Book Birthday Blog with Jim Benton

 

 Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog! 

Where we celebrate new books by Michigan's children's book authors and illustrators

Congratulations to Jim Benton on the release of his new book, Franny K. Stein, Recipe for Disaster!  

 

Happy Halloween! This year, to celebrate, we feature an especially frightful tale, featuring mad scientist Franny K. Stein! Read on to see how this hair-raising story came to life... 

 

Congratulations on the release of Franny K. Stein, Recipe for Disaster! This is the 9th book in the Franny K. Stein series, following the mad scientist as she sets out to create the Most Delicious Muffin On Earth, and deals with the consequences of a muffin-obsessed student body. Did you set out to write Franny K. Stein as a series of books, or was its evolution into a longer series more of a surprise?
 
I didn’t really think that far ahead. I pitched book one to a few different publishers, and was just really excited when we did a deal with Simon and Schuster. When they said they wanted to start with four titles I was just knocked out.
 
Franny K. Stein is delightfully wild and a little dark, as are her adventures! How do you draw the line for younger audiences when writing darker humor? Is it ever something you think about when writing?
 
I just go by instinct. The readers seem to understand that Franny’s heart is in the right place, and she always fixes things when she messes up. Franny and her lab look pretty sinister, but they know that she’s all about curiosity and discovery and outrageousness.
 
Your website describes some of the materials you use to draw for books like the Franny K. Stein series. Have you always liked a combination of pen and watercolor for your illustrations? Have you experimented with other mediums?
 
I use all kinds of stuff. The more recent Frannys are still drawn with good ol’ ink on paper, but I do the tinting on a computer.

Franny K. Stein is just one of your many characters! (Readers can browse some of our previous interviews with you here to read about more of your books.) Do you find you have lots of character or story ideas floating around at once? How do you record those ideas and decide what to move forward with?
 
SO MANY! I will not live long enough to execute all the ideas I have for stories. They are pinned up on bulletin boards and stacked in boxes all over my studio. Generally, I just work on whatever suites me at that moment.
 
On another note, It’s Me: Catwad was recently featured as NBC 5’s Book of the week. Congratulations! Did you ever anticipate your books having such a wide reach?
 
I don’t really think about it. Dear Dumb Diary, for example, has almost ten million books in print, is in over ten languages, and I made a TV musical based on it. But in the beginning, it was just four pages I thought were funny. I think if I thought any further than that, it might not come out right.
 
What’s your advice for building a following as an author, both online and off?
 
I think this is always the same, isn’t it? 1. Finish writing the book. 2. Finish re-writing the parts that are terrible. 3. Show it to publishers. Each one of those steps can be difficult, but each step must be taken.
 
What projects do you have coming up? I hear there’s another Catwad book soon to come…
 
Coming up soon or very recently released—COMET THE UNSTOPPABLE REINDEER, FRANNY K STEIN RECIPE FOR DISASTER, CLYDE, ATTACK OF THE STUFF, CATWAD FOUR ME?, JOP AND BLIP, and FANN CLUB.

 

A little bit about the book:

 

Franny K. Stein isn’t a good baker. But when she sees that the fundraisers for the art and music departments at her school aren’t making enough money, she decides to take matters into her own hands.

Using her genius mind and kitchen, which is really just another type of laboratory, she sets out to create The Most Delicious Muffin On Earth!

Sales, of course, go through the roof. But bad things can happen when people become exposed to the best thing they’ve ever tasted. They can become...overenthusiastic.

 

A little bit about the author: 

Jim Benton is the award-winning creator of more than thirty books, including the New York Times best-selling series Dear Dumb Diary, the series Franny K. Stein, the series Catwad as well as the international licensing hit, It’s Happy Bunny. His books have sold more than fifteen million copies worldwide, been translated into more than fifteen languages (and Braille), and have garnered numerous honors (like LIMA awards, Addy awards, Eisner nominations, Reuben divisional awards, an Eleanor Cameron award, and a NAPPA award to name a few). Benton is a member of the Writers Guild of America, the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators, the National Cartoonists Society and The Society of Illustrators. He has also contributed to The Licensing Book, Writer's Digest Magazine, Reader's Digest Magazine, Kidscreen Magazine, Dark Horse Presents, MAD Magazine, and The New Yorker. Learn more about him at www.jimbenton.com.