Today we’re so excited to be sharing an exclusive interview between Rebecca Mix, the New York Times bestselling author of Neopets: The Omelette Faerie, and graphic novel editor Erinn Pascal, who also edited (and co-wrote) Neopets: The Official Cookbook. Neopets: The Omelette Faerie is an all-new, original graphic novel based that takes place in Neopia. It’s on sale starting October 22, 2024 and Neopets: The Official Cookbook is on sale now, both available wherever books are sold! Now for the interview! :D

Q: Hi, Becca! I’m excited to ask you some questions today about NEOPETS: THE OMELETTE FAERIE! *hands you a slice of ancient omelette* So first things first, can you tell me a little bit about you?
Hi, I'm so excited! I'm Rebecca Mix, New York Times bestselling author of weird, magical books like THE ONES WE BURN and THE MOSSHEART'S PROMISE duology, as well as the upcoming "Magical Knives Out" fantasy mystery, I KILLED THE KING – and now, an author of two official Neopets graphic novels?! What a pinch-me moment!

Q: I think you summoned the Pinchits! Can you tell us a bit about The Omelette Faerie? She’s never been on the site before, right?
Yes! Seraphina is a disgraced Fire Faerie with a complicated past and even more complicated ties to many of the Neopian Faeries we know and love. She was a joy to create and write, and it's been such a privilege to add to the Neopets canon while giving other beloved characters (Sabre-X, my grouchy darling!) a chance to tell us a little more of their own story, too.

Q: What made you want to be a writer?
I've always loved stories. I LOVE to read, but it wasn't until high school that I realized “author” was a job that anyone was free to pursue. I had been writing for years at that point, and I loved creating stories so much that I planned to write for the rest of my life regardless, but I started pursuing publication with the obsessive laser-like focus that only severely online teenagers can when I was seventeen. Ten years, four books, and hundreds of rejections later, my debut novel published!

Q: Did you play Neopets as a kid? (And also, are you an active player now? Can I Neofriend you? :D)
I sure did! Constantly. To the point that as a kid, the only effective punishment my mom had was grounding me from Neopets. The Neoboards are how I fell in love with writing. I used to be a really reluctant reader and an even more reluctant writer – but I have a vivid memory of begging my dad to sign the permission slip to let me access the Roleplay boards in the Neoboards, and once I was in there, I fell in love with creating stories with other people. I'm far from the only author in this generation of writers who got their start here; I think people would be surprised how many of their favourite writers have confessed to me they, too, started writing on the Neoboards! That's a very long answer to the first part. My much shorter answer to the second part is I started playing again under mixbecca during COVID and then I forgot my password and have not been able to get back in...I need to figure that out. I have missed far too many dailies! [Erinn’s note: Becca got back in. Thank you, TNT Support!]

Q: So I gotta ask. What’s your favourite Neopet?
Gelert, no contest. It was my first Neopet as a kid, and it wasn't until I was an adult that I learned there was actual lore behind the Welsh legend of the loyal wolfhound, Gelert, which makes me very weepy and sad, but made me love the Neopet all that much more!

Q: And what’s your LEAST favourite Neopet, aside from Ogrin? (‘cuz saying Ogrin is cheating, we all know this)
As a kid, for some reason I was genuinely frightened by the Chias? So we're going to say Chia, to honor child-Becca.

Q: Haha, well I mean, a Chia *is* the guy who shows up when a user gets frozen so…I think that’s warranted. I will forever miss my dear account hedwigthsnowyowl224, lost to time & space & a mean Chia when I copy-pasted a spam “win a free Faerie paintbrush post” 10 times on the Trading Post probably in 2002 or 2003. OK, moving along! Can you share a little about how you got the opportunity to write the first-ever official Neopets graphic novel? (And when?)
Yes! The honest truth is I've just never really shut up about how much I love Neopets and how it's basically my writer origin story. I want to say it was early 2021 when you reached out and were essentially like, "I've noticed you won't shut up about Neopets. Would you be interested in doing IP for them?" and I gasped so loud my now-fiancé thought someone had died. (It was a much nicer message than that, obviously. But I always tell people, never be afraid to be loud about the things you love! You never know who might see it.)

