Interview With Award-Winning Filmmaker Cevin Soling On His Illustrated Book Series, The Rumpleville Chronicles

                         

       

1.       What is your illustrated book collection, The Rumpleville Chronicles, about? The books focus on human foibles and eccentricities. They present themselves as children’s stories, but their plot doesn’t flow as one would expect in a fairy tale because some realistic aspect of a character steers the action in a different direction that is simultaneously more relatable and more absurd. For instance, in The Jolly Elf, when the elf turns out to be evil, the victimized villagers cannot get rid of him without first negotiating the broadcast rights.

 

2.       What inspired its creation? They were written just ahead of a fresh curve of entertainment that deconstructed popular culture, but at that time, I didn’t have easy access to illustrators. I did succeed in getting one animated, which appeared on MTV and in film festivals. The brilliant Bill Plympton was a big fan. I was inspired by James Thurber and Tom Lehrer, who savagely and hilariously decimated the hypocrisies of their respective eras.

 

3.       Your tagline for the boxed set of nine books is: “Twisted Tales for Today.” What makes them twisted – and why? The books are fundamentally irreverent. The stories are novel and defy expectations. I guess they are twisted because that’s how my mind works. My imagination is unrestrained by things like employing better judgment.

 

4.       The rest of that tagline is: “There’s a moral in there somewhere.” Is there? Absolutely! There is a point to each story, and I have a target in mind when I set about writing. The Land of Plenty is probably the least subtle in its attack on the corrupt legal profession. The Disciples of Trotsky shows how revolutionary movements often die with a whimper when ideological divisions take priority over immediate needs. Boris the Dog was intended to be a commentary on cartoon violence. Sometimes the object is human foibles.

 

5.       What kinds of reactions have you received from parents, librarians, teachers, and children to your books? The response has been great from everyone except for people who are self-appointed guardians of children. They think the books are inappropriate for little kids, which is understandable, considering some of them may be. These misguided, self-righteous individuals are precisely the kinds of people I satirize in the books. None of the books were written for kids, although it is fine for them to read if they enjoy them, even if they don’t understand most of it.

 

6.       Do you feel you fill some kind of void in children’s literature with this series?

The books definitely fill some kind of void in literature. There have been some authors who try to reimagine fairy tales, but they play off of existing stories. This can be entertaining, but it isn’t very inspired. All of my stories are original, which establishes their own genre. This has been a huge problem because booksellers and libraries don’t know how to classify them. They aren’t children's books, and they are too cohesive and pointed to be lumped in the humor section.

 

7.       What challenges did you overcome in creating this series? People who presume these books are for kids. Most of the stories were written pre-South Park. MTV considered having Boris the Dog take over for Beavis and Butthead when that went off the air, but decided to abandon animation in favor of reality TV.

 

8.       How would you describe your writing style? My writing style varies dramatically, depending on the medium. In general, though, I am inspired by things I take umbrage with. That inspiration emerges as dark humor when I am writing illustrated short stories.

 

9.       The Disciples of Trotsky is about a revolution and overthrowing a fascist regime. Is this too deep for young minds to understand, or do you feel on some level that they get something out of reading your book? Again, these books are not written for children, but this is a common theme in children’s literature. There was a period in the early 2000s when the major children’s animations shared a similar plot. The protagonist does not conform to the expectations of their role in society. An opportunity arises where they can assume a position that allows them to display their strengths, albeit discreetly. They are discovered, and a societal breakdown ensues. In the movie Robots, this breakdown takes the form of an armed rebellion. I have a sore spot with that book because it was written before Shrek, and many of my stories made their way onto the internet. Years later, I noticed many striking similarities when I got around to illustrating. I was incensed that I had to rewrite a chunk of the book because people would accuse me of plagiarizing something written after my book, as theirs had come out earlier. I do wonder whether Shrek “borrowed” extensively from my original text. Ultimately, I feel my revisions made the work better, but still.

 

10.   In your book, Tiffany Brittany Brooke dreams of a successful Hollywood career. But the path to her dreams is filled with compromises. Her encounter with a man who also has a dream changes her life in unexpected ways. What do you hope to teach children with this story? The book is intended to satirize actors and the world that venerates and exploits them. The overt message was lifted from Miracle on 34^th Street, which is about believing in your dreams. In this instance, her dream is about wanting to be a prostitute. The lesson for kids is not to accept easy platitudes. If advice sounds simple, it is likely to be empty. There are other lessons too, like you shouldn’t always follow your dreams if your dreams are of becoming a serial killer.

 

11.   In The Land of Plenty, the Plentenians enjoy an abundance of wealth and power that keeps neighboring countries in fear of attack. Then, a clever ambassador sees how their weakness can be their strength. Is this a story President Trump would approve of? I stay out of contemporary politics as it has become irrationally divisive. People from all walks of life should be able to enjoy my stories and apply them in ways that give them meaning.

 

12.   Each book has a funny “about the author” page that changes from book to book. From saying you want “to enslave all humanity” to seeking “to expose that professional thumb-wrestling is fixed,” where do you come up with this stuff? I am glad you noticed. There is truth to all of them. Growing up, I always wanted to be a supervillain. I assumed I would need a death ray and a private island with minions. Well, now I have the island and minions, which is another story, and while in graduate school, I met a defense contractor who gave me the plans for something even better than a death ray. It was a terrible moment of truth for me, but I didn’t follow up. Thumb wrestling is fixed. People should know.

 

13.   What books did you admire as a child – and why? What makes for a good children’s book? A good children’s story has an original plot, not one that is derivative or overly obvious in its message. It should not pander. It should have beautiful illustrations. James Flora is my favorite illustrator. His work dates back to the 1950s and 1960s. He also did artwork for jazz album covers. The Fan Brothers are among the best illustrators today. James Thurber is one of my favorite writers and is undoubtedly an inspiration, although he is not a children’s book author. Because I admire Tom Lehrer, the musical satirist, so much, I think it's fine when children don’t understand everything. They can appreciate the irreverence and pick up bits of the humor and gradually understand more as they get older.

 

14.   You have also written a book called The Student Resistance Handbook, which is a how-to manual for students to protest mandatory schooling. You also directed and produced a documentary, The War on Kids; You also gave a TEDx talk on this. Is this really a movement you want to lead? Why? I want to support children who don’t want to be subjected to injustice and abuse. Some kids are fine with it, and it’s not my place to intervene. I would have appreciated someone putting out the messages I shared when I was little. I wrote an essay that was published in Wire about why cheating in school is a moral imperative. Children didn’t agree to be in school, so they shouldn't be expected to abide by the rules. The essay has been licensed for use on standardized tests to assess reading comprehension. Someone there has a great sense of humor.

 

15.   You went to Harvard University to earn four Master’s degrees, studying education, government policy, English, and journalism. You chose to author books, perform music on MTV, and direct and produce films. Do the creative arts just call out to you? Actually, I went into the creative arts because science and math came too easily to me. It was the right decision because while there is room for creativity in those fields, it is bounded by reality. In the arts, it is vice versa -- reality is bounded by imagination. 

For more information, please see:  www.cevinsoling.com

Do You Need Book Marketing & PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over four million pageviews. With 5,000+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum