Influences and The Academy
Influences are a funny thing. Publishing the Academy has given me a unique opportunity to hear from lots of people who have read the book - a fun experience and a privilege, I might add - and one of the first things they share is what they feel were the book's influences.
Its fascinating to me, because it says almost as much about the person, and their relationship with the material, as it does about the book itself. It also interesting to see the certainty with which some readers ascribe scenes, events or characters to an inspirational source. Sometimes it's things that I expected. Sometimes it's things that I have never even heard of, or didn't like.
Oddly enough, the main influence on The Academy (from my perspective) is one that no one has ever mentioned to me - namely, X-Men comic books.
I've been reading them since I was eight, and fascinated by the idea from the first time I heard it. While I hated the movies, I've stuck with the books over the years, and continued to enjoy them as an adult. But I always had questions I felt like the authors of the book never addressed...
I wanted to know more about what happened at the school, when they weren't saving the world. It was, after all, a houseful of teenagers on their own. Why was there never any sex? Or drinking? Or any of the things that I spent all of my time as a teenager obsessed with?
But it went further. I could never bring myself to fully trust Professor Xavier, and couldn't understand how the other characters in the book did. After all, how could you trust someone who could control your thoughts? How could they be sure that anything they did wasn't a result of his manipulation? How could they be sure his intentions were good?
Two decades of wondering about these kind of questions is largely what lead to the first seeds of the Central Series. But no one has ever made the comparison, because everyone's relationship to a book is private, individual and unique.
As always, if you want to reach me for any reason, hit me up at [email protected]. Thanks!
Its fascinating to me, because it says almost as much about the person, and their relationship with the material, as it does about the book itself. It also interesting to see the certainty with which some readers ascribe scenes, events or characters to an inspirational source. Sometimes it's things that I expected. Sometimes it's things that I have never even heard of, or didn't like.
Oddly enough, the main influence on The Academy (from my perspective) is one that no one has ever mentioned to me - namely, X-Men comic books.
I've been reading them since I was eight, and fascinated by the idea from the first time I heard it. While I hated the movies, I've stuck with the books over the years, and continued to enjoy them as an adult. But I always had questions I felt like the authors of the book never addressed...
I wanted to know more about what happened at the school, when they weren't saving the world. It was, after all, a houseful of teenagers on their own. Why was there never any sex? Or drinking? Or any of the things that I spent all of my time as a teenager obsessed with?
But it went further. I could never bring myself to fully trust Professor Xavier, and couldn't understand how the other characters in the book did. After all, how could you trust someone who could control your thoughts? How could they be sure that anything they did wasn't a result of his manipulation? How could they be sure his intentions were good?
Two decades of wondering about these kind of questions is largely what lead to the first seeds of the Central Series. But no one has ever made the comparison, because everyone's relationship to a book is private, individual and unique.
As always, if you want to reach me for any reason, hit me up at [email protected]. Thanks!
No comments have been added yet.
