Misha has always believed in the importance of entertainment to our health and well-being. He is also interested in our shared fictional history, working in game design to develop collaborative games and story-driven experiences and exploring the new worlds that we are sharing. His fascination with these things led to the development of his first novel, Shadow Stitcher, as an exploration of the English classic “Peter Pan.”
When not writing, Misha spends his time in Victoria, Canada, working as a professional fundraiser for charities – a job he describes as “helping people to help people.” He continues to work on game design on the side, and is always excited to see the myriad ways that people approach story construction and creation, both as a voracious reader of genre fiction and a dedicated player of games.
WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: www.mishahandman.comTwitter: www.twitter.com/frivyeti
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mjmhandman/
Tell us about your book! What is it about and
what inspired you to write it?
Shadow Stitcher is a hardboiled mystery set in the 1950s, on
what was once the island of Neverland. Decades
ago, corporate interests came to the island, looking to industrialize its mysteries,
and now they live in uneasy truce with its inhabitants. Basil Stark, the
island’s most notorious private detective, accepts a case to find a woman who
has vanished, and is almost immediately drawn into mob struggles, dangerous
experiments, and deadly new magic.
The original idea
that would grow into Shadow Stitcher
literally began as a dream, as ironic as that seems. I had been re-reading
Peter Pan as part of a separate project, and I had a dream in which I was a
pest exterminator wrestling with the morality of killing fairies. As I worked
on the idea, it turned into a broader mystery, and eventually became the story
of an ex-pirate who didn’t quite fit in trying to find a way to be a better
person.
Tell us about your publishing process. What
was it like? Did you go indie or the traditional way?
I had experimented
with self-publication with a short novella, and it convinced me that while
self-publishing is very rewarding for many authors, it wasn’t my preferred
choice. As such, I searched for publishers interested in mixed-genre books and
emerging authors. I had a few rejections, but each of them gave me useful
information that I used to make small edits to my manuscript and re-submit to
new markets.
I was fortunate
enough to contact EDGE Science Fiction & Fantasy, a local Candian publisher
with distribution in the United States and worldwide, at a time when they were
in search of new authors.
How did you choose the title for your book?
Did it come to you right away, before you started writing it, or did it come
later?
The working title
for Shadow Stitcher was actually “Bad
Form”, as per the phrase Captain Hook is obsessed with in the original Peter Pan. During the editing process,
we agreed that while it was on-topic, “Bad Form” didn’t adequately
underscore to new readers or those less familiar with Peter Pan that this was a
fantasy-mystery. It took us several passes to find a title that we felt was
both fantastical and hardboiled, but I was very happy with the result.
Tell us about the cover design process. Did
you have a basic idea of what your book cover would be like?
One of the lovely
things that EDGE did before seeking out a cover artist was ask me for a few
ideas of what I might want my cover to look like, and to provide a few similar
covers for comparison. It was vitally important that the cover both evoke a
noir aesthetic and make it clear that this world had magic and wonder in it;
from there, the main character standing against a cityscape with a fairy on his
shoulder developed naturally.
I submitted my ideas
and a few comparison covers, and then was given the first draft of the cover
with any notes I might want to make. There weren’t very many! I was fortunate
enough to get a great first draft.
Who is your cover designer and how did you
find them?
My cover designer
was Risa Hulett, a professional designer
and illustrator. She was hired by EDGE based on my desired cover, so
unfortunately I can’t speak to how they found her.
How was your experience working with the
designer?
Very good. We’ve
communicated a few times since then, largely to confirm permissions for things
like bookmarks with the cover image on them.
What has been the readers’ response to your
cover?
The response to the
cover has been great! I’ve had several compliments, and the cover specifically
has been responsible for at least two reviews that I’ve received. EDGE has even
begun selling mugs with the cover image on them to interested readers.
What tips would you give to authors who are
looking for a cover designer?
First: look at other
covers of books similar to yours, and figure out what you like stylistically.
The more clearly you’re able to describe what you want, the better your final
result is going to be. Treat the cover description as a small story in its own
right. And secondly, talk to people who know! If you’re self-publishing, talk with
other writers in the community about who they approached and how it went. If
you’re working through a publisher, look at the other covers of books they
publish and suggest similar ones.
Anything else you’d like to say about your
book?
