Interview: Irwin Terry

We were surprised in the fall of 2008 to discover Goreyana, a blog detailing one person's collection of artwork by author and illustrator Edward Gorey.  We were even more surprised when a few years later that blog began a series of posts highlighting the artwork Gorey created for the books by John Bellairs and Brad Strickland.   Irwin Terry is the main behind Goreyana as well as the co-owner of Century Studios, a stained glass studio in St. Paul, Minnesota where he and partner Bill Campbell specialize in the creation of museum quality reproductions of Tiffany Lamps.  Raised in Wisconsin (hey - Lewis Barnavelt’s old stomping grounds!), Terry attended college at the Philadelphia College of Art, and completed his BFA at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design.  Terry and Campbell collect children’s literature and original illustration artwork, with a special emphasis on Edward Gorey, the Oz book series, and illustrator John R. Neill.  They currently share their home with two dogs, Muzzy and Pepper.

This is the first in a series of interviews with Irwin.

Interview: Sandra Frey

Imagine our surprise when we were approached by someone writing a thesis on John Bellairs. Excellent! Surprise escalated into bewilderment when we discovered it was being proposed by someone living in Germany!  Wie wäre es damit? Sandra Frey lives and works in Heidelberg and last year studied translation for English and Italian with her Bellairsian thesis her final project. She currently works for a translation agency and, in between that and her other hobbies, has graciously answered some questions about her project and gives a European perspective on the books .

Interview: Carl Foster

Bellairs fan and budding author Carl Foster lives, works, and writes (or as he says, scribbles) in New Orleans, where he daily takes in the grisly and fascinating history of the city to share with visitors to the French Quarter. A graduate student in mass communication who also spends his working hours with the National Park Service, Carl says he is always on the lookout for Bellairs books to buy for the young readers who cross his path and, like the colophon of one of those beloved Bantam paperbacks of yore, is currently at work on his next chilling tale.

Interview: Richard Denney

Over the years a number of fans have said that John Bellairs motivated them to write. You know – books. This month we introduce one such writer, Richard Denney, who has authored stories for teens and children such as Violet Fury and The Immortalists. Denney lives out in the west Texas town of El Paso and shares his thoughts about John with us – and he’s such a fan he says he’s getting a tattoo in memory of him this summer. During his down time from writing, blogging, and YouTubing, Richard has been known to catch The Vampire Diaries on the telly, too.

Interview: Corey Mallonee

How close do you pay attention to the language that an author uses to weave together his or her story? Enough to catch every idiosyncrasy? Freelance writer and aspiring author Corey Mallonee has John Bellairs – and Lewis Barnavelt especially – to thank for making him a reader and it’s Mallonee’s reflections on John’s use of language that brought him to our attention. Originally from Bangor, Maine, a smallish town not entirely unlike New Zebedee, though with considerably fewer evil warlocks to its history (he’s never run up against any of the Windrow clan to our knowledge), Mallonee has been an accidental sports reporter, worked in the book publishing industry, and currently lives in upstate New York.