Meet Hari Conner

Meet Hari Conner, an award-winning author and illustrator based in Scotland. Hari mostly writes fantasy, historical and LGBT+ romance⎯ sometimes at the same time.

Hari chats with Lunch Lady about their latest graphic novel, I Shall Never Fall in Love.

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When did you first decide to write this book? Was there a significant moment?

It was around 2018-2019, and there were a few significant moments.

First, re-reading Emma around that time made me want a queer Austen-esque story. I realised I could write that story myself. The Gentleman Jack TV show came out in 2019, and that show prompted me to read Anne Lister's biographies. They helped me develop ideas around how to write it with some real historical grounding.

And, in a much more abstract way, a couple of films like Knives Out reminded me how much I like stories that are both a loving homage and an interesting deconstruction of a classic genre, which I think was the mood I wanted.

What inspired you to write I Shall Never Fall in Love, and what is the central message you hope readers take away from the story?

The biggest motivator is the love of Austen and historical dramas I had growing up. But, I never saw anyone like myself in those stories.

Later, when I learnt that real history was much more diverse than I thought, I really wanted to share that.

On a personal level, I think there's something powerful in even just recognising that people expressing gender in different ways have always existed.

When did you first get into graphic novels? What was your earliest feeling when you discovered them?

I read Beano and Tintin as a kid, and my nan used to post me the comics pages from the Sunday newspaper. I've always loved books and longer-form stories, including long webcomics. When I was a teenager, my local library added a 'graphic novel' shelf, I knew that's what I wanted to make.

How much of what's happening in your life is reflected in your books?

Hmmm...because of my disability, any character moving around and doing things easily or without a wheelchair is not based on my day-to-day life! But I partly write fantasy and historical stories because I think that a momre distant setting can sometimes let you tell a more real or heightened emotional tale.

Some of the ways George gets treated is definitely based on how I was treated as a teenager (pre-transition. But, since it's a rom-com, it's honestly a much nicer version. For this book, I wanted to create the kind of hopeful story some young people need.

What was the process of writing and creating this book? What did it look like day to day?

I always start by thinking and compulsively writing lots of nods around an idea. Then, I put them into a real document.

After writing the full script and going through edits, it was pretty much just two years of drawing Monday to Friday, which is quite normal for a graphic novel.

I sometimes have to work from bed, but I also have a special chair and desk for people with limited mobility, and most of the book was drawn from there!

The last half is inking and colouring, which is fun to look forward to since a lot of the verbal thinking work has been completed, and I can listen to audiobooks during this stage.

Was there ever a moment you felt you couldn't finish it?

Not really. I've done more than a thousand pages of comics and have self-published a few long-form ones before. So, I knew the amount of work it would take, and have the routine worked out pretty well at this point in my career.

What are the biggest challenges to creating a book?

I'm always full of ideas and quite enjoy the challenges of making those ideas real in writing and visual storytelling. So, I think for me, it's just how long the drawing and publishing process takes for a graphic novel. It can be quite isolating, so it's great to have other friends who work in comics to share bits with or talk to on voice chat.

What did you learn about yourself through this process?

I don't know about myself, but I started this book thinking I was the only one of my friends or peers who loves a costume drama, regency romance, or 19th-century novel. While making the book, SO many people came out of the woodwork to tell me they loved one kind of historical fiction or another, and it was so cool to talk to them about it.

What advice would you give yourself about writing this book (or maybe life in general) knowing what you do now?

Haha, I don't know. Maybe, "You know what you're doing, and you're doing fine."

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Meet Hari Conner is a post supported by Simon and Schuster publishing.

Buy Hari's new book I Will Never Fall In Love, and follow meet Hari Conner in more detail via Instagram .

Read more great Lunch Lady interviews here.