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Acknowledge Those Who Matter
Everyday Heroes: Real People, True Heroes follows a teacher and her class who are learning about and celebrating the everyday heroes in their lives that inspire them. The art in this book is fantastic. What was the art collaboration process like with the illustrator Arsalan Khan?
My dad and I began working with Arsalan in the summer of 2021. He’s become our preferred illustrator for all our projects since that time. We consistently choose him and recommend him to others because of his amazing ability to bring words to life through his illustrations. His patience while we refine our stories and request revisions is exceptional. Additionally, he has corrected errors in illustrations from other illustrators that we worked with prior to meeting him at minimal cost.
I collaborated with children at Casa Esperanza Montessori to create the manuscript for Everyday Heroes. My dad contacted Arsalan to see if he could illustrate the book while I continued to work on the manuscript. Arsalan agreed to fit it into his schedule. We provided him with the manuscript, specifying the characters’ makeup, and left the rest to his creative vision. He returned with a storyboard featuring all the characters, which we reviewed and approved after a few iterations. As always, Arsalan exceeded our expectations in both creativity and timeliness. We not only paid for his work but also gave him a generous tip for exceeding our expectations.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
I wanted to express that my dad has been my personal hero throughout my childhood and teenage years. Additionally, I wanted to emphasize that a hero doesn’t have to be a parent or someone who wears a cape. A hero is anyone who cares for you or holds significance in your life. My message to the children reading Everyday Heroes is to appreciate and acknowledge those who matter while they are still around. Also, take note of as many lessons as they try to teach you along the way while you can.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
I’m currently working on a poetry book that explores my journey from childhood to adulthood, reflecting on love, life, and personal struggles. I plan to release this book after graduating high school next summer, with the anticipated release date set for June 9, 2025.
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Personal Power
Along Came Spider: The Making of a Superhero follows an elementary school boy who, along with his friends, is being bullied by two boys who terrorize students. What was the inspiration for your story?
There were several factors that inspired me:
1) I grew up with comics, but they were always on a higher level than I probably should have been reading at the time. I really wanted to write a comic for kids that was age-appropriate.
2) I was bullied several times when I was kid, so that was a factor in writing this book because I often was a little bit different than some of my classmates.
3) As a child, it’s very easy to feel like no one notices you. I thought I’d take that inadequate emotion of feeling invisible and turn it into a superpower instead.
Spider has to learn to stand up for himself and his friends, and that is a hard thing to do, especially with bullies. What were the morals you were trying to capture while creating your characters?
When you’re bullied, you lose some of your personal power. I wanted to give power back to the main character Spider. I also know, from my own experience, that it can be hard to do the right thing – to stand up for one’s self and others, that requires all of us to find courage and personal power to stand out and stand up for what matters.
What were some educational aspects that were important for you to include in this children’s book?
I think a lot of bullying occurs because 1) teachers either don’t know what to look for or they, too, have a tendency to not see some things that are right in front of their eyes. 2) There is often a herd mentality going on in schools – especially when we are young and are trying to find a sense of ourselves. Anything different is to be avoided because it can often draw negative attention to us. We all want to stand out in a positive way, not a negative way. I wanted this book to give a sense of empowerment to all kids.
Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next story?
This is the first book in the Web Society series. There will be 11 books total. The next book is actually about Lacey’s superpower. It will probably be next year before that book comes out. I currently work a full-time job and write in my free time, and Alex, my illustrator, is in the same boat as I am, so we can’t devote all our time to just working on this one book. Plus, I do work on other genres as well. The more heavily illustrated a book is, the longer it takes to finish it, but, I assure you, that when it does get finished, the next book in the series has a little more action and danger and Spider will be in that one as well.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Amazon
Bullies exist everywhere! Everyone has met one. It’s hard not to – there are so many of them in the world. Even with that being the case, it doesn’t mean they should always get to win.
But if you don’t step up to stop them, then who will?
It doesn’t matter how small we think we are or how unimportant. When you stand up for what is right, that’s when you find out what you’re truly made up of inside – in Spider Monroe’s case, he finds out he can be a superhero for his blind best friend Lacey.
What’s his superpower, you ask? Invisibility. How does he use it? In every way that stops two bullies in their tracks and restores the world to order.
Bullies beware – heroes exist everywhere . . . but only if we are brave enough to look inside ourselves to find them!
LITERARY TITAN 