Books by David O'Connell

Ever since Gafferty Sprout's last adventure, she's been VERY GOOD. No more finding lost Smidgen clans, no more pudding fights, definitely no more GHOSTS. She knows there's another clan still out there - The Burrow - and maybe they know the secrets of the MAGICAL knife that saved her from the ghosts. But it'll have to wait until she's less . grounded.Then a strange Smidgen steals her knife and sets out for The Burrow, and there's nothing for it. Gafferty has to follow. But the Smidgens of The Burrow aren't the new friends Gafferty expected, and soon the Smidgens are in BIG, BIG trouble.The second book in a funny, magical adventure series for 7+ readers who love Terry Pratchett, Max and the Millions and The Borrowers.

When a batch of his experimental sweets goes wrong at the McBudge Confectionery Company, Archie needs a distraction. And when he hears about a book of magical wisdom lost in a tunnel beneath the mountains, Archie is determined to find it. It's DEFINITELY so he can be the best magical guardian of Dundoodle that he can be and DEFINITELY NOT so he can turn tree branches into flying surfboards. Only trouble is, the key to open the tunnel was broken into four pieces hundreds of years ago and hidden.Archie, Fliss and Billy set out to find the pieces of the key, but why was the tunnel sealed off in the first place? And what is the deep, sinister, MOUNTAINOUS voice Archie keeps hearing on the wind?David O'Connell, author of The Chocolate Factory Ghost, returns with the latest adventure in his madcap magical mystery series for anyone who loves monsters, puzzles and SWEETS.

Archie McBudge's lazy summer has just turned into a magical meltdown! The second adventure in this madcap magical mystery series is perfect for fans of How to Train Your Dragon, amateur detectives and anyone who loves SWEETS!Archie McBudge was planning a sweet summer at Honeystone Hall. Picnics by the loch, watching the honeydragons flying around the hillsides, chasing ghosts through the shadowy castle hallways, and of course, testing out all the new sweets from the McBudge Confectionery Factory. But now the Wyrdie Tree, source of all the magic in the town of Dundoodle, is dying, and the guardian must save it before Dundoodle's magic is gone for good. And who's the guardian, you ask? That's right, Archie McBudge. With enemies on every side, puzzles to solve and secrets to uncover - not to mention a very scary dentist to avoid - Archie's summer's looking less like a strawberry marshmallow dream and more like a super-sour sherbet lemon with exploding bits that make your mouth go numb for a week!The follow-up to David O'Connell's The Chocolate Factory Ghost, this is a must read for anyone who loves ghosts, monsters, toffee, marshmallows, and wants to explore more of the weird and wonderful town of Dundoodle.

Archie McBudge knows his lucky underpants must really work, because when he and his mum are summoned to Honeystone Hall in the remote Scottish village of Dundoodle, they find Archie has inherited not only the enormous hall, but the whole of the world-famous McBudge Confectionery Company from Great-Uncle Archibald. That's a new home, a fortune and a lifetime's supply of treats rolled into one! But all is not well in Dundoodle, and when Archie reads the mysterious letter his great-uncle left him, he finds himself on a quest to save his family's company from ruin. With the help of his new friends Fliss and Billy, Archie has to try to figure out the puzzles of Honeystone before his sweet future melts away like an ice lolly in the sun!Fans of How to Train Your Dragon and Tilly and the Time Machine will be hungry for this delicious mystery full of weird clues, strange creatures, malevolent relatives and lots and lots of SWEETS!

Offers a comprehensive study of presidential religious rhetoric. Using careful analysis of hundreds of transcripts, David O'Connell reveals the hidden strategy behind presidential religious speech. He asks when and why religious language is used, and when it is, whether such language is influential.