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Author of rip-roaring sea yarns held a long list of odd jobs

Sunday, April 20, 2003

By Karen MacPherson, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Brian Jacques' newest children's book offers readers a bit of everything:

	"The Angel's Command" By Brian Jacques Philomel ($23.99)

Blood-thirsty pirates, a stubborn Gypsy girl, a boy with magical artistic powers, an evil sorceress, a helpful bear and a nobleman desperate to find his kidnapped infant grandson.

There's a chase on the high seas, an avalanche, a race for stolen gold and numerous rescues. There's both poetry and traditional narration.

And to top it off, there's the appearance, every now and then, of the ghost of the mad captain of the Flying Dutchman.

In other words, it's typical Jacques, action-packed and filled to the brim with colorful characters.

Best known for his best-selling "Redwall" series, Jacques decided several years ago to create a second series based on the legend of the Flying Dutchman. The first volume, "The Castaways of the Flying Dutchman," was published in 2001 and set the stage for the series, which focuses on the adventures of a boy named Ben and his black Labrador, Ned.

As "The Castaways" opens, Ben and Ned, who can communicate telepathically, are stowaways on the Flying Dutchman, watching the captain blaspheme God for his ship's many misfortunes.

An angel sentences the captain to sail the seas for all eternity but takes pity on Ben and Ned, commanding them to undertake a different type of eternal journey: traveling through space and time helping people in distress.

In the new book, Ben and Ned try to help a French sea captain escape his enemies in the Caribbean, and then head to France to find the kidnapped grandson of a count.

"What I wanted to do was create a rip-roaring sea yarn, and then carry on straight with the adventure," Jacques said in a recent interview.

The book was written shortly before Jacques, 63, suffered a mild stroke in August 2001. He's since made a full recovery and currently is proving it by tackling a demanding United States book tour.

As part of that tour, Jacques is scheduled to be at Borders Books and Music in Monroeville tomorrow from 12:30 to 3 p.m.

Jacques doesn't like to talk much about his stroke, saying that "it's a blank" and adding that he hates illness.

"What really annoys me is that I have been a strong man all of my life. I'm no invalid!" Jacques declared in his booming voice with its thick Liverpool accent.

As soon as he could after the stroke, Jacques began writing again, creating a new "Redwall" tale. That book, "Loamhedge," is scheduled to be published this fall. Jacques said he found it comforting to immerse himself in the world of "Redwall," where talking mice, rats, badgers and other woodland creatures are engaged in epic battles of good vs. evil.

"It's my original love," Jacques said of the "Redwall" books. "That's what kept me sane."

Jacques worked through a list of jobs that included longshoreman, bus driver, boxer, police officer, stand-up comic and milkman.

Among his delivery stops was a school for blind children in Liverpool where he volunteered as a reader to the students. But he found the reading choices boring and began making up his own stories. Thus "Redwall" was born.

Published in 1987, the book was immediately popular with young readers, and Jacques quickly began turning out more volumes in the series. More than a dozen "Redwall" books have since been published in 19 different languages.

Karen MacPherson can be reached at kmacpherson@nationalpress.com or 1-202-662-7075.