World of Writing - Author Interview
Speaker, writer and podcaster Jeffrey Kippel is joining us today to tell us about his experience in writing "an uplifting, laugh-out-loud sci-fi comedy adventure" book The Ridiculous Adventures of Serbinand.
Jeff and I had a zoom meeting recently discussing how we can network together, and in that discussion I learned that his background is varied: from green living to fitness, wellness, and empowering and coaching others. We share a passion for empowering others and living green. Jeffrey is also the co-host of Tuning IN with Jeff… and sometimes Mindy - a talk and interview show featuring storytellers, innovators and a variety of experts. Jeff balances all of these activities with being the ambassador for #rethinkFIT. www.laughoutloud.life
Jeff invites our readers to drop by his sites:
Serbinand.com
TuningIn.club
Serbinand.com
TuningIn.club
UnleashYourSuperHero.com
Q: Why did you feel this book needed to be written?
A: At first it needed to be written because once the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series was finished, it was finished. I wanted a similar adventure to keep going, so I created it. Now, I think it is needed because everyone needs to laugh. To pause. Rethink. Laugh. Escape. All of those reasons. Milton Burle said “laughter is the best medicine” and I truly believe that if people took the moment to pause long enough to laugh, there would be a lot more happiness going around.
Q: Did you take any writing classes?
A: In high school I majored in English and all the writing type classes that were connected to that from mythology to Shakespeare. I went to York University in Toronto, Canada and continued on that path and studied creative writing, screen-writing, poetry and philosophy.
Q: Where do you hope to take your writing in the future?
A: Well I envision The Ridiculous Adventures of Serbinand to have 5 books in the series and also adapted into an animated series. My hope is to continue to inspire people to laugh, take a break, and go with the flow of life.
Q: What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?
A: The first one came right out of university. I was working for the newspaper - The Excalibur - and recruited a team to join me in launching Canada’s first environment magazine. It was called Recover with the slogan: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Recover
The second is with the release of The Ridiculous Adventures of Serbinand. I have gotten to be interviewed in blogs, podcasts, talk shows, I’ve spoken to people around the world - from kids to adults -about creativity, science-fiction, imagination, and so much more.
Q: What age group did you write for?
A: At first I thought this book was going to be geared towards the nostalgia and millions of people who enjoyed, experienced or are still following Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Once the book came out, especially the audiobook, we soon realized it was much more than that. Sci-Fi Comedy is it’s own category and we found that the overall category of comedy is really where it fits. In fact it ranked in the top 300 audiobooks on Audible in the Humour/Satire Category, and several in the top 100 on Amazon. I am finding that kids like it, adults like it, parents & grandparents like it too as they enjoy reading it to their kids. So since it is written for anyone who wants to laugh, to escape, to be in the moment and really laugh, it is for all ages!
Q: Tell us about the illustrations/illustrator/process of achieving just the right imagery.
A: So we were deliberate, and when I say we, I mean my wife, Mindy, who in addition to being my biggest inspiration and cheerleader, she is also the development editor. The cover, for example, was almost exactly what I had envisioned it to be when I first started writing the book. The first cover though was a picture I took of an Inukshuk statue, which is now on the back cover. It was a great picture of this ancient native symbol for friendship, direction and coming together, however it wasn’t it, and once I let go of needing to do everything with the book the right graphic designer, with the right cover image, showed up and it was perfect. The voices on the audiobook that the voice actor and narrator Alan Irving created were also what I heard in my head for them! The main character, Serbinand, however is never really described. The illustrations, animated scenes or graphics depict the scene rather than the character. This was done with specificity so the reader, or listener, can envision the features from their model of the world.
Q: Is there anything in your book that is based on a real life experience or person?
A: Yes, and there is a cool story to that. A character that I had written into the story, later to be called ‘Free’, described the perfect girlfriend for Jime. The features and personality that I wrote were exactly the same as Mindy, and this was written years before I met her. So yes, unconsciously, I based it on a real life person! It was such a cool realization and I am so happy that Mindy is actually “in the book” too, because both Jime & Serbinand are based around elements of me, so it’s like we are intertwined in the story too!
As for experiences, yes, so many of the side stories and adventures are taken right out of my earlier days. Additionally, since this book was written over the span of many years, it has our collective lived experiences and messages embedded within as well.
A: At first I thought this book was going to be geared towards the nostalgia and millions of people who enjoyed, experienced or are still following Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Once the book came out, especially the audiobook, we soon realized it was much more than that. Sci-Fi Comedy is it’s own category and we found that the overall category of comedy is really where it fits. In fact it ranked in the top 300 audiobooks on Audible in the Humour/Satire Category, and several in the top 100 on Amazon. I am finding that kids like it, adults like it, parents & grandparents like it too as they enjoy reading it to their kids. So since it is written for anyone who wants to laugh, to escape, to be in the moment and really laugh, it is for all ages!
Q: Tell us about the illustrations/illustrator/process of achieving just the right imagery.
A: So we were deliberate, and when I say we, I mean my wife, Mindy, who in addition to being my biggest inspiration and cheerleader, she is also the development editor. The cover, for example, was almost exactly what I had envisioned it to be when I first started writing the book. The first cover though was a picture I took of an Inukshuk statue, which is now on the back cover. It was a great picture of this ancient native symbol for friendship, direction and coming together, however it wasn’t it, and once I let go of needing to do everything with the book the right graphic designer, with the right cover image, showed up and it was perfect. The voices on the audiobook that the voice actor and narrator Alan Irving created were also what I heard in my head for them! The main character, Serbinand, however is never really described. The illustrations, animated scenes or graphics depict the scene rather than the character. This was done with specificity so the reader, or listener, can envision the features from their model of the world.
Q: Is there anything in your book that is based on a real life experience or person?
A: Yes, and there is a cool story to that. A character that I had written into the story, later to be called ‘Free’, described the perfect girlfriend for Jime. The features and personality that I wrote were exactly the same as Mindy, and this was written years before I met her. So yes, unconsciously, I based it on a real life person! It was such a cool realization and I am so happy that Mindy is actually “in the book” too, because both Jime & Serbinand are based around elements of me, so it’s like we are intertwined in the story too!
As for experiences, yes, so many of the side stories and adventures are taken right out of my earlier days. Additionally, since this book was written over the span of many years, it has our collective lived experiences and messages embedded within as well.
Q: Why did you feel this book needed to be written?
A: At first it needed to be written because once the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series was finished, it was finished. I wanted a similar adventure to keep going, so I created it. Now, I think it is needed because everyone needs to laugh. To pause. Rethink. Laugh. Escape. All of those reasons. Milton Burle said “laughter is the best medicine” and I truly believe that if people took the moment to pause long enough to laugh, there would be a lot more happiness going around.
Q: Did you take any writing classes?
A: In high school I majored in English and all the writing type classes that were connected to that from mythology to Shakespeare. I went to York University in Toronto, Canada and continued on that path and studied creative writing, screen-writing, poetry and philosophy.
Q: Where do you hope to take your writing in the future?
A: Well I envision The Ridiculous Adventures of Serbinand to have 5 books in the series and also adapted into an animated series. My hope is to continue to inspire people to laugh, take a break, and go with the flow of life.
Q: What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?
A: The first one came right out of university. I was working for the newspaper - The Excalibur - and recruited a team to join me in launching Canada’s first environment magazine. It was called Recover with the slogan: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Recover
The second is with the release of The Ridiculous Adventures of Serbinand. I have gotten to be interviewed in blogs, podcasts, talk shows, I’ve spoken to people around the world - from kids to adults -about creativity, science-fiction, imagination, and so much more.
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