Q: Wild to think we’ve been working on The Omelette Faerie for over three years now!! So how does writing an official Neopets graphic novel work? Did you pitch a bunch of ideas to TNT, or did you know exactly what you wanted to do?
It was a really collaborative process, which I loved. I came up with several pitches for The Neopets Team, and they let us know what they were the most enthusiastic about, so I went from there to develop more in-depth concepts and outlines.

Q: How involved was TNT in the graphic novel?
They were pretty involved as far as developing content and ensuring it stays true to the site goes. TNT gave input at pretty much every stage – concept, pitch, outline, revised outline, finished text, etc., and it was this wonderful combination of them granting a lot of creative freedom while also being the true definition of galaxy-brained fact-checkers dedicated to ensuring even the smallest detail aligned with the canon. I really, really enjoyed that part of the process. It felt like I was given a lot of freedom to innovate and tell the best story possible, but because TNT has such an incredible team and wealth of knowledge about the world, I could trust that anything we published would stay true to the heart of Neopia. [Erinn’s note: TNT Aesop was SO HELPFUL with much of the narrative and lore, he really is fantastic. And TNT Clammyhand was so helpful with the art and providing turnarounds for the characters. We are super indebted to the great team!]

Q: Was there anything you REALLY wanted to put in the graphic novel but had to cut?
Ohhh, yes! I had the idea of making Seraphina a Grey Faerie initially, but as we worked out the plot with TNT and worked through their feedback and other narratives they've done and have upcoming, we realized making her a disgraced Fire Faerie made a lot more sense.

Q: Do you have a favourite character or moment in the story?
Writing is a strange thing because you do a lot of it in isolation, and sometimes you put things in stories that feel fun and ridiculous, but a part of you wonders if you're losing your marbles. There's a very dramatic moment in THE OMELETTE FAERIE where someone is literally dangling off a cliff, and I truly wondered if you or TNT were going to be like "Rebecca...I'm going to need you to calm down. We can't have Faeries dangling from cliffs," but it got to stay! And I am delighted by that moment, personally. [Erinn’s note: I mean, you basically took me back to my childhood The Lion King trauma but IT’S FINE WHATEVER SURE] For favourite characters, it's definitely Sabre-X. I don't know why I have so much affection for that grumpy old Lupe, but I've loved his character since I was a kid, and as corny as it sounds, getting to add to his story and giving him a voice was a genuine joy and honour. I loved moment I got to write with him.

Q: Do you have any advice for writers who would like to work on Neopets?
Write a lot, write widely, and don't be afraid to be loud about what you love! You never know who will see your enthusiasm and think, "Sure, let's let this fool write a dramatic quest story featuring Sabre-X."

Q: Do you have any Neogoals currently?
Other than remembering my password, I am determined to acquire a Faerie paint brush for obvious reasons! [Erinn’s note: “You have given Faerie Paint Brush to User 'mixbecca'.” I should also add, I am not TNT and do not have TNT powers. My own Neopets account is pretty personal. Just sending you that for a job well done :D You didn’t even have to copy-paste a message 10 times!!]

Q: If you could eat ANY omelette from all of Neopia for breakfast, which one would it be?
Look, I have no reason to believe a Carrot and Pea Omelette would actually be good in real life, but it's always looked so appetizing and it's such a classic Neopisn omelette....I feel like I have to choose that one.

Q: Where can I get a signed copy?
You can get a signed copy from my local indie, Sidetrack Bookshop in Michigan! And, as an extra fun thing, if you put "please give me my omelette horoscope" in the notes, I'll tell you what Neopets omelette you are based on Vibes.

