Hannah Nicole Maehrer on Apprentice to the Villain and the skits behind it

Everyday I’m made to marvel at all that came of one 60 second video I shot on my iPhone. From Skit series “Personal Assistant to the Morally Grey Fantasy Villain” to writing that skit series into a book series, Assistant to the Villain changed my life and my whole world. Writing its sequel Apprentice to the Villain was no different. I found new and fun ways to play with my characters, more easter eggs from the skits themselves and a handful of surprises even I as the writer couldn’t have predicted.

When I sat down to write Apprentice I had a running joke with myself that my characters had gone rogue, as many writers would agree. When I began writing Assistant to the Villain all I wanted most to bring the story was laughter, fairytales, villains, and most of all falling in love with them. The skits were and will always be a labor of love and as I wrote both Assistant to the Villain and its sequel Apprentice to the Villain my goal was always to bring the energy of those skits to the page. I wanted the skits to be an inspiration almost for what’s to come. I inserted clues for the people who have watched them, who know the storylines and the characters, almost an inside joke between me and my readers. It was most important for me however, to be able to write a story that someone could pick up and enjoy without even knowing of the skits. It makes the easter eggs more fun and so special.

From the day I began making the skit series it was always a fun escape and exploring that same joy in the books has only enriched the experience. The characters that were once two-dimensional beings in video format have become well rounded, flawed characters that I know so well. Now I think every time I go in to make a skit I have it in mind that this is what the “Assistant” would do, this is what “The Villain” would say. I already knew them before I began writing both books, but now after two novels with them, exploring their relationships and interactions, making the videos only feels different in that I have a deeper connection and understanding of characters I thought I knew everything about.

They were constantly surprising me in Apprentice to the Villain. Much like how I improv most of the skit series, writing books is no different. I plan as much as I need to and just let the rest of the chips fall where they may. It’s more creatively fulfilling, and I always enjoy seeing where the story goes naturally. I tried in vain to plan for Apprentice, I pulled more clues from the skits, even some new characters we’ve seen in the skits before, but alas the rest was up to my characters. If I said go left, they went right. If I said stay, they ran full speed ahead. I followed them to places physically and mentally I never could’ve predicted we would journey together, but what a journey it was. I am in constant awe and surprise by the places this story takes me and as much as I’m writing it, it feels a bit like its writing me, changing me. It’s why I’ll always cherish making the video skits, why I’ll never stop creating in this universe. The fulfillment and joy I experience every time I step into this space, whether it be as Evie the assistant on my iPhone camera or diving back into it on the page. This world will always be the one where I grow the most and anyway that can be experienced is priceless.