Famed comic book writer Gail Simone says there’s a kind of “joy” in working on several different projects at the same time.

She is the main author of “Strange X-Men” the longest running series in the X-Men franchise since its debut under Stan Lee And Jack Kirby in 1963. She wrote a mini-series for Zack Snyderthe “Rebel Moon” universe of . There’s a new She Spawn book coming, as well as a foray into the world of James Bond.

And for the first time, the “Birds of Prey” and “Wonder Woman” The writer has published a prose novel: “Red Sonja: Consumed”, released on November 19 by Orbit/Hachette.

SEE ALSO: Sign up for our free Book Pages newsletter on bestsellers, authors and more

Readers may remember the main character as a warrior with flaming red hair wearing an armored bikini. An adventurer and cult heroine, Red Sonja’s deadly skills with weapons have earned her the nickname “the she-devil with a sword.”

The character was originally inspired by the first Pulp fiction from the 1930s by Robert E. Howardalso known as the creator of “Conan the Barbarian”. Although the two heroes never met in Howard’s literary works, in 1973, Marvel introduced Red Sonja to readers in their “Conan” comic book series. She would go on to direct her own title, appear in animated television series, and headline a film starring Brigitte Nielsen and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Simone and the “Devil” have their own story. In 2013, Simone was tapped by Dynamite Entertainment to write for their title “Red Sonja”, including a new take on the character’s personality and her origin story. Initially signed up for six issues, Simone will then write 18.

“She’s always been a fascinating character to me,” Simone said. “Writing a book in prose gave me the expanded format needed to really dig in.”

In “Red Sonja: Consumed”, the warrior lives as a nomad doing dangerous work for pay, accompanied only by her faithful (if sometimes disapproving) horse, Sunder. Having just stolen a precious treasure from her ex-girlfriend Ysidra, who also happens to be a queen, Sonja does her best to stay one step ahead of her furious pursuers bent on revenge. And of course, she goes about her usual activities: drinking beer, fighting, enjoying new lovers, and living her day-to-day life.

But as mysterious and horribly bloody attacks begin in her homeland of Hyrkania – where she has sworn never to return – Sonja’s deeply buried past is about to rise to the surface in a way that she can no longer ignore.

Simone once again plays a much-loved character in a different medium to explore the depths of Red Sonja’s story. This interview has been edited for clarity.

Q. When you were speaking at WonderCon in Anaheim, you mentioned that your mother played a role in why you started writing for the title “Red Sonja.”

Yes, that’s absolutely true. I got a call from Nick Barrucci from Dynamite, asking if I was interested in writing “Red Sonja” and I said, “No, I don’t think so.” » I was having lunch with my mother at the time and she said, “What was that?” And I said, “Oh, they asked me if I wanted to write Red Sonja.” And she said, “You have to write Red Sonja.” It’s my favorite.

I had no idea this was the case with her, but it was. My mother also has red hair, and there were very few really strong heroines to look up to, so she really fell in love with the idea of ​​Red Sonja. I still wasn’t going to do it, but she literally did the mom thing and pestered me for two weeks straight.

So I finally said, “OK, this is really strange, but I’ll agree to do six issues just for my mom.” And once I got around to writing that first comic, I fell in love with his character writing. Here we are – all these years later, and I’m still writing “Red Sonja.”

Q. What was different between writing a book and a comic series? What surprised you about the process?

When I was asked to do the novel, I hadn’t written the “Red Sonja” comic strip for a while. I just thought it looked really interesting – it would be a challenge to really get into his character, into his head, and take him on a journey that we couldn’t really go on in the comics.

Well, it was a long process. I felt very alone sometimes. But with each new format that I try to tell a story in, I don’t really approach it as something difficult or something to overcome. Instead, I try to tell a story in a way that wouldn’t work otherwise. That’s why I chose the plot and character elements. Everything I did for the novel is there because I just didn’t feel like it would be presented better in another format.

SEE ALSO: Bestsellers, authors, books and more can be found in the Books section

Artists have told me that I write visually. When an artist picks up a comic book script I wrote, they say they can “see” it when they read it. So that visual storytelling was there, but I had to expand it considerably. Normally, I rely on the artists in a comic to get all these things across – but in a novel, I rely on the reader, so I have to give them the words to imagine it.

In comics, what makes me so particular and picky is the dialogue – but in a novel, there are many more delicate subjects! I want the reader to have enough words and information to understand the message, visual, emotion, or whatever the scene requires.

Q. What part of the story did you really enjoy exploring that you hadn’t been able to explore before?

Every panel is precious in comics. Every word and every image counts, and you’re relying on the artist to tell much of the story.

In writing a novel, you can really sit down and intimately communicate to the reader Sonja’s loneliness, how she got to where she is, and why she makes the choices she does. She lives in the moment, so she doesn’t really think about yesterday or tomorrow like most people do. You can understand why she loves the way she loves, the destruction she leaves behind… all those deep-seated emotions are harder to understand in comic form.

Q. Speaking of which, Red Sonja is bisexual, right? How important was it to exploit her sexuality and who she loves?

I think for Sonja it makes sense. In fact, I call her pansexual; it makes sense to her because she lives in the moment and travels, and so whatever is in front of her in the moment of her solitude is a potential connection. She won’t refuse something because other people might judge her harshly. She doesn’t live like that.

It’s one of the things I love about Sonja’s writing. Women often think about their every move: how to stay safe, what to say, when to say it, what to wear. And Sonja doesn’t do any of that, and that’s very refreshing. Can you imagine how liberating it is to write a character who can live in the moment and not have to consider all these things before making a decision? She can just live her best life without this baggage.

Q. At the top of each chapter, you have created excerpts from historical documents, files and even poems about the famous Sonja Rouge and her deeds. What is the story behind all this?

Even though we follow Sonja on her journey through this novel and get to know her intimately, I wanted her to feel legendary as well. It was by including these passages that I decided to proceed. Some of them were difficult to write, and some of them were fun to write. It’s fun for me to write song lyrics, poetry, and passages that sound official.

I doubted myself many times, and after I finished the novel, I asked some people, “Should I just take all of this back?” Everyone was upset, they were like, “No, we love it!”

Q. You have a great relationship with the people who read your comics. What new audience do you hope to read this novel?

I hope fantasy readers will find this book. I feel like this is a modern fantasy and I would love to hear feedback from this audience. I also wrote this novel in a place where you don’t need to know anything about Sonja to read it, so it’s very welcoming to anyone who wants to learn about a badass female warrior.

I think there’s something in there for people of different backgrounds – comic book readers, horror readers, fantasy fans – who want to know more about Red Sonja’s life and how she lived it. lived. If anyone reads the book and feels like trying to live more in the moment and appreciate life as it presents itself, I think that’s a good takeaway.