers, who where a two day trek upstream from the Clans.

Lionblaze and Jayfeather then inform Dovepaw of the prophecy. Dovepaw is horrified, thinking her abilities are natural and that every-cat is like her. 

Lionblaze tells Firestar that the river could be blocked, thus keeping water from flowing into the lake. He does not tell Firestar of Dovepaw's abilities, however. Firestar agreed to the possibility and proposed an idea to the Clans at the next Gathering: Each Clan could send two members to down the dried up streambed to see if there was a blockage and to remove the possible blockage. Onestar and Blackstar hastily agree. Leopardstar was convinced it was a conspiracy to rid RiverClan of two strong warriors so the other Clans could swarm in and steal RiverClan's fish. Mistyfoot steps up and changes Leopardstar's answer to a yes. 

Two sunrises later, Lionblaze and Dovepaw of ThunderClan, Rippletail and Petalfur of RiverClan, Tigerheart and Toadfoot of ShadowClan, and Whitetail and Sedgewhisker of WindClan are selected to go. They head off on their journey to locate the blockage. After stumbling across three kittypets, Jigsaw, Seville and Snowdrop, the journeying Clan cats manage to locate the blockage... a huge dam built by the "big brown animals" (beavers) that Dovepaw detected. They come across a loner, Woody who warns them to stay away from the beavers. Without heeding his warning, the Clan cats attack the dam in an attempt to dismantle it to let the water through.

They are attacked by angry beavers who wound Rippletail fatally. The cats retreat and Rippletail dies hours later. The journeying cats come to a conclusion that they cannot destroy the dam by themselves. Lionblaze and Dovepaw seek out help from the three kittypets they encountered before, Jigsaw, Seville and Snowdrop. The three agree to help the Clan cats. Whitetail, Sedgewhisker and Woody create a distraction and white the remaining cats work on destroying the dam. Petalfur came up with the idea to destroy the dam by moving a log from the bottom of the structure. Together, the kittypets and Clan cats manage to shift the log. The dam fell to pieces and a massive wave swept the Clan cats away. Dovepaw saved Tigerheart from drowning before the group found dry land once more. While minor injuries where received, everyone was still alive. The cats returned to their territories, their mission accomplished. The stream was freed and water had slowly begun to fill the lake. 

Meanwhile, Jayfeather had problems of his own. Towards the end of the book, Poppyfrost, who was heavy with Berrynose's kits, snuck away to Moonpool in hopes of contacting Honeyfern. Poppyfrost had become depressed, thinking Berrynose still loved Honeyfern. Jayfeather tracked her down, but Breezepelt appeared and attacked the both of them. Another unknown non-Clan tom joins the fight, aiding Breezepelt. Honeyfern eventually entered the fight as well, and with her help Jayfeather was able to beat the unknown tom and Breezepelt. Honeyfern gives Jayfeather a message for Poppyfrost: Berrynose loved her and Honeyfern would watch over the two of them and their kits. Honeyfern also mentions a war approaching, one between StarClan and the Dark Forest. 

Later Poppyfrost gives birth to two kits, a tom and a she-cat. Jayfeather and Lionblaze see Tigerstar, Hawkfrost and Brokentail. (who was the unknown tom that aided Breezepelt in attacking Jayfeather.) The three Dark Forest cats where hungrily looking at Poppyfrost's kits. Heartbeats later they are gone.

Lionblaze then confesses to Jayfeather that Tigerstar once walked in his dreams. Jayfeather revealed to his brother about the war Honeyfern spoke of and the book is brought to a close.

I loved that book! It was worth the wait! Theories will be posted soon! What did you think of The Fourth Apprentice?
-Sorrelpaw