Jude Watson JR | |
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Pen name | Jude Watson |
Notable works | What I Saw and How I Lied |
Notable awards | National Book Award for Young People's Literature |
Judy Blundell, pseudonym Jude Watson, is an American author of books for middle grade, young adult, and adult readers. [1] She won the annual National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2008 for the young adult novel What I Saw and How I Lied , published under her real name by Scholastic Books. [2] [3]
Blundell is better known as Jude Watson, an author of books set in the Star Wars universe. Her publisher, Scholastic, calls her "the most celebrated author in the prequel-era of the Star Wars phenomenon" [1] (that is, Star Wars fiction set in the time frame of the three prequel movies).
Writing for the Star Wars franchise, she worked with editors from LucasBooks as well as Scholastic. Her debut came when LucasBooks recruited her to write the Star Wars Journal Captive to Evil by Princess Leia Organa, published by Scholastic in 1998. [1]
Beside the journals of Princess Leia, Queen Amidala (1999), and Darth Maul (1999), Watson is the author of three series that comprise about forty books: Jedi Apprentice (except for the first book), Jedi Quest , and The Last of the Jedi . She is also a co-author with K. D. Burkett in the Star Wars: Science Adventures series. Scholastic says that the primary audience is children age 9 to 14. [1]
Her other books include the romance series Brides of Wildcat County , the parapsychic science fiction works Premonitions and Disappearance, and three books in the 39 Clues mystery-adventure series, all written for young adults. In 2018 she published the book A Warp in Time.
Blundell lives in a small village called Stony Brook, on Long Island, with her daughter and husband. [1] Her husband, Neil Watson, is the Executive Director of the Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages.
Jedi, Jedi Knights, or collectively the Jedi Order are fictional characters, and often protagonists, featured in many works within the Star Wars franchise. Working symbiotically alongside the Old Galactic Republic, the Jedi Order is depicted as a religious, academic, meritocratic, and military (peacekeeping) organization whose origin dates back thousands of years before the events of the first film released in the franchise. The fictional organization has inspired a real-world new religious movement and parody religion: Jediism.
Princess Leia Organa is a fictional character and one of the main characters in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Carrie Fisher. Introduced in the original Star Wars film in 1977, Leia is princess of the planet Alderaan, a member of the Imperial Senate and an agent of the Rebel Alliance. She thwarts the sinister Sith Lord Darth Vader and helps bring about the destruction of the Empire's cataclysmic superweapon, the Death Star. In The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Leia commands a Rebel base and evades Vader as she falls in love with the smuggler Han Solo. In Return of the Jedi (1983), Leia helps in the operation to rescue Han from the crime lord Jabba the Hutt and is revealed to be Vader's daughter and the twin sister of Luke Skywalker.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. Within the original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinness. In the later-released prequel trilogy, a younger version of the character serves as one of the two main protagonists, alongside Anakin Skywalker, and is portrayed by Scottish actor Ewan McGregor. In the original trilogy he is introduced as Ben Kenobi, an alias he uses while in hiding from the Empire. He is a mentor to Luke Skywalker, to whom he introduces the ways of the Jedi. After sacrificing himself in a duel against Darth Vader, Obi-Wan guides Luke through the Force in his fight against the Galactic Empire. In the prequel trilogy, set two decades earlier, he is initially a Padawan (apprentice) to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and later mentor and friend of Luke's father Anakin, who falls to the dark side of the Force and becomes Vader. The character briefly appears in the sequel trilogy as a disembodied voice, speaking to protagonist Rey, and serving as the namesake of Ben Solo. He is frequently featured as a main character in various other Star Wars media, including the streaming television miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi, in which McGregor reprised the role.
C-3PO or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the Star Wars franchise who appears in every movie of the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, C-3PO was designed as a protocol droid intended to assist in etiquette, customs, and translation, boasting that he is "fluent in over six million forms of communication". Along with his astromech droid counterpart and friend R2-D2, C-3PO provides comic relief within the narrative structure of the films, and serves as a foil. Anthony Daniels has portrayed the character in eleven of the twelve theatrical Star Wars films released to date, with the exception of Solo: A Star Wars Story, where the character does not appear.
The Rebel Alliance is a fictional organization in the Star Wars franchise. The Alliance is portrayed as a stateless coalition of rebel dissidents and defectors who oppose the Galactic Empire and its authoritarian rule. Its stated goal is to restore the liberal governance of the previous Galactic Republic, which had been dissolved after its leader Palpatine seized absolute power and declared himself emperor. It is the main protagonistic faction of the original Star Wars trilogy, along with the mostly fallen Jedi Order.
