Jeri Jacquin
In bookstores this week from Penguin Random House are
beloved characters that have been lovingly cared for by writer J.M. Lee with
the release of Song of the Dark Crystal.
The year was 2013 when The Jim Henson Company along with
Grosset & Dunlap of the Penguin Young Readers Group put out the call for
author submissions. The Dark Crystal Author Quest sought a prequel to Jim
Henson’s 1982 iconic The Dark Crystal.
Seeking a new novel over 500 writers took up the challenge.
It would be J.M. Lee’s story The Ring of Dreams that would take the prestigious Author Quest and
lead to Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal:
Shadows of the Dark Crystal. Released in 2016, the story is years before
The Dark Crystal in Thra as Naia, a young Gelfling, takes on the quest of
proving the accusation of her twin brother’s treason to be false.
Her journey leads her to clues to prove his innocence but
also something dark is in Thra and Naia is headed straight into the heart of
it. You’re thinking ‘that’s it?...going to leave me hanging like that?’ The
answer to that is – would I do that to you?
This week J.M. Lee brings readers of all ages back to the
lands of Gelfling with Jim Henson’s Song
of the Dark Crystal
Born and raised in Minnesota
(one of my favorite states), Lee is also a graduate from the University of Minnesota
I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with author J.M.
Lee about his own journey into The Dark
Crystal as its new story teller and keeper of reader’s dreams.
Jeri Jacquin: Good morning Joe, thank you so much for taking
the time to talk with me this morning.
Joe Lee: Thank you too.
JJ: I’m very excited to talk to you because my kids have
been fans of The Dark Crystal since forever. They are in their mid-30s now so
that tells you how long that fandom has been going on.
JL: That’s so great.
JJ: Tell me how you got involved with writing the next
chapters of The Dark Crystal
storyline?
JL: Sure, in 2013 Grosset & Dunlap sent out a call for
submissions specifically for this project. My agent emailed me letting me know
it was going on and wanted to know if I’d be interested. She didn’t know this
but The Dark Crystal was one of my
favorite movies growing up as well. So I said ‘yes I do’ and read what they
were looking for. I wrote my submission and a couple of years later the first
book Shadows of the Dark Crystal came
out. That’s how that happened and here we are with the second book Song of the Dark Crystal
JJ: When you were writing your submission, that had to not
only be intense but you are delving into something so iconic.
JL: Absolutely, when I first was reading through the
material that was presented for the submission I had seen the movie but didn’t
know there were so many other publications produced. There were the graphic
novels and so it was all pretty new to me. I was very excited to know there was
so much existing mythology for The Dark
Crystal so I nerded out on it. There is so much extended world information.
At the time when I was first writing my submission there wasn’t that pressure
yet, it was more just entering a contest. I think it was when Penguin called me
and said I was a finalist and wanted to know where I would take the story as a
full length novel that I began to feel the pressure. It was very intense in the
beginning but I think now I’ve become acclimated to it. I think there is so
much that I wanted to make sure it was on brand and cannon.
JJ: Did you know that you were going to get so involved even
further into it as you are now?
JL: No, I had no idea! The original contest was for one novel
and when we were wrapping up Shadow’s of
the Dark Crystal my editor came to me and said, ‘it just occurred to me to
ask if you wanted to do more, I just assumed you did’. I said absolutely and
the books were happening and then the involvement on the television series was
a total treat and a surprise for me. The whole thing has been a fun and crazy
ride.
JJ: Speaking of the series that had to be the ultimate
geek-out! In my family you have three generations of The Dark Crystal fans so watching your words spring into being had
to be amazing.
JL: The book writing process is so long, it takes time to
write and edit and it can be years between writing a book and finding it on the
shelf. You think you are ready for it but there is something so special seeing
a book on a shelf in a store and especially seeing The Dark Crystal logo on it. There is something that doesn’t feel
totally official until you see it in a story, it’s like magic.
JJ: The interest part of this for me is that kids still want
to actually read a book, with all the technology out there it’s easy to get
away from an actual hold-in-your-hand book. It is amazing to see the ‘new’
generation of kids reading The Dark
Crystal and you are responsible.
JL: I was at a teen literature conference here in the Twin
Cities and it was on a Saturday held at a high school. I wondered how they were
going to get teens to come back to their high school on a Saturday. It was
packed! The kids were so excited to meet authors and to buy books and to share
with each other. They were having the best time and I am so happy to be part of
that. I think that there is something so special about fiction for young
people. There is something about the way teens love fiction and especially love
books. There is some sort of notion with adults that there is a pressure to
choose which book is the best and which ones aren’t and with kids all books are
the best. They have arms full of books from all different genres but they are
going to love them equally. To be able to give them more stuff that they love
is why I write.
JJ: That’s thrilling to me watching kids get focused on a
series of books, and I know a few kids like that who love a certain writer or
story and turn their rooms into libraries. Don’t need to paint the walls just
put up book cases and books become the paint and you are now part of that so
congratulations sir.
JL: Thank you and let me say I’m so happy to be here.
