Hey everyone, Adam here. I have some exciting news. New episodes are here. We are making an extra special season called Adam's Sneak Peaks. It features all new stories from me, but with a twist. You are going to get to hear these stories before anyone else, before I even go into a classroom. I am recording them at home wearing my slippers because I want your input to help shape the final episode. You can write to me or even call me and leave a message to let me know what you think of the episode and your feedback is going to help me shape the episode for the final version of it. And also, we might even find a way to use your voices on future Grim Grim or Grimist episodes. And in case that wasn't enough, we will then use some of those stories to make a full, brand new season with the kids, the actors, the music, everything that makes Grim Grimmer Grimist the show that you love. We are going to have new Grim episodes basically all the time for the rest of the year. Isn't that amazing? I'm amazed. I'm also a little bit intimidated, but we're going to do it. But we do need your help. Because these new episodes will only be available for Pina subscribers. This is part of how we can keep making great Grim Grimmer Grimist stories. And this leads me to more great news. From now through the end of March, we are offering a major discount on annual subscriptions to Pina, Pina the app where you'll be able to access all the new Grim content, as well as some new content that will be coming to Pina that we know you love, but we can't tell you about yet, but don't worry, you already listened to it and you love it. So to hear all this new stuff, have your parents visit Pina.fm, that's P-I-N-N-A.fm, and use code Grim30 during checkout for 30% off your annual subscription. I cannot wait to share these new stories with you. Your support allows me to keep making these episodes and keep Grim Grimmer Grimist going. Thank you for being a listener. Hi, I'm Adam Gidwitz. I know you're all waiting for new episodes of Grim Grimmer Grimist, and I promise we are working to make that happen soon. In the meantime though, I just published a new book called Max in the House of Spies. If you happen to be near Riverside, California on March 13th, I'll be speaking at CellarDoor Books at 6pm. Come see me. If enough fans of Grim Grimmer Grimist show up, I'll tell you a fairy tale you've never heard me tell before. And if you can't come to Riverside, California, here's a very short preview of that new book. I know it's not an episode of Grim Grimmer Grimist, but it does have two small magical men. They're not smurfs though, okay? Get that straight. They are not smurfs. Okay, here's the first few pages of Max in the House of Spies. Chapter 1. Once there was a boy who had two immortal creatures living on his shoulders. This was the fourth most interesting thing about him. The first most interesting thing about Max, that was his name, was that he was a genius. He could make a working radio from the junk at the bottom of a trash can, and he could usually predict what someone was going to say ten minutes before they said it. The second most interesting thing about Max was that when he was eleven years old, his parents sent him away from Germany, where he was born and grew up, to England, all by himself. Even though he'd never been there, didn't know anyone there, and barely spoke any English. The third most interesting thing about Max was that when he got to England, he fell in with spies. Real, honest to goodness spies. A lot of them. And the fourth most interesting thing about him was that he had two immortal creatures living on his shoulders. But that's probably what you have the most questions about, so let's start there. The two immortal creatures appeared the day his parents sent him to England. His family had been arguing about it for weeks. Their small Berlin apartment shook as Max had stomped from the living room to his bedroom, to the kitchen, and back again, shouting things like, You can't make me go. And everything is fine. Who cares about the stupid Nazis? They don't matter. And what if you need me? And more quietly, alone in his room, what if I need you? But no matter what Max said, his parents had refused to change their minds. His mother had held him at the train station. His father had stroked his hair. They'd watched as the train pulled out, taking Max and the 198 other Jewish children to Holland and the ferry. Max hadn't waved back. He just stared at them and thought, How could you do this? The children had left the train station in Holland and boarded a steam-powered ferry. With a blast of its foghorn, the ship had pushed out into the North Sea, bound for England. Thirty-one minutes later, Max had fallen asleep. This might be a little surprising, but after a trauma, something really awful that happens to you, your brain often makes you fall asleep right away. Maybe to help you process the trauma, or maybe because your brain is scared of more traumas and figures you won't have to experience them if you're sleeping. Whatever the reason is, it happens a lot. And it happened to Max. So he fell asleep thirty-one minutes into the ferry ride. Thirty-two minutes into the ferry ride, he heard a voice in his ear. Max! Max! Max jerked awake and looked around. Max, you are drooling! Max quickly wiped his mouth. Wait, who said that? He looked to either side of him. He was sitting on a bench in the belly of the steamship. There were other kids on other benches. Some boys were sleeping, leaning against each other, not too far away. A girl had her face buried in her handkerchief, crying. But the voice had been right next to his ear. And it had not sounded like a kid's voice. What'd you wake him up for? Said another voice, very near his other ear. He was drooling. It was disgusting. I thought he would want to know. Max spun from side to side. Where were these voices coming from? You don't think he's got bigger problems than drooling in his sleep? The poor kid just lost his country, his home, his family. You can't let him drool a little bit? Now Max was staring at his left shoulder. His eyes came into focus. Crouching there was a tiny man with a bulbous nose, thinning hair, twinkling eyes, and a sour smile. Hiya! He said, Max screamed and fell off the bench. That was the first few pages of Max in the House of Spice. And remember, while you're waiting for new episodes of Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmist, you can always read my books A Taildark and Grimm, In a Glass Grimly and the Grimm Conclusion, or listen to me read them in the audio versions. OK, we'll be back with more episodes as soon as we can. In the meantime, stay grim. Or Grimmer. Or for those of you really weird kids out there, Grimmist. The world of Sonic the Hedgehog has been thrust into a not so dark, not so stormy, hard-boiled detective story that probably nobody saw coming. Follow Sonic and the Intrepid Chaotix Detective Agency as they take on their biggest case yet. This high-flying, action-packed venture will take them across the world, fighting for every clue they can find. It's one heck of a tale, which is good, because this story might be the only thing that can save their lives. Well, if that's all I can just dispose of you. Wait, what? Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! All will be revealed in Sonic the Hedgehog presents The Chaotix Case Files. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts. The Chaotix are on the case.
