Aron Steinke
Aron Steinke Talks About SPEECHLESS, His New Middle Grade Graphic Novel
In this episode of NW Book Talk, we’re excited to welcome Aron Steinke, Eisner-nominated author and cartoonist, best known for his Mr. Wolf’s Class series.
Aron joins us to talk about his brand-new standalone graphic novel, SPEECHLESS — a heartfelt and humorous story about a middle school boy navigating life without using words.
We dive into the inspiration behind SPEECHLESS, why he took a break from Mr. Wolf’s Class to create this story, and how real-life experiences shape his books for kids. If you love graphic novels that are funny, emotionally honest, and perfect for middle-grade readers, this episode is a must-listen.
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Books by Aron Steinke
After our radio talk, Aron shared more . . .
What was it like to see your first published book in its finalized form?
My first published book was a self-published book, but was funded with a grant from the now-defunct Xeric Foundation.
The Xeric Foundation was founded by the co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Peter Laird, and was given to self-publishing cartoonists twice in a calendar year.
When I got my 7 or 8 boxes of mini comics from the printer I had to lug them home through the snow, because we’d just had a snowstorm.
Once I opened them in my apartment I was immediately struck by the strong smell of ink.
I had used a lot of black in the printing of the book.
But when I held for the first time my first actual printed book, it felt incredible, and I’ve been chasing that feeling ever since.
Self-care for authors
I’ve actually been visiting more schools that stores, and I was doing about two schools per day as well as traveling from Portland to Seattle and then to Hood River and Dallas, Oregon.
And I hadn’t slept a whole lot, but I thought I looked put together, but a third grade kiddo looked at me one day with concern and said, “You have dark circles under your eyes.
Did you get enough sleep?”
It makes me laugh now in retrospect, but at the time, I really just didn’t’ know how to respond.
So she repeated herself and asked the question a second time.
Three Years to publish Speechless
There’s a lot of waiting for feedback in publishing, and even more so since the pandemic.
I had about three rounds of drafts where I had to wait about two months each round.
I know some author friends who have multiple projects they’re juggling and they can just switch over to another one while they’re waiting, but It’s hard for me to do that, so I often just take that time and do yard work and chores that I’ve neglected.
I actually got really into making stop-motion animation puppets during one break.
Sometimes I’ll go out to my parents home in east Clark County to clear Himalayan blackberry and English ivy from their eleven-acre forest.
I have a couple machetes and I chop away at the vines, then I dig up the roots with a shovel.
It’s very satisfying, but it’s also something that pretty much will never end, but I’ll never use chemicals.
I am Sisyphus.
Parent Perspective
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