Skip to main content
Olly & the Spores Book Series

Olly & the Spores Book Series

An award-winning kidult fiction book series for children, young adults and adults.

Olly Appleton thought he had learned all of his grandfather’s secrets, the ones his grandfather died protecting. Those secrets involved hand-drawn maps, special keys, hidden tunnels, and the Spores—friendly and fantastical mushroom creatures living under his home on Oak Hill. With his friend Ember by his side, Olly learns of another secret. Other Spore communities are being built around the country in towns that share the name Littleton.

Fiction: Olly & the Spores of Oak Hill

Book One: Olly & the Spores of Oak Hill

Available in paperback, hardcover, ebook, and now on audiobook.

 Get the Audiobook  Where to Buy  Limited-edition Copies

When Oliver (Olly) Appleton’s grandfather dies in a suspicious accident, his family decides to move to Littleton, Massachusetts, to care for the family estate. Once there, they discover they need to protect their land from a greedy mall developer, Henry Dalton.

Sitting atop Oak Hill, the estate sits in an enchanted wooded sanctuary known for unusual activities and superstitions involving mythical creatures – rumors passed down since the Nipmuc people roamed the land.

When Olly and his new friend, Ember, run into trouble with school bullies, the creatures known as Spores step in to protect them. Through their adventures, Olly and Ember build friendships with members of the Spore community and discover a common goal. They must work together quickly to protect Oak Hill from Henry Dalton or lose their homes forever.

Fiction: Olly & the Spores of Sapphire Creek

Book Two: Olly & the Spores of Sapphire Creek

Available in paperback and ebook.

 Where to Buy  Limited-edition Copies

Olly Appleton thought he had learned all of his grandfather’s secrets, the ones his grandfather died protecting. Those secrets involved hand-drawn maps, special keys, hidden tunnels, and the Spores—friendly and fantastical mushroom creatures living under his home on Oak Hill.

With his friend Ember by his side, Olly learns of another secret. Other Spore communities are being built around the country in towns that share the name Littleton. The latest community is Sapphire Creek, an abandoned gold mine his grandfather purchased outside Littleton, Colorado. When Olly’s parents plan a surprise trip to visit the property, he and Em decide to share all of the secrets with their families at a special feast in the Spores’ Grand Cavern on Christmas Eve.

And when Sapphire Creek comes under attack, Olly and Ember once again team up with their Spore friends—and some unlikely friends—to defend the community without exposing their secrets to the outside world.

Speaker Glenn Somodi

Need a Fun & Interactive Speaker for Middle Grade Students

Now Presenting: Puffballs, Talking Plants & Zombie Ants

Want to offer your students an hour-long presentation that is entertaining, interactive, and educational? The presentation includes fun (and gross) nature videos, use of a PlantWave device to connect plants to a music synthesizer, group brainstorming exercises, and ends with the students helping to write our own story using the rollercoaster technique. It’s an eye-opening, fun, and interactive presentation.

Possible Topics include: How to find your inspiration, generate ideas, use your imagination, and invent your own story; Ways to find inspiration & generate ideas; How to write and self-publish a book at almost any age; Find writing cues from the world around you-the magic of mushrooms and nature

 Learn More

Music to read to...


Subscribe! Get book news and you might win monthly giveaways...

* indicates required


Author: Glenn Somodi

About the Author

Glenn Somodi is an American author who writes his stories in the short space between lying down and dreaming. The stories are written over many nights, replayed, and rewritten in his head for enjoyment. His mission is to find anyone who enjoys reading the stories as much as he enjoys creating them.

He is a proud graduate of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. His paying job is as a partner at EYEMG.com, LLC in Akron, Ohio, a website development company.

He was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, raised by a schoolteacher and a mechanical engineer in Olmsted Falls, Ohio, and has resided in Brunswick, Ohio, for most of his adult life.

He has a patient wife whom he met at Ohio University in 1989. He also has three beautiful children that are his favorite creations. His coworkers include three cats and a dog – a Siamese tabby named Nala, a Chantilly-Tiffany cat named Coco, a Maine Coon named Josie, and the loudest coworker is Beckham, a Yorkshire Terrier. All five share office space for the entire workday.

Olly and the Spores of Oak Hill is the first book of a series of adventures for our main characters, Olly, Ember, and their best Spore friends, Cremini, Bella, Truffle, and Magpie.

About Glenn Somodi On GoodReads