The Mime is one of those stories that magically came from nowhere. It was 2012 and I was laying beside my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time. Sweet cuddling conversation soon turned into story time. After exchanging different stories from our lives, she told me to tell her “a story.” Not a story from my life but one of my stories from my imagination.

After taking a moment to gather my thoughts, I came up with this young girl roaming through the woods. She was lost and all alone. When she same came to a hidden grove there was a mime sitting on a falling tree. He was in distress and very sad. After the girl went to him and asked what was wrong, he nonverbally explained that someone had stolen his voice.

The Mime was born from an idea that came from the ether, the universal consciousness, or from nowhere. After finishing this short story, I got up right away, abandoning my girlfriend and went to my desk to sketch out the girl and the mime the way I saw it in my mind. That sketch would become the book cover to The Mime.

At the time after coming up with the idea for The Mime I didn’t think much of it. It was just one of those story ideas that I took note of and put up on the shelf with my notebooks filled with story outlines and WIPs (work in progress).

Esperanza, my first novel was my focus. I was 5 years into writing Esperanza. I was working with my editor and pushing to complete Esperanza and get it published. It would take another 5 years until Esperanza would get published, in 2017.

The Mime along with other writing projects were just side projects I would work on in between editing and rewrites of Esperanza. The Mime was at the bottom of the list of book and screenplay projects. It wasn’t a story I felt connected to nor had any love for.

For anyone who has written a book or a screenplay, they will know and understand that the writing process is not only grueling but in order for it to work, from beginning to end, you need to as a writer be in love with the story, and be in a relationship with it. If not you eventually lose interest and there is no effort put into it. It slowly dies out.

I did however know that someday I would want to devote myself to The Mime. When; I wasn’t sure but I did know that that day would come. Little by little I would think about the story and revisit it. In my notebooks I would outline, and develop the characters and story.

It was after publishing Esperanza that I began to devote more time into The Mime. In 2018 I began that relationship with the story and beat out the pages until I was able to finish a raw first draft. It was nowhere near what it is now, but it was a foundation I felt comfortable with submitting to an editor. I was fortunate in finding the perfect editor for The Mime and she was able to point out all the flaws in the story and all the positive traits, enough to motivate me to rewrite it.

I would spend the next 2 ½ years in a devoted relationship with The Mime. From 2018 to 2020, I would write numerous drafts. Still, though I felt something was missing from the story. The Covid Pandemic of 2020 would change all of that.

As with most people, during the 2020 pandemic in a world turned up side down, people had more free time at home than normally, to focus on being with family, a hobby or a new project. For me it was to first complete Modest Marine, a documented account of my grandfather Domenick P. Tutalo’s time served in the Pacific on Iwo Jima during World War II, and complete The Mime.

I worked on both simultaneously. By the summer of 2020 I had published Modest Marine and completed an updated final draft of The Mime. Still after submitting it back to my editor, I felt something was missing. It was a story for young and old readers, a fantasy story that I felt would be more effective with illustrations.

So, I illustrated images of scenes from all 51 chapters of The Mime. After completing them, I wanted to find the right illustrator to transform my vision into something beautiful. Fortunately for me, I discovered a female Mexican illustrator.

After connecting with her on social media I knew she was the perfect fit. Since The Mime takes place in Mexico, I wanted a Mexican illustrator, someone who knows the culture, but also someone who was fond of Japanimation and Manga. She was the perfect combination because she was Mexican, loved Japanimation and Manga and was studying Japanese and Japanese culture.

As I waited for the editor to finish editing The Mime I worked virtually with the Mexican illustrator. She was able to bring my characters to life. It was amazing to see, especially when I got the completed edited final draft of The Mime back at the end of 2020.

All of 2021 would be focused on the illustrations. A long and time-consuming process, but well worth the wait. The Mime is now complete and published, March 22, 2022.

The Mime is a story about finding your voice and not being afraid to use it. It’s a story that will take on a life of its own and inspire young readers and artists from all walks of life. It is a story that I will continue to nurture and transform into an animated film and eventually a graphic novel.

Love holds everything together and you hold the magic within. Find and discover your voice and create the world that you dream to see. The Mime is for all those who want to discover and use their voice to change the world.

The Mime is NOW Available on Amazon The Mime

The Mime: From Idea to Final Print