It’s Day 2 of PiBoIdMo. I hope you already have idea one down with more brewing. So go grab your coffee (and spoon) and sit down for the next piece of juicy inspiration.
(Yeah, today I’m making you sit down. Tomorrow I might make you jump up and run outside again. Ya never know. This month is gonna be crazy. Crazy like a Fox in Socks!)
Today author Aaron Reynolds and illustrator Neil Numberman are stopping by to talk about their new book Joey Fly Private Eye (in Creepy Crawly Crime).
And since it’s Day 2, I’ve even got 2 blog posts for you!
First, I asked Aaron and Neil where the idea for Joey Fly originated and how it developed.
Aaron: It started for me with just a title…which was, at the time, Joey Off, Private Fly (get it, Off? Off bug spray?…get it?) Anyway, I loved the idea of a goofy mystery, having grown up with a steady diet of Scooby Doo and movies like Clue (and I’m a huge Agatha Christie fan). Bugs seemed the perfect cast of characters…all freaky and different, each with their own personalities and weird physical traits. From there, the story just took off.
See that, folks? The idea started with just a title.
Neil: When I first got Aaron’s script, I started buying all the film noir movies I could get my hands on, and creepy insect books from dusty old bookstores. That, and a couple books on city architecture in the 40s, and I felt good to go! I had my arsenal of bug characters and buildings to fill the street scenes, and noir-esque shots to compose many of the panels. I knew I wanted some Martin Handford (he of Where’s Waldo fame) type shots in there, too, because his books were always the greatest to sit and stare at for hours, and I want to bring that to Bug City.
OK, let me get this straight. Old movies and dusty books?
Eureka, picture book writers! Run to your local thrift store! (Sorry, I’m making you jump up today anyway. I told you things might get crazy!)
Got your idea yet? Well stay tuned, kidlit lovers. Aaron and Neil will be back later today with a graphic novel about how to create a graphic novel.
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 
4 comments
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November 2, 2009 at 9:33 am
Corey Schwartz
Oh, it started with a title. How interesting. I’ve had one of those brewing (for like five years! 🙂
November 2, 2009 at 9:57 am
Bonnie Adamson
Wow, starting off with a bang: LOVE the noir style/Dragnet delivery of Joey Fly! Hmmm, bugs . . .
November 2, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Aaron Reynolds
Thanks, Bonnie! Bugs are huge inspiration for me and seemed a great place to stage a seedy underbelly world. Tongue-in-cheek the whole way, of course.
What blew me away was how amazingly far Neil was able to take it. If you look at the book, his world is so rich and vivid…the streets are full of so many rich details….worms carrying briefcases, women pushing baby strollers full of maggots, a leech driving a cab…his ideas now visually fuel my ideas as I continue to write the next Joey Fly books!
November 3, 2009 at 12:07 am
cathy june
I’ve had a title clunking around in my head for some time. Jotted it down. Thanks!