PART ONE: (WHERE’S
THE NEW BOOK, YA LAZY BUM?)
It’s been a long time since I’ve offered detailed information
on my writing career. I'm often asked for updates, so I decided it might be time to revive my abandoned blog and put it to good use.
After publication of The Murk, I began work on a supernatural
middle-grade mystery. (It took me forever to think of a title, so as I was
writing I referred to it simply as “that cat book”.) The story had a fun, easy
flow and I made it to roughly fifty-five thousand words before coming to an
abrupt halt. So what happened?
I’m going to get political here, and if that bothers you,
feel free to skip the yellow text. It won’t hurt my feelings.
Simply put, Trump happened. Sometime in late November of 2015, I
was watching a television broadcast of our current president, then candidate Donald
J Trump, at a campaign rally. He was speaking in my home town of Myrtle Beach,
SC, at a venue less than three miles away, when he mocked the physical
disability of Serge Kovaleski, a journalist who suffers from arthrogryposis, a
condition that causes joint contracture on his arm and hand.
For days after, I thought about how a child with a disability would feel watching a huge crowd of people roaring with laughter in reaction to such a shameful, cruel display by a man who would then go on to become president. It bothered me. A lot. (Note: I’m really not interested in debating Trump supporters on whether or not his wild, flailing gestures were misrepresented by the media. Setting that moment aside, the fact remains that Trump’s first three budget proposals stripped all funding for The Special Olympics and funding was only restored because of bi-partisan outcry. Additionally, when it comes to the disability community, this administration has proven to be the least generous of any in my lifetime).
For days after, I thought about how a child with a disability would feel watching a huge crowd of people roaring with laughter in reaction to such a shameful, cruel display by a man who would then go on to become president. It bothered me. A lot. (Note: I’m really not interested in debating Trump supporters on whether or not his wild, flailing gestures were misrepresented by the media. Setting that moment aside, the fact remains that Trump’s first three budget proposals stripped all funding for The Special Olympics and funding was only restored because of bi-partisan outcry. Additionally, when it comes to the disability community, this administration has proven to be the least generous of any in my lifetime).
After a few days of internal deliberation, I set “that cat
book” aside and started on a new story featuring a main character and supporting characters living with disabilities.
The stats are bleak: disabled people are one of the least represented minority groups in all of kid lit. A 2017 survey tallied in early November of that year revealed that only two out of 698 children’s picture books published by US publishers featured a disabled child as the main character. A measly 0.0028%! To increase my own understanding of the problem, I compiled a reading list of books featuring disabled characters and found that while many stories portrayed them as inspirational heroes—a wonderful thing—I found pitiful few examples of kids with physical disabilities written as action heroes. I felt determined to change that.
The stats are bleak: disabled people are one of the least represented minority groups in all of kid lit. A 2017 survey tallied in early November of that year revealed that only two out of 698 children’s picture books published by US publishers featured a disabled child as the main character. A measly 0.0028%! To increase my own understanding of the problem, I compiled a reading list of books featuring disabled characters and found that while many stories portrayed them as inspirational heroes—a wonderful thing—I found pitiful few examples of kids with physical disabilities written as action heroes. I felt determined to change that.
So what’s happening with the book now? I finished the first draft in July, and I’m currently working on a series of edits requested by my agent.
Hopefully we’ll be on submission sometime before the end of the year. I
realize, of course, that in the grand scheme of things, it’s unlikely my little
book, if published, will be the catalyst that opens a floodgate of badly needed
representation. But if one child living with a disability finds something of
value in my story, that’s really all that matters.
As for the story itself, I can’t reveal many details, other
than to say it’s a love letter to Steven Spielberg films, heavily
influenced by Jurassic Park, E.T., The Goonies, Gremlins, Super 8, and even
Jaws. And if you like Stranger Things, there’s some of that in there for you
too.
Before switching topics, I’d like to take a moment to boost a
few middle-grade authors with disabilities who are producing important children’s
books featuring disabled characters.
CECE BELL – EL DEAFO
MELISSA SHANG – MIA LEE IS WHEELING THROUGH MIDDLE SCHOOL
LYN MILLER-LACHMANN –
ROGUE
PART TWO (THE
NEVERENDING STORY THAT ENDED, SORT OF)
In addition to my solo book, this year I had the good fortune
to work on a dream project that sadly died on the vine (something that happens
a lot in publishing.)
As a kid, the film version of the Neverending Story made a
huge impact on my budding imagination, and even though its production values
have dimmed over time, I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the movie
and its cast.
This year I spent several months developing a sequel to the original book version of the Neverending Story (written by the late Michael Ende) with co-author, Tami Stronach whom some of you may know better as the actress who played The Childlike Empress in the movie.
After her debut in the Neverending Story, Tami grew up and founded two companies, Paper Canoe, a children's theater production company, and Tami Stonach Dance Studio. She's recently started acting again and has a featured role opposite Lauren Holly in the new independent film Ultra Low.
In our sequel, the daughter of Bastian (the main character in Ende’s book) journeys to Fantasia to face a grave new threat. Tami and I had a blast plotting and creating new characters. The story we came up with felt to me like the definitive sequel to Ende’s original work. I’m disappointed we won’t get to share it, because unfortunately, when my agent approached the Ende estate with our pitch, the late author's representative declined our request to use the rights. He cited the possibility of a new film and other projects that may conflict with our storyline. We knew going in there was a high chance we might not get the greenlight, but that’s the risk you take sometimes for passion projects. Ende’s representative did invite Tami to work on future estate-sanctioned endeavors, so our team didn’t suffer a total loss.
Tami and I decided to continue our partnership and we’re
currently in the brainstorming-via-Skype stage of a new, original story. As soon
as my solo book is completed, I plan to jump on our project full-time.
While working on the Neverending Story sequel, I whipped up
some conceptual art to present to Ende’s estate, which I’m now free to share
here with with you.
That’s about all the news that’s fit to report. Well, that plus I’m getting old and need to wear glasses when I write now. Blah.
