The Hex Girls: A Rogue Thorn Pre-Order Surprise Revealed

6/10/2025

Back on May 19, it was announced that The Hex Girls: A Rogue Thorn would have a special surprise in store for people who pre-ordered the book. Yesterday on Instagram, the book's author Lily Meade revealed what this surprise will be. Anyone who pre-orders a copy of the book will receive an exclusive virtual invite to an event of Lily's, titled From Fandom to Fans of Your Own. This presentation will talk about the history of fanfiction, the skills writing fanfiction teaches, and how you can use those skills to improve your own writing. Pre-order receipts can be submitted at lily.la/preorder to get a ticket to this virtual event.

In addition, anybody who pre-orders the book from Lily's local independent bookstore, Grit City Books, will come signed by Lily herself. In addition, any book ordered from that store will come with an exclusive art print of Thorn drawn by @nicole.deal.art on Instagram.

As previously announced, the book will be released on August 26.

Update 6/20: Lily has shared some additional details on Instagram about the event that you get free tickets to if you pre-order the book. The event will be on Saturday, July 12 at 2:00pm. The event is being held at South Hill Library in Spokane, WA, but the event can be attended either in-person or virtually. You must pre-order the book and submit your receipt at lily.la/preorder by July 12 in order to get your tickets.

25 Comments

Spooky Space Ghost

6/11/2025 05:57:16 pm

It's quite rare for Scooby-Doo novels to be published. Usually, they're mostly children's stories. I'm quite excited to see how the author took on this difficult challenge. However, I'm seriously questioning whether I should read it or not. I'm afraid that my vision of the Scooby-Doo universe will be deconstructed.

I've always seen the world of Scooby-Doo as much more peaceful and joyful than ours. First, I started with the logical, but somewhat bizarre, assumption that we don't live in the same world as the characters in the franchise (unless one of you plans to spend his summer vacation on Moonscar Island, ha ha). Second, I analyze the series' environment solely based on what we're shown. I avoid inferences.

Frankly, if monsters represent the most dangerous elements in the episodes, it means that the Scooby-Doo universe is much more peaceful than ours! All the flaws of our planet are absent from Hanna-Barbera cartoons: drugs, violence, bombings, racism, sexism…

Over time, I've become very attached to this vision of the Scooby-Doo world. While we'll be treated to climate change and violent conflicts (sorry to write about this, it's really depressing…), I think the future in the Scooby-Doo universe will be similar to life in The Jetsons, where everyone gets along pretty well (if you ignore Spacely and Cogswell). I think that's why I have a hard time watching anything other than cartoons.

Most Scooby-Doo series, such as Where Are You, The New Scooby-Doo Movies, or What's New, fit this line of reasoning quite well. Only the monsters pose a significant threat to the gang's daily life. Of course, there's often a secondary issue, such as the holding of an event, but it's the monsters that seriously harm the gang.

Furthermore, the members of Mystery Inc. have never truly split up. They've always worked together in perfect harmony. This is understandable, since mystery leaves very little space for deep exploration of individual personalities. We only discover a few of their interests.

Then, I began to find flaws in my vision of this perfect world. Mystery Incorporated is an excellent counterexample to my reasoning. The monsters are violent in a way I haven't observed in any other Scooby-Doo series. While most monsters only try to frighten the gang and the citizens, the monsters in Mystery Incorporated destroy everything in their path! I'll just name the Man-Crab from Revenge of the Man-Crab, but there are several others. The story is also much darker. This is quite enjoyable, but some events are difficult for me to digest, particularly the betrayal of a secondary character in the last episode of the first season. I was very attached to him… These situations are rare in the revival era, even if the stories are darker too.

Furthermore, this series introduces us for the first time to the deep personalities of the main characters. The problem is that the gang members don't pursue the same goals in their daily lives. These divergent goals sometimes hinder Mystery Inc.'s teamwork. The breakup between Shaggy and Velma and the resulting division within the group is a classic example, but there's also the relationship between Shaggy and Scooby, essential to the entire franchise, which is impacted, and, on other occasions, the relationship between Fred and Daphne, who struggles to stand out.

In short, Mystery Incorporated aims to be a series that leans more towards realism, a little too much for my taste. Watching season 1, I felt like I was watching a Netflix series with actors placed in our world, not Scooby-Doo's. I find myself being really harsh on Mystery Incorporated, even though I completely agree that it's a great Scooby-Doo series. There must be something I missed...

