Interview With Nick Ruth, Author of "The Dark Dreamweaver"

Nick Ruth didn't set out to be an author when he sat down to write The Dark Dreamweaver; he was just looking for a way to connect with his son. The two share a love of reading, and Nick decided to surprise his son with a personalized story. What started out as a short story grew into a 224-page book that has won awards and attracted fans around the country.Nick is a lifelong resident of Baltimore, Maryland. He has degrees in biology and computer networking, and he works as a computer network administrator. He and his family share their home with three cats and various other creatures, some of whom appear in The Remin Chronicles in various guises. In his spare time, Nick enjoys reading, playing guitar, and writing music. Nick is currently working on book three of The Remin Chronicles.Tyler: Thank you for joining me today, Nick. To begin, would you tell us a little bit about the plot behind "The Dark Dreamweaver?"Nick: Boy meets wizard; Boy helps wizard; Evil defeated yet again. I happen to love the tiny summaries in the TV guide that attempt to tell the plot of epic movies in 10 words or less so that's my little contribution. The story revolves around an imaginative young boy named David, who befriends a cursed wizard and goes on a magical journey to break the curse and defeat the power-hungry wizard Thane. The journey takes place in the world of Remin, which is where our dreams are given their appearance of reality through the magic of dreamweaving. We meet talking sea serpents, a man that resembles a jellyfish, a man with replaceable heads. Magic and fun characters. This book has it all.Tyler: Nick, how does David's journey begin? I understand he goes to Remin, the land of dreams, so is he dreaming during the book or is it reality he is experiencing? I am reminded of "The Wizard of Oz" where Dorothy's adventure is supposed to have really happened in the book, but in the film, it was all a dream.Nick: Funny you should mention "The Wizard of Oz." A frequent question during bookstore appearances is: What kind of story can be found in "The Dark Dreamweaver"? Most people instinctively want a familiar reference point when discussing a new book, and my answer is that "The Wizard of Oz" book (not the movie) is a good comparison. I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying that Remin is a real place. David encounters a wizard who is cursed so that he lives the life of a butterfly in endless repetition. David meets the wizard in the form of a caterpillar and the journey begins.Tyler: How did the idea of the world of Remin come to you?Nick: I love this question. Here's a bit of well-known trivia. When L. Frank Baum was working on "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", he was searching for a name for his magical land and happened to glance at his filing cabinet where the drawers were labeled A-N and O-Z. I think he chose the right drawer as I'm not sure "The Wonderful Wizard of AN" would have captured the public's fancy. I'm a huge fan of those "Behind the Music" shows and I love finding out about the influences behind the books that I read. The story behind the story is sometimes a lot of fun, and "The Dark Dreamweaver" is no exception. I have a pretty detailed description on my website so I'll just hit the highlights here.I'm a big believer in reading to your children, and so every night I would read to my son David. He loved the Magic School Bus stories, and I'm sorry to say that I became bored reading the same stories over and over again. Kids love repetition, but me, not so much. We invented a Magical David character and I started to make up scenes where my son would appear in the stories to help out Miss Frizzle and her kids. He loved this so much that I decided to invent a short story where he was the main character. I envisioned a ten pager but it took me two hundred pages to tell the story that became "The Dark Dreamweaver."Many of the elements in the story are taken from David's experiences. We spent one summer finding Monarch butterfly eggs and raising the caterpillars, and one day while pondering what kind of story I could write, the idea that one of the caterpillars talked sparked my imagination and soon there were numerous questions to be answered. Who was this caterpillar and where was he from? Each answer led to another question and slowly but surely the story blossomed. Several of David's Lego creations made their way into the story, and the glass wand filled with colored glitter that we picked up at a festival ignited the magic in the tale.The name Remin comes from the concept of rapid-eye movement, or REM, which is the sleep state that involves dreams. Take that, Mr. Baum.Tyler: I love it, putting one over on L. Frank Baum, although I'm a huge fan of his as well. What do you think makes Remin stand out from other fantasy worlds in other books?Nick: Wow, tough question. Our world and Remin are linked. What happens in Remin doesn't stay in Remin. I think that's a little unique. Destroy Oz and everything is still the same in our world. Destroy Remin and nobody is going to sleep well anymore.Tyler: I understand the subplots offer some lessons on environmental science, and key roles for children, among other lessons. Do you feel children's books have a responsibility toward the reader beyond entertainment?Nick: Yes and No. Reading is the important point here. I have an eight-point plan on my web-site called BLASTOFF to help parents help their kids to become lifetime readers. I think that I have the responsibility to present an entertaining story that any parent would be happy to read to their kids and if I can make learning fun in the context of the story, then that's a bonus. Children will have plenty of time to learn about the darker sides of life so my books