An Interveiw with Tom Angleberger.
Luc Trykowski (Lord Sidious): Are you aware of reactions of hardcore Star Wars fans? How do you feel, when you read all these comments on the Internet?
Tom Angleberger: It's fine that some of your readers think my book is dumb. That's okay. I wish I could get them to try it, but if they want to read something else... no problem!
But some of them thought I was disrespecting Star Wars and I just wanted a chance to tell them that I love Star Wars and my book is about kids who love Star Wars.
The book came out of my personal, 33-year fascination with the movies, books, action figures and everything else. I don't take much seriously, but I take Star Wars seriously. And I take Yoda seriously.
LT: Are you reading Polish sites using translate.google.com or other methods?
TA:Yes, I used Google and then a slang dictionary to figure out some of it. One person said: Ciekawe co musiał jarać ten kto to wymyślił.
It took me a while to figure that out, but I thought it was very funny once I found out what "jarac" meant.
But I promise I wasn't jarac!
LT: How did you found idea of making a book with origami Yoda? How it started?
TA:I saw an origami Yoda on the Web. It looked to hard for me to fold. So I wanted to make an easy one. I fiddled around and made one. It happened to work like a finger puppet. Then I had the idea of a kid who does the same thing, but takes it to school and makes it talk to people.
LT: We do not know much about your book. We know that main character is boy, loser, who has this origami Yoda puppet. Could you tell us something more about your book? It is more focused on school or on finding the Force of Yoda? Or maybe both?
TA:It's definitely a school story. A story about someone who has a really rough time at school. He's a kid who can't do anything right. Except Origami. After he folds Origami Yoda he makes it give people Yoda-style advice. The crazy thing is, the advice works really, really well.
Three other kids begin to investigate to see if Origami Yoda really uses the force or if he is
just a piece of paper. Maybe there is no force. Maybe the whole thing is just a trick. The reader can make up their own mind, too.
LT: Who is your target reader?
TA:There are two targets. First, kids who are 8-13 years old, especially if they are a little geeky. Second, adults who loved Star Wars as kids and still do.
LT: When you had an idea, what was next? You’ve started to write or try to consult Lucasfilm about using origami Yoda as a title character?
TA:I wrote the whole book. Then my editor worked on getting it approved by Lucasfilm. The person in charge of approving books at Lucasfilm took the book home and showed it to her son. He said yes!
LT: Could you write us something about contacts with Lucasfilm, especially in context of your work. Could you write anything you want, or there were some restrictions? How did Lucasfilm support you, if they do?
TA:Lucasfilm has been fantastic! They never shot down any of my ideas. And they let me use so many different Star Wars characters! It's a dream come true to get to draw Jabba and Admiral Ackbar and so many others for the book.
It was so cool to get documents that had my name used in connection with Lucasfilm. And then to have my video featured on StarWars.com ... that was amazing. And they're still doing more to help my publisher get the word out there.
LT: I saw in internet some instruction of making origami Yoda. Is something like that added to the book?
TA:Yes, there are printed instructions in the back of the book. The Website -- www.origamiyoda.com -- has links to the written instructions as well as the video.
LT: Are there any other Star Wars connections in your book? I saw some fighters and Death Star on the cover. Is it just a picture, or has it something common with the plot?
TA:There are lots of Star Wars references in the book -- quotes, drawings and Easter Eggs. For example, the school is Ralph McQuarrie Middle School. And for hardcore fans, there's a school bus with the number: 3263827.
Beyond that, at the heart of the book is The Force. Not so much actually Jedi wizardry, but the idea of choosing a path in life that leads to the good side or the dark side. That's something that's part of real life.
LT: Did you ever thought about making book with other origami Star Wars characters? Wookiees, Vader?
TA:Actually, Origami Chewbacca makes an appearance in this book. I've thought about having an Origami Vader in a sequel. Not sure about that yet.
LT: What is your inspiration? Books, movies?
TA:Frankly, I had a really, really hard time in middle school and high school. It stunk, but now it inspires me to rewrite my life. This book is really just about a kid trying to find someone who will understand him and accept him.
LT: And other SF/fantasy novels? You wrote me about Stanislaw Lem.
TA:I think Stanislaw Lem is simply the best science fiction writer ever. I got hooked when a Polish friend gave me a copy of "The Cyberiad." There is so much in his books to think about. And -- while some older sci-fi has gotten stale -- Lem is still way ahead of us. My favorite fantasy novels are the Gormenghast series by Mervyn Peake. I am also a fan of Michael Moorcock. Currently there is a writer in America named M.T. Anderson who is writing amazing books, including a disturbing science fiction novel called "Feed."
LT: Did you ever thought about writing mainstream Star Wars book? Young adult series like “Jedi Apprentice”?
TA:I'd love to, but frankly I'm not sure I'd be good at it. I am writing a science fiction book now, but even that is set in a school on earth.
LT: And Star Wars? How does it inspire you? How does it affected your life? How did you become a fan? What in Star Wars is most interesting to you?
TA:Star Wars is such a part of my life. It has brought me so much happiness. Back in the 70s we didn't have VCRs. We couldn't watch Star Wars again. We only had our memory of the movie. But I got an audio tape that condensed the story down to an hour. And I listened to it over and over and over.
As I said above, the Dark Side is real. And so is the light Side. Whether you believe in The Force or not, Star Wars reminds you that hate and revenge will lead you the wrong way. But you can choose another direction. You can choose to make your life and others' lives better. That's what Yoda symbolizes.
