Interview: Queenie Chan

Queenie Chan is a Sydney based Manga author/artist and the creator of the three-part teen horror series the Dreaming (published through Tokyopop). The series tells the story of twin girls at an isolated bush boarding school whose dreams hold the key to stopping a series of supernatural disappearances and unlocking the area’s dark past. She spoke exclusively to Horrorscope about the series and life as a Manga artist in Australia.

How did you first get into Manga?
In terms of reading it I’ve been reading Manga since I was a child in Hong Kong. I think that it was just something that everyone did. That’s how I first came into contact with it. Later, I took up drawing as a hobby, and drawing Manga as a hobby while at University doing an information systems degree. I found it more fun than the degree to be honest and when I graduated I couldn’t find a job in the I.S. sector, because it was right at the time of the dot.com bust, so I kinda changed tact and was lucky enough to find a company Tokyopop that was hiring and looking for pulp Manga artists at the same time.

So how long had you been drawing Manga before you approached them?
I started drawing when I was 18. So it was about six years before I found Tokyopop.

And how did the deal with Toykopop come about?
They put out a call on the Internet for just anyone to submit to them and I saw that in late 2003 and sent stuff into them. And they said yeah, we like your work and would like to see more of it.

So was the Dreaming in some sort of complete form at this stage?
No. What happened was I sent them several other pictures. The first one I sent was a story based on Chinese Mythology called Chinese Ghost Story and they said we’re not really looking for action/adventure at this point. And later on, I thought they were looking for something more girl orientated so I sent in a romantic comedy and they wrote back and said we saw this story on your website, a horror story, and my editor then she took this horror story called Block Six and the romantic comedy and asked me to merge them together. So that became the Dreaming.

So what did you base the Dreaming on?
It was inspired by picnic at hanging rock. In terms of disappearances, its just a peculiar part of my life that there are some real life echoes I suppose. (A former classmate of Queenie’s disappeared while trekking alone in the Tasmanian bushland in 1997. They found her campsite all set up for the night but no trace of her. Months later, she was pronounced “missing, presumed dead”.)

Do you regard yourself as a horror writer?
I do horror stuff, and I think it’s fun but I don’t regard myself as a genre writer. I like to give myself the freedom to write whatever I want. That could include horror.

So where do the horror influences come from?
I can’t say that I have any because I don’t like watching horror movies, I get spooked out to easy. But I generally get my ideas from things that scare me in everyday life.

So what is involved in the process of creating a Manga novel?
The artwork I do on A4 paper. Most people do it on A3 but I don’t have the time, so I draw on A4 exclusively. It takes about nine months to put a book together, basically starting with the scripting, and then the pencilling, inking, toning, and the lettering. Which if you look at it, is quite a bit of work for one person.

You were born in Hong Kong, but raised in Australia. Have you been able to bring some Australian influences into what is predominately an Asian art form?
Absolutely! It’s just a matter of where you put the setting in my opinion. The story is set in Australia, and it uses Picnic at Hanging Rock as a major inspiration, so it is very Australian story; mainly about the characters and their relationship to the Australian bush. I think that, internationally speaking, that is quite unique in Manga and recognisably Australian.

Do you know of any other Manga artists in Australia able to do what you are doing?
Not that I know of. I don’t really know of anyone working in the Manga field. In terms of hobbyists, there are plenty; but they are everywhere.

But your story has obviously touched a chord with Australian audiences with Scholastic ordering 45,000 copies for its book club. Did you expect this sort of response?
No. Scholastic ordered it because of the lack of violence in the book. And of course there are lots of kids who love horror stories. I’m very glad for scholastic doing that, because that is quite an amazing sales figure.

So where does this sale put you as a writer at the moment? Are you able to work exclusively as a Manga artist?
I’ve always worked on Manga full-time; it’s a full time job.

And are you able to financially support yourself?
No not really. I mean I still live with my parents so the money problem isn’t so big, but I suppose if I’m able to get back to back work then I would be able to support myself. The money in it still isn’t fantastic. It’s still a niche field.

So where to now? The final instalment of the Dreaming comes out in November, what is next for Queenie Chan?
I’m working on another book right now for Del-Ray, another graphic novel. I can’t say much as the details haven’t really been sorted out yet, but it’s on the way?

What can you tell us about it? Is it another horror?
Not really, it’s more a suspense/drama. It’s based on a trilogy of books and is a prequel to that story.

What about the Dreaming? The book has a very filmic feel. No offers of movie deals or anything like that?
There has been interest from Hollywood, but really who knows nothing is really decided.

Hollywood?
Hollywood producers like to scout for possible film scripts and I think this is just one of them. It’s nothing unusual it happens everywhere. I don’t quite know because I don’t handle that part, the company Tokyopop they do. I probably won’t know anything until something does get signed in concrete, which is quite unlikely as the story isn’t yet finished.

The Dreaming volumes one and two are distributed in Australia through Madman Entertainment. Volume three is released in November. Read Horrorscope’s own review of volume one below.