The question often asked is “Where do you get your ideas?”
The answer can range from whimsical to factual to bewilderment.
I tend toward bewilderment. However in the case of “Willoughby: The Dragon from Suburbia” I can state that it was a television program from the 1960's. That program had stuck in my mind due to the fact that I thought it was so bad. I am referring to “Mr. Ed”. The program, for whose who do not know about the program, was about a man who had a talking horse in the barn behind his house. But in thinking about “Mr. Ed”, I thought that it might be a better idea to have a story about a man who had a dragon in his barn. At least I liked the idea.
So “Willoughby: The Dragon from Suburbia” was born. I originally wrote it as a short story and submitted it to a small magazine devoted to fantasy. After a two or three month wait, I received the short story back with a rejection form. I was not certain how to proceed when I had the thought. I had seen graphic novels and was impressed by them. Why not do this short story as a graphic short story?
I contacted Dahl and asked him if he were interested. He said “Yes” and started to work on the look of the series.
Hopefully soon we have the first in the series up and then you can decide whether or not it is a good idea.
J.T. Smithwick
