Ladies and gentlemen, we all have heard of things that could have been in popular media. There were films that were conceived but never made, sequels unproduced, music albums never recorded or current creations out there that started out being very different.
There was a lot about my own Sunnyville Stories that was planned but not done. A lot of creative works out there – books, movies, television shows, and so on – are like that. Some ideas never came to pass or never made it out of planning stages. Over the next few weeks, I’ll share with you ideas that never came to pass in Sunnyville.
To be honest, Sunnyville Stories itself was almost stillborn. It may have never launched. The idea itself for Sunnyville was not done because while I had conceived it back in 2005, it got shelved. Why was this?
The first reason was back in those days, my drawing skills were abysmal. Keep in mind that I only started drawing on a regular basis in 2002. While I had a clear idea, the characters of Rusty and Sam as well as their universe would have looked awful given my bad drawing skills back then. The second reason was that I went through a personal crisis in 2005. It’s a long story and isn’t really important to go into detail here, but I sank into depression. A bright and cheery world with a Utopian village really didn’t seem worth doing then. Still though, I never really abandoned the idea. Between 2005 and 2009, I just kept coming back to Sunnyville because something inside of me told me that it was too good of an idea to just give up on.
What ultimately sparked the launch of Sunnyville is another story in and of itself. But that’s for another day. I’ve got more material that ended up on the cutting room floor and that will be shared tomorrow.
Meanwhile, sign up for the Sunnyville Stories mailing list if you haven’t yet. Stop over to DriveThru Comics for digital copies of Sunnyville Stories. Copies of Sunnyville Stories Volume 1 are still for sale on Amazon, both in print and Kindle formats! While you’re there, be sure to pick up Sunnyville Stories Volume 2 and (if you love Gothic horror) Von Herling, Vampire Hunter! And now available is the latest installment of the saga, Sunnyville Stories Volume 3. Get them today!
Copies of all the above titles are available to the library trade via Brodart Company and to retailers from Ingram and Baker & Taylor (via BCH Distribution). Copies are also available direct from the publisher. For ordering information, contact maxwestart(at)gmail(dot)com or write to:
Different Mousetrap Press LLC, 1100 19th Avenue N, #108, Unit J, Fargo ND 58102-2269 USA
