Interview with the Zargari Brothers: Writers of Prison Break 2438

Have you ever wanted to write a novel, comic book, or make a movie, but not know how to get the funds needed to put that vision to paper or film?  Maybe you’ve heard an idea from someone that made you think “Wow, I’d like to see that.” but you don’t know how to help that idea become a tangible thing.

Learn How You Can Help the Zargari Brothers Get Prison Break 2438 Published

I recently got the opportunity to speak to brothers Shahab and Shahram Zargari.  These brothers are working on a science fiction novel called Prison Break 2438.  They have started a campaign to raise some money to get the help of comic artist Brian Ewing, who has produced a few really nice covers for DC Comics (Detective Comics #776, Nightwing #78 and #88).  Ewing’s illustrations will help the Zargari Brothers tell their post apocalyptic tale of a corrupt government, a person wrongfully accused of a crime and taken to one of the worst prisons in the world, and the friend who decides to help him.

If you’re curious about the project and want to learn how you can contribute to the cause, then keep on reading because the Zargaris will give you more details about the project!

ACB: You’ve gotten your start as writers by posting music reviews on numerous zines and websites and other forms of media self-published.  Was getting into sci-fi writing always an idea or did it come about once the story started to come together?

Shahab: It wasn’t always some pre-planned goal, but I for one love science fiction books, comics and movies and have since I saw certain movies in the theatre as a kid; Flight of the Navigator, Return of the Jedi and Neverending Story, stuff like that peaked my interest and still does to this day…and now I have my own kids!

Shahram: I think the concept was just too delicious not to write.  We never sat down and decided to become sci fi authors.  It sort of just happened.

ACB: Who is the primary audience for Prison Break 2438?  Would you say it’s more for all ages or more along the mature readers side?

Shahab: Because of the fighting, gore and usage of foul language by the characters I’d say definitely mature audiences.

Shahram: Yeah, it’s not a book for kids, I can tell you that much!  We are looking for brave readers with strong stomachs, an iron will, and the taste for adventure.

ACB: So here’s a chance for you to get more awareness for Prison Break 2438…  What’s the plot of the story and what must the characters face in the course of the story?

Shahram: When a spineless bookstore owner finds out that his friend, a political refugee and civil rights leader, has been kidnapped and being tortured by an evil government he is forced to join a revolutionary army to save his friend’s life.  He will have to face treachery, deceit, torture, war, death and his own fear in order to do so.

ACB: From what I’ve seen about the story, it seems like there are a few ideas here that are present – post-apocalyptic world, corruption, and sacrifice.  What influences did you draw from when creating the story?

Shahab: A bulk of Stephen King’s work, especially the epic journeys like The Stand and the Dark Tower series probably. I love those books.  The Marvel Dark Tower comics are pretty amazing too.

Shahram: The works of Orwell had a huge influence on me, not to mention Aldous Huxely’s A Brave New World.  I also found a lot of inspiration in recent works by Iranian political prisoners and articles about detainees in American prisons and the camps at Guantanamo Bay during the Bush presidency.

ACB: I found the background of writing the story very interesting.  One brother started with chapter one, then passed it to the other for chapter two, who then passed it back and so on.  What kind of challenges did that style of writing present?  Were the differences between each brother’s writing noticeable or did the basics of each chapter stay true to one another naturally?

Shahab: The main challenge for me was that I completely remembered my own past chapters and events but had a hard time remembering little details my brother had written about etc. Thankfully, most of those plot holes were taken care of in the first editing session we held in Oakland.

Shahram: The most difficult part for me has been the editing process.  It’s hard to coordinate and seems to take forever to make decisions.  When we were writing the original draft it was fairly fast paced and flowed easily and naturally.  Deciding on changes, rewrites, and character developments while editing has been more challenging. It’s been hard, but truthfully it has made the story much richer and all the better.  We’re getting really excited to unveil this puppy.

ACB: If the funds are raised for the book, you’ve got artist Brian Ewing, who’s done some work with Dark Horse and DC, ready to go for some interior art.  How did you get connected to him?

