Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

During the Dr. Horrible panel at Comic-Con, Nathan Fillion revealed that a friend of his, SF author P J Haarsma had designed the iPhone car "remote" used for the heist of the Wonderflonium van in Act I.

In this exclusive interview for WhedonAge, we find out about the non-profit he started with Fillion, Kids Need To Read, how he got involved with Dr. Horrible and what the future holds for him.

PJ Haarsma is the award-winning author of The Softwire series of books. These books create a whole new world and are set in a future time. They are sci-fi books but they have very broad appeal (I certainly really enjoyed them!). The pacing and action make them a sure choice for tempting even the most reluctant reader to give them a try. The first two books of the series have been released: The Softwire: Virus on Orbis One and The Softwire: Betrayal on Orbis Two. PJ is currently writing the eagerly-awaited book three.

In addition to his writing, Haarsma also co-founded the non-profit Kids Need To Read with Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Dr Horrible). This is a literacy program that is delivering much-needed books and resources to libraries and schools across America. They depend entirely on donations and the proceeds from the many fabulous auctions that they have. KNTR is making a big impact on the schools and foundations they help – see the ‘Donation Stories’ to find out more. The California Browncoats sold Limited Edition Serenity: Better Days #1 comics during the convention, with 100% of the profits going to KNTR.

How did you first become involved in Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog?

Nathan called me one night and asked me if I could make a "thing" that would work on his iPhone. He was vague and I really didn’t understand what he was doing. He mentioned something about a remote, Joss, and a musical. I remember thinking, "I hope you’re not singing."

Did you meet with Joss Whedon and the rest of the team or was the design done remotely?

Nathan and I did this ourselves. We went back and forth together on the design a few times. I don’t have an iPhone so I would call Nathan to keep testing it out. I tried to make it as interactive as possible. All I knew was that someone was going to push a button to make a van move. When Nathan showed Joss he loved it. He just wanted the GAS and BRAKE buttons to be bigger.

Did you visit the set to see your remote control in action?

Again no. Remember, I’m the guy who didn’t see Firefly until just last year. The whole process was very informal. My friend called and asked for help and I did my best for him. Next thing I know I hear servers are crashing from his project. I’m just glad to have been a part of it. After Nathan announced it at Comic-Con, over 28,000 people clicked on the Softwire link in just 24 hours. I housed the remote on the Softwire server because that just happened to be the one I was working on when Nathan called.

Have you been following the intense Internet coverage of Dr Horrible and have you been surprised at the amount of interest in it?

I watched the whole thing at Nate’s house laughing the entire time, but I did not expect the enormous response at all. Before the con Nathan called and told me about the strain on the servers from the popularity. He thought if he announced it he might crash my game servers but I told him do it anyway.

Do you think Dr Horrible will change the way future entertainment is produced?

I don’t know. I would like to think the case of Dr. Horrible illustrates the success artists can obtain when they control their own content, but the suits in Hollywood are a pretty formidable bunch.

You are an award-winning writer and yet you’ve also designed a wonderful, free, online game on your website that is based on the Softwire books, the Rings of Orbis. Which came first for you – an interest in writing or computers/programming?

The writing was first. A friend told me that I needed a web presence since I was now an author. I browsed several author sites and thought to myself, "why would anyone ever come back to this site more than once?" I wanted to create a place fans could hang out between books, but I had no experience with computer programming or web design. I also didn’t have any money to pay people. I was forced to learn code by trial and error. It was one of the toughest things I have ever done but I’m very proud of the results. There are people who have been playing on the Rings of Orbis since the game’s inception almost two years ago. We also have a writing section where kids post short stories about their knudniks and I have expanded the Softwire universe way beyond the boundaries of the books. I just love it.

(...)

Click on the link for more :

http://www.whedonage.com/index.php?page=interview_author_pj_haarsma