Since its debut in 2015, Daniel Miyares has continuously drawn illustrations for picture books, from the biography of Rachel Carson ("Night Walk to the Sea: About Rachel Carson’s Story, Protector of the Earth, 2020) to the play about the Rolling Stones (a chip in the old block, 2018). The stories written and illustrated by the Kansas City artist for himself show similar versatility: please forgive me! A multi-mouthed parrot is a star, and the wordless picture book Float looks to recover from loss. "Hope on the Sea: Adventure Story", which will be released this month, tells the story of a 19th-century boat carpenter’s young daughter hiding on her father’s speedboat and learning about life at sea under his guidance. This book is another adventure into a new field-for the characters, but also for Miares. PW and Miyares talked about Clippers technology, drawing with pen and ink, and writing his family history.

Did you realize from the beginning that this book will look and feel different from your previous books?

In a way, I am. In the very deep undercurrent of the story, it is still a hero's journey. Many of my stories tend to use it as an engine. Everything else is very different. It turns out that this is a historical novel.

After talking with my daughter, I started thinking about resilience. She is 11 years old — she is now 13 years old — and she is packing up her school day. She had just started a new grade, anxiety was weighing on her, and I realized that I could not protect her from these things. The storm is coming. More importantly, my job is to encourage her to remain resilient and understand that there are still a few days after the big storm.

Is the story very different from the way you initially imagined it?

First, the ship is the narrator. From harvested trees to wood to transportation, and then back to wood, a metamorphosis occurred. I work with Anne Schwartz (Annie Schwartz Books at Random House). She is a great collaborator; I am really lucky to work with her. She said, "You know, Daniel, I like this idea and emotion, but can the reader fully connect with a non-human narrator?" I had to agree. When I reassembled it, I thought, "What if there is a family connected with the fate of the ship?"

Are the characters easy to come?

The protagonist’s idea is very simple: I look at my daughter and she is there! But think about how this family should be formed—what is their situation? What is consistent with what? -All these require a lot of reading and research, such as the role of a father. It's easy to say, "He is the captain!" But I think the carpenter plays a unique and specific role at the core of the story-originality, craftsmanship. So I support myself in participating in this historical novel project, which is very exciting.

What kind of source material did you find?

Since most of the research was conducted during the 2020 pandemic, I cannot go where I want to go. It forced me to go deep into places I didn't expect; first-hand information, the diaries about life written by sailors in the 1800s. I ordered a Clippers plan. The plan is very detailed until it is determined which part of the tree is to be cut down to make which part of the ship. I learned more about why scissors are so innovative. They started by asking traditionally-built gorgeous ships: "How can we increase speed and expand cargo space?" This is a new technology, but purely through design, not new materials. It is still canvas and wood. But the Clippers did not last long! Soon after this story happened, they began to integrate steam into sea travel.

How do you balance your desire for adventure with your desire for reality?

When I work on these types of projects, I want them to be entertaining and educational-this is where my heart lies. I have been a big fan of Mark Twain since I was a kid. Every time I started to write something he wrote, I knew it was a well-arranged story that showed me the possibility of storytelling. When you tell a story like this, you organize the fragments on this timeline and this map, and you let the reader click on the marker.

The text is very compact and has been carefully edited. Can you tell us about this process?

The copy in the book gets the required details, emotions, and eliminates all fat. I have done a wordless book, so I am familiar with the question, "What are the correct details?" When I hope to hide in the lifeboat, there are only three lines: "My belly is knotted. Will I be found? Dad will give birth Am I angry?" And the ink lines on her face looked a bit like knots. The simple thing: whether you notice them or not, they add flavor.

Annie and Nicole de las Heras, the art director of this book, were great. Looking at my sketches, they said, "Your rough line drawings remind us of scrimshaw prints. You should Look at scrimshaw.” So I started to study folk art and scrimshaw works, they are great! This is a good suggestion and the right combination of where I am going and what the story needs.

Your previous book seems to use more colors and forms, not many line drawings, and this one is very complicated. Is this line-centric work new to you?

This is very interesting-I finished this book with pen and ink, and there is another book-"Large and Small and In between" by Carter Higgins, which will be available in April Published from the chronicles-made of graphite. So far, I haven't really introduced painting in my book.

When I was five years old, my parents gave me this fishing tackle box that my father used in art appreciation courses. It has a small bottle of ink and a pen. They asked me to use their Commodore 64 to draw on computer paper, and then use this rough pen to scribble for a few hours. These are my first memories of painting. I am also left-handed, so this is a problem. [As it moves on the page, the left hand moves on the ink and tends to stain it. ] It taught me to embrace chaos.

Then in college, I had a gravure press in the basement, and I became a lunatic for printmaking, especially etching. Drawing in this way is like making etchings. I want that kind of improvisation. I directly use ink to draw on my finished paper, instead of drawing with a pencil.

It sounds like you value those early experiences more. What motivated this decision?

The idea of ​​doing what you should do—even if you ignore yourself sometimes—is really important. Some things make me a creator. The important thing is to listen and talk to other people. I hope this joy can continue.

What are you doing right now?

I am working on a book with Donna Bray at HarperCollins. It is called Nell Planting a Tree, and it was written by Anne Wynter, who wrote "Everyone in the Red Brick Building" (Everyone in the Red Brick Building). This is a wonderful and poignant story about the pecan tree planted by Nell, the matriarch of the family. This means a lot to me because I grew up surrounded by hickory trees. My grandmother will send us there. We have to fill paper bags with pecans, then break them all up, pack them and freeze them and make pies.

I'm at the beginning of a graphic memoir of my father's escape from Cuba when he was a child. When he went out with his brothers and sisters, he was about nine years old. I want to study in depth. I keep asking myself what makes my father-my grandfather-say: "I will endanger my family and my wife and give up everything we know about this great unknown." What makes someone Where did you go? Obviously, this story is very personal-and heart-wrenching.

After I graduated and moved to Kansas City, my father shared this story with me. It always shocks me-why not share it with me earlier? But I don’t think he wants his children to be seen as different. He wants us to assimilate. We did not speak Spanish in the house. He wants us to be as normal as possible, and not sharing his story with us is part of it.

This also makes use of early experience, whether it is story or art. What's that like?

The whole process taught me a lot about the perspectives of immigrants and how they were portrayed to make their lives and intentions wrong, even now. The situation in immigrant communities is so different and so subtle.

Did the book find a home?

This is a signed deal! Anne Schwartz would do this.

Hope on the Sea: The Adventure Story of Daniel Miares. Random/Schwarz, $17.99 November 9th ISBN 978-1-984892-83-6

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