SALT LAKE CITY — When Utah author and animator Dan Haring found a literary agent on Twitter, he didn’t know she had already rejected him.
Several years ago, Haring was following Kathleen Ortiz on Twitter when she posted about the then-new Disney film “Tangled.” Having worked on visual effects for the film, Haring started chatting with Ortiz, who soon after discovered Haring’s blog that featured the first chapter of a novel and an animated short he’d created.
“(She said), ‘Hey, I see that you’re a writer. I like your style. Would you be interested in querying me?’” Haring recently told the Deseret News.
Thrilled, Haring looked up the list of agents he’d submitted his manuscript to and was surprised to see he had already queried Ortiz — and she’d turned him down. Turns out he had queried her right as she was switching agencies, so her old agency had automatically rejected him.
But the pair were given a second chance. Looking at Haring’s blog, Ortiz was intrigued by the animated short — a story about people who rescue fallen stars — and told him she thought the premise would make a great middle grade novel.
And now “The Star Shepherd” (Source Books, 320 pages, ages 8-14), Haring’s debut novel that is co-authored with New York Times best-selling author MarcyKate Connolly, hits shelves Sept. 10.
Haring had limited writing experience when he first got his agent. Born in Goshen, Utah County, he received an animation degree from Brigham Young University and, in addition to “Tangled,” also worked on “The Lion King 3D,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “Rio 2.” He currently creates video games for a Salt Lake City-based company, Strange Reptile.
But he’s always enjoyed writing and saw it as a faster way to tell stories than visual art. And working with best-selling author Connolly was “fairly painless,” Haring said, as they never really disagreed on anything.
“We hit it off,” he said. “We both shared the same vision.”
But before they could start writing, Haring had to develop his four-minute animated short into a full-length story. He sat down with his wife to flesh out the mythology for the world he’d created.
“It was fun to build this world from the ground up and already have an idea of what it would turn out to be,” he said.
In the world of “The Star Shepherd,” stars are the hearts of ancient heroes, pinned to the sky to protect their people from the dark creatures of the night. Eleven-year-old Kyro is a star shepherd who rescues the stars that fall from the sky to keep their world protected — until one night too many stars fall at once and Kyro must figure out how to save them before the dark creatures return.
After fleshing out that synopsis, Haring went over it with Connolly, who came back to him with the rough draft. Then they went back and forth refining it together. Haring was also able to design the cover and create the illustrations featured throughout the novel.
“It’s kind of cool to be able to look at the book and say, ‘I had full artistic control over how this book is presented,’” he said. “It’s something most authors don’t get.”
Altogether, it was a seven- or eight-year process, and the hardest part of it all was the waiting game.
“It’s just a lot of sitting around waiting and then you have two weeks to turn something around,” he said. “So a lot of fast deadlines and then a lot of waiting in between.”
But for Haring, the process is worth it if “The Star Shepherd” sticks with his readers long after they finish the book.
“I want people to read this book and have a sense of adventure but also one of hope,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of darkness in the world, and I’d love to help inspire people toward the good and the hopeful.”