Speaker 1: Hello, and good morning, Samuel. How you doing?
Speaker 2: Good morning? How are you?
Speaker 1: Absolutely fantastic. I got to start it off with a
child's question only because the child in me wants to
make sure that I'm on the right page. I know
that it's about it's about a unicorn. But is it Unico?
Is it Unico or is it Uniko?
Speaker 2: So it's Nico, Yeah, Unico. Absolutely, you have to write that.
Speaker 1: You absolutely have to write good because when I want
to sit down and talk with young readers, I want
to be able to say the right name, so we
can all be on the same page here, of course,
And this is no normal unicorn either. I mean, this
one has power that affects human life. I love the
idea that you are stepping into this no, thank.
Speaker 2: You so much. Yeah, that's exactly right. It's about a
unicorn whose power to spread lovingest draw the ire of
the of an evil goddess.
Speaker 1: And the thing is is that you do it in
a way that invites people to look for their own
little superpowers. I mean, in other words, when they see
it with Unico, it's like, well maybe I can do
this as well.
Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, Well, because I meant, at its core, the
whole entire book is about friendship, and it's about you know,
worrying about you know, to accept who you are and
accepting the power and you know, growing into the power
that you do have. And so absolutely very much relatable
in that way.
Speaker 1: How did you create the world of manga, because I mean,
that's that really is something that is very you know,
it's almost very spiritual or universal.
Speaker 2: Sure, absolutely, yeah, So manga is you know, so manga
is kind of the Japanese word for comics, right, and
so it's like that's what it what it means in
translation is is comics. And so but as I think
you you know, many of you have spending you and
you probably your listeners have heard, it's really become just
a global phenomenon, right, with so many people, uh some
other people especially reading uh manga and the work. Uh So,
you know, I've been a huge fan of them itself
for years and years and years and years. But what
of the issues that we that I hear from librarians
for example, and other people and you know who read manga.
Is that especially for younger readers when they go and
they you know, you know, eight year older, nine year old, well,
you know, get so interested in the genre, in the
medium as they go and they pick up you know,
a book, right Demons Player, and which is for an
older audience, you know, I want to say a teen audience.
It's a little bit bloodier, a little more, a little
it's just kind of no appropriate in their age group.
And so kind of what we're doing here is we've
tried to create a story that has all the manga
hallmarks well for a younger audience for twelve. So it
allows kids to really latch on to that h to
the medium in a way that is citing, refleshing, and
and also you know, authentic.
Speaker 1: I would love to see the number of parents that
are going to pick up this book and read it
for themselves, because you're right, it is the adults are
the ones that know it, and they're gonna they're gonna
get this and they're gonna say, oh, this is just
a simple read. I'm going to take this in. So
I'm anxious to find out how many parents are going
to reach out to you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, me too, I can't wait to hear. I really
do feel like there's it's interesting with all the readers
that we've had so far, kids are really funny, well
but a sore adults. And that's been great to see
because you know, I kind of like what I want
to read myself that I did him, and that's kind
of the way that I hoped it would go.
Speaker 1: How did you keep it in that simple format, because
I mean, I mean, when you're writing to a young adult,
I mean, you've got to be able to put it
in a language that they can attach themselves too. And
we live in this world where it's like it's like, Okay,
we like big words, but we don't like big words,
but we want a real simple story.
Speaker 2: That's right. Well, that's kind of the in my opinion,
the beauty of the story of Unico in general is
that it's a story that, while it has its complexities
and it does explore deeper truths and things that are
a little bit more, you know, harder show on through
the story, is also the least simple. At the same time,
it's a story about friendship, it's a story about growth.
It's a story that's class and timeless in that regard,
and that's a testament to you know, where it comes from,
the fact that it was created as a story for
kids about a character who is experiencing a lot of difficulty.
Speaker 1: I can totally see this having a lot of merchandise
involved in it. Are you going to jump into that
T shirts and little figures and things like that, because
I mean, I mean when when once people attach themselves
to this story, they're going to want to hold onto something.
Speaker 2: Oh yes, absolutely, that's that's my hope as well. We
have people that are definitely working on that at the moment,
and I hear it's going well.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, because this is volume one, this is
where you bring listeners and readers into into your vision
as as a writer and an author, because I mean,
what we want volume two, then we want volume three.
And one of the things that I get so jealous
of is that, because this is volume one, you already
know where this story is going, but you can't tell
us what's going on next.
Speaker 2: It's a big secret. Yeah actually yeah no, But it's
it's one of those things where actually it's it's really funny.
I heard I have been asked by a couple of
kids in particular, like, so what happens with volume two?
And I give them a little bit of a you know,
a little bit information like okay, fine, but what happens
to volume three. You know, I really want to know,
and that's that's really fun. And also I can totally
understand as a leader, how how how frustrated, the fun
the way that can be.
Speaker 1: Yeah, because they've got the courage to ask those questions.
Where an adult would go, Okay, i'm gonna I'm gonna
weigh I'm going to patiently wait for it. But no, no,
kids will look at you directly in the eyes and
they'll bring out that question.
Speaker 2: Oh absolutely, Yeah, that's which is one of the most
wonderful things about you know, having kids as your readers.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So now this this project was was part of
the Kickstarter program. Now is this something that you're going
to continue with the other novels and things like that,
because I mean I want people to get involved with
what you're doing.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Yeah, So, Walsall, Kickstarter was the way the
originally was kind of like the proof of concept for
the entire story. So, you know, we thought because Nigo
Is I had a lot of like you know, cult
popularity following like that from you know, people like me
who grew up in the eighties and nineties who had
seen the films. We got really excited by them and
just love them to this day. Uh, you know, we
thought that publishers would want to we'd have to see
it to believe it. Yeah, So that's why we ended
up going to the kickstarter as a way to kind
of show the world that people wanted me to go,
and we did. We did pretty well, and so then
eventually Scholastic was the company that ended up picking it
up and really bringing in this larger, you know place
where we're in the series. And it's been such an
exciting road to get there. So we won't be doing
any more kickstarters, but the books now will be cleaning
out through Scholastic and then will be there'll be multiple
ones in the series.
Speaker 1: Wow, that is an amazing place to be because I've
been reading Scholastic books my entire life. That is so
awesome that you are part of that circle, sir.
Speaker 2: I'm very thankful as incredible as incredible honors to be
part of that circle.
Speaker 1: Wow. You got to come back to the show anytime
in the future, Samuel. The door is always going to
be open for you.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much. I really appreciate that. It's it's
awesome to be on.
Speaker 1: Will you be brilliant today? Okay, Okay, thank
Speaker 2: You so much.