are designed not to keep your kids up at night. I think every good children's story offers lessons and no matter how deeply you bury those idea in your story, kids figure it out.I didn't write a story to teach a lesson. I just wanted to write a good story. The butterfly lessons in my book come naturally from the story, so it was an easy decision to expand that a little bit and add some facts at the end of the book and try to help kids become interested in the world of the butterfly.Tyler: What is the lesson to be learned from "The Dark Dreamweaver"?Nick: The main theme for the book is the power of imagination. Much of the magic in the book comes from inside the people that populate the story. David learns that there are things more important than what he wants, and that working together is better than going solo.Tyler: The recommended reading age for "The Dark Dreamweaver" is 9-12 year olds. Do you recommend parents read these books with their children, and do you think adults would also find them appealing?Nick: I still enjoy reading Dr. Seuss, so I can't be too objective here. A good story appeals to all ages, so I think that adults will enjoy the story as well. I highly recommend that parents read to their children and so this is a good place for me to layout the BLASTOFF plan.Bedtime (make time to read)Librarian (help find books that interest your kids)Audio (don't ignore audio books)Self (become a reader yourself)Together (read as a family)Open-minded (be open-minded about what they read)Force (don't force it)Fun (if it's fun they will gravitate toward it)I had many kids tell me that they've read my book multiple times and that is one of the highest compliments that I think I can get. Remin is just one of the many worlds that are out there to explore and I hope that children or parents who read this interview will find out about Remin and then explore more worlds like Oz, Narnia, and Xanth.Tyler: I love the acronym, Nick. As opposed to children, what sorts of responses have you received from parents about your books or the blast-off idea?Nick: Well that's something that doesn't get asked too much. Most of the questions I get are focused on the children who read the book, so it's nice to talk about what parents think of "The Dark Dreamweaver." One of my favorite quotes is from a mother who thinks the book will make a great movie, and several parents have mentioned that they read it to their kids and when they were done the kids took the book and read it themselves. That always brings a smile to my face, and that's where the blast-off idea came from. Making children life-long readers is one of the best things you can do for them, and I have given several radio interviews talking about this 8-point plan. Easy to remember and descriptive of what will happen to your child's mind when the world of books is thrown open for them to explore.Tyler: Without giving away the end of the story, I understand the characters triumph using their wits and wisdom, and that the book has very little fighting. Did you intentionally steer away from a more traditional wizards and warriors, epic battle type story, and why?Nick: The structure of my story was greatly influenced by my son, who isn't a big fan of violence, and so "The Dark Dreamweaver" is a fairly bloodless fantasy. While my whole family loves Harry Potter, I think J.K. Rowling went a little too far in Goblet of Fire during Voldemorts rebirth, and because my book is geared toward a slightly younger audience I made a point to keep the intensity dialed down.My vision of Remin didn't really fit the mold of the whole Dungeons and Dragons environment so I think I've created a unique little world while still maintaining a comfortable magical quality. I actually see the "traditional" fantasy world as a myth. Look at OZ, Xanth, Narnia, Droon and Harry Potter. Not your typical D&D like Lord of the Rings or Eragon. I think a lot of children's fantasy softens the sword and sorcery angle which can be a little jarring for young minds.Tyler: Our eleven year old reviewer at Reader Views, Aja King, loved "The Dark Dreamweaver" so much she has read it three times and now her father is reading it. Is this typical of the response you have received so far from the book? What have readers told you they like best about "The Dark Dreamweaver?"Nick: Aja and I have struck up an online dialog and her reaction to my book is close to what I have heard from other children and parents. Because it's skewed a little younger than Harry Potter, it's a great introduction to fantasy books. The children I have met have all read the book multiple times and they like the fantastic characters as well as the idea that their dreams travel to another world before returning to them while they are sleeping. They love the fact that David doesn't just see the magic around him but actually participates. I originally wrote this story for an audience of one (my son) but the fact that it has found a much larger audience is very gratifying.Tyler: Nick, how old is your son now, and is he still giving you ideas for books?Nick: David is now almost 12 years old. Many of the best ideas in my stories come from his experiences and imagination. I expand on them or alter them for story purposes but my son is definitely an integral part of all of the best things in Remin. I wrote the first book when he was 6 and now he's co-writing a Remin book with me, as well as working on his own book series. He's my biggest fan.Tyler: That's wonderful, Nick. Not many children have parents who encourage them to be writers. I understand the second book is already published. Can you tell us a little bit about the second book?Nick: I never planned on a series. In fact I never considered myself a writer. I work in the computer industry and this started as a story to entertain my son. The