1
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,120
Speaker 1: Hello, and good morning, Hope. How are you doing today?

2
00:00:02,839 --> 00:00:04,080
Speaker 2: I'm doing well. How are you?

3
00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:07,160
Speaker 1: Absolutely fantastic and excited to share a conversation with you

4
00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,759
because this is the kind of book that I just

5
00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:12,839
envisioned students walking into their library and saying, this book

6
00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:15,279
is about me. This is something that's speaking to me.

7
00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:17,719
And I mean, I just I just love the connection

8
00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:19,239
that you have put inside these pages.

9
00:00:20,199 --> 00:00:22,800
Speaker 2: Oh, thank you so much. I hear your wife's a teacher.

10
00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:24,920
Speaker 1: She is a teacher, she is and so that and

11
00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,199
I'm also an instructor. And the thing is is that

12
00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,359
I believe in in, you know, exercising the imagination so

13
00:00:30,399 --> 00:00:31,559
that it can grow forward.

14
00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:38,280
Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree, Yeah.

15
00:00:37,479 --> 00:00:39,759
Speaker 1: To put this book together. It starts with an idea

16
00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:41,479
where was that seed planted? At?

17
00:00:43,119 --> 00:00:46,920
Speaker 2: Well, my agent that I had been talking for years

18
00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:50,600
about making a book about it. Just calculia, which I have.

19
00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:54,560
I'm just very very bout of mass. It's I have

20
00:00:55,439 --> 00:00:58,600
just calculia, which is a learning disorder that makes it

21
00:00:58,719 --> 00:01:02,479
hard to understand and process numbers and maths. So most

22
00:01:02,479 --> 00:01:06,640
people have heard of dyslexia, and this calculia is kind

23
00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:09,319
of like numbers dyslexia.

24
00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:12,680
Speaker 1: But you know, What's really interesting about this though, because

25
00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:14,799
I know a lot of people that have problems with numbers,

26
00:01:14,879 --> 00:01:16,480
and I'll bet you they don't know about this.

27
00:01:17,719 --> 00:01:19,640
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I didn't even know about it until I

28
00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:25,319
was probably thirty. I knew in really since like first grade,

29
00:01:25,359 --> 00:01:28,239
that I had a hard time with maths, and I

30
00:01:28,239 --> 00:01:30,359
would sit there and be like, why is this so

31
00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:33,959
much easier for my classmates and for me? But it

32
00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:38,719
wasn't until high school that I really started to struggle

33
00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:42,400
and was pulled out of my regular math class and

34
00:01:42,439 --> 00:01:46,079
put into a smaller class with kids who were also struggling.

35
00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:50,719
And that's something that happens to my protagonist Bury in

36
00:01:50,879 --> 00:01:51,319
the book.

37
00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:54,439
Speaker 1: You know, one of the things that you also put

38
00:01:54,439 --> 00:01:57,319
inside this book is is varies inner monologue? I mean,

39
00:01:57,359 --> 00:01:59,400
because I mean it is so important because so many

40
00:01:59,439 --> 00:02:01,400
people think that, oh, I'm always talking to myself. Oh

41
00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:03,959
I must be down on myself, blah blah. And it's like, wow,

42
00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:05,959
I love the fact that you give us kind of

43
00:02:05,959 --> 00:02:08,439
permission to say, yeah, you can have that inner voice,

44
00:02:08,479 --> 00:02:10,680
go ahead and share it and learn from it.

45
00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:14,599
Speaker 2: Yeah. I always like to do a little bit of that,

46
00:02:14,719 --> 00:02:18,240
because if comics are not like pros a lot of

47
00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:20,759
the time in prose, you're kind of in somebody's head

48
00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:24,360
to the whole book. But because comics and graphic novels

49
00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:27,560
are visual, sometimes you're seeing them from the outside like

50
00:02:27,599 --> 00:02:30,240
you would with a with a film, and I like

51
00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:33,319
to put that internal monologue in there so we can

52
00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:35,479
see what's happening in her brain.