Judging by the cover of Lily Meade's book and the context of her story, I think we'll find an atmosphere similar to that of Mystery Incorporated throughout these pages. I'm having trouble understanding the appeal of an adult story featuring Scooby-Doo characters. I'm afraid I'll learn things that will further challenge my conception of the franchise's universe ( I also discovered in the episode Scooby Dude that drugs exist in Scooby's world). Murders in a Scooby-Doo book... At school, we just finished reading The Outsiders, and I don't really feel ready to embark on another mature story.

I still wish Lily Meade the best of luck with her book. Personally, I'll think twice before buying it, but I hope those who read it enjoy it !

WildwindVampire link

6/12/2025 09:25:55 am

I enjoyed reading your analysis of the Scooby universe! Totally agreed that Scooby's world is a lot more peaceful than ours. I like your theory about the future of Scooby being like the Jetsons. Given the Scooby gang met the Jetsons in one of the comics, I could totally see it happening that way!

Yeah, Mystery Incorporated is definitely a lot more dark and gritty than the other series. I think it totally makes sense that you don't enjoy that series as much! We all have our own tastes of what we enjoy seeing in Scooby, so even if the series appeals to a lot of people, I think there are definitely some people who enjoy the franchise having a more classic tone. Personally I like how Mystery Incorporated explored the franchise from a different lens, but wasn't a fan of how the relationship drama (especially between Velma and Shaggy) would sometimes overshadow the episodes and take away time from the mystery.

Sppoky Space Ghost

6/12/2025 06:10:25 pm

Yes, I read this story along with Scooby and the Jetsons! I loved that the story where Mystery Inc. meets the Flintstones continued this way.

It's interesting, since Scooby-Doo and The Jetsons are two shows with quite different tones. While Scooby-Doo is more of an adventure and mystery series, The Jetsons has a much less dark tone, making it an excellent family show that, thanks to the age difference between its characters, reaches a wider audience.

Nevertheless, I found the Scooby-Jetsons marriage to be very successful. I really enjoyed the beginning of the story, where Shaggy says, "Like, get us off this crazy thing!" It's a nice reference to The Jetsons universe.

Also, despite the large number of characters, I was pleased to see that everyone felt their place. Even Mr. Spacely was able to be integrated into the story. Seeing Daphne stand up to him was particularly amusing!

All in all, an excellent story. It's a shame we didn't get to see this encounter on our screens, a bit like The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones. It would be a great commercial for Warner Bros., though. Scooby-Doo is still very popular, and it would introduce younger audiences to other Hanna-Barbera stars.

Also, regarding Lily Meade's novel, I did some research to get other people's general opinions and to learn more about the author. By visiting the publisher's website and the book's page, I found a quiz that allows you to determine which character in the story you are.

I don't know if you've seen this quiz before, but I thought it was a good way to discover the personalities we'll meet in the book. First, I answer according to what I think (I had Velma. I like her a lot, but I've never understood why she's the one I'm most often associated with. I'm not as smart as she is, and even less of a science enthusiast.)

Then, I redo the quiz, entering random answers to establish profiles of the other characters in the book. Using this system, I came across Daphne, described as the heart of Mystery Inc.; Luna, always ready to help her friends; and Dusk, who firmly stands by her beliefs.

This gave me a good taste of the book. I'm still hesitant to read it, but it's not coming out right away. I have time to think about it.

Tomorrow, if I'm not mistaken, is the day you publish your analysis or a ranking. It won't be easy to answer because your analyses are extremely in-depth and detailed : )

WildwindVampire link

6/12/2025 07:15:07 pm

I really liked the crossover too! Yeah, Daphne standing up to Mr. Spacely was a cool moment haha. Even though I'm ready to take a break from the crossovers after how many we've gotten recently, I would love to see an episode or film where Scooby crossed over with The Jetsons or The Flintstones! I'm also a fan of both of those series, so seeing them crossover with Scooby would be amazing!

I hadn't seen that quiz before, but I just took it and also got Velma! https://ibb.co/8nj1xpRh I tried to retake it and get all the other characters just to see what the description said, and I was able to get everyone but Luna. I tried to pick answers that seemed Luna-ish to me, but I just kept getting Velma lol. Here are all the others:

https://ibb.co/7BJMZ0f
https://ibb.co/S46qVBfL
https://ibb.co/3Yc5n2m3
https://ibb.co/xSfjTvRr
https://ibb.co/GvQndwbY
https://ibb.co/PGjbsvJZ

