Talking with Thomas Snigoski and Jeannine Acheson

Thomas E. Snigoski and Jeannine Acheson are longtime collaborators whose creative partnership has spanned comics and prose, most notably with their work on Vampirella, Vampiverse, Pantha, and Vampirella: Dark Reflections. Snigoski, a veteran author with nearly forty novels to his name, has written extensively across genres ranging from urban fantasy to superhero comics, while Acheson, a former English teacher turned writer, brings a fresh perspective and passion for dark fantasy storytelling. We spoke with them about their latest collaboration, Nira: A Constance Evermore Story—the first installment of a new dark fantasy novella series from Bad Hand Books—marking an exciting evolution in their joint storytelling journey

Interviewee: Tom Snigoski and Jeanine Acheson

Interviewer: Anthony Andujar Jr 

Q1. Both of you, Snigoski and Acheson, have worked on various comic projects, including the Vampirella crossover, Vampiverse. Additionally, you’ve collaborated on projects like Pantha and Vampirella: Dark Reflections, among others. What has your journey been like since your previous collaborations? How has it shaped your growth as writers in the realm of storytelling, both within and beyond comics?

Tom: Seeing as the most recent projects that Jeannine and I worked on together were comic book projects, this made Nira a new kind of challenge.  It was interesting and challenging to go from the script writing process of comic book storytelling to straight prose–but it was a really exciting process that I think we both really enjoyed. 

Jeannine: I know I certainly enjoyed the process, yes! For me, writing a dark fantasy story was a completely new venture, and I’m glad that Tom and I were able to work on this side by side. I still think of myself as a novice in many of the different forms of storytelling–comics, short stories, novels–and feel that I can manage the basics, but when it comes to getting down and dirty with the supernatural stuff, I’m glad I’ve got someone to hold my hand and guide me in the right direction.

Q2. Both of you have ventured into an ancient medium of storytelling: a novella! What inspired you both as writers to collaborate on this joint novel?

Jeannine: Since Tom and I started writing together (nearly six years ago!), we’ve had lots of conversations about the different kinds of writing we’d like to tackle. Having written a novel together during the pandemic (which remains unpublished at this point), we knew that prose was something we wanted to get back to doing, after having focused on comics for a while. So, when the opportunity came up to write a dark fantasy novella, we jumped at the chance. 

Tom: I’ve written close to 40 novels in my career and have taken a bit of a break to primarily focus on comics, but it was nice to get back to writing prose.  Jeannine and I had batted around a few ideas and had kept a file of potential ideas.  We knew that we would get around to writing a novella eventually, and guess what??!!

Q3 Nira: A Constance Evermore Story is the title of the first installment in your new Dark Fantasy series. What is the book about, and what were the driving forces that brought it to life?

Jeannine: Without giving too much away, Nira: A Constance Evermore Story is about a mysterious woman (who could be far older than we can imagine) traveling the world, making amends for the sins of her past by helping people with their problems of a supernatural nature. Those who need her assistance conveniently find her business card, which says: “C. Evermore, Inquisitor of the Uncanny.” This novella is the first of Constance’s many adventures.

Tom: As far as the driving force behind Nira, British artist Tom Brown reached out to me in an email one day. He and I worked on a graphic novel for Penguin Random House several years ago called The Raven’s Child, and had always wanted to do something else together someday. In his email, he said that he was currently doing some illustration work for a new publisher, Bad Hand Books, and that they were looking for novellas. He wanted to know if I might be interested in coming up with something that he could do the illustrations for. I went to Jeannine and asked her if this might be something she’d want to do with me, and she said “yes!” and the rest is history!

Q4 The medium of comic books presents a complex storytelling challenge, involving various elements such as scripting and formatting, as well as collaborating with illustrators, inkers, colorists, and letterers. In contrast, writing novels offers a distinct set of challenges. What similarities and differences were observed in the process of creating Nira: A Constance Evermore Story?

Tom: Comic Books are a visual medium, so you’re working with a whole team of people–artists, inkers, colorists, letterers–as well as editors in order to tell the story. It’s a collaborative endeavor that requires lots of communication among the contributors.  

Jeannine: Writing prose, however, is quite different in that it’s a more solitary endeavor. The heavy lifting of a novella is in the words themselves; we have to create the visuals in the reader’s head. And that’s why we’re really thankful for the amazing art created by Tom Brown, because it adds so much to our story, and we think it makes Nira such a special book.

Q5 When writing the novel, did you create a series bible? What was the development process like in terms of drafting? How many drafts were necessary to reach the final version that readers will hold in their hands? What led to Bad Hand Books becoming the primary publisher, and what is your relationship with them like?

Tom: We don’t have a specific bible, but as we were coming up with Nira’s story, there was a bit of history that we created that connects with her mission.  As far as story drafts, I’d say we did about three, after we worked out the initial outline of the story. There was the first draft, which we revised for clarity and flow of the story. Once our editor/publisher gave us notes, we revised once more. Then, of course, there was a final line edit for grammar and spelling and the like. 

Jeannine: That was the fun part–as a former English teacher, I didn’t mind taking on the task of line editing!  Our publisher, Doug Murano, who is with Bad Hand Books, is phenomenal. We can’t say enough good things about him. Our relationship with him is one built on mutual respect and genuine friendship, I’d say. Even though he is a one-man operation, Bad Hand is really making waves in the publishing industry lately, which we are super excited to be a part of.

Q6 Is there a specific set of installments in mind for the upcoming series of novels within the Nira universe?

Jeannine: We currently have plans for three Constance Evermore novellas, but . . . 

Tom: As long as we have stories to tell, we’ll keep writing Constance adventures!

Q7 When writing a book, were there specific soundtracks or films that inspired the style and tone you wanted to convey in your story?

Tom: Jeannine and I generally don’t listen to music when we are writing, actually. We’re too busy chatting (or arguing). But if Constance had a soundtrack to her adventures, it would probably be composed by Hans Zimmer.

Jeannine: Interesting that you would ask about an inspiring movie, because just before we started drafting the novella, Tom and I had both watched Only Lovers Left Alive with Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston. We both loved the movie and are both huge fans of Tilda Swinton, who would make a perfect Constance Evermore!

Q8 As writers, how do you delegate the direction of the story to ensure it stays aligned with your collaborative vision?

Jeannine: At this point, I still feel like Tom is the driving force on plotting. We certainly discuss how events will unfold in any given story that we are working on together, but seeing that he has so much more experience, I really do rely on him to help me out when I’ve boxed myself into a corner, plot-wise. That said, our collaborative vision, especially for this story, is truly a combination of both of our thoughts and opinions on how the characters should act and what should happen to them. 

Tom: Before we even start writing the actual book, we do a very detailed outline and chapter/scene breakdowns. We pretty much know where the story is going early on, not that there aren’t surprises along the way.

Q9 The first installment of  Nira: A Constance Evermore Story releases on September 16th. Where can readers purchase a copy?

Tom: Readers can buy or order a copy of Nira anywhere fine books are sold. Bad Hand Books recently signed a deal with a major book distributor, which makes finding Bad Hand publications that much easier.

Jeannine: Readers can find Nira at the Bad Hand Books website, on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and even their local independent bookstore.

Q10 Is there another installment already completed? Where can readers keep up to date on your future projects?

Tom: We have an outline for the next Constance Evermore adventure prepped and ready!

Jeannine: We’ll get to writing the next installment soon, after we finish our current book project we’re working on. Readers can find us on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Twitter, Bluesky.