- What are the Zartarbia Tales?
- Have you written all seven books?
- What inspired you to write the Zartarbia Tales?
- What came first, the illustrations or the story?
- How long does one book take you to write?
- Who is the book aimed at?
- How do you come up with the ideas for your characters?
- Are any of the characters based on real people?
- How do you come up with the names for your characters?
- Did you always want to be a writer?
- Was it difficult to get your books published?
- What is your favourite children's book?
- Do you see yourself as the next JK Rowlings?
WHAT ARE THE ZARTARBIA TALES?
Zartarbia is an ancient and magical world half of which is under the rule of the evil Syndicate (a dangerous organisation of villains based upon the Seven Deadly Sins) and the other half is under the protection of The Federation Against Dark Forces. There are seven books in the series because each book is based on a different sin.
HAVE YOU WRITTEN ALL SEVEN BOOKS?
No, only two books are finished but all seven are planned out and I spent five years collating all my ideas.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THE ZARTARBIA TALES?
After I had my daughter Isabella in 1999, I decided that I wanted to create a series of stories for her and my step daughter Lujzka. I thought a series of books would be a special family heirloom for them, something that hopefully they will enjoy reading to their children one day. Also I wanted to keep the memory of my Great Aunty Cis alive who is one of the characters in the book. There are many other areas of inspiration however, whether film, art or photos. I've spent years collecting various images and ideas that I keep in a huge sketchbook and I constantly use this for reference.
WHAT CAME FIRST, THE ILLUSTRATIONS OR THE STORY?
Generally the illustrations. I find it easier to imagine how the characters would speak and their individual mannerisms if I can look at a drawing of them. However I may do several versions of the same character until I reach an image I am happy with.
HOW LONG DOES ONE BOOK TAKE YOU TO WRITE?
Well as I mentioned above, it took five years to come up with the structure of Zartarbia and the main characters, so the majority of 'ideas' work has been put into place. The actual writing and illustrating of each book takes eight or nine months. You do have to be very disciplined though, for example I will try to write five hours a day during the week and an illustration can take up to three days to create.
WHO IS THE BOOK AIMED AT?
I would say eight years upwards as the books are fairly complex and the language used would be difficult for a younger child to follow. Essentially they are children's books but equally I believe that adults would enjoy them too.
HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEAS FOR YOUR CHARACTERS?
The characters come from all over the place, sometimes people I have met, sometimes I imagine what actors I would like to play the part of the character and other times I take inspiration from films and magazines. Obviously The Syndicate are based on the Seven Deadly Sins - Pride / Mistress Sectica; Gluttony / Oro Cazador; Envy / Tempest Pestencia; Lust / Flores Abunda; Greed / Fingimiento; Wrath / Espectro Underwelt; Sloth / Devin Fortuno. So I looked at each of these sins and started to focus on what character would best represent each of them, for example Espectro is a very angry and violent character who is tattooed with the souls of undead people.
ARE ANY OF THE CHARACTERS BASED ON REAL PEOPLE?
Yes, many of them but in particular Isabella (my daughter), Lujzka (my step daughter) and Aunty Cis (my great aunt).
HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THE NAMES FOR THE CHARACTERS?
I would take various words that I thought described a character the best and then translate them into other languages such as German, Spanish, Italian and French and then see which words I liked the best. For example Espectro Underwelt is Ghost (Spanish) and Underworld (German). With other names I might simply chop up words and re-arrange them like the land of Lethargical (Lethargy - another word for laziness or sloth, which is where Devin Fortuno lives)
DID YOU ALWAYS WANT TO BE A WRITER?
I have always loved the creative arts and my degree was in illustration and film making, so the transition into writing was a natural progression.
WAS IT DIFFICULT TO GET YOUR BOOKS PUBLISHED?
We decided to go down the route of self publishing with a company called Penpress. Self publishing means you pay for X amount of initial books, in our case 200 press review copies. Penpress then pays for subsequent copies to be printed, they also deal with proof reading, editing, book cover design, distribution and marketing. We found that trying to approach 'conventional' publishing houses just wasn't working, as my manuscripts were being sent back unopened, they weren't even bothering to read them which was frustrating. By self-publishing we get a more creative control with the books and the royalties are better though it is hard to earn money as a writer and only a few exceptional children's books authors like JK Rowling and Jaqueline Wilson earn a lot of money.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CHILDREN'S BOOK?
It would have to be Charlie and The Chocolate Factory or indeed anything by Roald Dahl - he was a hugely talented and innovative writer.
DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AS THE NEXT JK ROWLINGS?
No, absolutely not. I admire her but whenever a new children's author comes onto the scene, people immediately try to make comparisons with the Harry Potter series which whilst flattering has no bearing on the content of the book. A book has to stand up in it's own right and no amount of publicity or marketing will sell a book if it's no good. Children in particular are not impressed by journalist's making those types of comparison, they are the most forth right of critics and will make their own minds up, which is how it should be.
