Promoting Now To Be the Next “Harry Potter”

Released on = April 5, 2005, 11:26 am

Press Release Author = Steven Philip Jones

Industry = Entertainment

Press Release Summary = The writer and artist behind a new middle grade fantasy series, “Talismen,” are using the Internet and hard work to prove to Hollywood and to publishers that they have created the next must-read young reader series.

Press Release Body = Cedar Rapids, IA (Express Press Release) April 5, 2005 – The Jim Henson Company has made inquiries. So has Scholastic Entertainment, the production branch for the American publisher of J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” books, and seven other Hollywood studios, scouts and producers so far.

“Imagine what the interest would be like if we had a publisher,” said Steven Philip Jones, a Cedar Rapids novelist and comic book writer.

What is Jones talking about?

Jones and Marion, Iowa artist Barb Jacobs have co-created an illustrated fantasy called “Talismen” that they believe will be the next must-read young reader series. But the pair is not waiting on a publisher to buy “Talismen” to prove they succeeded.

“You can’t start marketing a book too soon anymore,” said Jones. “There was a time when a writer could at least submit a manuscript to a publisher’s slush pile, but today most publishers won’t even consider a manuscript that doesn’t have readers already waiting to buy it.”

“I started assembling a ‘Talismen’ website as soon as Steve started writing the series’ first novel,” Jacobs said. “We wanted to get the word out about ‘Talismen’ right away.”

To date the “Talismen” website at www.angelfire.com/comics/talismen has received nearly 7000 hits, with many visitors leaving positive comments in its guest book.

“Talismen” follows the adventures of four 12-year-old boys—Colin Sinclair, Reggie Spencer, Ollie Steele, and Timmy Shannon—who discover they were exiled from the Land of Dreams before they were born. A man named Ba from the Realm of Nightmares is hunting the boys for a secret reason, but the boys find help from a dream warrior
named Pratt and his 12-year-old daughter, Jennifer.

“It’s a contemporary fantasy, with one foot in the present and the other in a fantastical plane of magic and knights and monsters,” Jacobs said. For example, Ollie and Timmy are military brats living on Guantanamo Base Naval Station in Cuba, so America’s War on Terror is shown as a very real part of their lives.

“Pratt informs the boys that they must each find their talisman, a magical items that can protect that boy from Ba,” said Jones. “But a talisman can also destroy its owner if its is not used properly. For instance, in our first novel Colin’s talismen is a knife that assaults his mind with nightmarish images every time he draws it. One of these images is the recent stabbing death of his father by a mugger.”

Jacobs and Jones are working doubly hard to build an audience for “Talismen” because they want to simultaneously release every story in the series as an illustrated novel and a graphic novel.

“The first 24 pages of the first graphic novel are inked, lettered, colored, and ready to go,” said Jacobs. “You can see sample pages at our website.” Visitors will also find the first chapter of the first novel, “The Knightmare Knife,” the latest “Talismen” news, character illos and bios, production sketches, and fan drawings.

Besides the website, Jacobs has posted dozens of her full-color “Talismen” illustrations on the Internet at fantasy and comic book websites like Gateway Monthly, Elfwood, Deviant Artist, Drunk Duck, and The Web Comics List.

“We also came up with a concept we call ‘tweeners,’” Jones said. “These are shorter stories that take place between the events in the novels.” A five-page comic book tweener, “Calling the King,” can be seen at Gateway Monthly (http://www.gatewaymonthly.com) and an illustrated novella, “The Boy In the Well,” will be available soon at Café Press (www.cafepress.com).

Jacobs is also posting chapters of a new graphic novel, “Return to Donnelly,” at its own website at http://www.angelfire.com/comics2/donnelly/. “Return to Donnelly”
features the “Talismen” heroes eight years in the future when they are young adults. Jacobs is writing as well as drawing this adventure, and in only four weeks this new website received over 2000 hits.

“Besides all this stuff, Barb and I have started an Internet group for ‘Talismen’ fans at Yahoo, made personal appearances at area schools, and are preparing to sell‘Talismen’ t-shirts and posters through Café Press,” Jones said. Meanwhile Jacobs, a songwriter and musician who has played in area bands, is working on material for a
‘Talismen’ CD.

“We’re doing everything we can think of to call attention to ‘Talismen,’” said Jacobs.

It has been a lot of hard work since Jones was inspired to contact Jacobs in February 2003 about creating a new illustrated series for young readers.

“A friend of mine, Phil Hester, told me how Scholastic had inquired about the novel rights to a comic book series he created called ‘FireBreather,’” said Jones. “I was happy for Phil, but this got me thinking how I’d always wanted to submit material to Scholastic but never gotten around to it. I was too busy concentrating on other
things I was writing.”

Jones’ published credits include two novels, the western “Bushwhackers” and the mystery-adventure “King of Harlem,” and over 50 comic books, including the original series “Nightlinger” and several adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft stories.

“Barb and I had created a couple of comic book series in the past,” Jones said.“When I got the itch to pursue Scholastic, I remembered that Barb had always wanted to break into illustrating children’s books. So I called her to see if she would be interested in creating a young adult fantasy series.”

Jacobs accepted the offer, and the pair soon decided to take one of their old series and give it a major face-lift.

“We created one series called ‘Commonwealth’ about a rock band attacked by forces from a dreamland,” Jacobs said. “Steve and I really liked the main characters and the dreamland concept, but `Commonwealth’ had been created for older adolescents and
adults. I had the idea of taking ‘Commonwealth’s’ band members, who are in their twenties, and making them kids. Steve liked the idea and suggested we create new histories for them while keeping their original personalities. We came up with some ideas about how we could revamp the dreamland concept, and over the next few weeks
we created the first ‘Talismen’ story and the foundation for most everything that follows.”

Most of this collaborating was done through emails, which remains Jacobs and Jones’ primary method of working together.

“We’re both freelancers, but we both work full time and we’re both parents,” Jones said. “At first Barb and I would meet at Barnes & Noble to hash out ideas, but finding time to do that was difficult at best. We just fell into exchanging emails, and then Barb began attaching sketches of her ideas so I could see the characters
and the ‘Talismen’ world. For us, it’s a great way of working.”

Their children have become one of the pair’s greatest motivations to work on“Talismen.”

“I’ve shared the creation of ‘Talismen’ with my children, and Steve has done the same with his daughter,” Jacobs, a single mother of two, said.

“Our kids in turn have shared ‘Talismen’ with their friends,” said Jones. “If
nothing else ever comes out of it, my memories of this will have made all the late
nights and long hours worthwhile.”

But all their hard work may be about to pay off for Jacobs and Jones. Besides receiving inquiries from Hollywood, novel and comic book publishers are asking to look at “Talismen.”

“Not that we’re waiting for anybody to call us first,” said Jones. “The slush pile may be going the way of the Dodo, but I still send out queries to publishers and agents. It just doesn’t pay not to take advantage of every option available to you, no matter how steep the odds against success. You just never know where or when
opportunity will appear.”

No matter who ends up publishing “Talismen” or how that publisher ends up finding out about it, Jacobs and Jones will be happy.

“We’re just anxious to share our stories with as many people as we can,” Jacobs said. “Hopefully that will happen very soon.”

For additional information contact:
Steven Philip Jones
319-366-5176
www.angelfire.com/comics/talismen
sphilipjones@aol.com

Web Site = http://www.angelfire.com/comics/talismen

Contact Details = Steven Philip Jones
Professional Park
116 2nd Street NE
319-364-7627
www.angelfire.com/comics/talismen
sphilipjones@aol.com