Q: Anddddd, anything else coming up? *slides you a lucky coin plushie*
I'm thrilled that next year, we've got a second Neopets graphic novel coming! This one tells the story of the Discarded Magical Blue Grundo Plushie of Prosperity as we follow him on a fun little adventure to save Neopia when he wakes up and discovers everyone has been turned into a plushie! (I say fun, but people keep saying it made them cry? I think I was in a very Barbie-movie "What Was I Made For" headspace when I wrote that book, so...you're welcome or I'm sorry?!) I am so excited to be able to share more about that one! Outside of the Neopets world, I've got the sequel to my middle-grade debut, THE GHOSTWING’S LIE, publishing October 15th. Book 1, THE MOSSHEART'S PROMISE, follows a fairy who learns her entire world is trapped in a giant rotting terrarium, and book 2 picks up right after they escape the terrarium and things go very wrong, because of course they do! I'm honestly delighted to have two different fairy books publishing within a week of each other! And then, next fall, we've got I KILLED THE KING, a magical mystery in the vein of Knives Out, told from the eyes of six different characters who are pulled into the king's chambers the night of a war-ending ball when the king dies dramatically, and one of them definitely killed him. It's my first YA in years, it nearly broke my brain to plot & write, and it's a ton of fun. Or at least, I hope it is!

Not a Q but: Thank you so much for sharing all of this, Becca! I’m now off to Sidetrack Bookshop to find out what vibe I am. Neopets: The Omelette Faerie will be available starting October 22 wherever books are sold, both in the US and internationally. And a pro-tip to anyone international—go to your local bookstore and request it there! Often times, the store will get it shipped to them for free, saving you money so you can spend all your cold hard cash on UC pet styles (no? just me? ok). I hope everyone enjoys The Omelette Faerie, and if you don’t…that’s fine that’s your prerogative but it will make us both sad. (Now, do you think TNT will give me a Neopian Times avatar for writing this?! We’ll find out….!!) ~ Erinn

Neopets: The Omelette Faerie will be released October 22nd, but is available for preorder here!

TNT we fans of Jellyworld are starving for more Jelly content! Can we join an Altador Cup team based on Jellyworld next year? Make the impossible, possible! Thank you! ~koopatroopaarmy
[redacted] will [redacted] the [redacted] next [redacted]! /j ~~Stone

I am in LOVE with the new Usuki Doll Mystery Capsule!! What a great concept. Any chance we might see the (far superior) Quiguki in the same style capsule some day? Gamer Quiguki told me they were feeling left out.~emaciate
Hello! We are so happy to hear about your love for the new Usuki Doll Mystery Capsule! Next Usukicon we will keep the Quiguki idea in mind! Thanks for writing in! ~~Goldfish in Bowl

Hello TNT~ This may come across as a bit sensitive, but I was wondering if you could look into and perhaps tweak the description for Mystery Island Travel Stamp? Currently it reads "Keep the natives at bay with this adorable stamp". I understand that the lore for Mystery Island is that it's a pretty tropical island to visit albeit with "hostile" Coco people indigenous to the island, but I think this kind of narrative can be a bit outdated in our time. As someone from a tropical island that also sees some tourism I think the idea of tourists "keeping natives at bay" is rather problematic and shouldn't be addressed in such a light-hearted or even facetious tone. Thank you so much! ~anonymous
Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention- we completely agree and have changed the item description! Please be sure to send any insensitive item descriptions or terminology on the website our way, as we are always working to continue making the site better, kinder, and more inclusive for everyone. ~~ TNT Snail

Hey-lo! I wanted to send some (belated) gratitude to the entire TNT for such a stellar SDCC experience: For those that were present and for those that kept things running from afar. I still talk about my time meeting the team, the TCG panel, and the booth itself as a highlight of my summer. I vowed that I would only make SDCC a one-and-done experience because it was overWHELMING. (I went because Neopets 25 was such a great excuse to go.) But my experience of literally just Neopets-related things that weekend has me excited to attend for years to come! ~jennsjoe

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