53
00:02:35,879 --> 00:02:39,840
Speaker 1: Yeah, so what came first, the story or the graphics?

54
00:02:41,719 --> 00:02:46,479
Speaker 2: The story comes first. I like to start with the

55
00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:49,319
scripts because writing is so much quicker for me than

56
00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:52,520
drawing is. The drawing part is the real marathon of

57
00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,560
making a graphic novel, so I really want to know

58
00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:59,960
exactly where I'm going. I start with just like a log,

59
00:03:00,319 --> 00:03:02,800
so a couple of senses about what my story is about.

60
00:03:03,039 --> 00:03:06,039
And I work on that with my agent and my editor,

61
00:03:06,159 --> 00:03:10,039
and then I expand it into an outline, which can

62
00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,319
be like one to twenty pages or so, and we

63
00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:15,800
work on that, we edit that some more. Then I

64
00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:20,439
write the script, and I write full script, so I

65
00:03:20,479 --> 00:03:23,879
write down a description of every panel in the book

66
00:03:24,439 --> 00:03:27,120
and what we're going to see, and I also write

67
00:03:27,199 --> 00:03:32,599
the dialogue what everybody's saying, and sound effects. I always

68
00:03:32,639 --> 00:03:37,120
put those in here. Yeah, they're critical A very important

69
00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:37,879
part of comics.

70
00:03:37,879 --> 00:03:39,960
Speaker 1: So true. It's so true because that's exactly where my

71
00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,479
mind goes when I'm sitting there looking at just one frame.

72
00:03:42,599 --> 00:03:44,400
I can I can hear it, I can feel it,

73
00:03:44,439 --> 00:03:46,280
I can see it, I can smell it. And that's

74
00:03:46,319 --> 00:03:48,199
exactly what you've done inside this book.

75
00:03:49,479 --> 00:03:51,719
Speaker 2: Oh, thank you so much. So.

76
00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,560
Speaker 1: Now the thing is is that, I mean, your discipline

77
00:03:54,599 --> 00:03:56,879
as a writer has got to be like spot on

78
00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:00,599
because you're not throwing a bunch of words in paragraph status.

79
00:04:00,639 --> 00:04:02,319
Each one of those frames has got to have the

80
00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:05,120
fust amount of words. Yeah.

81
00:04:05,159 --> 00:04:07,800
Speaker 2: I try and do the show not tell method as

82
00:04:07,879 --> 00:04:11,280
much as I can. So if if I can convey

83
00:04:11,479 --> 00:04:16,519
the information with a picture, you know, a picture speaks

84
00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:20,000
a thousand words, I want to do that. And then

85
00:04:20,759 --> 00:04:24,480
if I can't convey information with the image alone, then

86
00:04:24,519 --> 00:04:25,480
I put some words in.

87
00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:28,879
Speaker 1: Yeah. You cover student activism very well in this because

88
00:04:28,879 --> 00:04:30,680
students need to have a voice. They don't need to

89
00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:32,199
be back in a corner just sitting there saying I'm

90
00:04:32,199 --> 00:04:34,519
just going to let life half happen. You only live once.

91
00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:37,560
It's like no, no, no, no, activate yourself, get involved.

92
00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:43,399
Speaker 2: Yeah, very is the president of her eighth grade class

93
00:04:43,399 --> 00:04:47,079
for third year as class president, and she really wants

94
00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:50,040
to be a politician, to be in politics when she

95
00:04:50,079 --> 00:04:54,519
grows up, and she she has a local politician that

96
00:04:54,639 --> 00:04:57,680
she really is her hero. She really idolizes this person,

97
00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:02,839
so he cares the about making her school and her

98
00:05:02,879 --> 00:05:05,360
community better. And that's something that I really feel too,

99
00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:09,439
that that change happens, it starts at the local level.