The Skywalker family is a fictional legendary human family in the Star Wars franchise. Within the series' fictional universe, the Skywalkers are presented as a bloodline with strong inherent capabilities related to the Force and sometimes lightsaber skills. Luke Skywalker, his twin sister Princess Leia Organa, and their father Darth Vader are central characters in the original Star Wars film trilogy. Darth Vader, in his previous identity as Anakin Skywalker, is a lead character in the prequel film trilogy and so is his wife and the twins' mother Padmé Amidala; while his mother Shmi is a minor character in the first and second films respectively. Leia and Han Solo's son, Ben Solo, renamed himself Kylo Ren and is the main antagonist in the sequel film trilogy, while they and Luke serve as supporting characters. Shmi, Padmé, and Han are the only members who are not Force-sensitive. The Skywalker bloodline, alongside the Palpatine bloodline, are the two bloodlines that are the strongest with the Force.
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy is a 2004 documentary film directed by Kevin Burns and narrated by Robert Clotworthy. It documents the making of the original Star Wars trilogy: Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983), and their impact on popular culture.
Alderaan is a fictional planet featured in the Star Wars franchise. It is blue-green in appearance, depicted as a terrestrial planet with humanoid inhabitants, and characterized by a peaceful culture. It is the home planet of Princess Leia Organa, one of the lead characters in the film series, as well as former Rebel shock trooper Cara Dune. In the original 1977 film, Alderaan is destroyed by the Death Star's superlaser.
The Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novelization was written by Terry Brooks and published on April 21, 1999, by Del Rey. It is based on the script of the film of the same name and released with multiple covers, including Darth Maul, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Queen Amidala.
The Star Wars Episode I Journal series is a young adult science fiction series published by Scholastic, written by different authors, and recounting the story of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace from the perspective of different characters.
Star Wars Journal: Captive to Evil is a 1998 young adult novel by science fiction author Jude Watson. The novel recounts the events of the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) from the point of view of one of its main characters, Princess Leia.
Star Wars Journal: Hero for Hire is a 1998 young adult novel by science fiction author Donna Tauscher. The novel recounts the events of the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) from the point of view of one of its main characters, Han Solo.
The Sith are the main antagonists of many works in the fictional universe of the Star Wars franchise. They are the antithesis and ancient enemies of the Jedi. The Sith Order is depicted as an ancient cult of warriors who draw strength from the dark side of the Force and use it to seize power by any means necessary, including terrorism and mass murder; their ultimate goals are to destroy the Jedi and rule the galaxy. The various antagonistic factions in the franchise, namely the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the First Galactic Empire, the Imperial Remnant and the First Order all originated, with the Sith. Sith, known individually as Sith Lords, are, by nature, ruthless. At any point a single individual assumes absolute authority amongst their kind and is granted the honorific Dark Lord of the Sith. Sith culture is based on perpetual treachery and betrayal. The fate of Sith Lords is, typically, to be murdered and replaced by their own apprentices. Sith teach their apprentices to revere the dark side of the Force, to give full reign to aggressive emotions such as rage and hatred, and to believe that others are expendable in the pursuit of power, it makes the Lords' demise inevitable.
Padmé Amidala is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, appearing in the prequel trilogy and portrayed by Natalie Portman. First indirectly mentioned in Return of the Jedi, she is introduced in The Phantom Menace as the teenage Queen of Naboo, and after her reign, becomes a senator and an anti-war activist in the Galactic Senate. She secretly marries Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight, then later dies while giving birth to twins Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. Anakin's fear of losing Padmé serves as the catalyst in driving him to the dark side of the Force and becoming Darth Vader.
What I Saw and How I Lied is a novel for young adults written by Judy Blundell and published by Scholastic in 2008. It won the annual U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
Star Wars: Bloodline is a Star Wars novel by Claudia Gray, published by Del Rey Books on May 3, 2016. Set twenty-five years after the events of the 1983 film Return of the Jedi and six years before 2015's The Force Awakens, it follows Leia Organa as she navigates troubles brewing in the Galactic Senate.
Ahsoka, also known as Star Wars: Ahsoka, is a Star Wars young adult novel written by E. K. Johnston, from an outline by Dave Filoni, published in October 2016. Set between the events of the 3D CGI animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018) and Disney+ TV series Ahsoka (2023), it is centered on the character Ahsoka Tano, the former apprentice of Anakin Skywalker. In 2020, Ahsoka's role in the Siege of Mandalore and Order 66, described in the novel as backstory, was adapted as the four-part series finale of the revival of The Clone Wars, written by Filoni and directed by Saul Ruiz and Nathaniel Villanueva. In 2022, the main events of Ahsoka were adapted as "Resolve", the first season finale of Tales of the Jedi, written by Filoni and directed by Ruiz, replacing the novel's role in Star Wars canon.