A fictional 13-year-old girl by the name of Emily the Strange has been gracing the world of Gothic teenagers since her “birth” in 1993. She started out as a face on stickers handed out at concerts to promote a clothing line called Cosmic Debris. Now Rob Reger, the creator of Cosmic Debris and Emily, has seen success with his little Gothic teen. Emily has gone from a pale face on a meager sticker to a face that represents a full-blown clothing line, countless accessories, a short book, a comic book series and much more.

Emily, along with her four black cats, appeared in the short book and comic books, but never starred in a full-length novel until this past June. Reger, along with co-author Jessica Gruner and illustrator Buzz Parker, saw his dreams come true as Emily the Strange entered a whole new world of literature. With “The Lost Days” came an even deeper look for fans into Emily’s mysterious world.

NeXt:How long did it take you to write the book?

Reger: The first book took Jessica and I nearly a year to complete: Many drafts and retakes. Then another four months to finish the illustrations with Buzz.

NeXt:When did you decide that short stories and comics just weren’t enough for Emily?

Reger: It really hit me when I was reading a script for one of the short story comics –Jessica had described sooooo much for each panel to be drawn, that it was IMPOSSIBLE to illustrate (animate maybe!), and then it hit me – the way in which she described the scenes didn’t even need art – her descriptions left what was going on and how it looked perfectly to one’s imagination. And the idea to write a novel with her was born!

NeXt:How did you build the plot of this novel?

Reger: As far as plot goes, we brainstormed a number of ideas, all asking the question of “How do we introduce Emily to an entire new world of readers, while not making it boring or redundant for our current Emily aficionados?” My answer was that Emily has amnesia, and thus will be finding out who she is at the same time the reader does. And those of us who already knew she was Emily from the get-go got to appreciate her frustration in not knowing who she was ... really all the plots get bounced around several times until we land on something we consider to be worth digging deep into.

NeXt:How did you come up with the names for the characters?

Reger: The names ... that’s one of the best parts! Jessica and I just have fun with those – some are based on friends, co-workers here at the Strange Headquarters, and some we come up with such a great name that we have to create a character for that name. Like Venus Fang Fang! Or Binary Larry!

A fictional 13-year-old girl by the name of Emily the Strange has been gracing the world of Gothic teenagers since her “birth” in 1993. She started out as a face on stickers handed out at concerts to promote a clothing line called Cosmic Debris. Now Rob Reger, the creator of Cosmic Debris and Emily, has seen success with his little Gothic teen. Emily has gone from a pale face on a meager sticker to a face that represents a full-blown clothing line, countless accessories, a short book, a comic book series and much more.

Emily, along with her four black cats, appeared in the short book and comic books, but never starred in a full-length novel until this past June. Reger, along with co-author Jessica Gruner and illustrator Buzz Parker, saw his dreams come true as Emily the Strange entered a whole new world of literature. With “The Lost Days” came an even deeper look for fans into Emily’s mysterious world. total privacy) and write on my laptop chilling on the guest bed.

NeXt: If you could choose anyone in the world, whom would you play Calamity Poker [a game played in the novel] with?

Reger: Calamity Poker Buddies: Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Frank Zappa and Captain Sensible.

NeXt:What advice would you offer a budding writer/journalist?

Reger: Badvice: Write upside down. Write with your eyes closed. Write wrong. Write on! Seriously – push your boundaries with what you are comfortable writing ... but keep writing!

Readers and fans of Emily the Strange should stay tuned for Emily’s next novel “Stranger and Stranger,” where another look into Emily’s diary will be available. Other hints of Emily can be seen in Kevin Rudolf’s music video for “Let It Rock.”

NeXt:Have you noticed in the music video for “Let It Rock” an Emily guitar makes an appearance?

Reger: Yes! The one with Lil’ Wayne? It’s awesome ... I think it has like 20 million views, too!

Emily Steves is a junior at Gowanda High School.

NeXt:Do you have a special place where you write? Where is it?

Reger: Writing spot: Almost always I get cozy in our guest bedroom (great light/