100
00:05:10,079 --> 00:05:12,319
That's a place where you can really make a difference,

101
00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,040
is where you live or your school.

102
00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:17,120
Speaker 1: So yeah, I think so many people are going to

103
00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:19,160
sit there and say, she's writing about me because I

104
00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:21,279
feel like I know these people, or it's about something

105
00:05:21,319 --> 00:05:22,199
I've done in my life.

106
00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:26,759
Speaker 2: I mean, I certainly hope. So I think when you're writing,

107
00:05:26,879 --> 00:05:29,439
it can feel like you're you're writing something very specific

108
00:05:29,519 --> 00:05:32,319
about your own life. But if you're the more specific

109
00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:34,959
you are, the more people can relate to it. Yeah,

110
00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:37,959
it's kind of like a paradox. Yeah.

111
00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:40,120
Speaker 1: I'm such a big supporter of graphic novels, and the

112
00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,839
reason being is because my grandson was struggling with reading,

113
00:05:42,959 --> 00:05:45,040
but once he found the graphic novels, I mean, all

114
00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:47,199
of a sudden, this kid, you know, just sprouted out

115
00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:49,040
and became just like, Oh, this is the kind of

116
00:05:49,079 --> 00:05:51,439
stuff I want to read. And now he draws himself.

117
00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:54,480
Speaker 2: Oh that's so wonderful. That makes me so happy to hear.

118
00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,319
And honestly, this is a big part of why I

119
00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:01,920
have been writing the grade and kids graphic novels for

120
00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:06,519
such a long time. I did the adaptation of A

121
00:06:06,519 --> 00:06:10,240
Wrinkle on Time, the graphic novel adaptation, and when that

122
00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:13,279
book came out, I just heard from so many parents

123
00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:15,680
and teachers and aunts and uncles who were like, Oh,

124
00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:19,560
this is the first book my kid or my student

125
00:06:19,639 --> 00:06:22,879
read on their own. They've been so intimidated by reading

126
00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:25,879
and this got through to them. And I was like,

127
00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:30,480
so interesting, because my graphic novel of A Wrinkle and

128
00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:34,120
Time has almost all of it has the majority of

129
00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,560
the text that in the novel in the graphic novel

130
00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:43,800
because it's mostly dialogue. So the images that they're seeing

131
00:06:43,879 --> 00:06:47,839
makes it less intimidating for a lot of kids who

132
00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:50,759
lead a graphic novel versus pros.

133
00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:54,240
Speaker 1: So what inside your imagination invited Varie to pick up

134
00:06:54,279 --> 00:06:54,959
that clarinet?

135
00:06:57,639 --> 00:06:59,319
Speaker 2: I was just trying to come up with more things

136
00:06:59,319 --> 00:07:03,000
for her to be really good at.

137
00:07:02,439 --> 00:07:05,480
Speaker 1: I can't either, but that's like one of those tough

138
00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:07,879
ones there. It's like, whoa, Yeah, we're gonna put her

139
00:07:07,879 --> 00:07:09,720
in debate. We're gonna we're gonna she's gonna be the

140
00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:11,439
club whiz. I mean, she's gonna be a push up

141
00:07:11,519 --> 00:07:14,079
champion and she's gonna play the clarinet.

142
00:07:15,199 --> 00:07:18,240
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, I mean she's she's got this idea that

143
00:07:18,279 --> 00:07:20,759
she has to be super super good at everything so

144
00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:24,000
nobody will notice that she's really bad at mass. She's

145
00:07:24,079 --> 00:07:27,800
kind of like hiding it under this this layer of perfection.

146
00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:31,560
Speaker 1: So so I was gonna ask you if she was

147
00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:34,920
a perfectionist, because perfectionism usually is hiding something. It's like

148
00:07:34,959 --> 00:07:36,560
an artist that puts red on a painting.

