[Merp :D]

Hey there Mr.Korman! I'm back again to ask some questions about how you thought of some of the Hypnotists characters appearance-wise. Jax is mostly obvious because he's on every book cover, but I was wondering how Tommy Cicirelli and Kira Kendall looked. Because of his surname I assumed that Tommy was Italian American (Which okay i know the saying "not all Italians/anyothergroup know each other, but it would be funny if some of Tommy's ancestors knew the ancestors of Vincent and the Luca family, considering they're both located in New York+ I'm assuming if these books take place in the same universe the Luca gang had to have had some Benders(possibly Sparks/Opuses?) working under them; in a universe where a magical ability is a real asset, I would think any respectable gang would.) Also since Tommy is monocromatically colorblind, I did some research and it turns out no matter what type he has (BCM or Rod Achromatopsia) he probably experiences other symptoms like increased light sensitivity and poor visual acuity (which basically means he's super nearsighted) so he should wear either special tinted corrective glasses or contacts. Can you tell Tommy is my favorite character </3 For Kira I dont have anything I really think is true for her appearance except for her eyes being a striking blue, but thats entirely confirmed in the book. I won't lie Mr.Korman you really knocked it out of the park with this series! I really did form an emotional attachment with the Opuses as they had to run from the clutches of Dr.Mako, and with Jax specifically as he progressively got more and more traumatized #Book2HURTme. Tommy is one of my all time favorite side characters you've ever written too, like I legitimately stood up and cheered like a woman possessed when Jax went back to him in Book 3. So yep those are my questions and thoughts, Happy (belated) Birthday!!!

Hi, Merp :D,

Thanks for posting. I admit that I lost consciousness along about monochromatically, but the gist of it is that you enjoyed THE HYPNOTISTS. I'm glad. Thanks for posting to tell me so in such elegant prose! Actually, the series wasn't as popular as I expected it to be, so your words were extra-welcome! 

                                                             Kindest wishes!                                                  -----Gordon Korman-----

[Merp :D]

Sorry for making my rant hard to read Gordon, yes I did really like the Hypnotists, but there are some questions about the books in there too that I made suprisingly hard to read. So, since I still kind of want answers I'll put them on a numbered list.

1. While writing the books, what did you imagine Tommy Cicirelli and Kira Kendall to look like?

2. Cicirelli is an Italian surname, is Tommy Italian-American?

3. Since Tommy is completely colorblind in the books, I was curious about the specifics of his condition. Turns out complete colorblindness usually comes with other symptoms, like light senstivity and intense nearsighted-ness. Many people with achromatopsia(the name of black and white colorblindness) wear tinted glasses or contacts to help with these symptoms, but it's never mentioned that Tommy wears these in the books. Did it just slip your mind to mention this detail? (I'm asking this because I love drawing Tommy with tinted glasses)

Ok that's it! Sorry to bother you again Korman 

Oops. Sorry.

I pictured Tommy the same way you did -- Italian heritage, dark hair, even olive skin. Was he genuinely colorblind? That was a lot of books ago! I would have made it just a by-the-way colorblindness, like not seeing browns for example, but not living in a world of black and white. But keep on doing the tinted glasses. I like the thought of that.

Kira? Slim, light-brown hair, fair skin, fresh-faced, nice smile.

Sorry, again. I answer a lot of mail, and sometimes have to whip through it and miss some details.                        --GK--