When Patrick Carman began creating the land of Elyon for his daughters’ bedtime stories, he had no idea it would lead to The New York Times best-seller list. But the 38-year-old Walla Walla author is in good company, as he noted on his first leg of a nationwide tour to promote the first book in his Land of Elyon trilogy, The Dark Hills Divide. “A lot of the classics started out as stories parents read to their kids,” or their grandkids, like J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit or Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, Carman said.Not that he’s comparing his books to these classics. But, after the years-long saga that’s seen The Dark Hills Divide rise from a self-published 3,000-print run to the subject of a six-figure publishing deal with Scholastic Inc., the publishing house behind the Harry Potter series, he may be due for some favorable comparisons.Today, Carman will be in the Tri-Cities, visiting three elementary schools and making a 6 p.m. appearance at the Barnes & Noble bookstore at Columbia Center mall in Kennewick. Kids and adults who bought one of the roughly 1,200 copies of the first printing of the book at the store might want to hang on to them, said store community relations manager Michelle Price, who expects up to 500 people to attend tonight’s reading. With the book set to premiere at No. 10 on the Jan. 30 New York Times best-seller list for children’s chapter books, those self-published originals may become collectors’ items. “There’s a lot of exciting stuff going on, and we’ve only been on the road six days,” the author said by cell phone from Seattle, one of the first stops on an unusual publicity tour.Rather than fly from city to city, Carman and his family will be driving an RV across the country over the next several months, visiting school and book stores in 21 cities from Portland to New York City.Seven years ago, Carman sold his Portland advertising company to move to Walla Walla with his wife, Karen, and daughters Sierra and Reece, now ages 9 and 7.It was for Sierra and Reece that Carman invented Alexa, the 12-year-old heroine of his trilogy, and the world of walled cities, talking animals and unexpected adventures that fill The Dark Hills Divide.Now they’ll be accompanying their dad on his tour, getting to see the country as they keep up a home-schooling schedule with their mother.”The unconventional marketing was really Pat’s idea,” said Craig Walker, the Scholastic vice president and editorial director who signed the deal to publish Carman’s trilogy in early 2004, after learning from regional sales representatives about how well the self-published editions were selling.Walker’s been surprised by the way sales of The Dark Hills Divide have taken off since it was released last month, given that Carman is an unknown author.”Sometimes, with certain books, there’s something in the air with them – it’s almost magical in itself,” he said. But he also gives much of the credit to Carman’s way of connecting with kids and his genuine passion for introducing them to the world of reading.”He’s this guy who has this real mission,” he said, “which is literacy for kids. This guy comes from a good, solid moral core.” The book’s clear writing styleand fast-paced plot touches upon several themes Carman feels are important for children.There’s a message about humankind’s relations with the natural world, for example – in the land of Elyon, walled cities and the walled roads linking them have separated animal families from one another, just as they have chopped up natural habitats in the real world. There’s also a lesson to be learned about not judging people on first impressions, though it wouldn’t be right to give away part of the story by explaining how that lesson’s taught. “There’s another theme I really key in on with kids,” Carman added. “Nothing exciting happens for the hero until she steps out and takes a risk.” From joining a sports team to trying out for the school play, that’s a lesson kids can take to heart, he said.Carman also hopes his “interactive, high-energy” talks will expose kids to the joys of reading. “That’s the one thing I get to give back,” he said. “It’s not about selling books – it’s about getting kids excited about reading, about how to be a better writer, about how important it is to all the things they want to do in life.” For more information about The Dark Hills Divide and the Land of Elyon, as well as Carman’s tour Web log, visit the Web site www.landofelyon.com.* Reporter Jeff St. John can be reached at 582-1543 or via e-mail at jstjohn@tri-cityherald.com.

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