The following is an interview with writer/producer Gregg Hale (The Blair Witch Project) regarding the release of the YA fantasy novel, Emerald Anvil: Journey to Hada. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Hale about his shared creative process for bringing the story to life on the page, the themes that he hopes will shine through for readers, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the release of Emerald Anvil: Journey to Hada! What are you most excited for readers to experience with this exciting exploration of fairies?
Gregg Hale: Thanks. The Emerald Anvil story-world is built around a whole new take on the ‘fairy’ concept – combining classic fae tropes with a little steam-punk-y sci-fi and a taste of Game of Thrones. We’d love for readers to be able to immerse themselves in this universe and explore it through the different lenses we’ve created to tell the story.
BD: How would you describe your shared creative process for bringing this story and its characters to life on the page?
GH: I created Emerald Anvil with my creative partner of almost 30 years, Eduardo Sanchez, and I wrote Journey to Hada with Ed’s oldest offspring, Bianca (age 23, they/them). Having known them since literally their birth day, I was aware of Bianca’s skills not only as a writer, but as an actor and visual artist. So, when Ed and I decided to base the family at the center of the story-world on Ed’s Cuban-American heritage, an unusual writing plan was hatched: Bianca would ‘play the part’ of Morgan and contribute to the story as an improvisational performer/writer.
Inspired by my experience as a DnD ‘Dungeon Master,’ I constructed the first draft of the novel as a literary role-playing game. After collaborating on Morgan’s character and backstory, I pre-wrote certain settings, characters, and scenes, then Bianca and I got on a online document and progressed through the plot in much the same way as a player would move through an RPG. In this manner, we were able to make Morgan’s voice as a 14-year-old Latina as authentic as possible.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that Morgan and Orion’s story may connect with and impact today’s readers?
GH: I hope our multi-platform approach resonates with readers and that they embrace engaging with the story from different angles and through different mediums. I think this also connects to the way we wrote the story in terms of trying to make Morgan a very real, very relatable young heroine that readers will want to watch grow up in this dangerous fairy world.
BD: The world of these fairies extends far beyond Journey to Hada. What can you tell us about the larger transmedia universe being explored with your work?
GH: Emerald Anvil is a multi-platform fantasy universe centered on the mysterious fairy-world Hada. The creators of The Blair Witch Project partnered with executive producers of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Golden Compass, and The Quest to create an independent franchise with various points of entry into the Emerald Anvil storyworld. This grassroots project involves its audience across multiple formats while allowing Emerald Anvil’s creators to preserve artistic integrity and IP ownership.
After over a decade of experimenting with variations of ‘a sister and brother get teleported to a dangerous realm of fairies’, the initial entry points into Emerald Anvil are a podcast – Black Velvet Fairies, a novel – Journey to Hada, a board game – Glim, and an interactive NFT storytelling game called Battle for Hada.
Emerald Anvil was inspired by my five-year-old kid’s love of Tinkerbell and all-things fae. I invented a fairy character that began a written correspondence with my kid and staged ‘events’ like burying a ‘fairy chest’ in the backyard and a photo-shoot of his kids finding a bronze ‘fairy door’ in a Portland park. Over the course of several years, my creative partner, Eduardo Sanchez, and I turned these stand-alone concepts into a cohesive story-world inhabited by amalgams of our kids.
BD: Are there any other projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
GH: Well, if any of your readers have heard of me or my work, it’s almost for sure gonna be The Blair Witch Project, so it might be interesting for people to try and track how Ed and I went from that horror film to this work of YA fantasy.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find more information about Emerald Anvil: Journey to Hada and your other work?
GH: We have a wonderful website at EmeraldAnvil.com
