Beware! Beware! The zom-BEES are coming!
Justin Colon has visited my blog once before to talk about his first picture book. He is a professional actor and children’s book author whose previous picture books include The Quacken (illustrated by Pablo Pino) and Impossible Possums, (illustrated by James Rey Sanchez). A lover of Halloween and zombie movies, Justin is also a backyard beekeeper. Though his bees sometimes frighten the neighbors, they’ve never tried to eat their brains—something Justin takes great pride in. He lives in New York and you can learn more about him at his website or follow him on BlueSky or Instagram.
THE ZOMBEES is a picture book that is yet another humorous twist on a classic horror trope. I’ve never seen someone who is so skilled at breaking those down into kid friendly terms as Justin! Here a bunch of bees escape from the graveyard ground on Halloween night. I will leave the description of the plot there because I don’t want to spoil any of the fun twists in store here. The illustrations by Kaly Quarles really add to the horror, er, humor here.
Please note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher to review, but the opinions, as always, are my own.
Welcome back Justin!
Me: I love that you’ve turned another horror classic into a picture book and somehow made it adorable! I understand that you are also a beekeeper yourself. Did your bees help to inspire this story? What gave you the idea?
Justin: Thank you for your kind words, Jena. As a backyard beekeeper, I am fascinated by honeybees. My knowledge and love of these hardworking, often misunderstood, creatures certainly influenced and informed my creative process.
From a business standpoint, I needed to produce a second picture book as part of the contract for my debut picture book, The Quacken (illustrated by Pablo Pino). My editor, Kendra Levin (Editorial Director & VP of Simon & Schuster BFYR) specifically requested another humorous creature feature with a punny protagonist. During a Zoom to discuss art for The Quacken, I informally pitched two-character concepts that could double as book titles: The Zombees and Vampurr. My editor expressed excitement over the former, sharing that she had previously dressed up as a zombee for Halloween. With the greenlight to proceed, I began brainstorming potential plots.
Me: This is a rhyming picture book! That’s not something you always do with your manuscripts. What made you want to write in rhyme? Did the manuscript demand it? Were you intimidated to write in rhyme (knowing that only “perfect rhyming” picture books sell)?
Justin: The Zombees is the first and only story to date that I have written in rhyme, and I didn’t even attempt writing it in rhyme until my final draft. There wasn’t much to overthink or be intimidated by because the rhyme, characters, plot, and overall story flowed nearly fully formed onto the page. It’s as if the story was meant to be written in rhyme all along.
The revision process is when I allowed myself to feel more pressure to get things right. I reached out to rhymers for feedback and leaned into their unique skill sets and expertise. They graciously encouraged and educated me as they helped elevate me and my work.
I’m super stoked to share that the story earned me my first starred review (from School Library Journal). So, it pays to consistently learn, develop new skills, take chances, and challenge yourself.
Me: This manuscript is succinct, yet also begs to be read aloud. It’s rhythmic in so few words! Was the writing always like this from the first draft? Or did you have to revise many times before the story got to this brilliant state?
Justin: Thank you for this very kind feedback, Jena. The writing was definitely not like this from the start. In fact, initial notes from the team at Simon and Schuster were that the pacing was too slow and the plot too convoluted. Looking back, I fully agree. The story was also much darker, something I admittedly miss, but understand their skepticism toward.
Simon and Schuster requested a few r&r’s (revise and resubmits), which I completed. But they were not convinced and asked me to keep the concept, scrap the story, and start from scratch. Despite my best efforts, I was stumped and informed my team I was going to brainstorm new concepts for a book. So, I put the manuscript aside with the intention of permanently scrapping it.
Of course, that’s when the story popped into my head almost fully formed. I was showering when the opening stanzas randomly buzzed into my brain. I produced an entire draft within one to two days, revised for about a week, and sent it to my agent shortly after. She loved it and immediately forwarded it to my editor. It was an immediate ‘yes’ from Simon & Schuster.
So, from initial submission to acquisition, it was about ten months. And though it was a challenge, I’m incredibly pleased with and proud of the story we produced together. I hope it brings joy to readers, young and old alike.
Me: What is one thing about writing this story that surprised you?
Justin: I’m going to cheat here a bit. I would say there were two [interconnected] things that surprised me: 1) The journey this story would experience, and how incredibly different the published version would be from the initial draft. 2) Writing it in rhyme.
Me: Kaly Quarles’ illustrations in this book are perfect. I love all of the details she added throughout the story. Did you have any illustration surprises? Any favorite illustrations?
Justin: The cover itself was a pleasant surprise. Kaly presented four options, featured below. I loved each of them equally. But Art Director Lucy Ruth Cummins, an accomplished author-illustrator in her own right, had another vision, one which entailed a bold type-centric cover with a limited palette and composition. It is simple yet incredibly effective.
The all-black interior copyright and title pages are also a really nice touch, along with the pantone green and 5-color printing.
It’s hard to pick a favorite illustration. I love all the details Kaly included, down to the worm that makes an appearance within each spread of the book. But my favorite scene is of the zombees taking flight into the moonlit sky as they depart the graveyard. The color scheme, composition, and silhouettes lend themselves to a beautifully atmospheric, spooky scene.
Kaly did a bang-up job capturing the spirit of Halloween. If you want to learn more about her illustration process for The Zombees, she blogged about it here.
Me: With the surprise twist at the end (NO spoilers given!), can we hope for a sequel? Do you see other ZOMBEE books possibly being published in the future? Could this be a series (please say yes!)?
Justin: I appreciate you not sharing spoilers, Jena. You deserve nothing but green lights while driving and quick acquisitions on all your future writing projects.
I appreciate your enthusiasm for a sequel. I actually wrote a sequel to The Quacken and submitted it to Simon and Schuster, but they passed. With that, I wrote The Zombees as a companion title to The Quacken. Early drafts of The Zombees even featured the main characters from The Quacken. But my publisher wanted me to craft an entirely new world populated by new characters. So, I can’t say we’ll get a sequel.
But do you remember how I mentioned pitching two concepts to my editor, and one was called Vampurr? Well, it publishes next year with FSG/Macmillan. So, I do have another creature story on the way. It’s a heartwarming, lyrical tale featuring the beautifully hand-painted illustrations of Lenny Wen.
Me: Ohh! I can’t wait! Besides the excellent word play potential in this particular title, what is it about the horror genre that draws you to it? What makes you want to write it as picture books for younger readers?
Justin: Writing “horror” for the picture book format comes with its challenges given the audience and gatekeepers. Yet, many children enjoy and crave spooky stories. However, there isn’t much of it within the picture book world, at least within the United States. So, in some ways, spooky and darker picture books for our market feel like unchartered territory, affording me the opportunity to create fresh work that hasn’t yet been exhausted, or even seen before. Or maybe it’s simply because I live near the Amityville Horror house that I love writing spooky stories?
Ha! Oh dear. Good luck with your neighbors Justin and thank you for stopping by my blog again today.
Dear readers, THE ZOMBEES is published July 15th. Keep your eyes open! They’re coming! They’re almost here, I tell you! Beware! You won’t want to miss this one!