Allen: Tell me about Fairview Press. What sort of books does Fairview Books produce?

Steve: We publish a variety of books, including a lot of inspirational nonfiction. Our authors have appeared on Oprah, The Today show, and one even appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Allen: What do you do at Fairview Press? How did you get your start at this company? Where is Fairview Press located? How long has company been in existence?

Steve: We are an independent publisher located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and have been in business since 1989. I first worked for the company as freelancer prior to getting hired full-time. We are a small press, so I "wear a lot of hats" here. As acquisitions editor, I get to decide which manuscripts we publish. Once I acquire a manuscript, I work as production manager, overseeing a team of freelance editors, designers, artists, and publicists to develop and promote the book. In-between doing all that, I've found time to write a few books of my own.

Allen: Tell me about The Positive Quotation series.

Steve: The Positive Quotation series has sold more than half a million copies worldwide and has been translated into several languages. There are eight volumes in the series. The first book in the series, which my wife and I revised and edited, was a huge anthology of quotations. It made it to # 2 on the national bestseller charts for reference books.

Allen: Tell me a little about recent books in series:

Steve: The most recent volumes in the series are sort of “mash - ups” --- they feature original essays on topics of courage, risk taking, etc. Than those essays are paired with related quotations by famous people, as well as fun artwork.

Allen: How did you conceive idea for scripting and using sequential art in newest book “The Boy’s Book of Positive Quotations”?

Steve: My friend Blake Hoena produces graphic novels for a company called Stone Arch Books. I met with him one day to ask his opinions on artwork. He suggested using sequential art, and showed me some "hybrid" (graphic novel + prose mash-ups) books that his company had done. I have been reading manga ever since First Comics published a translation of Lone Wolf and Cub for US market in 1987. So scripting some Original English Language manga has been a secret dream of mine.

Allen: How did you manage to get Queenie Chan interested in idea?

Steve: I had been following Queenie's work ever since she had done her three-volume OEL series The Dreaming for TokyoPop. After talking with her and her literary agent, both thought it would be a good interim project for her to tackle prior to her diving into the next Odd Thomas graphic novel.

Allen: What kind of artwork did Queenie Chan do for The Boy’s Book of Positive Quotations book? What was her role in book?

Steve: Queenie did 34 pages of manga for the book, based on my scripts. The artwork is sort of a “mini-manga” interspersed within a 275- page gift book.

Allen: Tell me about the story contained in The Boy’s Book of Positive Quotations book.

Steve: The manga follows the life of a kid who starts getting mysterious text messages from a beautiful ninja. Her messages come in the form of little proverbs, all in which tie in with the famous quotations that are sprinkled throughout the book. The ninja gives advice on how to avoid danger, get out of tricky situations, and live an honorable life. But when our character decides to unmask his secret sensei, he soon discovers that some things might be better off remaining a mystery … ;-)

Allen: What sort of other things will we see in story?

Steve: There is a lot of swordplay, martial arts, parkour, video gaming, and other scenes in the manga that are really fun and entertaining.

Allen: Where did the quotes come from?

Steve: The quotes in the book are from men that readers will know and recognize... manga-ka, tech gurus, game designers; extreme sports stars, action & FX film directors, etc.

Allen: What did you like most about working with Australian manga artist Queenie Chan?

Steve: She seemed to have a sixth sense for what I was trying to get across in my scripts... I really didn’t have to give her any complex scene descriptions. We worked out the original character profiles very quickly, and there were very few changes to the penciled artwork. The few changes that were made along the way tended to be when my scripts got a little to “busy”.

Allen: Will Queenie make references to any of her past manga projects in The Boys Life of Positive Quotations book?

Steve: I can’t say too much about it but there is a “nod” in the book to the work Queenie did with Dean Koontz on his In Odd We Trust graphic novel. Fans of Queenie’s work with Dean will notice it right away--- others will have to search a little.

Allen: How can someone get a copy of The Boys Book of Positive Quotations book?

Steve: The book will be available this fall where ever books are sold, including Target and Wal-Mart stores throughout the US.

Allen: What other projects are you working on?

Steve: A friend and I are in the early stages of collaborating on an inspirational children's picture book.

Allen: What is the best way to contact you?

Steve: Hit me up at work; sdeger1@fairview.org .

What do you like to do with your spare time?

Steve: I'm into photography, trekking, cycling, international travel....mostly outdoorsy stuff. I spend so much of my work hours staring at a computer screen---or with my nose buried in a book---that I like to get some air in my lungs when I have time off.

Allen: Did you read many comic books in your youth? I noticed you mentioned The Dreaming manga . Do you read any other comic related stories at present time?

Steve: I was a big fan of the Marvel universe when I was a kid. In college, I read some indie comics, and also some of the early graphic novels and manga translations. A few years ago, I heard about how TokyoPop was developing Original English Language manga. I thought this was a very bold move for a publisher, and I started reading the little short stories in Rising Stars of Manga (aka RSoM) anthologies, and then some of the three-volume series from artists first featured in RSoM. That's where I discovered emerging artists like Queenie Chan and Svetlana Chmakova.

I was fascinated by how these two world citizens (Svetlana is Russian-born, now living in Canada---Queenie is Chinese born, now living in Australia) were taking Japanese-style artwork, and using it to create stories based on their own multi-cultural influences and experiences.

Allen: Would you like to conclude with any final thoughts about The Boy’s Book of Positive Quotations gift book?

Steve: I love the way the book turned out. I wasn't certain at first how quotes, essays, and manga were all going to tie together... but it's really a rather clever mash-up. Boys will like the manga as well as the smart-alec tone of some of the writing. Adults will like the positive messages behind it all. It's a great gift book for the little brother, cousin, or nephew in your life.