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While Gaines says his
niece has a strong personality and isn’t afraid to speak her
mind, he notices that for many children her age, speaking up
is a unique challenge, especially for kids being bullied.
“That’s where I got the idea to write a book.” Gaines, a
television writer and producer in Los Angeles, started
thinking about the struggles of these bullied kids in
contrast to his own spirited, strong-willed niece. “I
thought it would be really cool if these kids had a
superhero to defend them,” Gaines said.
But he didn’t want a
run-of-the-mill superhero. Instead, he wanted a champion
for middle-grade readers who are consistently
underrepresented on bookshelves. “I realized that there are
lots of little girls out there who are starving to see
images of themselves in the male-dominated superhero
universe. It’s really a shame that there aren’t more
adventure books for girls in the marketplace and even more
ashamed that few books in this category represent
African-Americans.”
Featuring his niece as the
fiery, precocious lead character, Gaines was motivated to
inspire bullied kids and uplift the presence of
African-American heroines in his first novel, The
Galactic Adventures of Jaedyn G. (Parkside Press 2012) –
a 128-page middle-grade novel that follows the title
character on a journey of self-discovery from the schoolyard
to the outer galaxy. In the novel, Jaedyn—a
straight-forward, self-confident young girl with a talent
for wrestling—leads a space alien named Zel to a place
called Planet Bob on a mission to recover her stolen
wrestling belt. Zel, a softhearted victim of bullying,
becomes her friend and confidant, and together they discover
that real superpowers come in all forms.
Gaines, who owns the
animation studio Cinemation, said he got his entire family
involved in the writing process, including his niece, his
parents and his brother, Jay, who is Jaedyn’s father.
“My parents Jimmy and
Sharon Gaines were especially instrumental in shaping the
story. My mom has been an educator for years, and a
Specialist in educational
administration and supervision,” Gaines said. “My brother,
Jay, read over ten drafts of the manuscript and was really
key in helping me iron out the plot points. He has an
uncanny knack for solving story problems, and I often called
him in the middle of the day for a fix.”
The most important
feedback, however, came from Gaines’ niece Jaedyn, who
unwrapped an advanced copy of the book on Christmas Day and
says she read all 20 chapters in two days.
“I've never seen a book
like this about aliens and I really like seeing myself as a
superhero. I like it even better than some of my favorite
books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Spacehedz
because it's about a girl and not a boy,” said the
11-year-old, who is an honor student at the Columbus Spanish
Immersion Academy in Columbus, Ohio. “Everyone started
circling around my teacher when she was reading the book.
Then a friend of mine who bought the book asked me if she
was going to get her ten dollars back because we're friends
and I told her no.”
Jaedyn said she liked
everything about the book except one very important
detail—in The Galactic Adventures of Jaedyn G., the
title character’s favorite color is purple, and her favorite
color is actually neon green.
Gaines is optimistic about
the future of the middle-grade series. “I sent an advanced
copy to a good friend and mentor of mine, author Tananarive
Due, and she emailed me saying, ‘my son snatched it up right
away, so it’s a hit!’” Gaines said. “I got the same
reaction from several other friends who bought advanced
copies for their nieces and nephews, which is very
rewarding.”
While critical reviews for
the novel have been strong, with more expected in the
Spring, Gaines said he values customer reviews on Amazon.com
the most. “My goal was to write something fun and hopefully
empower young girls everywhere with a sense of
self-determination and confidence in being who they are.”
The novel is currently
available on Amazon.com and will be available to major
booksellers everywhere through Ingram and Baker & Taylor on
January 26, 2012. |
