And in my last little bit of coverage for the book tour for Calamity Jack, I’m pleased to offer an interview with illustrator Nathan Hale! You can read my interview with authors Shannon Hale and Dean Hale here.

1. What was the first image that came to mind when you began working on Calamity Jack?

The city-I really wanted to make the city a real place. I pictured Jack running through the ruins of a fancy turn-of-the-century city. In the snow!

2. What was the most difficult image to come up with and why?

I had a lot of trouble with the pixie, Pru. I do a lot of scientific illustration, and there’s just nothing scientific about humans in dresses with insect wings. And why would they even wear dresses? They are flying, dresses wouldn’t be appropriate or practical if you were always flying over people’s heads.

3. What were your visual inspirations?

I looked at a lot of photos from the Great Chicago Fire, which was around the turn-of-the-century. The 1901 San Francisco Earthquake, lots of photos from the late 1800s early 1900s. I love researching, I can waste hours looking through old photos and illustrations.