Author Interview with BookView Reviews
December 11, 2020
My first author interview with BookView Reviews was recently posted on their website. BookView asked a wide range of questions regarding the book itself and what inspired me to create the world of Jumbalot. Below is the full interview:
Do you find writing therapeutic?
Yes, writing is extremely therapeutic for a creative individual like me. It is beyond satisfying to visualize fantasy characters and place them into unique situations. The story plays out like a movie in my mind and I enjoy transferring those ideas/visions into the written word.
What was your favorite childhood book?
My favorite childhood book would have to be Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. When I was a boy, my mom would take me to the local library, and I made a habit out of always checking out that book. More than anything, I loved the monster illustrations, and I would always try to draw them myself. Thirty-five years later I found myself illustrating characters for my own book called jumboos.
Tell us more about your book.
Journey to Jumbalot is a story about a brilliant engineer’s housecat named Alby and his adventure within a strange, new world. Alby’s best friend, Professor Wizoom, builds a triangular gateway and mysteriously vanishes. Alby’s compassion for his missing friend gives him the strength to venture through the gate and commence a sometimes-dangerous search. Jumbalot is inhabited by intelligent animal hybrids that include the following: menacing mantaravens, friendly froguars, terrifying wolvaraptors, courageous tigeroons, and much more. During his search, Alby dodges pulse blasts from jumboo pirates, befriends jumboos endowed with magical powers, and witnesses a massive battle between two jumboo armies.
Tell us a little about how this story first came to be. Did it start with an image, a voice, a concept, a dilemma, or something else?
The story began when I lost my cat named Albert after he succumbed to poor health. Albert was a plus-sized tuxedo cat and was my best friend for 13 years. Losing him lit a spark in me to write a book about a housecat for middle grade readers: my way of honoring his memory. The idea for Jumbalot began when I was much younger. I always fantasized about breathing life into a fantasy world filled with unusual creatures. I loved animal hybrids more than anything and desired to build a world like Wonderland, Oz, and Middle Earth, but inhabited with something different – jumboos. I loved to draw when I was a boy and I think some of my earliest jumboo characters were invented when I drew animal mashups with crayons.
Which scene or chapter in the book is your favorite? Why?
My favorite book chapter is one titled The Battle Begins. This takes place at the end of the book and showcases two jumboo armies battling for the future of their world. One side is led by a tyrant that has an insatiable lust for power while the other is led by a noble queen that is determined to save her world. Readers will enjoy the action, adventure, and conflict that occurs when both sides collide like tsunamis. I think readers will also enjoy reading how Alby adapts to this perilous situation to achieve his goal.
What do you hope readers will take away from this story?
My wife and I love animals and we encourage everyone to consider pet adoption. In the book, Alby was once a stray cat that was rescued by Professor Wizoom. This is one of many reasons Alby is determined to find his missing friend.
The Latest Jumbalot News!
Introducing the first AI animated short for my book, Journey to Jumbalot. This project features multiple clips of the main characters, Alby the housecat and his guide, the annoyingly lovable Fremmy the froguar (frog and jaguar hybrid), as they walk through a colorful forest on their way to the magnificent Kingdom of Jowla. I envisioned my book as an animated film or series while I was writing it and learning how to use Seedance 2.0 helps me bring my characters to life. I know there is a lot of unpleasantness with folks regarding the use of AI, but I certainly cannot afford to pay a professional animator thousands of dollars for something like this. Who knows, perhaps an agent or a movie studio will see one of these clips and realize that the world of Jumbalot has the potential to become much more than a book. I'm not giving up on my dream :) 🐈⬛ 🐯 🦝 🦊🦓
A huge shout-out to University of South Florida Zimmerman students Regina Segovia, Nicholas Bowen, and Ashika Patel for an outstanding presentation of their final media kit project featuring my book, Journey to Jumbalot. They provided valuable ideas on promoting my book through social media, press releases, in-person events, and interactive drawing contests. I would also like to express my gratitude to Dr. Mimi Perreault for reaching out to me about her PR Writing course’s media kit project. It’s hard to believe that I released my book five years ago. Despite winning several awards and receiving positive reviews, selling a self-published book has proven to be quite challenging. Nicholas, Regina, and Ashika showcased their creativity with excellent promotion ideas that will help me spread the word, and I am forever grateful. They have bright futures ahead of them!
After receiving over two dozen additional submissions from Belmont Elementary students, I decided to host a second 'Draw a Jumboo Contest.' I'm thrilled to announce that Layla Russo is the first-place winner of this second contest! Layla's imaginative drawing of a bunnybird was excellent, and I can easily envision these creatures inhabiting the world of Jumbalot. A heartfelt thank you to Layla and all the students who took the time to create their unique jumboo characters.