I actually don't have any other posts planned for tomorrow or the rest of the week, unless there happens to be some Scooby news! You did a good job at figuring out my pattern though haha. I published an article every Friday of last month, but typically, I just publish a ranking/analysis article on the first Friday of each month. If I happen to think of another idea I want to write about before then, I may publish another one on a Friday, but for now my plan is to publish another next month! Although I haven't decided if it will be first or second Friday, since the first Friday of the month is a holiday weekend in the US where I live and I may be traveling. Sorry about that, but so glad you like the articles so much! :)

Spooky Space Ghost

6/12/2025 07:42:25 pm

Thanks so much for the photos! I imagine it must have been difficult to get all these results, especially because the last two questions are a bit too easy to point us towards one character.
And of course, I'm glad you got Velma too :)
It's okay that there won't be any posts tomorrow. I'm going to have a busy weekend and I'm going to focus on my studies. I guess, if my predictions are correct, ha ha, the next meeting and the Sunday poll will be! See you next time!

WildwindVampire link

6/13/2025 09:14:19 am

Haha it did take me a little while to get all of those! Maybe if I have the time again, I'll try to get a screenshot of Luna. Hope you have a great weekend!

Logan Dockery link

6/11/2025 11:23:13 pm

One of these days we gotta see more Scooby Doo content coming out nowadays

WildwindVampire link

6/12/2025 09:26:39 am

Hopefully we'll get another announcement about one of the two new series (or Gremlins Getaway) soon!

Logan Dockery link

6/12/2025 07:59:25 pm

I hope so too

Shadowscooby

6/13/2025 10:48:07 am

I feel like with David Zaslav being the CEO of Warner Bros we probably won’t get any new Scooby content for a while.

WildwindVampire link

6/13/2025 11:12:04 am

Yeah, I worry about that too and feel like you're probably right. My guess would be that we'll get the new series sometime next year. I'm not sure on Gremlins Getaway. I would love to see it come out this year, but Zaslav has said he thinks direct-to-video movies are a waste of money, so I definitely worry that he'll write that one off for taxes too. I hope I'm wrong, though!

Logan Dockery link

6/14/2025 08:45:24 am

That is a damnable lie

Logan Dockery link

6/14/2025 08:44:53 am

Crap

Michael Kenchington

6/20/2025 11:12:27 pm

What? David Zaslav (Warner Bros. Discovery CEO)?

That stupid idiot, he's really gone too far this time. I am so angry and furious that he has cancelled so many WB projects due to the tax write-offs.

I rather think about "Wacky Races", "Scooby-Doo", "Thomas & Friends" (1984-2021), "The Pink Panther", "Sonic the Hedgehog", "Super Mario", "Thunderbirds", "Captain Scarlet", and things that i still like.

Thomas Beaumont

6/13/2025 12:30:48 pm

Hi blog snax, how are you!!! It’s not been a minute hasn’t it, missed commenting on your brilliant blog!!! This the best news for contend in my opinion , if it’s just me , best Scooby doo blog ever, looks like no news this year , what a bummer we still have tomorrow tho but again eh very slim. Looks like we might have two series next year?? Again do you think we will still get live action series or will it be cancelled?,
Please tell me your thoughts and been very busy, so not be ignoring,
Best wishes,
Thomas Beaumont.

WildwindVampire link

6/13/2025 01:39:23 pm

Hey Thomas! Good to hear from you again! Thank you so much for the kind words! Yeah, the news has been really light this year unfortunately. The shakeup with the WB-Discovery merger has gone on so much longer than I thought it would. I'm hoping we get the two new series soon (I'd guess next year like I said in my response to Shadowscooby in the above comment, but idk). I'm pretty sure we'll get the live-action series and Go Go Mystery Machine! Not super sure about Gremlins Getaway, since it's a DTV and Zaslav has unfortunately made comments that he doesn't think they're profitable, but I hope I'm wrong on that. I would honestly say the live-action series is the least likely to be cancelled of the three, since it's with Netflix and not being directly released onto Max or DVD. And no worries about not commenting in a while or anything, you should feel free to comment however often you'd like. :)

Logan Dockery link

6/14/2025 08:46:20 am

That is bullshit of course DTV films sell like hotcakes

Spooky Space Ghost

6/13/2025 08:26:21 pm

Got it! I managed to get Luna on the quiz! I don't know how to share a screenshot on the blog, but I added the answers to the questions and Luna's profile description in this comment. I hope you enjoy it :)
1. Try something new
2. Witches
3. Blessed with wisdom
4. Form a plan
5. Magnifying glass
6. Daphne
7. Luna
“You are calm but confident. You lead with unbiased clarity, doing your best to keep things fair even among differing bold opinions. You might seem reserved, but you care deeply. Once people get to know you, it's like you're a whole different person.”