Luc Trykowski (Lord Sidious): Are you aware of reactions of hardcore Star Wars fans? How do you feel, when you read all these comments on the Internet?Tom Angleberger: It's fine that some of your readers think my book is dumb. That's okay. I wish I could get them to try it, but if they want to read something else... no problem!
But some of them thought I was disrespecting Star Wars and I just wanted a chance to tell them that I love Star Wars and my book is about kids who love Star Wars.
The book came out of my personal, 33-year fascination with the movies, books, action figures and everything else. I don't take much seriously, but I take Star Wars seriously. And I take Yoda seriously.
LT: Are you reading Polish sites using translate.google.com or other methods?
TA:Yes, I used Google and then a slang dictionary to figure out some of it. One person said: Ciekawe co musiał jarać ten kto to wymyślił.
It took me a while to figure that out, but I thought it was very funny once I found out what "jarac" meant.
But I promise I wasn't jarac!
LT: How did you found idea of making a book with origami Yoda? How it started?
TA:I saw an origami Yoda on the Web. It looked to hard for me to fold. So I wanted to make an easy one. I fiddled around and made one. It happened to work like a finger puppet. Then I had the idea of a kid who does the same thing, but takes it to school and makes it talk to people.
LT: We do not know much about your book. We know that main character is boy, loser, who has this origami Yoda puppet. Could you tell us something more about your book? It is more focused on school or on finding the Force of Yoda? Or maybe both?
TA:It's definitely a school story. A story about someone who has a really rough time at school. He's a kid who can't do anything right. Except Origami. After he folds Origami Yoda he makes it give people Yoda-style advice. The crazy thing is, the advice works really, really well.
Three other kids begin to investigate to see if Origami Yoda really uses the force or if he is
just a piece of paper. Maybe there is no force. Maybe the whole thing is just a trick. The reader can make up their own mind, too.
LT: Who is your target reader?
TA:There are two targets. First, kids who are 8-13 years old, especially if they are a little geeky. Second, adults who loved Star Wars as kids and still do.
LT: When you had an idea, what was next? You’ve started to write or try to consult Lucasfilm about using origami Yoda as a title character?TA:I wrote the whole book. Then my editor worked on getting it approved by Lucasfilm. The person in charge of approving books at Lucasfilm took the book home and showed it to her son. He said yes!
LT: Could you write us something about contacts with Lucasfilm, especially in context of your work. Could you write anything you want, or there were some restrictions? How did Lucasfilm support you, if they do?
TA:Lucasfilm has been fantastic! They never shot down any of my ideas. And they let me use so many different Star Wars characters! It's a dream come true to get to draw Jabba and Admiral Ackbar and so many others for the book.
It was so cool to get documents that had my name used in connection with Lucasfilm. And then to have my video featured on StarWars.com ... that was amazing. And they're still doing more to help my publisher get the word out there.
LT: I saw in internet some instruction of making origami Yoda. Is something like that added to the book?
TA:Yes, there are printed instructions in the back of the book. The Website -- www.origamiyoda.com -- has links to the written instructions as well as the video.
LT: Are there any other Star Wars connections in your book? I saw some fighters and Death Star on the cover. Is it just a picture, or has it something common with the plot?
TA:There are lots of Star Wars references in the book -- quotes, drawings and Easter Eggs. For example, the school is Ralph McQuarrie Middle School. And for hardcore fans, there's a school bus with the number: 3263827.
Beyond that, at the heart of the book is The Force. Not so much actually Jedi wizardry, but the idea of choosing a path in life that leads to the good side or the dark side. That's something that's part of real life.
LT: Did you ever thought about making book with other origami Star Wars characters? Wookiees, Vader?
TA:Actually, Origami Chewbacca makes an appearance in this book. I've thought about having an Origami Vader in a sequel. Not sure about that yet.
LT: What is your inspiration? Books, movies?
TA:Frankly, I had a really, really hard time in middle school and high school. It stunk, but now it inspires me to rewrite my life. This book is really just about a kid trying to find someone who will understand him and accept him.
LT: And other SF/fantasy novels? You wrote me about Stanislaw Lem.
TA:I think Stanislaw Lem is simply the best science fiction writer ever. I got hooked when a Polish friend gave me a copy of "The Cyberiad." There is so much in his books to think about. And -- while some older sci-fi has gotten stale -- Lem is still way ahead of us. My favorite fantasy novels are the Gormenghast series by Mervyn Peake. I am also a fan of Michael Moorcock. Currently there is a writer in America named M.T. Anderson who is writing amazing books, including a disturbing science fiction novel called "Feed."
LT: Did you ever thought about writing mainstream Star Wars book? Young adult series like “Jedi Apprentice”?TA:I'd love to, but frankly I'm not sure I'd be good at it. I am writing a science fiction book now, but even that is set in a school on earth.
LT: And Star Wars? How does it inspire you? How does it affected your life? How did you become a fan? What in Star Wars is most interesting to you?
TA:Star Wars is such a part of my life. It has brought me so much happiness. Back in the 70s we didn't have VCRs. We couldn't watch Star Wars again. We only had our memory of the movie. But I got an audio tape that condensed the story down to an hour. And I listened to it over and over and over.
As I said above, the Dark Side is real. And so is the light Side. Whether you believe in The Force or not, Star Wars reminds you that hate and revenge will lead you the wrong way. But you can choose another direction. You can choose to make your life and others' lives better. That's what Yoda symbolizes.
