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Thursday,
September 12, 2002
By JANE DAYE
Register Correspondent
"Mucka mucka pinky power!"
"Alien Clones from Outer Space" is landing this week
at your local bookstore.
This refreshing and humorous children's book series
warrants being greeted with welcoming hearts. Written
by Napa resident, Hillary Homzie, 36, "Two Heads Are
Better Than One" is the first book in the series, geared
toward 6- to 10-year-olds.
"It is an introduction and features the primary characters,
Barton and Nancy Jamison -- two little kids who discover
that they have alien clones, right there in Pine Bluff.
Beta and Gamma, from the planet Ungapotch, in the Zorillion
Galaxy," said Homzie.
"The kids use the clones to get out of chores or responsibilities
-- or to do things better, like play baseball. It works
for both the kids and the clones, since the clones are
on a mission to learn about Earth life. So, it is perfect.
The clones are eager to take out the garbage, make their
beds, do their homework, clean their rooms, and even
to clean the bathtub!
"However, the clones innocently make chaos out of everything.
Everyone thinks the kids did all of these things, but
it was actually the clones." Homzie continued.
In addition to the comedy of errors that ensues between
the kids and their clones, the kids have a nemesis lurking
in the background. Otto, a 9-year-old is the next-door
neighbor who witnesses strange and unusual events, but
is never able to prove it.
Otto's efforts to expose the clones are especially thwarted,
since these clones have a special ability to "suck out
selected memory cells -- a Brain Slurpie," thereby rendering
Otto, although continuously suspicious, harmless.
Not to fear, earthlings.
"These are warm and fuzzy aliens. These are Mork from
Ork or "Third Rock from the Sun" aliens -- these are
not threatening," Homzie explained.
Zaptopkaka and tweedlewarp
Newly minted words are used throughout the series, like
"zaptopkaka" (wow) and "tweedlewarp" (oh, shoot). So,
just where does Homzie get these intergalactic words?
"I am the kind of mom at soccer practice who pretends
I'm an alien or something," she said.
As she describes her characters and her books, Homzie
occasionally becomes one of them, changing her voice
and her mannerisms. She flips into the character of
a little kid talking on walkie talkie, first making
the crackling sound of radio static.
"I never stopped being a little kid. I am in a mindset
with silly words. As I write, I want the characters
to have alien glue or alien shrinking powder, so I want
it to have an alien word to correspond. I just run them
through my head until it sounds silly but reasonable--that
it could actually be that thing," she said.
Homzie added, "I will often get on the phone and call
Steven Arvanites, my New York City theatrical partner,
and run alien words by him. He will brainstorm with
me -- or even my editor, Julia Richardson, may have
an idea for a new word."
Wiley in the woozie
Once these new, fantastical words are written, a person
with an equally imaginative mind, has to envision what
a Ungapotchian pet actually looks like. Matt Phillips,
of White, Ga., was contacted by Homzie's publisher,
Simon & Schuster to illustrate her series.
"Phillips' drawings were cartoony and he has such great
humor in his drawing. He is phenomenal and was able
to bring out the humor, in the "Alien Clones" stories,"
said Richardson.
This series created some new challenges for Phillips.
"For instance, I had to draw a Woozie, an alien dog,"
he said. "For some reason, I am the illustrator that
draws goofy monsters and aliens. When I was reading
the story, the woozie came out right away. I have a
four pound Chihuahua, he was my inspiration. Now I say,
there is a little bit of Wiley in the woozie."
Homzie said that she will never forget the night she
received the life-changing call from her publishing
house. "I was sitting on my bed, watching a bad TV show,
when I got a call from an editor at Simon & Schuster.
He said, 'I am laughing out loud as I'm reading.' Then
he asked me, 'Are you interested in doing a series for
us? We are looking for a fresh voice.' This was definitely
a very exciting moment." Ironically, the book that Homzie
had submitted, "Binnie," has never been published.
Julia Richardson is Homzie's editor at Simon & Schuster
and said that she has read each of Homzie's books at
least six times. "These books are so fun and cute. They
are just delightful to read. They are funny and they
make me laugh -- and in this day and age, it is a nice
thing to see. I have high hopes for these books."
Homzie's books are being offered for distribution internationally,
and if they are a success, Richardson said, "I would
like to continue the series. There are plenty of new
adventures that the Alien Clones can go through."
Screenplays and plays
Homzie has performed in various theater and comedy productions,
and currently writes screenplays, with her partner,
Arvanites. "They range from children's comedy to romantic
comedies. Steven and I met in a sketch comedy group
-- so that's our background. He is a comedic performer
as well."
They recently had a successful reading in New York of
one of their screenplays with some fairly famous TV
actors. "It has been optioned, but nothing much has
happened," said Homzie. Arvanites has recently pitched
a couple of their screenplays to a production company
on the lot of a major Hollywood Studio.
And, if all of this is not exciting enough for Homzie,
she has just received a letter notifying her that she
is a finalist for The Heideman Award from the Actors
Theatre of Louisville, a prestigious, national writing
competition. "Amongst playwrights, this is the most
famous short play contest," said Homzie.
She had submitted a play, "The Juice of It," for consideration.
"It is about four characters, in line to see the play,
'A Midsummer's Night's Dream.'"
The twist? "Subtitles, from the actual play, are running
beneath the characters, as they are waiting in line.
"What fools these mortals be...," Homzie begins.
When asked what her future holds, Homzie said, "If I
could clone myself, I would like to take ceramics, pottery
and yoga classes, which reminds me of a bumper sticker
I once saw "A woman can do everything but not all at
once -- so, for now, I will just keep on writing.
"We've even been talking to a couple of major production
companies who are interested in the books becoming an
animated television show," she said.
Who's the protagonist?
Homzie lives in Napa with her husband, Matt Eisenberg,
an attorney with Dickinson, Peatman & Fogarty. They
have two boys, Jonah, 5, and Ari, 2. Her sons have grown
up knowing that their mother is a writer, so there is
not much ado at home with the advent of this new series.
Living with a scribe, however, has definitely had its
effect. One day, Homzie says, when he was 4, Jonah turned
to her and said, "Mom, who is the protagonist in our
family?"
------
On the Internet: www.homzie.com
------
The launch party for Homzie's chapter book series, "Alien
Clones From Outer Space" will be held at Copperfield's
Books, 1303 First St., Napa, on Friday, Sept. 13 at
7 p.m.
In addition to Copperfield's, Homzie's books are available
at Bookends; Learning Fair; Walden Books in Napa; Calistoga
Bookstore and Main Street Books in St. Helena.
Book One: "Two Heads are Better Than One" ... out now
Book Two: "Who Let the Dogs Out" ... November, 2002
Book Three: "The Baby-sitters Wore Diapers" ... April,
2003
Book Four: "Food Fight" ... June, 2003
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