Leo who? Penha. The E is pronounced like in the word pen. The NH is the Portuguese version of the spanish Ñ—you know, the N with a squiggly thing above it (it’s called a tilde, Leo). So the last syllable’s pronounced nyah. Putting it all together: Pen-yah.
Why such a strange name? I’m Brazilian, and it’s not strange there.
Yes, I’m Brazilian, but I like to write in English. Go figure.
I’ve always loved reading. Ever since I was a little kid and found a coverless Captain America comic at my aunt’s house. I browsed through it and had one of the worst nights of my life, hiding under the covers truly believing that aliens would come and snatch me and there was nothing Captain America could do to save me.
Fast forward thirty years or so and I’ve moved to America and I still love reading. Comics or short stories or novels, it doesn’t matter. A good story is a good story. But comics do have a special place in my heart.
One day, listening to an episode of an IGN comics podcast, I learned about creating comics.
Boom.
Mind-blowing. Where did I think comics came from? The stork? I confess I’d never given it much thought. Of course, I knew Marvel or DC produced them, but how could I get job there?
Except that’s not what those guys were talking about. They were talking about creator-owned comics. Indie comics. Rather than writing Spider-man or X-men or Captain America stories, these people were writing their own stories. What a letdown. I’d been to a Comic Con once and there was one guy there practically begging for me to buy one of his books. A book about a character I had never heard of. A book I had no intention of buying. I didn’t want to become that guy. I wanted to write exciting stories and those were Batman and Superman and Spider-man stories, right?
Wrong! As I listened to the podcast, I learned that Marvel and DC characters were someone else’s toys. Creating my own characters meant I could play with my own toys instead.
Boom again.
Not long after that, I wrote my first script. I saved some money and hired an artist and an inker. I learned to color and to letter myself and soon I had the final product. A six-page short story called See You In Another Life.
I submitted it to a local publisher and even though I did it one day after the deadline, my story was accepted. I was on cloud nine.
Next thing I knew I began to work on my second story, this one much longer. But I soon realized I wouldn’t have enough money to make a graphic novel. (In case you don’t know, creating comics is an expensive endeavor!) To save money, I considered learning how to draw, but I sucked at it and it would take me a lot of practice if I was to get any good. In the meantime there was a story in my head begging to be told!
That’s when I came to the realization that comics are only a medium. There are other ways to tell a story. Movies are one. Novels are another. And, like I said in the beginning, I love reading. Books like Animal Farm (the first book in English I ever read!), Bram Stoker’s Dracula and so many others have taken me on some of the best adventures of my life. With this in mind, I started to write my first novel.
I’ve come to learn that writing is hard work. At least writing anything that’s worth reading is. Just like drawing, it requires knowledge of the craft and a lot (and I do mean a lot!) of practice. But I do like it more than drawing (specially because I absolutely cannot draw; seriously, any three-year-old can draw better than me).
Anyway, I’ve been working hard and enjoying every minute of it as I write my novel and also a short story that I plan to complete by the end of the year. I have joined a writing group at my local library and we critique each other’s work and support each other.
Obrigado if you’ve made it this far. Now you know a little bit about me. If you want to connect, go to my contact page and get in touch either though Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or just plain old e-mail.
Um forte abraço
Leo
