Interview With Nick Ruth,
(author of The Remin Chronicles)
(added August 9, 2006)
The interview below may be reprinted
with permission. The interview must contain the links and photos
including the credit posted at the bottom of it. Please contact
Dreamish.com
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] My
kids love to read and have a liking for fantasy books. I was happy
to review a couple of books by an online friend of mine's husband,
Nick Ruth. My kids and I have enjoyed both books and very much look
forward to more! I have been wanting to do an interview with Nick
Ruth for some time now. Finally, I can now share this interview
with you below...
[Wendy at Dreamish.com]
When did you decide to start writing "The
Dark Dreamweaver?"
[Nick Ruth] The short answer is 2002, but of
course there is much more to it than that. When my son was growing
up, my wife and I would read to him every night, and like all young
children my son liked to hear the same story over and over again.
One night while riding the “Magic School Bus” yet again,
I changed the story and inserted my son into the action. Needless
to say, he was thrilled, and every story after that required an
additional adventurer named “Magical David.” Based on
my son’s enthusiasm, I decided to write an original story
with David as the hero, incorporating things he had done, like raising
butterflies and making up imaginative stories using Legos. In the
end, I found that it took me over 200 pages to tell the 5-page story
I originally envisioned. I’m a big fan of shows like “Behind
the Music” and “StoryTellers,” where you can find
out interesting things about the making of a song, and you’ll
find more details about how The Dark Dreamweaver came to
life at http://www.reminchronicles.com/node/8.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Why
did you name your book "The Dark Dreamweaver?"
Were you afraid someone might think the book was an evil story because
of the name?
[Nick Ruth] I have to admit that I didn’t
consider the possibility that the title would cause some readers
to shy away from the book. I chose the title partly because my original
audience for this story consisted of one little boy, and partly
because the title accurately describes the character of Thane, who
is a “not very nice” enchanter who can affect your dreams
and craves power for himself. David’s journey to confront
and hopefully defeat Thane is the basis for the first book. You
should never judge a book by its cover or its title.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Why
are Monarch Butterflies the focus of the story?
[Nick Ruth] My
son and I got interested in raising butterflies. We found Monarch
eggs on milkweed leaves and watched them hatch and go through the
entire life cycle. As I began to ponder the pieces of my story,
I hit on the idea of a poor wizard cursed to go through the all
the butterfly stages in endless repetition. Now the wizard just
needed a little help. Maybe a young boy named “Magical David?”
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Have
you had experience writing before this fantasy book project?
[Nick Ruth] I never thought
about being an author before this, and I still have trouble with
the idea that I came up with a story, got it down on paper, and
that people enjoy the adventure.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com]
The
Remin Chronicles now contains the next book, "Breezes
of Inspire." Did you know right away you would write more
than one book?
[Nick Ruth] No. No.
No. One idea. One story. An audience of one (my son). That was
it. The second book came about simply because my son wanted another
adventure. I had a world that I created so some parts of the story
were a little easier, but coming up with a compelling story in
that world was much harder. I’ve read other author experiences
where the story was a “gusher” and all they had to
do was get it down on paper. The Dark Dreamweaver was
a gusher. The other side of the coin is Breezes of Inspire,
where the story needed to be “squeezed” into existence.
I think I succeeded in finding the story that became Breezes.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] With
your first book, Monarch Butterflies were a focus. What do you
focus on in this second book?
[Nick Ruth] The second book revolves around the concept
of “symbiosis.” It didn’t start out as a conscious
decision to inject a little science into the second book, but
as the story began to grow it became obvious that the idea was
there and so I emphasized it to help add some consistency to the
series.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] What
made you decide to create theme songs for the books? Is it you
and your son singing the song "The Breezes of Inspire"
theme song?
[Nick Ruth] Wow,
you’ve done your homework. I play some guitar and piano
and enjoy writing songs for my own enjoyment. When the first book
was moving toward a publication date it just seemed like a fun
thing to do. I don’t know of any other books that have theme
songs. Just another way to make them unique, and yes my son joined
me in singing the theme song for the second book. You can listen
and download the songs from the Remin Chronicles website.
I hope you like them.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] You
published the book as an independent publisher. Did you do this
yourself or did you go through someone else?
