Hello. I am David Bass and I am definately a big Bellairs fan. I started reading most of his books back in 1993. I began with The House with a Clock in its Walls. I was amazed how well Bellairs could make up the storyline and how spooky his settings were. My favorite characters in The House with a Clock in its Walls were Lewis Barnavelt and his Uncle Jonathan. The second Bellairs book I read was The Lamp from the Warlock's Tomb. That book was tremendously spooky and I think John Bellairs did a good job with it. I read a bunch of other books like The Mansion in the Mist, The Vengence of the Witch-Finder, and The Hand of the Necromancer. Alas, most of these books have become out-of-print and are very difficult to find. I have done very well obtaining them myself. Some of the books carry pretty hefty prices. A few are library rejects and some don't even have jackets (stay away from these!). For example, I have found The House with a Clock in its Walls signed by Edward Gorey for $120. For more information, please e-mail me. I am very fond of Edward Gorey's illustrations and John Bellairs' books. I think that Bellairs is the best writer in the history of the world.

Exclusive Interview with David Bass

Interviewer: Hello David. We're glad you could make it today.
David: Well, it's nice to be here.
Interviewer: We're just going to ask you a few questions about yourself and your hobby of collecting John Bellairs books. First and foremost, what is your favorite John Bellairs book?
David: Hmmmm. That's hard to say. I like them all a lot. My favorite book is probably The House with a Clock in its Walls. I especially like the Edward Gorey illustrations. I think that it was a fine book done by a fine writer.
Interviewer: Why do you like the Edward Gorey illustrations so much?
David: Well, I think they add a lot of spookiness to the John Bellairs writing. The new paperbacks coming out from Dial Books have Goosebump-type pictures on them. I think those don't fit in with the John Bellairs collection. They just aren't as spooky as the classic Edward Gorey illustrations.
Interviewer: What do you think about the Bellairs/Strickland books?
David: I think that the books completed by Strickland show no real difference. Sometimes I notice a small difference, though, mainly due to the writing. Strickland describes the characters a little differently, but he has done a good job of keeping up the spooky details and humor.
Interviewer: Ok. One more question. How many Bellairs books do you actually own?
David: I own about eleven and six of them are very rare.
Interviewer:Well, thank you for answering our questions, David. We learned a lot.
David: It was my pleasure.

Final Words from David

I think that the Bellairs collection is the best series of books ever made and I intend to collect them all, whatever the cost. I hope Brad Strickland continues writing these fine novels and I would like to extend a special thanks to the deceased John Bellairs.