An Interview With ‘The Princess Diaries: The Graphic Novel’ Writer Meg Cabot

Not every little girl dreams of becoming a princess someday. Mia certainly isn’t too keen on it, yet there’s not much she can do after learning the truth. She’s a princess and with that title comes certain responsibilities. In a new graphic novel adaptation of her original novel,  writer Meg Cabot has joined forces with artist Bethany Crandall to bring Princess Diaries back for a new generation. With inks by Crandall and Isabel Escalante and colors by Escalante, here’s what Cabot had to say about the experience:

Rachel Bellwoar: It’s been almost 26 years since the first Princess Diaries book came out. What’s it been like returning to where it started and adapting book one for a new medium and audience?

Meg Cabot: Fun! It was great to revisit the original book and write my own script based on it, then see Bethany Crandall bring the descriptions and dialogue in that script to life. Every week when I got her most recent illustrations, I’d squeal with happiness. This is one of the most joyful projects I’ve ever worked on.

Bellwoar: The first book takes place in the late 1990s, a time of dial-up internet. Was there any toying around with the idea of moving the story to the present day or did you always want to keep it set in the ’90s?

Cabot: It was suggested at one point by someone, but then dismissed when I pointed out how many of the plot points throughout the series are dependent on ’90s technology (such as: Mia can’t get through to her friend Lilly on the phone when her brother Michael is online).

I know some people think that “today’s kids won’t understand” things like dial-up. But kids read books about fantasy worlds all the time and don’t have any trouble understanding magic or dragon social hierarchy. I think kids are smart enough to understand the concept of a landline.

Bellwoar: One aspect from the book that I was really happy to see retained in the graphic novel are Mia’s lists. Were they as easy to incorporate in a visual medium as compared to the book, where homework assignments and pro/con lists only added to the authenticity of a diary?

Cabot: They were! Mostly because their placement on the page in the book is already highly visual to begin with. So it was easy to plop them into a graphic depiction (at least, Bethany made it look easy)!

Bellwoar: For those only familiar with the movie version of Princess Diaries, Grandmère in the book is quite different from Julie Andrews. Are you excited to see how people react to meeting Grandmère as she was originally conceived?

Cabot: Excited is the wrong word. I would say more like girding my loins. People are very protective of the content they loved as children (I know, because I’m the same way).

So while readers of The Princess Diaries books are familiar with the Grandmere’s true nature (which is haughty and controlling, but ultimately unwaveringly loyal), people who’ve only seen the films might be a little surprised that the character from the books is not quite as warm and fuzzy as Julie Andrews portrays her.

But that’s okay, as long as they take their ire out on me, and not Bethany! She drew Grandmere exactly the way I described her.

Bellwoar: The makeover scene in the film also plays differently to the one in the book. In general, pop culture is full of makeover sequences. How did you want to set yours apart from the rest?

Cabot: The makeover scene in the books of The Princess Diaries is very different than the one in the movie. In the book, Mia doesn’t wear glasses or have curly hair. She simply has hair that she complains is too “triangular.” So when her hair is cut super short in the makeover scene, she’s upset because she doesn’t find her new “high fashion” look flattering. She just wants her old hair back (which is something many of us who’ve had unflattering haircuts have experienced).

Bellwoar: Are there any plans to adapt the other books in this series as graphic novels?

Cabot: Not so far as I know. Right now we’re concentrating on Detective Baby (my new middle-grade graphic novel series illustrated by Amelia Allore about a baby who solves crimes) that launches this fall!

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Meg, and congrats on Detective Baby as well! 

The Princess Diaries: The Graphic Novel goes on sale30th June, from Harper Alley.