[Nick Ruth] It’s
very hard to get the attention of the publishing world. J.K. Rowling’s
Harry Potter was rejected by over 40 publishers. We thought
we had a good story and the independent publishing route seemed
to offer the best chance to get the book into the hands of young
readers. My wife was so amazed that I could produce an imaginative,
entertaining story that she started Imaginator Press to bring
the first book to market.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] How
did you find an illustrator for your books?
[Nick Ruth] Sue
Concannon provided the illustrations and the cover art for both
books in the series, and I couldn’t be happier. When we
decided to have the first book illustrated we looked at several
professional illustrators and really didn’t feel comfortable
just getting pictures on spec. Sue and I both worked as computer
programmers but I knew that she was a talented artist because
she brought in her drawings to decorate her cubicle. I gave her
a draft of the story and asked if she’d be interested in
illustrating it. She loved the story and quickly produced a picture
of Sir Heads-a-Lot that convinced us that we had the right person.
Both books have full-page illustrations, which add even more magic
to the stories.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Did
you seem to have an easier time selling your books once you had
more than one written?
[Nick Ruth]
It’s hard to find the elusive tipping point for
publishing stardom. Both books have won several awards and honors,
which is very pleasing to me, but even with two books out you
have to work to get the word out and get the stories into the
hands of the young readers.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Is
there something you wished you would have known about before starting
these book writing projects?
[Nick Ruth] I naively thought that once
the book was written, the hard work was done. In fact, the work
had just begun. Editing is extremely hard, and even when you have
the finished book in your hands, the work of marketing and getting
recognition for the story is an ongoing process.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] You
have won awards for your books, including a recent one for the
"Hollywood Book Festival award." How do you go about
entering for awards?
[Nick Ruth] It’s just like education
scholarships: find the awards and honors that fit your story and
submit the paperwork. Both books have won awards and honors and
have been recognized by parenting groups as great stories for
children. I’m very happy with that, but the real joy is
when children tell me how much they enjoyed the books.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] I
have read your books and mentioned to your wife, Sheila, that
the books would make great movies. Would you like to have them
made into films? Would the "Hollywood Book Festival award"
seem to be a step to help towards this?
[Nick Ruth] Sure, I think the stories are
great fantasy stories that would translate well on the big screen.
The “Hollywood Book Festival” honorable mention is
a step into that area. At least one major movie studio has requested
a review copy, so there is some hope that I’ll get to see
Remin in the movie theaters. One of my favorite quips about the
books is, “We all have different goals for the books. I
just want to break even, my wife hopes to make a profit, and my
son wants to know who will play him in the movie!” It was
a joke, but maybe my son’s dream will come true after all.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] When
is your next book coming out?
[Nick Ruth] The question
that every author dreads. When the last Harry Potter book
came out, kids stood in line all night, and within two days they
were asking that very question. An author sweats for a year or
more to bring out a book and 48 hours later, it’s old news.
That being said, I am slooooowly working on Book 3. Unfortunately,
I cannot tell you when the “squeezing” process will
be completed. Stay tuned.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] What
lessons do you think families will learn from your books?
[Nick Ruth] I made only one really conscious
decision as I worked on these books, and that was to keep the stories
upbeat. These books are fantasies for 8-12 year olds. My son is
not a big fan of character deaths and sadness, so I avoided those
themes in my stories. The series has been recognized by parenting
groups for just that reason. In my stories, everyone lives happily
ever after (well, almost everybody. Sorry Thane.)
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Are
you going to have a video game made out of the stories?
[Nick Ruth] If a
video game maker shows any interest we’re willing to listen.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Thanks
Nick. I am glad we finally got to do an interview. Wonderful stories
with neat lessons to learn about butterflies and more. Let us know
when your next book is out.
- Sign up for the
Dreamish Newsletter for notification of future interviews
You can
visit Nick's
website to read more about his books, his support for the Monarch
butterflies, hear the theme songs, check out the section on Science
magic and more... » Click
Here
Wendy Shepherd is the owner and creator
of a multitude of websites on the internet since 1997. To learn
more about Wendy Shepherd, please visit the website at www.wendyshepherd.com
.
This interview
may be reprinted with permission. The interview must contain the
links and photos including the credit posted at the bottom of it.
Please contact
Dreamish.com
________________________
Submit
Dream
Copyright © 2003 - 2007 http://www.dreamish.com - Privacy Policy