Tony DiTerlizzi's Blog, page 10
June 19, 2012
TIME for KIDS Interview
Saniya Soni and I talked at length about the WondLa trilogy at Hicklebee’s during last month’s tour.
You can read her interview here.
…and, in case you missed it, Sahil Abbi interviewed me back in 2010 for the launch of WondLa held at Books of Wonder in New York City. Thank you, TIME magazine!
June 15, 2012
(A Poetic) Friday Fan Art
11 year-old Abby from Clapham, England is quite a fan of The Spider & The Fly. “How big of a fan?” you ask. She’s such an awesome fan that she penned an awesome sequel. Check it out.
The Spider and the Fly 2
By Abby, age 11
“Hoorah! My plan has finally worked,”
Thought the spider in his head.
“I have eaten up that poor fly now and she is long dead!”
The spider laughed and laughed with glee.
He then set off for a snack,
But he heard an unwelcome knock on the door
That stopped him in his tracks.
The spider went to open the door
When the visitor barged inside
He could not run, he could not flee,
He could not even hide.
“You have the right to remain silent,”
Said the very angry police pest.
“We think you are a murderer
And you are hereby under arrest.”
The spider met his lawyer,
A cunning, clever man.
The odds were not good at all,
But at least they had a plan.
The opening speech was made,
A story of his knighthood.
The jury seemed to lap it up,
Things were looking good.
The ghostly fly was called to the stand,
An oath is what she swore,
She then began a gory tale
Of what happened two nights before.
Next to be questioned were two ghost bugs
“We warned her but she didn’t listen!”
They pleaded to the judge.
“Aha! At last! It’s my time to shine!”
Thought the spider.
“Now I shall be questioned and I’ll give answers sublime!”
The spider was questioned,
He gave tales that were tall.
“I’m a kind hearted fellow, but ne’er a fool.”
“The spider and the fly?
What a tale of great height.
Why I haven’t seen old Tony
Since…that terrible fight.”
A surprise was in store
For the spider, aghast
As his ex-friend Mr DiTerlizzi
Had arrived at last.
“Objection!”
Yelled the spider
“Objection I say!”
I have not forgiven Tony to this very day!”
“Objection not granted,”
Said the judge
“Question on.”
And the spider did not draw breath until he had gone.
“The jury will now pass their verdict.”
Said the judge to the court.
They left
And the spider’s throat was rather taut.
The jury came back, then came the judge.
The spider was ready,
Prepared for the worst.
He knew it was coming,
His tears were well rehearsed.
But the spider was met
With a pleasant surprise.
He didn’t need to prepare his eyes.
Haha! He was free
Of a burden so chilling.
Now he could go back
And do some more killing.
…Here’s what I love: Abby uses the meter of the original poem AND creates a twist ending. Delicious! Perhaps you’ll enjoy the 10th Anniversary edition of S&F that will be creeping its way to bookstores later this year…more on that next time.
Keep writing, keep drawing, keep dreaming.
June 7, 2012
io9 Has Seen the Future
I can’t tell you what a thrill it is when a media blog that I adore (like the Hero Complex and Geekdad) posts about something I’ve created. Especially when the post has nice things to say.
io9 is a site chock full of all things sci-fi and futuristic. So I was over the Orbonian moon when Ang sent this to me yesterday afternoon:
You can read the rest of the review here.
Thank you, Michael Ann Dobbs, for a thoughtful and balanced post on my books. You made this futuristic fanboy very happy.
June 1, 2012
Friday Fan Art
This week’s Friday Fan Art is from Paige, an artist whom I met on tour that found creative inspiration from the WondLa series.
It is a huge compliment for me to receive artwork from artists (at any technical level) who have been inspired by my work. Especially to strengthen technical ability. I learned so much copying artists that I admire. In fact, I still continue to do so as an exercise in style and technique.
The piece above is from a young up-and-coming artist, Paige, whom I met while on tour. Paige likes to work with digital media as well as more traditional methods such as drawing and painting. She told me she was inspired to draw a scene not illustrated in The Search for WondLa:
The cerulean creature with backward-bending legs held up his palm. “I am Rovender Kitt, an old creature in a new world.”
“I am Eva… Eva Nine,” said Eva with a smile, mimicking his gesture. “I am a new creature in an old world.”
- Pg. 102, Chapter 10, The Search for Wondla
Well done, Paige. There is some beautiful line work here (I especially like the Art Nouveau design motif). I wish the best of luck to you and hope that you continue to create. Whether you are an old creature or new, my message is the same:
Keep drawing, keep dreaming.
May 26, 2012
Another WONDLAful Tour!
This year marked a decade of touring for my books (the first tour being for The Spider & the Fly back in the fall of 2002). And, though the travel hasn’t become less stressful, I still love coming to a bookstore, school or library and talking books. I can’t thank you all enough for making it all worth the while.
