Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware
When I was a child, I loved books of fantasy travel and adventure: Victorians in pith-helmets and starched collars knocking around in the dusty tombs of Karnak. Bookish mystery-seekers making their way across the frozen steppe to read the runes on some ancient, magical pillar dedicated to toads. Conan the Barbarian, smashing through lost jungles with spiders twitching above his head, flying apes perched in ruins to either side of him, cobras slithering to bite his knees, and a piranha in his canteen.
What thrilled me in these books were not just the specific moments of adventure – the fumbling mummies, the lassoed pterodactyls – but also the sense of the vast, untamed landscape. In my little safe suburban house, I dreamed of a world of howling wilderness and secret valleys. I hoped that there were still places to discover on the Earth. And I hoped even more that there were still places that would remain undiscovered and unplundered until the end of time.
And so, as an adult, I have written a book about Delaware. Cut off from the world for generations by its prohibitive interstate tolls, Delaware, to most of us, is nothing but an exotic name, a realm of fantasy. I determined to pierce the veil of mystery. I determined to reach deep inside the Blue Hen State and yank out its giblets for all to see.
No, okay, I’ve never actually been to Delaware. I may not be one of your so-called “experts” on the state. But I looked at MapQuest for at least six or seven minutes, and any fool could tell you that Dragon Creek must be dragon infested, and Red Lion Creek must be red lion infested, and that Sandtown is a caravanserai in the middle of a desert. It doesn’t take a PhD in Geography to tell that seaside hamlets with names like Slaughter Beach and Broadkill are the haunts of Vikings. You don’t need to be a member of the Adventurers’ Club to figure out that the largest building in Ogletown is an observatory, or to guess that when you visit the village of Bear, you better hide your food up a tree.
Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware is an homage to those adventure books I read as a kid, and to wonderful friendships, and to the imagination of those of us who sit on lawn-chairs and dream of far-off places. It is the story of three plucky kids who brave the interior of Delaware – who seek ancient artifacts – who confront dinosaurs and secret police – who are chased and marauded by Delaware’s tyrannical leader, the Awful and Adorable Autarch of Dagsboro – but who, in the end, find their way home.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And I hope that as you read it sitting at home, it will take you miraculous places you’ve never been.
Like Wilmington.
For a highly informative TOURIST’S GUIDE TO DEEPEST, DARKEST DELAWARE that I produced for you, the beloved reader of this book, click here [link coming soon].
The site includes an interactive map, many Fun Facts, and a sing-along with the State Song! All of it guaranteed to be erroneous!
You won’t regret visiting.
Special Note: When I visited Delaware a few years ago – which I thought was lovely – the Governor of the state wrote me a hysterical letter about this book. It is, I believe, the only time a state governor has ever called me “buster.” Read the letter here.
Governor Markell meets M.T. Anderson