If you read it, and
you like it, let me know! I love to hear what people liked about my work, and
I’m even happy to hear what they’d rather see less of. This has been a tricky
year for getting out and talking to fans, so I’m happy to do it over the
Internet instead.
About the Book:
Tell us about your book! What is it about and
what inspired you to write it?
Shadow Stitcher is a hardboiled mystery set in the 1950s, on
what was once the island of Neverland. Decades
ago, corporate interests came to the island, looking to industrialize its mysteries,
and now they live in uneasy truce with its inhabitants. Basil Stark, the
island’s most notorious private detective, accepts a case to find a woman who
has vanished, and is almost immediately drawn into mob struggles, dangerous
experiments, and deadly new magic.
The original idea
that would grow into Shadow Stitcher
literally began as a dream, as ironic as that seems. I had been re-reading
Peter Pan as part of a separate project, and I had a dream in which I was a
pest exterminator wrestling with the morality of killing fairies. As I worked
on the idea, it turned into a broader mystery, and eventually became the story
of an ex-pirate who didn’t quite fit in trying to find a way to be a better
person.
Tell us about your publishing process. What
was it like? Did you go indie or the traditional way?
I had experimented
with self-publication with a short novella, and it convinced me that while
self-publishing is very rewarding for many authors, it wasn’t my preferred
choice. As such, I searched for publishers interested in mixed-genre books and
emerging authors. I had a few rejections, but each of them gave me useful
information that I used to make small edits to my manuscript and re-submit to
new markets.
I was fortunate
enough to contact EDGE Science Fiction & Fantasy, a local Candian publisher
with distribution in the United States and worldwide, at a time when they were
in search of new authors.
How did you choose the title for your book?
Did it come to you right away, before you started writing it, or did it come
later?
The working title
for Shadow Stitcher was actually “Bad
Form”, as per the phrase Captain Hook is obsessed with in the original Peter Pan. During the editing process,
we agreed that while it was on-topic, “Bad Form” didn’t adequately
underscore to new readers or those less familiar with Peter Pan that this was a
fantasy-mystery. It took us several passes to find a title that we felt was
both fantastical and hardboiled, but I was very happy with the result.
Tell us about the cover design process. Did
you have a basic idea of what your book cover would be like?
One of the lovely
things that EDGE did before seeking out a cover artist was ask me for a few
ideas of what I might want my cover to look like, and to provide a few similar
covers for comparison. It was vitally important that the cover both evoke a
noir aesthetic and make it clear that this world had magic and wonder in it;
from there, the main character standing against a cityscape with a fairy on his
shoulder developed naturally.
I submitted my ideas
and a few comparison covers, and then was given the first draft of the cover
with any notes I might want to make. There weren’t very many! I was fortunate
enough to get a great first draft.
Who is your cover designer and how did you
find them?
My cover designer
was Risa Hulett, a professional designer
and illustrator. She was hired by EDGE based on my desired cover, so
unfortunately I can’t speak to how they found her.
How was your experience working with the
designer?
Very good. We’ve
communicated a few times since then, largely to confirm permissions for things
like bookmarks with the cover image on them.
What has been the readers’ response to your
cover?
The response to the
cover has been great! I’ve had several compliments, and the cover specifically
has been responsible for at least two reviews that I’ve received. EDGE has even
begun selling mugs with the cover image on them to interested readers.
What tips would you give to authors who are
looking for a cover designer?
First: look at other
covers of books similar to yours, and figure out what you like stylistically.
The more clearly you’re able to describe what you want, the better your final
result is going to be. Treat the cover description as a small story in its own
right. And secondly, talk to people who know! If you’re self-publishing, talk with
other writers in the community about who they approached and how it went. If
you’re working through a publisher, look at the other covers of books they
publish and suggest similar ones.
Anything else you’d like to say about your
book?
If you read it, and
you like it, let me know! I love to hear what people liked about my work, and
I’m even happy to hear what they’d rather see less of. This has been a tricky
year for getting out and talking to fans, so I’m happy to do it over the
Internet instead.
When a routine missing-persons case turns into a murder investigation, Basil finds himself pulled into a tale of organized crime, murder, unstitched shadows and dangerous espionage. With only a handful of fellow outcasts and a stubborn determination to bring a killer to justice, will he survive the many people who want him dead?
ORDER YOUR COPY
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1770531998/B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shadow-stitcher-misha-handman/1132633222
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