I penned a fun little post for HarperCollins Children’s about inspirations that went into The Jupiter Pirates, from the art of Howard Pyle and Andrew Wyeth (that’s his work above) and the physics of Star Wars to less obvious influences such as Alien and (no really) The Sopranos. (Don’t worry, parents: The Jupiter Pirates doesn’t have chestbursters or a Bada-Bing.)

Check it out — and please join The Crew email list! You’ll get an exclusive thank-you for signing up — a dossier on the Shadow Comet crew prepared by Vesuvia herself. Plus news about appearances, sneak peeks at what’s coming in the series and more exclusive goodies.