Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Obscure Series- HELP

This is topic Obscure Series- HELP in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by JBShearer (Member # 9434) on :

I am trying to remember the name of an author/series.

It is four books, written by a female. Possibly named Diane or Diana? But maybe not.

The first three books are set in the same world and about different characters. One is about a boy who sails on a boat, and there is a scarecrow (or something) that helps him somehow. One of them is about a person travelling with a family in a wagon performing music. He had a magic harp or flute or something. There is one more I can't remember.

The fourth book is about a girl who travels back in time from England (possibly making this a British author?) to the past, and meets the main characters from the other books. They have an adventure. She was staying in a castle that is both in the future and the past.

GRRRAAAAARRGGHH... It was really good, I just can't remember any more about it. Help? Anyone?

Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :

Okay, there are tons of stories out there... good grief!

But, this is the closest I could find after searching... hope it's what you're looking for:

WINTHROP, ELIZABETH; [i.e., Elizabeth Winthrop Mahony] (1948- )

* * _The Battle for the Castle (Dell Yearling 0-440-40942-X, Dec ’94 [Nov ’94], $3.99, 211pp, tp, cover by Jody A. Lee) [Castle in the Attic] Reprint (Holiday House 1993) young-adult time travel/medieval fantasy novel, sequel to The Castle in the Attic.
* * *The Castle in the Attic (Holiday House 0-8234-0579-6, 1985 [Mar ’86], $12.95, 179pp, hc) [Castle in the Attic] Juvenile fantasy novel of a boy and an enchanted knight. Has a 1985 copyright, but not seen until 1986.
* * _The Castle in the Attic (Bantam Skylark 0-553-15433-8, Sep ’86 [Aug ’86], $2.75, 179pp, pb) [Castle in the Attic] Reprint (Holiday House 1985) juvenile fantasy novel.
* * _The Castle in the Attic (Dell Yearling 0-440-40941-1, Dec ’94 [Nov ’94], $3.99, 179pp, tp, cover by Jody A. Lee) [Castle in the Attic] Reprint (Holiday House 1985) young-adult fantasy.

Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :

Or maybe this is your author Diana Wynne Jones:

http://www.sirius-books.com/revjones.html

Seriously, it could take days to track this down. I've been doing Boolean searches to no end... and there is a plethora of websites that come up. No wonder you can't find it.

Posted by Gen (Member # 1868) on :

Sounds like Diana Wynne Jones to me, too. The first three sound like Dalemark-- I know the second, Cart and Cwidder, has a kid on a cart with his family who's a musician. The fourth sounds a lot like Tale of Time City-- which I'm not sure if it's Dalemark-- but it also sounds a bit like Hexwood, or possibly The Homeward Bounders with a different gender, or a bunch more of Jones' books-- she likes those themes. Actually, just the words "British girl goes outside time to strange place gets confused and helps people" make me think Diana Wynne Jones.

Posted by JBShearer (Member # 9434) on :

Yes, that's it. Her Dalemark Quartet. Thanks everybody. I can never remember her name. What was it again?