Fleur Bradley is an active member of SCBWI and MWA, where she has judged for the Edgars. She regularly does school and Skype visits, as well as librarian and educator conference talks on reaching reluctant readers. Originally from the Netherlands, she now lives in Colorado, not too far from the historic (and haunted) Stanley Hotel, which partly inspired this manuscript.

Xavier Bonet is an illustrator and comic book artist who lives in Barcelona with his wife and two children. He has illustrated a number of middle grade books including Omnia by Laura Gallego; Michael Dahl's Really Scary Stories series; and the Keepers trilogy by Lian Tanner. He loves all things retro, video games, and Japanese food, but above all, spending time with his family. Visit him at xavierbonet.net and follow him on Twitter or Instagram [...]

BONUS CONTENT: The paperback edition will include a teaser of Fleur Bradley's new novel DAYBREAK ON RAVEN ISLAND.

INTERIOR ILLUSTRATIONS: Xavier Bonet, the talented illustrator behind THE THRIFTY GUIDE series, is signed on to do both the cover and eighteen black-and-white interior illustrations to create a beautiful package.

ILLUSTRATED MIDDLE GRADE IS IN HIGH DEMAND: Penguin has been very succesful over the last few years at publishing in the illustrated middle grade market, which is in high demand right now. Coming off the heels of hits like THE UNICORN RESCUE SOCIETY, THE LAST KIDS ON EARTH, THE INQUISITOR'S TALE, KLAWDE, and THE CURSE OF THE WEREPENGUIN, readers are hungry for more titles in this space, and MIDNIGHT AT THE BARCLAY HOTEL is well positioned to fill this need.

PERFECT FOR RELUCTANT AND TRANSITIONAL READERS: The illustrations, accessible writing, and humor make this the perfect title for parents, teachers, and librarians to give to the emerging readers in their lives.

A FUN GHOST STORY AND MYSTERY NOVEL: While this novel has a ghost story and murder mystery premise, it's not overly scary and filled with lots of laughs. The murder mystery will make this story feel like a modern-day THE WESTING GAME or CLUE with a touch of the humor that gets readers excited about books like ESCAPE FROM MR. LEMONCELLO'S LIBRARY and THE CANDYMAKERS.

REAL LIFE INSPIRATION: The Barclay Hotel is based on the historic Stanley Hotel, in Estes Park, CO. The hotel served as the inspiration for Stephen King's novel, The Shining, and today, the hotel continues to give tours to guests on it's legendary folklore and supernatural associations.