Hi there, and thanks for taking a moment to dip into the blog.

I have an author interview with Ethan Nicolle.

I just finished reading his novel Brave Ollie Possum.

I think if you or your child liked The BFG by Roald Dahl, you’ll like this.

It was a lot of fun to read.

I had been looking for mentor texts or comparable novels for an animal fantasy/adventure novel I’m currently working on, and this one checked off a few boxes. (I don’t, however, have any characters who want to make soup of the main character).

Brave Ollie Possum is about a fearful boy who is turned into a possum by an evil witch/ogre/monster/Glortch.

She is pretending to be a child-therapist who wants to help Ollie overcome his fears.

But really, she’s hungry and it turns out that fearful children taste better. (I know, I know! But don’t forget the horrors that The BFG unleashed!)

A possum is the perfect animal for this character because possums are fearful, too, and demonstrate their fear by “playing” dead. (I learned from this book that when possums play dead, it’s an involuntary reaction. They can still hear and see what’s going on around them, but they can’t react or run away. How horrid would that be? Clearly, they’re not playing!)

It’s up to Ollie to not only save himself, but also his parents and the villagers, and a whole pack of wild critters: coyotes, bears, dogs, wolves, insects, raccoons, porcupines, mountain lions.

Seems many animals live their lives in a state of fear, predators and prey alike.

But you do what you have to do to stay alive…and be brave.

Ethan Nicolle usually writes books for an older audience.

This is his first foray into middle grade.

I’d say that Brave Ollie Possum is for 9-12 year olds.

Here’s the interview.

Gail: Thank you, Ethan, for taking the time to chat with me and answer some burning questions.

I really appreciate it!

Set the scene for me.

Where are you right now?

Ethan Nicolle: I’m at my favorite cigar shop.

This place acts as an office for me.

With four kids at home, I no longer have a home office.

I love the friends I have here, the chairs are comfortable, and nothing helps me lock in and focus like [this], so it gets rid of the temptation to quit early.

G: I have to say, I’ve never been inside a cigar shop, but I get the same feeling from a good coffee shop.

Brave Ollie Possum seems to be quite a departure from the other books you’ve written.

Was this something that had been simmering in your head for a while just waiting for the right time?

EN: Yeah, most of my work had been in comics, and I had been wanting to do something younger, but Brave Ollie Possum came to me when I was really into reading my kids bedtime stories.

When I met my wife, she had two kids already, and I soon became the bedtime-story reader.

I read them all kinds of classic fairy tales and great books.

I will never forget how enraptured they were when I read them Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (by Roald Dahl).

I had put off reading Roald Dahl up to that point, and from there I was hooked.

I read them all his big hits.

It was in a Dahl-induced frenzy that the idea for Brave Ollie Possum came about.

It’s a combination of what I really loved about Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Witches.

But it’s also written with many aspects of what I love about a good bedtime story: Fun to read out loud; short chapters with cliffhanger endings; illustrations at the right place; characters that are fun to voice; a character with a real fear and vulnerability and who enters a whole new world that the audience gets to explore with him.

G: Ha! A Dahl-induced frenzy!

Great mentor texts, for sure.

I loved how in Ollie you created such a direct parallel between a scared little boy, a scared possum, and the frightened wild animals with the overarching theme of facing your fears.

Did you realize early on how similar Ollie and possums are…how they both become paralyzed by their fear?

Was it intentional or was it a fun surprise as you were writing?

EN: I was actually obsessed with possums as a kid.

When I was seven, we moved to Oregon, and I was already really into animals.

My mom worked at a library, and I would go in after school until the end of her shift and pore over all the animal books.

When I started looking at animals from Oregon, for some reason, possums were my favorite.

I always wanted one for a pet (this still remains on my Bucket List).

So I knew a lot about possums going in.

But I did brush up.

From the start I knew this story was going to be about fear because I knew I wanted to do a story about a boy who turns into a possum.

The whole concept of involuntarily becoming paralyzed with fear came very naturally.

It’s also the concept I can relate to the most from my own childhood.

I went through a great period of fear of the dark when I was a kid.

Other themes in the book, I found as I wrote.

As I explored the theme of fear, I realized that much of an animal’s life is based on fear whether you are predator or prey.

My biggest problem when I started the book was that fear is such a broad topic.

I didn’t know how to zero in on it.

But I think it worked out.

G: It definitely worked out.

This is the first book of yours that I’ve read.

Do many of your other titles deal with the same theme?

If not, what is your favorite theme to dive into when you write?

EN: Unfortunately, this is the only book like this one I’ve written, and it is very close to my heart.

It is a rare project for me in that it really came to me in a flash, and I wrote the first draft in a month.

But it was a mess.

I probably wrote around 13 drafts and really spent a lot of time rewriting huge parts of the book—and even reading it all aloud and adjusting it all so it rolled off the tongue nicely.