WildwindVampire link

6/14/2025 09:30:33 am

That's awesome! Thank you so much for telling me how to get Luna! :) I chose those answers and got her as well.

https://i.ibb.co/Qybfry6/

If you're ever wanting to share a screenshot on here in the future, I just use an image hosting site and upload the photo, and then copy/paste the link on here. I use ibb.co, but picasion.com is also a good one. :)

Spooky Space Ghost

6/14/2025 12:35:32 pm

You're welcome, it was my pleasure! Thanks also for sharing the photo and the way to share pictures on the blog!

For my part, in my free time, I'm working on a Scooby-Doo movie analysis project that we could do on the blog during the summer.
I have no idea if this project is feasible or even enjoyable for everyone on the blog, so I'd like your opinion on it. I'm not completely finished yet, but I'll briefly explain the concept.

Usually, when people rank movies, they focus mainly on the two extremes: the best of the best and the worst of the worst.
Between these two extremes, there are several films that, even if they aren't among the best, have many strong points.

Unfortunately, there are so many of these films that it's sometimes difficult to remember all their appeal.

So, I thought that over the summer, we could write and publish analyses of the mid-Scooby-Doo films. Similar to your reviews of the later films in the franchise, these analyses would allow us to explore films that are a little less well-known than those from the revival era or 1987-1988. We could highlight the overall characteristics of these films, such as the mystery, the atmosphere, and the supporting characters. Thus, at the end of this project (if we do it, of course), we could identify clearlier what separates an average Scooby-Doo film from a great one.

It would be great if everyone on the blog could participate and discuss a film that he appreciates.

I've compiled a list of films in the franchise whose ranking is debatable. To compile this list, I relied on your own list and those of others on the blog. Based on these rankings, I excluded the worst films (Return to Zombie Island, Curse of the 13th Ghost) and the best (Zombie Island, Ghoul School). I also removed recent films that you have already reviewed. Here's my preliminary list:
• Scooby-Doo Goes Hollywood
• Scooby-Doo (live action)
• Legend of the Vampire
• Monster of Mexico
• Monsters Unleashed
• Loch Ness Monster
• Where's My Mummy
• Aloha
• Pirates Ahoy
• Chill Out
• Goblin King
• The Mystery Begins
• Abracadabra-Doo
• Legend of the Phantosaur
• Big Top
• Mask of the Blue Falcon
• Stage Fright
• Frankencreepy
• WrestleMania Mystery
• Curse of the Speed Demon
• Shaggy's Showdown

I think if everyone picked a movie from this list (we might need to add more), we could really have a rich dialogue! As for me, if we go ahead, I'll probably go with Abracadabra-Doo since it's my favorite film in the franchise (it's a funny preference, but I've had a lot of spoilers for the surprises in the revival-era films on the Warner Bros. YouTube channel).

I hope you found this interesting. Honestly, I have no idea what this project will actually contribute. I'm new to the blog too, and it might be a little too early to be proposing ideas like this. I'd just like to get your opinion and see if it's feasible. Feel free to critique this project, since the fun facts and descriptions that accompany the films in your ranking are enough to get to know them better. Maybe you've even already analyzed all of these films. I simply searched for the keyword "review."

I'll stop there. After all, I wouldn't want you to miss the parade in Washington, haha :)

WildwindVampire link

6/14/2025 08:41:56 pm

This is a neat idea! From your list, I'd probably pick Legend of the Vampire as my favorite. I think the film does a great job reimagining the classic Where Are You tone! The atmosphere definitely feels a little different and scarier than SDWAY did, but it really works well and helps to supplement the classic-feeling elements, so that it feels fresh rather than bland like many Guess Who episodes did. The villains were also awesome! The Yowie Yahoo's design was really cool and gave us a more nightmarish version of a vampire than we'd ever seen previously in the franchise. And of course, I obviously also liked Wildwind a lot as villains, considering my username lol. The Hex Girls also were an amazing addition to this film! I also liked how strong and well-developed each of the side characters is in this film. It feels like we really get to know most of them pretty well throughout the course of the film, which made figuring out the mystery even more interesting.

Of the rest of the list you gave, ones that stand out as favorites of mine are Scooby Goes Hollywood (I love how unique this one is!), Monster of Mexico, Where's My Mummy, Pirates Ahoy, Goblin King, Abracadabra Doo and Shaggy's Showdown. All of them are really solid Scooby films with very strong atmospheres and excellent mysteries imo.

