Interview with the Author and the Illustrator

We wanted a winsome way to introduce ourselves. Then we thought, "Why not have one of our key characters interview us?"

So, straight from New London in Anareyt, here is Rochelle Augusta! Rochelle will help you get to know us a little.

Rochelle: Hi everybody! I'm here with Don Robison and Kelley Harris. Don's the author of these books, and Kelley the illustrator. My goal is to introduce them to you. My first question is for Don. What in the world were you thinking in creating a steampunk world?!

Don: So, Rochelle, I love steampunk... I love the brass, nuts, bolts, and gears of it. I love the feel of it, the fashion of it... I even get a kick out of the goggles. There are outrageous contraptions everywhere. Women wear clusters of gears on their wrists as bracelets! How great is that?

Steampunk takes us back to a time when we made things that were solid and relatively simple. Things we kept and fixed. I like that.

But, it also hearkens back to times of imperialism, and institutionalized racism and sexism; times of widespread injustice. Such things provide the perfect context for meaningful stories about the world in which we live. And, you know, we understand life through story.

I am at my core a storyteller. I thought it would be fun to create a dystopian steampunk world. But, a world like our world, where there is hope.

Rochelle Augusta

The Interview...

Don Robison, Author

"I am at my core a storyteller. I thought it would be fun to create a dystopian steampunk world; but, a world like our world, where there is hope." ~Don Robison

Rochelle: Kelley, what was your favorite part of the process for working on this book?

Kelley: I really loved the character creation, I love how diverse the Anareyt cast is and had a lot of fun bringing them to life.

Rochelle: Don, you touch on social issues like racial equity and justice. Why? Are you trying to teach us here?

Don: No! Not teach. I have always been fascinated by the truth that when we see others as having less value than ourselves, we are capable of unspeakable atrocity. This story explores that theme.

I was six in 1963--when this book is set--and I remember, vaguely, a few of the events of that year. Dr. Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream speech' and Medgar Evers' murder happened in the summer. George Wallace barred the doors of the University of Alabama so that Black students could not register for classes there. I don't recall John F. Kennedy's speech delivered that same night, in which he outlined the elements of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

No, I was not trying to teach here, but something about all that grips me, and I was drawn to set this story in that world, or at least have that world provide context.

Rochelle: So is it just me? It seems to me that our Anareyt cars and biplanes driven by steam are really a lot slower than gasoline-propelled vehicles on Earth. Is that true?

Don: It is. As innovative as the technologies of Anareyt are--and they are very creative--the cars and planes do not have the horsepower our internal combustion engines have. [Don looks to the right and left] Don't tell anyone, but the Sage of Anareyt (as he styles himself) is developing biofuels that will approximate aviation fuel for use in his aircraft. This will come to make a difference in our tale down the line.

Rochelle: Kelley, do you have a favorite illustration?

Kelley: I think its a tie between the image of Matt on his motorcycle, or the image of the 3 women horseback riding. I was able to play a lot with the lighting in those illustrations and I think they turned out pretty cool!

Rochelle: Kelley, Do you have any favorite characters, or ones that were particularly fun to draw?

Kelley: I always enjoyed drawing Rochelle and Garic. Their outfits and color palettes were also my favorites to design.

Rochelle: Don, is it true that all the crazy inventions in this book have their basis in real-life inventions or current science?

Don: Yes. Even the battery break-throughs, which feel kind of fantasy-world to me, are based in current research. I did make up some new elements for Anareyt that solve some problems for us. But, the innovations are all based in current science. The steam-powered car design is based on steam locomotive design (on a smaller scale). That part of this was a lot of fun. Kind of geeky! Lots of fun!

Rochelle: Okay, now both of you: what do you do when you aren't working on these books?

Kelley: I'm a full time freelancer, so when I'm not working on this project, I usually have a handful of other clients I'm working with. In my spare time I like to play video games and card games with my friends.

Don: I'm happily married. I love football, movies, books, and sailing. I am an Associate Professor at a medical school. I love student interactions! In fact, it was a conversation with a group of students that inspired these books several years ago.

Thank you for your time! It was good to meet you.

Kelley Harris, Illustrator