2014 - 07/2014 Meeting
Page Created: 03/06/14. Last Updated: 08/04/14.
CHRISTOPHER HEALY
Books:
Middle Grade Fantasies
..........The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw
..........The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle
..........The Hero's Guide to Saving the Kingdom
Humor
..........Pop Culture
ON LINE:
Official Site: http://christopherhealy.com/
Blog: http://kidpopandbeyond.blogspot.com/
MEETING SUMMARY
Meeting Date: July 21, 2014.
Meeting Site: Barnes & Noble (event room). Paramus, New Jersey.
Official Attendance: 21.
Meeting Program: Talk / Q & A with Middle Grade Fantasy Writer.
Notes:
Newsletter Account:
The following account is reprinted with permission from THE STARSHIP EXPRESS Copyright 2014 Philip J De Parto:
The Saturday, July 12, 2014 General Meeting of the Science Fiction Association of Bergen County was held in the Events Room of Barnes & Noble in Paramus, New Jersey. Middle Grade fantasy writer Christopher Healy was our speaker.
We had a couple of newcomers at the meeting who took part in the Ice Nine discussion which focused largely on current, upcoming, and classic television series: GOTHAM, LOST IN SPACE, ORPHAN BLACK, POWER RANGER, VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA and more. There was also talk about the Barnes & Noble Pop Cultured store events.
Christopher Healy, our night's guest, is the author of three humorous Middle Grade fantasy books which form the League of Princes series: THE HERO'S GUIDE TO SAVING YOUR KINGDOM, THE HERO'S GUIDE TO STORMING THE CASTLE, and THE HERO'S GUIDE TO BEING AN OUTLAW. The works focus on the doings of the much-less-than-heroic-than-the-tales-make-them princes of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White, though the ladies are also in the book.
Mr Healy credits his wife for his literary career. Our guest had wanted to be a writer since he was seven years old, but for years collected nothing but rejection slips from the science fiction magazine. He gave up the dream, but it sparked in a new direction upon meeting his future wife, a magazine non-fiction writer. Our speaker began writing non-fiction articles, reviews, and commentary for print and on-line magazines which focused on parenting. He developed a humorous book about parenting titled POP CULTURE which landed him an agent and a publisher.
The idea for the fantasy series grew out of Mr Healy's then-five-year-old daughter's fascination with the Disney Princesses. When he began playing around with ideas fora book, our guest realized how bland and unmemorable the princes were. They were rich and handsome and that was about it for the most part. Our speaker developed his characters by asking questions about the motivations of the princes. Why did one send out his servant to seek out Cinderella instead of doing it himself? Why didn't another simply get a ladder for Rapunzel? What was the prince doing out in the woods by himself when he came upon Snow White? Each of these questions engendered others and built up a backstory for the prince and suggested further adventures.
Mr Healy discussed the concept with his agent, Cheryl Pientka, who encouraged him to pursue the idea. When the first book was complete, she presented it to editors she felt would appreciate the humor. Jordan Brown of Walden Pond Press (an imprint of HarperCollins), snapped it up with a preemptive bid. Our guest used th STAR WARS template to organie the series. Book one stood alone. Book two ended in a cliff-hanger. Book three wrapped everything up. This accoubt continues on the 08/2014 Meeting Mage of the club website.