Each tour has a million magic moments packed into 2-3 weeks. I try to take as many pictures as I can to record it all, but it is fruitless. I have to rely that my memory will hold and savor all the warm handshakes and bright smiles that I encountered while crossing the country.
Of course, some of these memories are not so cheery. The day A Hero for WondLa was released was also the day my cell phone was abuzz with the sad news of Maurice Sendak’s passing. Though I knew Maurice’s health was in decline, this was hard news to hear. My mind whorled with memories and questions and I reached out to those whom I knew were close with him to offer condolences.
That night, at a Santa Monica Barnes & Noble, I stood in front of a crowd consisting of Hollywood friends, and even some old art buddies from my gaming days, and read Where the Wild Things Are in honor of Maurice. Everyone cheered and joined in. It was glorious and saddening.
From Los Angeles I worked my way up to San Francisco and visited old friends, like Valerie and her staff at Hicklebees. This is an unforgettable independent book store that actively supported the launch of Spidewick way-back-when.
At Books Inc. I received one the the BEST INTRODUCTIONS EVER from the hilarious and animated store manager, Jerry Thompson. Check it out:
Though I’ve toured every year for the past decade, there are still places in the US I have yet to visit. Phoenix, Arizona was a highlight for me – not just because it was my first time there – but also I was able to visit some fans at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital and talk books thanks to my continued involvement with the Starlight Foundation.
I journeyed down into Texas where I met many great fans and ate many pounds of good ol’ Texas BBQ.
Another high point came in New York City, where I met up with my old Spiderwick collaborator, Holly Black, along with Mo Willems and American Idol, Jordin Sparks to announce the winner of “Doodle for Google” contest winner.
Joining Jeff Marsh (creator of Phineas and Ferb), us judges spoke to the fifty finalist on the importance of creativity and imagination.
The young talent in the room was stellar. I was incredibly inspired by the ingenuity and skill demonstrated by the finalists, especially the seven year-old winner, Dylan Hoffman, and his drawing of “Pirate Times”.
Speaking of young talent, I was touched every time a fellow artist, young or old, brought their work to a signing to share with me. It takes a lot of guts to share your artwork, or talk about a story you’ve written, with a professional (I still remember showing my D&D artwork to Brian Froud 20 years ago certain that he’d tell me how horrible it was) and I encourage any of you who have a dream of writing or illustrating to say so when you see me at an event.
And the events for this tour ended where it all began for me – South Florida. At the Blake Library in Stuart, near my old high school and middle school, I gave my presentation to a crowd full of old friends, old teachers and family.
I had completed a circuit on many levels, not just returning to the source of my roots, but again, to one of the first stops on the Spider & Fly tour back in 2002.
After all the fans were greeted, the photos taken and the books signed, I was haunted with thoughts of the passing time away from my family and my own mortality, obviously spurred from Maurice’s passing. My mind drifted back to last year when I stood at Arthur Rackham’s gate and I pondered this very thing.
Those troubling thoughts, perched patiently in the back of my mind were driven off by the wonderful memories I had of meeting Maurice and something he had once said,
“Live your life. Live your life. Live your life.”
That’s what it is all about. Now, I am back with my family, making books and doing what I love. I hope you are doing the same.
PS – want to see more pics? Check out my old Photo Album. I’ve even added some new videos on my YouTube Channel here.
May 11, 2012
LA Times Interview
Geoff Boucher, of the LA Times, asked me a few key questions on the challenges of writing the second book in a trilogy. See what I had to say over at the Hero Complex.
GeekDad Interview
Jonathan Liu, of Wired magazine, has posted an in-depth interview where we talk WondLa, reading, and being all around geeky dads. Take a look.
May 6, 2012
“Hero” Featured on CNN
Yesterday (Saturday, May 5th), I flew up to Atlanta and had the opportunity to talk all things WondLa with CNN’s Randi Kaye.
I was also able to discuss my involvement with the Starlight Children’s Foundation, an organization I am proud to be a part of. Just in case you missed it, you can watch the entire interview on CNN’s site here.
May 4, 2012
Wired Loves HERO!
Jonathan Liu’s (Wired magazine) stellar review of The Search for WondLa a couple of years back, made me one happy geek. Especially because it was posted on Wired’s Geekdad blog, which is like a big kid’s blog custom-made with everything I adore in this world.
Hopefully his tantalizing review of Hero for WondLa will hold you over until next Tuesday’s release. In fact, be sure to check back in with Geekdad next week for an interview with me where I talk all things WondLa.
May 2, 2012
Doodle for Google Finalists!
I helped choose the 50 State Winners from the nearly 114k entries to this year’s Doodle 4 Google contest.
Now it’s your turn to vote and decide which doodle should be featured on Google.com for a day. Vote now!
