John's Fans (16)

John Claude Bemis

Author profile

gender

male

website

http://www.johnclaudebemis.com/

genre

Literature & Fiction, Children's Books, Science Fiction & Fantasy

About this author

edit data

From the author website;
I’ve always been fascinated by trains. My grandfather hopped trains all over the country in his “hobo days” and filled my head with curious stories of America’s lost past. Those stories, I suppose, were the beginnings of my first novel, The Nine Pound Hammer.

I grew up in rural eastern North Carolina by a swampy creek on the Neuse River. Yes, I’ve been bitten by a water moccasin, but fortunately not by an alligator. When you live in a county with just one stoplight, you learn how to entertain yourself. As a kid, I read a lot, played in tobacco barns, swam in the river when the jellyfish weren’t too thick, and learned violin and guitar.

Eventually playing classical violin in youth orchestras and playing electric guitar...more From the author website;
I’ve always been fascinated by trains. My grandfather hopped trains all over the country in his “hobo days” and filled my head with curious stories of America’s lost past. Those stories, I suppose, were the beginnings of my first novel, The Nine Pound Hammer.

I grew up in rural eastern North Carolina by a swampy creek on the Neuse River. Yes, I’ve been bitten by a water moccasin, but fortunately not by an alligator. When you live in a county with just one stoplight, you learn how to entertain yourself. As a kid, I read a lot, played in tobacco barns, swam in the river when the jellyfish weren’t too thick, and learned violin and guitar.

Eventually playing classical violin in youth orchestras and playing electric guitar in a bunch of terrible rock and punk bands led me to American roots music. I’m partial nowadays to vintage country or blues, Cajun or bluegrass, anything with a fiddle or a musical saw. Some friends and I formed a band Hooverville and put out a pair of CDs of original songs. They’re fun to listen to if you like that kind of music.

At UNC-Chapel Hill, I studied Art History and Elementary Education. I taught elementary school for twelve years, mostly 4th and 5th grades as well as being a Gifted Education resource teacher. I got a chance in the classroom to teach the books I loved so much as a kid and discovered a lot of incredible new children’s literature along the way. But something seemed to be missing from my class’s bookshelf: fantasy based on America’s folklore.

Through old-timey music, I became fascinated with the way America’s myths have been passed down through songs. Drawing on the legend of John Henry’s struggle against the steam drill, I thought about how Southern folklore could be turned into epic fantasy. This passion grew into my first novel, The Nine Pound Hammer, a story set in a mythical 19th-century America full of traveling hoodoo conjurers, cowboys, swamp mermaids, and steamboat pirates. The adventures continue in The Wolf Tree and The White City, the other books in the Clockwork Dark trilogy.

I live the small-town life in Hillsborough, North Carolina with my wife, Amy, and daughter, Rose. We spend a lot of time hiking on the trails around our house, going into town for chocolates and coffees, or encouraging our overweight cat Max to run around some.(less)

combine editions
John Claude Bemis's Books

Average rating: 3.75 · 540 ratings · 166 reviews · 9 distinct works · Similar authors

	The Nine Pound Hammer (The Clockwork Dark, #1) 3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 avg rating — 290 ratings — published 2009 — 8 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wolf Tree (The Clockwork Dark #2) 3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 99 ratings — published 2010 — 7 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Prince Who Fell from the Sky 3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 92 ratings — published 2012 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The White City (The Clockwork Dark #3) 4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 51 ratings — published 2011 — 7 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Nine Pound Hammer: The Clockwork Dark, Book 1 by John Claude Bemis, John H Mayer (Translation) 5.0 of 5 stars 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2009	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The White City: Book 3 of the Clockwork Dark by John Claude Bemis, John H Mayer (Translation) 5.0 of 5 stars 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2011 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wolf Tree: Book 2 of the Clockwork Dark by John Claude Bemis, John H Mayer (Translation) 5.0 of 5 stars 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2010	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Mystifying Medicine Show 5.0 of 5 stars 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bull Spec #6 (Bull Spec, #6) by Samuel Montgomery-Blinn (Editor), Kenneth Schneyer (Goodreads Author), Larry Nolen (Contributor) 4.25 of 5 stars 4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2011	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by John Claude Bemis…

Series by John Claude Bemis

The Clockwork Dark (3 books)
by John Claude Bemis
3.7181818181818183 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 440 ratings

Upcoming Events

No scheduled events. Add an event.

Polls

What second pick for a Newbery Honor?

(I tried to include all the books we have read, along with the books mentioned on our "the others good and up" thread, and a few on the Newbery 2010 list on goodreads. If, however, I have not included a book you want to vote for just send me a message or write a comment. I will add it to the list.)

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

6 votes 18.8%

All the Broken Pieces by Ann Burg

6 votes 18.8%

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

6 votes 18.8%

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

3 votes 9.4%

Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin

2 votes 6.3%

Wild Things by Clay Carmichael

2 votes 6.3%