And btw, you're welcome to share if you have an idea even if you've been only been commenting here for a short period! I always appreciate talking with all Scooby fans, and never think of anyone's comments as more valid than others just because they've been here longer or anything like that. So you're welcome to share whenever you have suggestions or things you'd like to get people's opinions on!

scoobydoobs

6/14/2025 10:16:09 am

did you kno about this???? https://www.reddit.com/r/Scoobydoo/comments/1l9w7zy/i_was_hired_by_cartoon_network_to_recreate_some/?%24deep_link=true&correlation_id=8ff51187-1587-49d2-982b-8fccd6d12a11&post_fullname=t3_1l9w7zy&post_index=0&ref=email_digest&ref_campaign=email_digest&ref_source=email&utm_content=post_title&utm_medium=Email%20Amazon%20SES&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA21Qy07DMBD8mvTWliR9pEgVQkLcOPUDVo69SVd1vNF6o1AOfDtbCpyQbGs049kZ%2B6w65sf1WjAE0pUbx1WkdFnX41NRberxiODywiAL9ZRchEni8XxzFfVzUb3amud59eP3PBghtk%2Beub0GZsPGDpg0GyzjYd5%2FXA0RzC7DmcwJ7RW8E2VOkFBnlgsog6AXdIqQecBbVG1p22oTEEe4tSzqF5XJpJ1nEYxOySZQML7pum1ZNvtlubVjcwjV8tBU7bLpvA%2B7UFauLM03clbophiTswgbV8Nfw7tIKeC7KQ9GCHaGcHAUIVCPWe%2BklR9GR336X808icdfzchJB%2FCc1P7E2O8YJY24%2BLTrKEKph1Z4zijHN24p2hMfTq5zQl9zpLMtsAEAAA%3D%3D&%243p=e_as&_branch_match_id=1311685045532878403

WildwindVampire link

6/14/2025 08:48:41 pm

This is really neat! Thank you for sharing! I probably can't use the photos directly, unfortunately. There have been a couple issues over the years with using concept art stuff like this, including one recently with Holiday Haunt where I was asked to take down my post, so lately I've been rethinking how to handle that sort of thing on the blog :) I think the Reddit post itself though would make a neat fun fact! I've already promised this Monday to someone else who suggested another one, and have one written already for the 23rd, but I can post this on the 30th! And of course I'll credit you for coming up with the fun fact! :) Thank you again for sharing this!

Btw, I totally approve of the person's potentially Fantzee Pants- inspired username on that post lol.

scoobydoobs

6/18/2025 09:36:11 am

they posted another one https://www.reddit.com/r/Scoobydoo/comments/1ldsjor/i_was_hired_by_cartoon_network_games_to/?%24deep_link=true&correlation_id=b1e5ed4b-4337-4e09-a1cc-e307d5e67d1d&post_fullname=t3_1ldsjor&post_index=0&ref=email_digest&ref_campaign=email_digest&ref_source=email&utm_content=post_title&utm_medium=Email%20Amazon%20SES&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA22QwU7DMAyGn6a7deuabhNIE0JC3DjtAaw08TqzNI6cVGUXnh2XASekRPr1%2Ff5tJ5dSUn7cbAS9p7K2Ka0DxevGpKeq7Uw6Iti8UslCA0UbYJJwvCypyjxX7aueeZ7XP3nHowLRe3LM%2Fc0zq1Y6YixZ5Tb4%2FM5LAcFsM1xIk9DfwFkpzBEilpnlCoMdMUNZ4pXRKbu284gJlu0q81JkwqrdOxbBYAtpkrzyfos79F1fd8Yc6g6bh9punavRNAe%2Fw%2F3Bb73mEucC5ymEqGOWdgb%2BNrubFD1%2BqNMoEDyrwtFSAE8D5nKHuvSYLA3xfzfzJA5%2FPYVTGcFxLPoXSr%2FHFCoBV59ajiIUB%2BiF54xyfOOegj6xOdmzFfoCVhLmQ6gBAAA%3D&%243p=e_as&_branch_match_id=1463891807744237710

WildwindVampire link

6/18/2025 11:35:48 am

Aww these are cute! Thanks for the update! I'll add that to the post I already drafted up.

Also, I'd mentioned I'd post this on the 30th, but thinking about it more, I'm going to post this one next week since it fits really well with the poll we'll do on Sunday. The person who wrote the fact I'd originally planned to publish next week (me) will just have to be patient to have their fact published on the 30th lol. :)

The Hex Girls: A Rogue Thorn Pre-Order Surprise Revealed

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