In the Outback

The thrilling ninth and final book in The Adventures of Archibald and Jockabeb series finds the two brothers returning to the other side of the globe, but this time "down under" in the Australian Outback. While attending the Students' Living Abroad Program in Sydney, sixteen-year-old Jockabeb stays with the Macalester family. He quickly strikes up a friendship with Prim Macalester, who is exactly his age. Prim is fascinated by the Australian Aboriginal culture and lore, and she tells Jockabeb about an old Aboriginal legend that turns out to be strikingly similar to some of his recent dreams. As bizarre events in the desolate Outback begin to spiral out of control, the hazy line between reality and fantasy is once again tested - but this time in an adventure unlike anything the two brothers have ever encountered. Fasten your seat belt one more time and prepare yourself for unexpected twists and turns as Archibald and Jockabeb race toward their final date with destiny.

When Art Collins retired as a highly successful chairman and CEO of a Fortune 500 company, he didn’t write the book on leadership that many expected. Instead, he decided that penning children’s stories would be far more interesting. Borrowing two characters, Archibald and Jockabeb, from tales told by his father many years before, and drawing up his own rich imagination, Art introduces the two young brothers to an incredible cast of characters - some human, some otherworldly - in locations that range from the mysterious forest behind the boys’ house to the lush and exotic Amazon. Collins honed his stories by running them past his target audience; fourth-graders taught by his brother Geoffrey Collins, who allowed his classes to be used as a focus group over several years. Art currently divides his time between Chicago and the Vail Valley in Colorado.