Dark Cloud was the winner of the Graphic Novel category of the 2022 IndieReader Discovery Awards, where undiscovered talent meets people with the power to make a difference.
Following find an interview with author Sandra Wolff.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Dark Cloud – published in late 2021
What’s the book’s first line?
“The land – my home.”
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
In post-apocalyptic Arizona, a young woman with a mysterious connection to the land steps forward to confront an evil, militaristic dictator.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I talk about this in the foreword of the book. It was inspired by the movie, “The Road Warrior,” 1982. Then I got to thinking and wondered, “Why are we looking to Australia for a post-apocalyptic hero? We’ve got our own Wild West here. – And why does the character have to be male? Plenty of women can kick butt, too. Why not add a combat robot, since technology is the great equalizer.” So, I created Dark Cloud. There’s certainly a wonderful cultural context in this Wild West, too, that often gets overlooked in story-telling, so I fixed that as well.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
Dark Cloud is a ‘De la Frontera’ (mixed frontier) heroine. We haven’t had a real, pop-culture Southwestern hero since the creation of Zorro, and he’s in California. Why not have more heroes along the Clint Eastwood Western-type? I correct myself. The last Southwestern hero was the character type played in the Clint Eastwood Westerns, but that in itself shows how there’s such a dearth of pop-culture heroes for this part of the world. We need more.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
This is a much-needed illustration of a young woman kicking butt. Not a superhero. No real special powers. Not a princess. Just someone rather relatable who sticks up for what they believe in.
If they made your book into a movie, who would you like to see play the main character(s)?
I’m still looking for a lead actress on this one. =)
When did you first decide to become an author?
This has been a long journey – and I’m not finished yet. This project started with writing a screenplay and doing my best to get it turned into a produced and distributed feature-length film. The first efforts at that crashed and burned. -But I kept the screenplay and had it on a shelf for years. Finally I pulled it down again after a total stranger read it and said, “This is good!” What’s it doing collecting dust?”
In the process of shooting for a film again, one of the people I worked with suggested I turn it into a graphic novel first. Long story short, although I’d still like to turn this all into at least one film, I would like to tell more Dark Cloud stories. If I can do that more easily via graphic novel, then I’ll keep doing it this way. Hopefully the film will still happen, but that might just be the icing on the cake.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
Yes.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
(*smile*) Oh, I keep busy. =)
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
Right now I’m going through a dry spell since I’m focused on marketing so much, but I know the value of working with others and brainstorming. Then I sit down and write up the screenplay once the story is worked out. I then collaborate with Jared to turn it into a script for a graphic novel, since the elements available to tell a story by those means are different than for film. Although Jared is a Director, he’s also more familiar with thinking in graphic novel terms than I am, so I work with him on the adaptations.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The best thing is that the rights are so clear as to who owns what when it comes to other adaptations. The worst thing is that I really struggle with marketing, and could use help that isn’t as readily available or established for an indie.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
I would definitely go with a traditional publisher. Reference what I said, just above. I could really use the marketing help, though I hear tell that a lot of publishers are leaving that more and more to the author, now. Still, there are other perks:
It lends an air of legitimacy to one’s project that Hollywood is more inclined to notice.
Chances are that a higher quality printed product can be made available than the print-on-demand service I’m limited to right now, and I want people to have the best product available!
If that publisher has greater ability to make the book visible and get people aware, then that’s just great! Even if I make less on each sale, my goal is volume of sales. That’s what Hollywood pays attention to, and that is ultimately my goal.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? Fortune?)
Let’s call it a sense that there is something bigger than myself that wants that character out there. Madrina Tierra (Earth Mother of the Southwest) herself maybe? Who knows, but for some reason, I feel very driven to get this character and her stories out there.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
It may sound stereotype, but I admire Steven King’s skill. He has such a talent for getting inside the heads of his characters! Brilliant illumination of psychology in his writing.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Not a book, so much as a film. I am blown away by the intricacy of the original Metropolis movie by Fritz Lang, and restored in a number of editions later. For it’s day, the camera angles are incredible. The story is incredibly intricate, weaving 3 different sub-stories together along with multiple themes. I am just absolutely blown away by how well done every aspect of it is, and how timeless it is.
Others may say that Chinatown is the best film or script ever created. Others say Apocalypse Now. I say Metropolis.