Q: You’ve experimented with something new in the multimedia version of Hibiscus Mask: having psychologists analyze on camera the story’s protagonist. How did you come up with this idea?

RS: I’ve worked with quite a few shrinks over the years, putting my characters on the couch and getting professional opinions. I thought it would be interesting, for this project, to present the reader with those kinds of observations, given the nature of the challenges Nitti and Kell face. I was struck, as the reader may be, by the congruency of the comments. Collectively, psychologists know a lot about masks—why they are worn and what’s going on behind them.

Q: The project also includes remarkable artwork: a cover collage by Michael Baron Shaw, using elements from the paintings of Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, and paintings by Max Thill, animated by SiLee Films as intros to the psychologist videos.

RS: Michael has been a valuable part of our creative team for a while now. This is Max’s first project with us, and I’m pleased with the way it worked out. The challenge was to capture the threat of the jungle and the mystery of the mask, and I think his work does that well. We look additionally for collaborators who can enter the spirit of a piece and help us transport the reader to the mental and emotional domain of the story. I believe that, with this too, Max was successful. 

Q: Backing those animated video intros is percussion music that seems to express some of the tension of Kell and Nitti’s relationship. What are we listening to?

RS: That’s kompang music from Malaysia. I agree: the music transmits urgency and intensity. The hand drums are relatively small, and the sharp sounds are produced by thin skins stretched over shallow wooden frames. The music is said to be over a thousand years old and was a part of that world when it was mostly jungle.