Reviewed By Melissa Arnold
No matter how old you are, there’s something fun about celebrating all things weird and spooky on Halloween. To get into the spirit with your family, consider Rest in Peace (Scoot Comics), an adorable rhyming picture book from debut author Tyler Ham.
The story centers around Ghoul who just wants to do is go to sleep after a long Halloween but his monster pals — Dracula, the Werewolf, the Mummy, Frankenstein’s Monster and the Blob — want to keep the party going.
Raised in California, Ham was not one for horror, but he loved Halloween and “slightly spooky” entertainment. Now a father of two, Ham has embraced that lighthearted spookiness with a cast of funny monsters and a positive message of friendship that even the youngest kids can enjoy.
Tell me about your childhood. I assume that you loved horror movies.
I was a very timid child, but I loved Halloween, so “spooky” has always been my go-to genre. It’s funny how much I love horror movies now, because when I was a kid, they scared the heck out of me! I wanted nothing to do with it. But at the same time, I always loved Halloween and mildly spooky things. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video was about as far as I could go.
I read something in a book once about the array of emotions we can experience in life that really stuck with me. Basically, you can feel happy, sad, excited in the real world, but those emotions typically come from a place of safety. On the other hand, when you’re scared, it’s because you don’t feel safe. That’s not a feeling that you want. But when you watch a scary movie, you can tap into the experience of being scared in a safe way, and there’s something fun about that.
So did you do a lot of writing in that ‘spooky’ genre as a kid?
I was a creative kid, though more artistic – more into drawing, painting, papier mache, that sort of thing – but never writing.
I wasn’t a great student. I did the work but didn’t particularly enjoy it. And I didn’t like English class, either. But in high school, I had two really great English teachers who actually loved my writing assignments. They said I was a good storyteller and would even read my stuff in front of the class.
When I graduated, I went to film school at California University of Monterey Bay wanting to direct, and the same thing happened. I wasn’t interested in the writing aspect, but was often praised in classes for my screenwriting so it was clearly an ability I had.
After college, I moved back home with my parents and was looking for work. My mom met someone at a charity event who had just opened a new school for 3-D art. I was always curious about that, but didn’t know how to begin learning about it. And then this opportunity came along. I took a tour and enrolled for the next semester, which was only six days away. That experience ultimately took me into the visual effects industry. I spent about 16 years working in the digital effects industry as a 3-D artist for film studios, and then I switched over to the toys and collectibles industry. Writing was something I did for fun.
When did you start thinking about writing a children’s book?
My oldest daughter was one of those babies that just wouldn’t go to bed. She loved to be read to, so we would sit in our chair and read book after book. Over time, I learned that while some kids’ books are great, others are honestly just bad. I knew I wasn’t going to write anything legendary, but I figured I could at least do better than some of the books I’d seen.
So one night, I put my daughter to bed and went into my office. I knew I wanted to write about Halloween, since it’s my favorite holiday and it’s a fun time for kids, and I knew I wanted to have different kinds of monsters. As I wrote, I’d read it to myself and make sure the rhymes felt natural and not clunky.
Did you pursue traditional publishing or self-publishing? What was the process like?
The first draft was actually completed nine years ago. I shopped it around, but no one was biting. I’d get discouraged and leave it for a while, rewrite parts and try again. Eventually I was working for a publishing company in product development, and they would occasionally have employee submissions. The woman who was reading the manuscripts contacted me and said that while my book wasn’t the right fit for our company, it was really good, and she invited me to join a writing group. She was my first mentor, and the book went through many revisions until it was really polished.
Ultimately, a friend of mine wrote a comic book, and his company was starting a children’s book division. I submitted my original Halloween story, along with ideas for other holiday concepts featuring this cast of monsters, like Valentine’s Day and the Fourth of July. They liked the ideas and agreed to publish me.
Do you relate to Ghoul, the main character of ‘Rest in Peace’?
Yeah! It doesn’t make me look great, but I share a little bit of that lighthearted grumpiness — my kids tease me and say “Hey, you’re grumpy like Ghoul is!” But he has good intentions, just like I do.
What was it like seeing the finished product after all those years?
It was just surreal getting those first copies of the book, especially after nine years of work. This story was meant for my first daughter, and it took so long that now I’m reading it to my second daughter’s kindergarten class. She wasn’t even in the picture when this all began!
How did you find the illustrator, Firulas Ilustra?
I found Sâmara, who along with her illustration partner Thaís form Firulas Ilustra, on the social media platform reddit. She lives in Brazil — she had some pictures up and I really liked her style. I could tell right away that she really understood what I was envisioning and connected to the idea.
Do you have plans for future books?
I have plans to publish several holiday-themed books with this cast of monsters! The next book in the series, The Yule Ghoul (available now!) continues the story of Rest In Peace, and has the Ghoul throwing his first Christmas party! He is very excited but is afraid none of his monster friends will come. The follow up Valentine’s day book is written, and a few more are in various stages of completion.
What’s the target age group for ‘Rest in Peace’?
It’s interesting — originally the target age was 3 to 7. But then I read it to my daughter’s 5th grade class and they really loved it. The publisher also suggested that there are 9- and 10-year-olds that would get a kick out of it as well.
Is there a message you hope kids take away from reading this?
Ghoul has this difficulty where he gets so frustrated with his friends being in his space after a long Halloween, but they really just want to spend more time [with him]. It’s about accepting people into your life and being patient with them, even when they do things that you don’t understand. All of our friends have their own little quirks. And I also hope that people see that monsters can be fun!
‘Rest in Peace’ is available now through your favorite online booksellers. Follow Tyler Ham at his official website, www.tylerham.com.
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