Saturday, October 16, 2010

Interview & Giveaway with Jack Black and The Imagine Nation Author, Matt Myklusch

We recently had the opportunity to interview Matt Myklusch, author of Jack Blank and The Imagine Nation, on Mundie Moms. Here's a portion of our interview, and you can find the rest of our interview and enter our giveaway here http://tinyurl.com/2dep6dx










Here's a synopsis of Jack Blank-

Jack Blank doesn't know who he is or where he comes from. He doesn't even know his real last name. All Jack knows is his bleak, dreary life at St. Barnaby's Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten and Lost. Everything changes one morning when Jack receives two visitors The first is a deadly robot, straight out of one of Jack's favorite comic books, that tries his best to blow him up. The second is an emissary from a secret country called the Imagine Nation, where all the fantastic and unbelievable things in our world orginate-including Jack. Jack soon discovers that he has an amazing ability-one that could make him the savior of the Imagine Nation and the world beyond, or the biggest threat they've ever faced (taken from the back of the ARC).


If you were a citizen of Imagine Nation, what "super power" would you have or would you want to be?

Growing up, I used to think about this quite a lot. As a comic book fan, it kind of comes with the territory. When I was a kid, I thought Wolverine was really cool and wanted to have claws like his. Now that I'm an adult, I know better. I mean really... what am I going to do with claws? I don't want to cut anybody. I'm a lot more practical in my approach to this sort of thing now. As the father of a two-year old boy, with another baby on the way, I want the power to stop time... so my wife and I can sleep. Oh, how we miss sleep.


What do you admire most about Jack? Why?

I think my favorite thing about Jack is his courage and determination. People are constantly telling him that his life is going to end up a certain way, and there's nothing he can do about it. They say his future is what it is, and that is that. The standardized tests Jack takes at school even predict he will grow to be a "toilet brush cleaner" of all things. Jack doesn't buy into any of it. Even when he gets to the Imagine Nation, and people have very different concerns about his future, Jack doesn't back down. He has this courageous underdog quality about him that I love. Babe Ruth said, "you can't beat the guy who never gives up." That's Jack.


How would you describe Imagine Nation to someone who didn't believe?

The Imagine Nation is the comic book world come to life— the secret home of super-heroes, super-villains, ninjas, aliens, robots, magic and more. All the fantastic and unbelievable things in our world... all the impossible stories you've ever heard... they have to come from somewhere. This is the place. People just like you have seen it, walked its streets, and been inspired by it. I'm talking about people whose names you know. Musicians, writers, thinkers, leaders... they all stood on the shores of the Imagine Nation and took its wonder back to the Real World. The only difference between you and them is that they believed the impossible was possible. Or maybe, there’s no difference at all. It’s up to you.
I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. ~ Anna Quindlen

Good children's literature appeals not only to
the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child.
~ Anonymous ~