The BryonySeries world of phantasmic books has several subseries, one of them being The Adventures of Cornell Dyer.
These are short chapter books for ages eight and up about a supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer, who travels around the country in his motor home solving supernatural mysteries. He also really likes food (especially junk food), is good at "persuading" clients to clean his motor home and wash his backed-up laundry, and insists people call him "Professor."
The series has two taglines, invented by Timothy.
"Join the incredible, impossible,
and marvelous Cornell Dyer as he unravels mysteries, untangles myths, and
decides what to have for lunch."
Or "the greater the mystery, the bigger the lunch."
But how did Cornell Dyer come to be?
Cornell first appeared as a man in his fifties in the latter part of of his sleuthing career in "Visage," the second book in the BryonySeries youing adult vampire trilogy.
The reader's first impression of Cornell comes from his wife Katie's description of him in a conversation with her former high school friend Melissa, who has just graduated from college.
“Believe it or not, my parents are
letting us keep the motor home in the back yard.”
“You’re kidding!”
“Nope. They seemed pretty upset
about it at first, but they changed their minds when they saw how happy I am.”
“Are you happy?”
“Of course, silly. I can’t wait for
you guys to meet my husband. I’m sure he will have lots in common with John.
Cornell’s a professor, too.”
“He is?” Melissa wondered if Julie
had not given her prejudiced information about Katie’s situation. “What kind of
professor?”
“He’s a professor of the esoteric.”
“The what!”
“The esoteric. You know, the
occult.”
“I know what esoteric means,”
Melissa said, losing patience with her old friend. “Katie, you can’t be
serious.”
Katie giggled. “I sure am. Not only
is he smart, he’s very compassionate, which is why we travel around the
country. That’s all Cornell does is help people, kind of like an old-fashioned
medicine man. He goes from place to place teaching people about the mystical
world they can’t see and fixing their problems.”
This last statement did it for Melissa. “He solves their problems? For free?”
“Big problems, little problems; it doesn’t matter to Cornell. He just likes doing good for people. Sometimes all a person needs is a charm to get that job promotion, but other times the problem is more serious, like when an evil spirit haunts a house. Cornell will go in there and get rid of it.”
And Cornell advertises his business directly on the motor home:
Amateurish paintings of astrologic symbols, hexagrams, and magic wands covered the motor home’s white exterior. A sign painted across one side read: The Thaumaturgical World of Professor Cornell Dyer: Amulets, Fortune-Telling (with and without cards), Ghost-Hunting, Horoscopes, Numerology, Palm-Reading, Potions, Séances, Spells, and Vampire-Slaying.
Cornell Dyer was such a fun character that I partnered with Timothy and Sue Midlock to respectively create stories concepts and art (cover art, chapter heading art, and branding logo) for the BryonySeries subseries The Adventures of Cornell Dyer.
These short chapter books for ages eight and up share some of Cornell's adventures as he solves one mystery at a time (all before Cornell's time in "Visage").
Although Timothy is the storytelling consultant, Rebekah stepped into that role for one book ("Mistical" Being), which was actually the prototype for the rest of this subseries.
Here are the published titles (so far). Timothy presented me with a list of fifty or so a few years ago, so we won't run out of ideas anytime soon.
Cornell Dyer and the Missing Tombstone
A tombstone with a Viking helmet engraving vanishes. Mysterious brown-outs plague a seacoast village. Supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer is certain the historical society leader knows more than he is telling.
Will Cornell learn the secrets and stop the curse?
Cornell Dyer and the Necklace of Forgetfulness
A heartbroken lover wants to forget. Supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer desperately tries to solve a mystery as his memory vanishes. Meanwhile, he keeps showing up at places he's certain are clues but can't recall how or why he arrived.
In this "back to front" story, Cornell races his fading mind to save the day - but which will win?
Cornell Dyer and the Eerie Lake
A cry for help. A glowing green ball. An old tired town with a mysterious old dump. A tale of heartbreak. Before supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer can figure out the questions, one man disappears and another dies.
To find the answers, Cornell must cross the lake - but all who tried never came back. Will Cornell survive and solve the mystery?
Cornell Dyer and the Never Robbers
Cornell is certain soot, a tire swing, and his first unsolved case are somehow connected. But will he solve the mystery before he fades from memory?
Cornell Dyer and the Flu
It’s Christmas Eve and a very sick Cornell Dyer is stuck in the hospital, frustrated because he can’t find the vending machine and because he’s too sick to solve his latest supernatural mystery.
Another patient tries to help Cornell, not with food and medicine, but with a journey into realms Cornell doesn’t want to go.
Cornell Dyer and the Whispering Wardrobe
While investigating a home with mysterious whispers, supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer stumbles upon its source: an antique wardrobe in a room all by itself. But when Cornell steps inside, he discovers the wardrobe is more than a wardrobe and a whisper is more than a whisper.
Even if Cornell solves the mystery, will he ever go home?
Cornell Dyer and the Old Folks Home
Cornell Dyer needs a break from solving supernatural mysteries. So he heads to Paradise Falls for a well-deserved vacation at a beach resort, where he meets another sleuth as skilled as he. But dark secrets can lurk even in a sunny paradise, secrets the tanned and energetic natives don’t want him to know.
It takes two to solve the mystery – but will the sleuthing team live that long?
Cornell Dyer and the "Mistical" Being
When asked to banish ghosts in a backyard lake, supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer encounters one mystery after another: a ghostly mist with eyes, a ghost town, and a town that keeps changing its name.
Delving into each one will change Cornell's life. Is he ready?
Cornell Dyer and the Calcium Deficient Bones
When supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer finds himself between sleuthing jobs, he fills the time by teaching science while the real teacher is ill. But in a school that’s supposedly getting remodeled, Cornell encounters one mystery after another: vanishing classroom skeletons, plants that come and go, and a piano for every student.
Cornell is certain his classroom holds the answer – and that he is one of the clues.
Cornell Dyer and the Howls of Basketville
Howls. Shadows. Disappearances.
Something is roaming the run-down town of Basketville, Michigan, and Detective Sherman Homes is struggling to connect the dots. So he asks supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer for help - but the mystery bites back.
Brains or beast: which will win?
Cornell Dyer and the House of Horreur (Available late 2025 or early 2026.
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