G: Thirteen drafts. That’s dedication. What else have you written?

EN: Yeah, I was really motivated to make Ollie work out.

I think the most fun project I have worked on that is fairly kid-friendly is Axe Cop.

If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s the web comic I made that sort of put me on the map and became a six-volume series and a TV show on FOX.

However, it’s important for parents to know it’s not actually made for kids—though it is made by a kid.

I made it with my five-year-old brother.

At the time, I was 29.

Our play times were so unhinged and hilarious to me, I started making them into comics which went viral online.

So while the content is not typical of a kid book, it is real-life kid writing.

Axe Cop embodies the uncensored craziness out of the mind of a five-year-old boy.

It’s probably the most unique thing I have ever made.

Outside of that, my books are all over the place.

I have a comedic safety guide called Bears Want to Kill You, which is a lot of fun for an older crowd (probably 12 and up) and a book of GK Chesterton essays meant to be used as a primer if you have never read Chesterton before.

It is called Chesterton’s Gateway and is probably the only Chesterton collection you will find with funny footnotes.

G: I read your intro to that book…and now I think I’ll be adding it to my reading list.

Pretty funny.

So when you’re writing novels or comics, what comes first for you: the main character, the plot, or the theme?

EN: I think it usually starts with something visual in my head since I am also an illustrator and have always worked visually (Ollie was my first time writing a novel).

So in the case of my web comic Bearmageddon, I imagined War of the Worlds but with bears.

Then I explored characters within that world that I could relate to.

With Ollie, I envisioned a kid who turned into a possum and explored the secret world of animals in the forest.

I guess my process is first to find a concept or visual that excites me, then find the theme, then find the character to fit the theme.

Though I wouldn’t say that’s strict.

I feel like I am still learning how to write a story.

I probably will always feel that way.

G: There’s always something else to learn, isn’t there?

Your illustrations are spot on, too, in Ollie.

Were you professionally trained as an artist?

EN: I always wanted to go to art school, but I never wanted to go into debt for it.

So I sought the advice of many great comic artists online (who are very accessible, which is an awesome resource) and got criticism of my work.

I’m thankful I never took on that debt, though I do think it is harder to get into the industry (especially animation) without being part of something like that—if not simply for the networking a good art school can provide.

Still, I’m proud of the fact that I spent more time speaking at universities than I have being a student at them.

G: That is a funny twist.

The characters in Ollie are so vivid—and not just because you’ve illustrated them so well.

Who was your favorite character to write in this book?

EN: I think the Glortch was the most fun to write.

I loved coming up with funny words for her to say and trying to write according to her twisted logic—an evil child-eating witch who was trying to say things a normal child-loving therapist would say and getting it totally wrong.

If you ever listen to the audiobook, I do many voices, and I have gotten a lot of compliments on my Glortch.

I really let loose when I voiced that character.

G: Well, now I’m going to have to take a listen.

What’s your favorite part of the process of writing?

For example, the outlining, first draft, rewrites, line edits?

EN: As I mentioned, I did around 13 drafts [of Ollie].

There were entire chunks of the book I rewrote many times, especially the third quarter of the book.

I always struggle with the part of the story after the middle and before the finale.

Since this was my first novel, I think my favorite part was editing once I had the story locked down.

I really like refining each sentence and just finding little ways to clean it up or make it funnier.

With all the pressure off, it’s just decoration and efficiency at that point, so I find it very calming and rewarding.

G: Decoration and efficiency. I like that.

Have you always wanted to write stories?

Do you do this full-time?

What were some of the other careers you considered? (Sorry, I snuck in three questions here.)

EN: I have always wanted to be a visual storyteller, for as long as I can remember.

Ollie is basically my dream Pixar movie.

I have worked in animation, comics, and screenwriting.

I have had the most success as a screenwriter on kids shows like VeggieTales in the House and Teen Titans Go!

I also enjoyed writing satire and creating animated and live-action comedy shorts at the Babylon Bee (a conservative Christian news satire website).

I am currently at the Daily Wire (an American conservative news website and media company), working with them on content for their new kids programming that will be coming out on Daily Wire Plus.

I have never really considered another career.

I have always made stories whether or not I got paid to do it.

Work was always just a way to support living so I could make more stories.

It is only in the last ten years or so I was able to do both at the same time.

G: Congratulations. That’s an accomplishment most writers strive for.

Ollie was published in 2019.

Do you have plans for anything else like that?

EN: I do have some more kids’ stories in my head, including a potential sequel to Ollie.

I really do hope to do another kids novel.

I really loved making Ollie, and if I ever need a boost, I look at the amazing reviews on Amazon.

It’s so gratifying to make a book so many kids and parents have enjoyed so much together.

G: Thank you, Ethan.

As I said, I really enjoyed this book.

And a sequel?

Put me on your waiting list.

And, readers, you can visit Ethan’s website to learn more about him and his work.

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