149
00:07:37,759 --> 00:07:41,399
Speaker 2: Yes, she's like a textbook perfectionist. I'm kind of a

150
00:07:41,399 --> 00:07:44,879
perfectionist too. And I mean, of course, being a perfectionist

151
00:07:44,959 --> 00:07:47,800
doesn't mean you are really good and perfect at everything.

152
00:07:47,839 --> 00:07:49,800
It's more like you don't want to be seen as

153
00:07:50,279 --> 00:07:56,120
not being good at things. So we have that in common.

154
00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:58,680
And I really grew up with this idea that asking

155
00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:01,160
for help was like admitting I just wasn't smart enough

156
00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:03,560
to figure something out on my own, which is like

157
00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:06,199
so toxic, and I think probably pretty relatable for a

158
00:08:06,199 --> 00:08:09,360
lot of kids. So when I'm talking to kids about

159
00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:12,040
this book, I always want to impress on them that

160
00:08:12,079 --> 00:08:14,120
they don't need to be ashamed of asking for help,

161
00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:17,120
and ask me for help is really braids, and it's

162
00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:21,000
also the beginning of your life getting to be a

163
00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:24,079
bit easier tackling this head on.

164
00:08:24,079 --> 00:08:25,759
Speaker 1: One of the big stars in this book is the

165
00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:28,800
fact that you've got all three of these characters working together.

166
00:08:28,959 --> 00:08:32,320
It's not sitting on a smartphone. It's not playing a

167
00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:35,240
VR game where they're talking over a microphone without seeing

168
00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:37,480
each other. I mean, you've got people that are physically

169
00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:38,679
together on these pages.

170
00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:42,919
Speaker 2: Yes, And I always prefer to write that way. It's

171
00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:47,320
always like a balancing act writing about the present day,

172
00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,159
because smartphones and technology are such a big part of

173
00:08:50,159 --> 00:08:54,240
our world and you can't avoid them completely. But it's

174
00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:56,000
just no fun to draw a bunch of characters who

175
00:08:56,039 --> 00:08:58,519
are sitting around texting each other all the time. I

176
00:08:58,559 --> 00:08:59,799
want them to be together.

177
00:09:00,399 --> 00:09:02,360
Speaker 1: And how about that book cover. When you first look

178
00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:04,120
at it, you're seeing the three girls, but then all

179
00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:06,440
of a sudden, I see that d on that paper.

180
00:09:07,799 --> 00:09:12,519
Speaker 2: That's right, Yeah, on the cover, you see Barry in

181
00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:16,639
the middle, and then on the left behind her is Bree,

182
00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:19,879
who is her vice president, and then on the right

183
00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:22,840
is Lucille, who starts out as kind of a front

184
00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,039
of me character, and then the two of them bond

185
00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:28,960
over there, shared struggle with math and become friends, and

186
00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:33,039
all three of them have this not a club exactly,

187
00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:34,600
but they call themselves the Left.

188
00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:38,919
Speaker 1: Then where can people go to find out more about

189
00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:41,080
you as well as getting their hands on this book?

190
00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:47,360
Speaker 2: You can find me on Instagram at Dispair Larson. Somebody

191
00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:50,679
else has my name, so I am Dispara Larson, not

192
00:09:50,799 --> 00:09:54,879
Hope Larsen. And you can find my book at your

193
00:09:54,919 --> 00:09:57,360
favorite local bookstore or comic bookstore.

194
00:09:57,559 --> 00:09:58,799
Speaker 1: Well, Hope, you got to come back to this show

195
00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:00,679
anytime in the future. The doors always going to be

196
00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:01,200
open for you.

197
00:10:01,639 --> 00:10:03,559
Speaker 2: Oh, thank you so much. This is such a pleasure.

198
00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:04,759
Speaker 1: Will you be brilliant today?

199
00:10:04,799 --> 00:10:07,159
Speaker 2: Okay, okay, you too.

200
00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:07,679
Speaker 1: Thank you.