Meet Jochen Till - The Monstrously Funny Author Of Memento Monstrum!

German author Jochen Till writes children's books, and poetry, and plays, and screenplays, and songs! He's creative and prolific and Arctis Books USA is so very happy to publish Memento Monstrum in the US this Fall. 

 

How did you get the idea for Memento Monstrum? Did anything in particular inspire the story?

 

Yes, in fact Wiebke (the illustrator) inspired the story by providing me with the main characters. She was planning (via Kickstarter) to create a book without words were she wanted to show a photoalbum of Count Dracula and the other monsters. The Kickstarter didn’t kick, but the German publisher Coppenrath liked her pictures so much that they wanted to do the book and asked me, if I would like to write it. Wiebke's idea was that all the monsters grew up together, but I thought it would be more exciting to tell the stories how Dracula met them through different times in his life. Then I added some monsters and Dracula's grandchildren and the story was ready to be written.

 

Do you have a favorite character in the book? Are any of the characters based on…you?!

 

Well, I couldn’t decide who’s my favourite, I really love them all for different reasons. As I myself am a drummer and a big Beatles fan, the one closest to me would be Archie the Werewolf.

 

Wiebke’s illustrations are so charming. Did any surprise you? Do you have any particular favorite illustrations?

 

Oh, yes, Wiebke’s illustration are such wonderful works of art, I instantly fell in love when I first saw them. As I saw most of the characters before I started writing, there were no big surprises. I love Globine, it doesn’t get any cuter. My favourite illustration is the one with Archie and the Beatles, but every single picture is just marvelous.

 

Thanks for chatting with us, Jochen!

 

Check out the amazing book trailer for Memento Monstrum on our YouTube Channel

Tags:

  • Memento Monstrum
  • Jochen Til
  • Wiebke Rauers
  • Middle Grade Fiction