Shahab: Back in 2005 a friend and myself worked together to put an art anthology and he was one of the 30 artists presented.  That time we put about 4 grand of  our own money and over 300 hours of unpaid computer work into the project to put the whole thing together.  This time we still want 100% creative control while we also give the illustrator and editor the money they are due.

ACB: Speaking of getting funds raised, you’re currently using a fund raising site for creative projects (www.kickstarter.com).  You’ve gotten a few things funded in the past, with Prison Break 2438 one you are currently looking for backers on.  Can you tell us how that experience has been so far?   Once you have something set up to be funded, what were your next steps to get the word out about the project?

Shahab: We’ve started a Tumblr/Flickr/Facebook/Twitter/Blog network campaign.  We created three trailers for the book and put them up on Youtube (One of which was created with the Google Search Stories online tool; that was a bit of fun in itself!).  We’ve gotten a lot of support from the folks at Verbicide Magazine, who not only cover music and books but also post new fiction from today’s up and coming artists.  Really, we’re just trying to spread the word before the Kickstarter time clock runs out at the end of January.

Shahram: It’s fun. People close to you that you would think would be the most supportive aren’t and people you never knew believed in you show their true colors.

ACB: Do you find many fiction novels being pitched on Kickstarter?  Have there been more, less, or the same amount of struggles looking for the funding compared to other projects?

Shahab: There are quite a few actually.  There are comic books, books, films, gadgets etc up on there. Some projects have little to no funding at all and just peter out, and others overshoot their goals by thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.  It’s inspiring and humbling at the same time.

ACB: Do either of you have plans to do more novels beyond Prison Break 2438, or are you waiting to see how this goes before making any further plans?

Shahram: I know I plan to do more! A lot more. Whether they pan out to being science fiction in nature; well, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Shahab: No plans for me here. I’m always writing and creating and if it happens, so be it!

ACB: Besides the satisfaction of helping get some creators a start, you offer some nice swag for people who donate.  Can you tell us what some of those things are and what some of the neater items are in the different price ranges?

Shahab: The absolute minimum pledge is one US dollar.  So if all 10,000 people reading this blog chose to give up 1/3rd of a cup of Starbucks for one day of their lives to give our project a one dollar bit of love, we’d hit our goal in a heartbeat!  Ha!  Now, although $1 is the minimum, the rewards start kicking in at 5 dollars.  $5 gets the pledger (is that a word?) a PDF copy of the book.  $10 gets a soft cover version of the book.  $100 gets a signed soft cover version of the book along with limited edition poster, t-shirt and stickers all featuring Brian Ewing’s artwork.  $200 gets what that last one gets but instead of a signed soft cover it’s a signed hard cover with dust jacket.  We also have a $35 pledge level that gets the pledger five copies of the soft cover in case they want to sell some through their DIY mail-orders or to donate a few to the library or to gift away, etc.

Shahram: We also JUST added a new $500 level that comes with every single thing the $200 level comes with but will also have one of five original Brian Ewing sketches and a signed manuscript of the novel.  Super collector items!!  All of the other pledge levels can have an unlimited number of pledgers…this $500 level is limited to only five.  Once five people have pledged to this, that’s it.  No more.

ACB: Can you offer any advice to anyone who has a project like a novel or short film who might not have any idea how to get the wheels turning on getting that project into production and turned into something beyond an idea?

Shahab: Do it.  Do it for yourself instead of waiting around for a big publisher or film studio to pick you up.  Two advantages to that; 1. Your creative projects will see the light of day and you will have many things to be proud of and 2. Working hard on your work is usually how those big guys take notice.

Shahram: The hardest thing to do when it comes to writing is getting the original concept down as a first draft.  So many things come up to stop your own negative thoughts.  Just remember first drafts are always crap, even if you’re Clive Barker or Isaac Asimov, and you can fix them later.  Also don’t be scared to take the time you need to edit and really flesh out the characters to make them more real.  If the characters don’t feel real to your readers, you’ve lost them at the first page.

I thank the Zagari Brothers for taking the time to answer our questions about Prison Break 2438.  If you’d like to contribute to their cause to get this book published, please go here!

To check out more of Brian Ewing’s art, go to his website!

Tags: Brian Ewing Prison Break 2438 Shahab and Shahram Zagari