SP talked to KP about the release of her mysterious memoir Apricot Dumplings. Preorder now for September delivery.
🗣️As this is a memoir, did you have to make any changes or fictionalize any of the story?
👤With all memoir, there's a good amount of editing that needs to be done. You need to ask yourself questions like: "What is the point of the story I'm trying to tell? Is this detail essential to the plot? How do I treat myself and others I know as characters that a reader needs to connect with?" It can be hard to remove details that mean a lot to you but don't serve the story, and it can be a little intimidating to include things that might make you look bad, but that's a place I wanted to go with this comic. I did keep a travel diary while on this trip, mainly so I could remember all of the details of the places we visited, the foods we ate, what I was taking photos of (I took SO many photos, which were great reference material). But it also helped me keep a record of my feelings throughout the trip, which were complicated and sometimes surprising to me, and I included some direct snippets from that journal throughout the comic.
🗣️Can you share any details about the family mystery aspect?
👤The part of my heritage that I identify with most is from my mom's father, who was from Austria. I never knew him, he died long before I was born. I was always so interested in who he was, and not many details had ever been shared with us as to who he was or what had happened to him. But being Austrian was always notable in my family, and I always wanted to go, and it felt right to go with my mom, much like she had done once with her dad. I think I suspected I would learn more about him on this trip, but I don't think I was prepared to get the full story.
🗣️ Is this story more scenery-heavy than your previous work?
👤There was SO MUCH scenery in this book! Teeny tiny scenery in every single panel. Since this is a travelogue, I wanted the locations to feel real and recognizable, so I was much more careful in how I rendered things, where I took visual short-cuts, and where I went all-in. I'm usually a pretty fast worker, but this book took at least 2-3 times as long to draw as I'm used to. I tried to be as kind to myself as possible so I'd have the room to take care with and indulge in all the imagery, so I pushed my deadline back a couple of times. That's what made this project feel the most manageable.
🗣️What was the biggest challenge?
🗣️Maps. LOL. I wanted to include maps throughout the story to ground people in where we were on our journey, and that of course meant that I made as many Tolkien-inspired city and country-wide maps as possible. It was super fun to study and replicate Tolkien's visual style for those elements (including a full map of Austria that I then bifurcated as the interior cover), but it was also very, very laborious so that they would still be as accurate as possible. All in all, I think it all came together the way I'd hoped it would!
🗣️How did you arrive at the idea of the apricot dumplings as an image? With the fruit inside, they seem to vibe very well with the idea of uncovering something hidden.
💎It may sound weird, but apricots really became the emotional heart of this trip. You're very right that they're a metaphor for revealing secrets, which is where you'll also feel a pace change in the story.
Most pages are jam-packed with scenery and travel details, but I wanted to linger on the portion of the story where my mom tells me about her dad's death, and that started with a mid-afternoon pit stop to drink wine and eat some apricot dumplings in a town that's famous for their apricots (dumplings, liqueurs, and otherwise).
🗣️You’ve worked with a lot of contributor material in the Dirty Diamonds projects. With your own work, do you seek editorial feedback from other people as part of your process?
💎I tend to be a bit precious when I'm working on something-partly because I'm figuring things out as I go, partly because I have some of the most inscrutable notes and thumbnails known to man, and partly because I tend to give myself whirlwind timeframes to work within.
My co-editor Claire (@clairecatharine) has been a great help on some comics, so it's nice to know I always have someone reliable in arm's reach to seek feedback from. For this comic, I tossed some concepts around with her and a few others, especially since it's a story idea I've had on the back burner for several years. I've also had the luxury of hearing lots of feedback about my other autobio work in the past, so I had lots of great input to keep in mind as I worked.
🗣️How was the reaction at CAKE?
💎I worked on this book right up until leaving for CAKE, so I didn't have much time to promote it! It was nice to see who it would resonate with unannounced, and I got to share it with friends at the show, so I'm really excited to see what people think now that I'm sharing more about it far and wide!