After publishing Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack, one of the most common questions posed to me and my husband/cowriter Dean is: "What is it like to collaborate?" We made this 90 second film hoping to shed more light on that question.
So, does that answer your question? #helpful
We made this movie a couple of years ago for our talk at the SCIBA dinner (So-Cal indie booksellers). We also demonstrated our collaborative process through a Spanish telenovela and interpretive movement, as is our wont. I think it was enlightening--especially for those in attendance who had taken advantage of the open bar. Our dear friend An Dinh shot and edited it. He and his awesome wife Tamiyah make a random appearance. Shout out to Bugsy the Guinea Pig, the true star of this work.
A few weeks ago I posted a review of a new and very exciting graphic novel called
Calamity Jack. This title is a follow on to the Hales' first graphic novel,
Rapunzel's Revenge. The two authors and the illustrator very graciously agreed to do an interview about their new book.
First I talked to Shannon and Dean, the authors:
Marya: Did you know that you would be writing a story about Calamity Jack when you wrote Rapunzel’s Revenge?
SH: Hi Marya! When we pitched RR, we only had a partial script, and Bloomsbury offered us a 2-book deal. At that point, we had to decide, sequel or something entirely new? As we wrote RR, we realized Jack was our guy. Though it’s not told in RR, we created it during that process.
DH: Yeah, I think we knew pretty early the second book would be about Jack, but the story itself took a while to actually come together.
Marya: The adventures in this story combine fantasy, fairytale, and technology. How did you come around to creating such a delightfully bizarre world?
SH: We took things we love and stuffed them all together: fairy tale characters and creatures, steampunk, comic books, capers, action, comedy, romance! Why not? We didn’t want to skimp.
DH: The trick was to not make the story *about* all those cool things. The best thing to carry a story is a character, I think, and once we figure that out, sprinkle in the cool. I did lobby for the bandersnatch to be the main character, but Shannon didn’t think people could relate to it. I had no problems relating, but that’s just me.
SH: The only person I know who could relate to a mute creature with mouths for eyes.
Marya: Jack’s efforts to gain honor, respect, and love seems to lie at the heart of the story. Was this always your intention or did Jack claim this for himself as you were writing?
SH: Jack claimed this himself. While we knew the basics of his story, we didn’t know why. We wrote two completely different stories for Jack before the final, but they fell flat. It was such a relief when his underlying story finally revealed itself.
DH: I think that was all a part of finding his character, finding what it was about him that made him interesting and human. Once that was finally taken care of, I felt a lot more comfortable with the giant ants.
Not long ago I reviewed a superb graphic novel called Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale. Shannon has written many splendid books including Enna Burning, The Princess Academy and The Goose Girl. Now some of the characters whom we met in Rapunzel's Revenge are back in a new graphic novel adventure called Calamity Jack. Here is my review of this new title.
Calamity Jack
Shannon and Dean Hale
Illustrated by Nathan Hale
Graphic Novel
Ages 10 and up
Bloomsbury, 2010, 978-1-59990-076-6
Jack is the kind of fellow who fancies himself to be a bit of a “criminal mastermind.” He tries not to think to much about the wrongness of the things that he does, until they miscarry, which they often do. Then one day Jack decides to take on Blunderboar, a local businessman who just happens to be mean, powerful, and a giant. Blunderboar is a bully, and Jack decides to make him pay for his cruel behavior – by using some magical beans. Jack doesn’t think for a moment that tackling Blunderboar might not be such a good idea.
Unfortunately, Jack’s plan backfires in a big way and Jack has to leave town. He goes out west and he has a fantastic adventure with a girl called Rapunzel. When the adventure is over and Jack is flush with success – and gold eggs – he decides to head back to his home town to redeem himself and help his mother. When he arrives in Shyport, he discovers that the city has changed dramatically, and for the worse.
By combining fairytale, fantasy, and much more, Shannon and Dean Hale have once again created a memorable graphic novel that fans of this genre will greatly enjoy. Nathan Hale’s wonderful illustrations beautifully compliment the gripping and often amusing tale. You can read about Jack’s adventures with Rapunzel in Rapunzel’s Revenge.
Please visit the other bloggers who are participating in the book tour:
Sally Apokedak,
Reading is my Superpower,
firesidemusings.blogspot.com,
Through the Looking Glass Book Review ,
Booking Mama,
Cafe of Dreams,
Becky’s Book Reviews,
The Hungry Readers,
The Friendly Book Book,
My Own Little Corner of the World,
Book Blather,
GreenBeanTeenQueen,
Book Crumbs ,
Abby (the) Librarian,
Dolce Bellezza,
I really enjoyed this book! It was my first read by the Hale's and now I intend on reading the others!