The book is finished! Russell announces that Oliver Crumb will be serialized in the Spencer Evening World beginning on Tuesday, August 8th. A new chapter will be printed every Tuesday and Thursday. Artwork by the author will also be featured.

From the writer: "I hope that everyone is enjoying the book thus far and I am very interested to hear feedback from anyone who has been following the story. Good or bad, your comments will only help me continue to grow as a writer." To leave comments, visit the blog. You will have to register with a username and password, but once you are approved, you'll be good to go (this is a bit of a pain, but it prevents spam). If you still prefer not to post on the blog, you may always contact Russell directly via email.

Oliver and Katie Crumb are placed in Pleasant Grove Orphanage after their mother disappears. They find the orphanage very uninviting until they encounter an unexpected friend, who delivers a note written by their mother shortly before her disappearance. They learn from the letter that she was forced to leave them by boat. Who was pursuing her?

The children run away from the orphanage and take to the sea of the Florida Keys in search of their mother. A hurricane wreaks havoc on them as they are swallowed by the Bermuda Triangle. They soon find themselves on a set of islands, where reptiles, amphibians, and insects speak and dinosaurs roam freely. Dangers abound in this strange land that the inhabitants call Atlantis.

The islands are troubled by a cobra queen named Maligna, who overthrew the monarchs, enslaved the humans and rules over Atlantis with fear. Oliver and Katie discover that it was Maligna, who is responsible for their mother’s disappearance and they must rely on their new friends to help them find their mother and defeat Maligna.

Russell McGee grew up in Spencer, Indiana. In 2001, he received his Bachelors in Theatre with a creative writing minor from Indiana State University. He received a scholarship to attend the 2002 W. B. Yeats International Summer School, where he participated in the dramatic workshop. Russell is currently a member-at-large on the board of Monroe County Civic Theater and a member of Bloomington Playwrights Project Ensemble of Artists. The previous year he founded the MCCT's Dinner Theater Series and is thankful to the Irish Lion for continuing to donate the space needed to provide free theater in Bloomington.

He began writing the children's book, Oliver Crumb, in 2002 with the hopes of having it published in his hometown newspaper, Spencer Evening World. Unfortunately, the project was tabled for a few years until Russell was presented with an opportunity to adapt the children's book for the stage. Russell completed the book and partnered up with Sara Angharad to adapt the book into a children's musical. The musical will debut in MCCT's Dinner Theater series in September.

Russell has written two original full-length plays that are set in the time of the Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. In addition, he has also adapted several literary classics for the stage including "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein," "Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol," and Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." He is currently editing Bram Stoker's original theatrical script "Dracula, or, the Undead," which will appear on stage in October.