Trenton Stewart: Hi, this is Trenton Lee Stewart and I'm the author of The Mysterious Benedict Society. I'm going to tell you a bit about how I came to create the series and then I'll share an excerpt with you.

I started writing The Mysterious Benedict Society when my son Elliott was just two years old. And the way it came about was I was telling him stories every day and at the time I was thinking that one day I would like to write for him the kind of novel that I loved when I was a kid which would be a big adventure full of elements of mystery.

But I didn't think I would write that book until months later, except then I started paying attention to ideas I was having that seemed more suited for that kind of book than for the writing I was doing at the time for adults. For example, a seemingly impossible test that is more than it seems to be and a clever kid who figures out its secret. Also, a chess riddle and a daring escape scene that features the use of a bucket.

All of those things were interesting to me but didn't seem to belong in the kinds of books I was writing for adults. So one day I sat down and tried to see if I could find a connection among them, and sure enough I found the thread and followed it, and the result was the Mysterious Benedict Society. Here's an excerpt from my book.

Unlike Kate, the others were in no mood to laugh. Hidden messages being broadcast to the world, good men and women gone missing, the authorities beyond convincing, and the children were somehow going to be involved in all this? The prospect had caused a deep, indefinable dread to settle upon them like a cold mist.

Constance's reaction, by now a predictable one, was to express irritation. "Fine, I get it. A lot of people have vanished without a trace, and someone's sending out secret messages, and nobody will believe you about it. But we aren't really in danger, are we?" Though her tone was scoffing and irritable, it was evident from her eyes, which darted back and forth, that Constance was growing afraid. "You said we were all in danger, but that was just an exaggeration, wasn't it?"

"I am sorry to say it, Constance," Mr. Benedict said somberly, "but I did not exaggerate in the least. You are all in danger even as we speak."

And indeed, even as they spoke, the bell on the landing began a furious clanging.