Fans celebrate life, new book with 'Fablehaven' author

MURRAY — "You never know where a story will take you. Keep reading. Keep imagining."

That was the message author Brandon Mull left with about 3,000 of his fans at the launch party for the fifth and final "Fablehaven" book, "Keys to the Demon Prison." The party was held Tuesday night at Cottonwood High School.

The "Fablehaven" story has taken Mull, who now lives in Highland, on a journey to the top of the New York Times best-seller list, around the country to talk to schoolchildren everywhere and even to foreign countries, where the books have been translated into 18 languages.

"It's so weird to think that people I can't even talk to can read my books," Mull said.

But one unexpected and cherished place "Fablehaven" has taken him is into the life of 14-year-old Chase Autery, a devoted fan who suffers from cystic fibrosis.

Last winter, Chase's health took a turn for the worse. The one thing he wanted before he died, he told his mother, was to find out how the "Fablehaven" series ended. Since the book wasn't coming out until March, the Make-A-Wish Foundation contacted Mull to see what he could do.

Mull talked to Chase on the phone; he told him how the story ends but asked him to keep it a secret. Chase did.

"To think that something I wrote can distract someone from something that bad — that's better than anything I could hope for with by books," Mull said.

Even better, Chase's health took a turn for the better, and he was able to come to the launch party and not only meet his favorite author but get inducted into the Knights of the Dawn, the "Fablehaven" society charged with preserving all that is good in the world.

"This meant everything to him," said his mother, Clover Autrey, who accompanied him to Utah from their home in Fort Worth, Texas. " 'Fablehaven' was the first series that he wanted to read. He discovered the first one while visiting his grandparents in Utah, and he just fell in love with it."

As a writer, you just never know how your books will affect anyone, Mull said.

"This has been one of the most profound experiences of the series — real life that's better than fiction," he said.

The launch party, sponsored by publisher Deseret Book and its Shadow Mountain imprint, was a celebration of life, imagination, humor and possibilities — just like the books.