JJ: To go back into the world of The Dark Crystal you said you had to do research of your own, was
that process difficult because you don’t want to repeat what is already there.
You want to bring your own vision into the mix as well so was that on your mind
as part of the process, finding that balance between the source material and
are your own thoughts?
JL: It was definitely part of the process. I’m a very
collaborative person and I’ve done it with other writers and other situations
like this. I really enjoy the collaborative aspect and in my opinion the more
the merrier to a point. The one thing I really appreciated about that is that The Dark Crystal books had a story that
was unique to them but also fit into the mythology of The Dark Crystal world. So there is definitely a balance that had
to be found that was a balance between were can we go that we haven’t gone
before and a great opportunity before me. This is the first time that a novel
that would be in this mythology. You can do a lot in a novel that you can’t do
in a graphic novel and vice versa so there was a lot of opportunity there.
There is also maintaining The Dark
Crystal world and I wanted to make sure that it is true to The Dark Crystal, it’s true to the film
and it’s true to the character of the property. I would never say that it was a
challenge really in the sense that it prevented me from writing something. In
every case where I ever felt I needed to search for new material, there was
something there that existed in The Dark
Crystal. So it was more of collaboration rather than a challenge.
JJ: I told people I was speaking to you this morning and I
just mention the words The Dark Crystal
and there are gasps. They are very curious to know what’s in the story and of
course they worry about losing their childhood memory of the original. They
want things to be as they were and yet at the same time they want the story to
grow.
JL: Yes, I think there is some anxiety from the fan base
because every time something new comes out from an existing storyline they get
nervous wondering if they are going to like it. I would say speaking for myself
that whenever I would worry about letting fans down or not doing it right I
think to myself that The Dark Crystal
means as much to me as it does to a person who is a creator in that world. That
is the same with anyone that I have worked with who is part of The Dark Crystal, we are all fans first
which is why we want to do this. I think that whenever I would get stressed out
by that pressure I go to the feeling that I love The Dark Crystal and that’s why I’m doing this – I am a fan. That
always pointed me in the right direction thinking as a fan what would I want to
read about or see. That has served me pretty well.
JJ: I think that is very important to tell the readers who
are waiting for this. You are a fan and you embrace it as much as they do and
knowing that should alleviate their anxiety. Now that you are engrained and you
can’t get away, from The Dark Crystal
world where do you see this going for you?
JL: I don’t really know because there are so many places to
take The Dark Crystal. There is
endless opportunities and from a nerd perspective <which made me laugh>,
seriously if you look at the mythology of The
Dark Crystal it’s a huge universe, a huge world and a huge timeline. There
are nooks and crannies that we can explore so it’s up to Jim Henson and
everyone involved who want to know where we can go next and I’m here for that
and totally up for it.
JJ: I’m giggling to because this is Comic Con week so this
is the best place for The Dark Crystal
to be and there is always a group dressed as the characters. I love what they
do because you can see the love they have for the characters and story being
part of their lives. The best part right now is I’m talking to the person
keeping that story alive and now that you’ve done it everyone is going to
expect you to stay!
JL: That’s alright, I’m here and ready!
JJ: When people of all ages come across Song of the Dark Crystal what would you like them to take away from
the story?
JL: For me as a child, The
Dark Crystal had a couple of major take-aways that have lasted a lifetime
for me. I think that one of the major themes from The Dark Crystal film is one that I have been trying to really
reinforce in the books which is harmony. The harmony between people and their
different ideas or the harmony between the land, the earth and the people who
are here to take care of it. There is always the idea of challenges or problems
but that harmony is the key to solving or surmounting those challenges. That is
the big concept takeaway. The smaller level take away is that everybody has
something special about them that they can use to make the world a better
place.
JJ: I like that, that’s really important because most of the
young readers are looking for is someone to say ‘it’s okay!’ and it’s okay to
have a love of the written word and it’s okay that you are not on a computer or
playing a video game. Most of all that it’s okay to pick up a book and go into
another world.
JL: I think the main character of Shadow in the first book
is a tough, athletic girl and she is trying to find her place in the world. The
main character in the Song of the Dark
Crystal that is coming out tomorrow actually is kind of a bookworm and sort
of a nerd. The book is about how he doesn’t have to be like his friends in
order to be important or to have something to say in about helping the world.
It’s about embracing who you are even if that’s a bookworm and that story is
close to my heart.
JJ: Congratulations on the book and I can’t wait to jump
back into that world and see where you will take us next.
JL: Thank you!
After speaking with Joe I am anxiously waiting for the book
to be in my own hands. The Dark Crystal
is part of our family as well and I am always ready to pass down to my
grandkids the love of adventure through holding a book in their hands. In this
world of The Dark Crystal are themes
of loyalty, trust, relationships, good vs. evil and most of all learning to be
true to one’s self.
Lessons we all truly need to embrace and, on occasion,
remind ourselves that it is still truly possible. This week from J.M. Lee and
Penguin Random House is a reason to curl up in our favorite chairs and go on an
adventure with The Dark Crystal
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