first book was a fluke. A story that begged to get onto the paper and flowed almost without thought. It was like the land of Remin planted the dream into my head while I slept and all I had to do was write it down when I woke up. When I presented the story to my son I was emphatic that there were no other stories, but he was so thrilled with the adventure that it wasn't too long before I started wondering if there wasn't another story to be told.David wanted his cousins to travel to Remin, and that became the starting point for what became the second book, "The Breezes of Inspire" which actually takes place in an entirely new world that is connected to Remin. Giant talking plants, a forgetful sea serpent and angry four-armed environmentalists are along for the ride and although it was a much harder story to write, I'm very satisfied with the results. With butterflies in the first book, the second book touches on the idea of symbiosis where two different life forms join to their mutual benefit. When I finished this book, I again told my son that this was the last book.Tyler: Do you know how many books will be in the series? Is it a planned number of volumes as with the Harry Potter books or will you keep writing them as long as readers want them?Nick: I guess I should never say never. The third book is halfway through the first draft so I guess if the first two books continue to sell and win awards there will be another Remin adventure. There are not a planned number of books but each new story that I write gives me hints about other possible storylines. Each story is a stand-alone adventure so it can go as far as my imagination takes me. I have glimmers in my mind that could produce as many as six books in the series and I'm sure if I head down that path even more ideas will present themselves.Tyler: It's ironic that you mention six books. You know, L. Frank Baum tried to make his sixth Oz book the last one, but the children insisted on more, so after a couple years, he returned to them and ended up writing fourteen before he died. And even then, the publishers had to hire other writers to continue the series. Have you considered writing other types of books like Baum wanted to, or will you stick to children's fantasy for now?Nick: I have a little note on my computer where I have several other ideas scribbled down, but I think I'm locked into children's fantasy for the foreseeable future. Maybe when I retire I'll tackle some of my other ideas. David's interests drive a lot of my activities, so as long as he has an interest in Remin, I'll continue to explore that world.Tyler: Fantasy is probably the most popular genre for children's books. Yet there are those adults who are opposed to fantasy. Why do you think fantasy (or fairy tale) stories remain so important for children? What benefit does it provide them?Nick: This is the type of question that could result in a book-length answer. Kids are highly imaginative and I think as we turn into adults we forget how big a part imagination played in our own lives. Working on the book took me back to my childhood, where we built forts in my backyard and dreamed about flying. I think kids use fantasy to protect themselves from the dangers of the real world and to keep themselves from growing up too fast.Some of our best children's classics come from parents writing stories to entertain children. "Winnie the Pooh" originated in much the same way as my book with A.A. Milne inventing his world for his son Christopher. J.M. Barrie told his stories to a friend's children. He recognized the importance of fantasy in a child's life and embodied it in Peter Pan who became the poster boy for the power of imagination.I'm perplexed with adults who oppose fantasy. Thomas Edison was chastised for being a dreamer and became one of our greatest inventors. Thinking outside the box is a benefit in this fast moving world, and fantasy is definitely an outside-the-box activity. It will take an awful lot of imagination to solve some of the issues confronting us today.Tyler: Nick, before we go, will you tell our readers what your website is so they can find out more information about The Remin Chronicles series and where to purchase a copy of "The Dark Dreamweaver"?Nick: Gladly. You can learn all about the series at amazon or http://www.darkdreamweaver.com. My site has information about the series as well as some fun things to do including the theme songs for both books which I wrote and performed. David added some harmonies to the "Breezes of Inspire" theme song so check it out if you get the chance. It's been a lot of fun.Tyler: One last question, Nick. You mentioned theme songs, which seem unusual for a book. Are you hoping to expand the books into multimedia ventures, such as cd's, or films?Nick: No. The theme songs are just a way to make the books stand out a little bit in a very competitive industry. I had written other songs for my own enjoyment so when the book was published it was just a nice marketing tool. There's nothing better than enjoying your work and I like noodling around with my guitar, so it was another easy decision to write a song to help sell the book. Playing the theme songs during appearances is also a nice entertainment bonus. Aja has a theme song for her book "Three Grin Salad," so maybe we're at the vanguard of a new trend in book marketing.My son of course would love to see the book made into a film and "The Dark Dreamweaver" was an honorable mention at the 2006 Hollywood Book Festival, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm just going to keep playing in the literary world of Remin and see what the future holds.Tyler: Thank you so much for joining me today, Nick. I hope your imagination remains fertile for the many children out there waiting to read more of your books. dr seuss cat in hat history