Rain of the Ghosts, the first of the series, tells the story of a young Caribbean girl named Rain whose grandfather gives her the power to see ghosts. Weisman already has seven more books tentatively planned out, following Spirits of Ash and Foam.
See also: Fifty best costumes at Denver Comic Con 2013
After working as a writer and producer of several television shows, including Young Justice, Weisman said he likes the control he has writing books. "There is something very liberating about it all being me. There's also something very intimidating and scary, but likewise liberating," he explained.
Going from a visual medium to a strictly description based one held its own challenges. "Rain is the kind of girl who hears a soundtrack in her head, and I have to try to find words that describe the music," Wesiman described.
He started writing the series ten years ago, originally as an animated cartoon series. Nickelodeon bought the rights, and Weisman wrote them a pilot episode, but the show was never made. He got back the rights and recreated the idea as a young adult novel.
While doing research for another project in New Orleans he learned more about the indigenous mythology of the Caribbean, which is incorporated into each Rain book. More specifically, the Taíno indigenous culture. Mythology has often played a role in Weisman's work, as anyone who watched Gargoyles can attest to. Scottish lore and mythology was a large part of the main plot of the show.
The second book promises vampires, but "not the sparkly kind," Weisman promises. The third book, which he is currently working on, involves shapeshifters from Taíno mythology.
The first draft of Rain of the Ghosts, from the mid-nineties, was rejected by several publishing houses. Weisman put the idea away. It wasn't until after he finished his work on Young Justice that he picked it back up again. He re-wrote everything from scratch, finishing the entire re-write in three weeks.
In the time between his first attempt and his re-write something big had happened in the world of young adult fiction. With series' like Harry Potter making it big , YA was becoming much more popular and the manuscript for the first Rain book was picked up.
Although his main goal this year was to promote the book, Weisman still enjoys appearing at cons to celebrate his previous work. This is the 20th anniversary of Gargoyles, and a special panel was scheduled to celebrate that included several of the original voice actors. Were he to ever cosplay at a con it would be as Edmond, from Shakespeare's King Lear, or Theseus from Greek mythology.
This was Weisman's third year at the Denver Comic Con, "This con is big and getting bigger. But it still has a more intimate feel," he said. "I find this con to be very welcoming."
Follow Weisman on Twitter @Greg_Weisman. Have more questions for him? His Ask Greg page takes questions from fans!
