Writing a comedy started out as a way to challenge myself. I had just finished a fantasy fiction space opera quadrilogy, Saga of the Spheres, and needed a bit of a laugh. I had never written a comedy before, but as I slipped into the genre, I found it to be incredibly relaxing. There were no megalomaniac plots to interweave. My cast of characters was cut in half. Plus, I had a wealth of humorous situations stored up from years of marriage.
Another thing the people around me have learned is that I am, perhaps, too sensitive to animals. Aside from being a vegetarian, I burst into spontaneous tears if I drive by a particularly mangled bit of roadkill. This translated into one of the characters throwing miniature funerals for the poor animal they hit on their roadtrip across the country.
Needless to say, the jokes were piling up, and needed a place to go. Jack and Yani Love Harry Potter combined my two happy things: young adult fiction and ridiculous humor.
I adore Harry Potter. I also love a great many books in the booming young adult genre. If it’s got a vampire on the cover, I’m all over it. After reading the Iliad four times through high school and college (that’s right, four), I decided to cut myself a break and just read for fun. I devoured all things wizard, witch, vampire, superhero, angel and the like. We even throw an annual Harry Potter’s Birthday Party on July 31 every year. I wear my Luna Lovegood dress robes with my crazy blonde hair, and wish everyone a magical evening. I used to bring in cupcakes to work that had golden snitches and broomsticks on them to celebrate. It’s amazing how tolerant people will be to my theatrics, so long as there is cake involved.Yes, I’m in my thirties. No, that does not bother me or my ridiculous friends one bit. That’s the gem I’ve found in the people I’ve been fortunate enough to surround myself with. While they may not read the YA books that I adore, they can get into just about anything. I made sure to add to the novel a group of friends to egg on the two main characters, as all good friends should.
When searching for a plot for my comedy novel, I came across some great advice by Stephen King. He said to write what you know. I know Harry. I even have dress robes that make me look like Luna Lovegood all dressed up for a party. And so the plot of Jack and Yani Love Harry Potter was born. Yani is a girl obsessed with all things young adult fiction, which I could write without any further research needed. She gets to visit all the places she’s read about in her books. As I read and write, I smile and sigh with longing that one day I might be able to go on a similar young adult adventure of my own.
Mary E. Twomey lives in Michigan with her husband and two adorable children. She enjoys reading, writing, vegetarian cooking and telling her children fantastic stories about wombats.
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