I had the honor today to talk with Aleksandra Tryniecka, the author of Bunky and the Walms: The Christmas Story and creator of these wonderful mascots. It is New Year's Day and we are both excited to share these mascots with you
Chris Welcome to The Very Best Logic (TVBL) Dr. Tryniecka. It is great to see you today on this New Year's Day! Happy New Year!
Aleksandra Happy New Year Mr. Stern! Thank you so much for having me on TVBL! It's an honour to Bunky and me!
Chris I would like to congratulate you for winning the Chrysalis Brew Reader's Choice Award on this New Year's day 2022! https://thechrysalisbrewproject.com/2022/01/01/freshly-brewed-bunky-and-the-walms-the-christmas-story-by-aleksandra-tryniecka-wins-brew-readers-choice-award/ Congratulations!
Aleksandra Thank you so much for your kind words! It is such a great literary adventure for me and knowing that the Readers are happy to travel with me through Bunky's literary fairyland is the greatest reward!
Chris I am lucky and I really have an inside view on the creation of Bunky and the Walms, all the Walms and Walmland as well as your inspirations as an author and I am also a reviewer and early reader of your novel. Also, as a colleague in arms you have worked with me to bring mascots of Bunky Hippo and Bunky Princess to the readers, I know much about what you did to make this happen. Could you tell the Readers here a little about the process you went through as an artist to instantiating the physical representation of your characters?
Aleksandra First of all, I would like to thank you so much for embarking on this wonderful project with me! Your involvement means a lot to me, as it has always been my dream to invite my literary world into our reality! I adore writing, creating literary worlds, and sharing them with my Readers, but it is not enough for me, as I try to introduce a tangible link between literature and our world. When I was writing the novel, Bunky, the Bunky Princess, and other characters were becoming closer and closer to me just like good old friends would be, and I hoped to bring them right into my world. One day in the summer I took a thread and a needle and made Bunky and the Bunky Princess. Then, I though that it would be amazing if my Readers could also invite Bunky to their homes! I remember these beautiful books which I was reading as a child - each book hosting a special protagonist - and, often, there were mascots of these protagonists available. I thought: why not to invite Bunky and the Bunky Princess into my Readers' world? In this way, they could become Bunky's and the Bunky Princess's friends forever and, perhaps, pass them on to the future generations. I thought that it would be such a beautiful, heartwarming idea.
Chris Have you ever made a mascot before? I know mascots have been important to us. Please tell our readers why mascots in general are dear to you :)
Aleksandra Thank you so much! Indeed, I have made several mascots throughout my life! I always loved creative activities, such as inventing fairytale characters and then, bringing them into our reality in the form of mascots. It offered me the feelings of happiness and safety. Apart from writing, making mascots was always one of my dearest passions and hobbies. My hope was to create a positive value in the world and contribute to it with something from my heart. All the mascots which I have ever made were the projects coming from my heart. Bunky is so dear and precious to me and also, in the past, I made mascots of animals which I cherish as well. They remind me of happy moments and the fact that the world can be a peaceful, happy place. I designed Bunky and the Bunky Princess with this hope that the Readers might also find happiness and tranquility while finding them.
Chris In your interview with the Awesome Gang https://awesomegang.com/aleksandra-tryniecka/ you mention that you created the character of Bunky to help young readers understand that imperfection and standing for one's values lead to true heroism. The novel being filled with many ideas and images and a mascot being a physical manifestation of these, how do you think readers will connect with the Walmland Mascots?
Aleksandra Thank you so much for this questions! My hope is that the young Readers might not only read the novel, but also invite Bunky the mascot into their lives and keep him as a literary friend and a reminder that it is absolutely possible to be the hero in one's daily life. Bunky can become my youngest Readers' best friend, advisor and, hopefully, an inspiring character who, through his presence, reminds them every day that it is ok to be imperfect, but also that it is very important to believe in dreams, stay faithful to one's values and try to be good, noble and pure at heart. I hope that Bunky and the Bunky Princess- the mascots - can introduce some fairytale magic into my youngest Readers' lives. Bunky and I are already working on Bunky's and the Bunky Princess's further adventures and, thanks to the mascots, the Readers will be able to connect with my characters on many different levels for the entire lifetime. One day, they might look at Bunky and the Bunky Princess standing somewhere on their desk or on a shelf nearby, and recollect how they encountered Bunky in my novel and how this adventure never faded away thanks to the presence of the mascots.
Chris Thank you so much Aleksandra. It is a pleasure to have this conversation. Aleksandra Thank you so much for having me, Mr. Stern! I am honoured to embark on this amazing journey through the literary world with you and my characters! Thank you so much for your great involvement in our Mascots Project and for believing in Bunky so deeply as I do! It is an honour to me!
