Category: Author Interviews

Author Interview: Laura Renauld

On By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews

This month’s Author Interview is with Laura Renauld, a kidlit writer living in Northern Virginia. I normally spend a good bit of time carefully crafting a unique biographical statement by way of an introduction, but when I saw Laura’s Twitter bio, I surrendered. Why mess with perfection?

  • Moment miner.
  • Seed-​idea saver.
  • Imagination investor.

Wow. With that, let’s move on to the interview (after some relevant URLs for a little on-​your-​own sleuthing, if you wish)!

RVC: Let’s deal with the elephant porcupine in the room. In 2018, OPB ran an Educational Activities post on your debut picture book, Porcupine’s Pie. Just tell the truth—was that great PR for your book, or the greatest PR for your book?

LR: It was definitely the greatest PR! I especially appreciated the science connections so kids (and their adults!) could learn the differences between porcupines and hedgehogs. Very educational!

RVC: Debuts are always exciting, but inevitably full of new challenges for authors. Is that where the Debut Review Challenge came from?

LR: When I was preparing for my debut, I kept hearing about the relationship between reviews and a book’s success. This seemed to be particularly true for debut authors and illustrators since they don’t have the benefit of a fan base or name recognition yet.

I am also a huge fan of online challenges, which motivate, encourage, and connect me to the incredible Kidlit community. (In fact, Tara Lazar’s Storystorm challenge inspired Porcupine’s Pie!) I figured if I combined the two, it would be a win-​win for debut Kidlit creators and their audience.

RVC: What was the most unexpected part of the entire publication process for YOUR debut book?

LR: I’d have to say it was the unconventional way I got an offer for publication. Porcupine’s Pie won the first Beaming Books Picture Book Writing Contest in December 2016. I opened an email thanking me for submitting my story and it went on to congratulate me and offer publication of my book! This was before I had an agent. I was so used to emailed rejections that I had to read the email a few times for the good news to really sink in.

RVC: In retrospect, what was the best PR thing that you did for Porcupine’s Pie?

LR: I’m not sure how any of my PR efforts really impacted the visibility of my book, but Jedlie’s Reading with Your Kids podcast (interview link) was something that really took me out of my comfort zone and got me into the ears of my audience: parents and caregivers! With an interview like this one on OPB, it is okay to take time on the questions and endlessly revise them. Not so on a podcast where the interview is verbal and recorded!

I once received some advice in regards to book promotion that really resonated with me: Say “yes” to everything at least once. By saying “yes” to a podcast, I now know that I can do them. And by extension, it gives me confidence to say “yes” to other things that may come my way, even if they make me initially uncomfortable.

RVC: Let’s back up a bit. How did you get started in writing? 

LR: Ever since I can remember, books and reading have been an important part of my life. I could sit on my bed and travel to another planet, share a cake with a panda, or hide out in an art museum. I found friends and adventures between the pages. I don’t remember writing being part of my childhood in quite the same way, but I did keep journals and write to pen pals. A friend and I even created a newspaper which we distributed to the neighborhood, but I didn’t start writing stories until I was an adult.

When I taught third grade, my favorite part of the day was the read-​aloud. I chose a variety of picture books as mentor texts for Reading and Writing Workshops, as supplements for Science, Social Studies, and Math units, and as a springboard for discussions on social topics, such as inclusion, bullying, and empathy. I witnessed the power of story to captivate, amuse, and encourage. Stories are powerful and I felt drawn to the creative process.

RVC: And when did that interest turn to picture books specifically?

LR: Picture books are my first love. They are such an amazing art form because they tell a story and pack an emotional punch in so few words and pages. And the pairing of text and illustration is a collaborative art unlike any other.

RVC: You’re repped by Wendi Gu, right? We did an interview with her a few months back, (though it seems like she’s moved from Janklow & Nesbit to Greenburger Associates since then). What do you imagine Wendi would say is YOUR secret weapon when it comes to writing great picture book text?

LR: Wendi is amazing. She plucked my work out of the slush pile three years ago and, as a client, I’ve moved with her from Greenburger to Janklow & Nesbit then back to Greenburger. She is the perfect combination of cheerleader and realist and an indefatigable champion of children’s literature. She deeply understands the publishing industry and gives stellar editorial advice. Perhaps she would say that my secret weapon as a writer is versatility. I like to experiment and each project I become passionate about is invariably quite different from the one that came before it in genre, structure, and point of view.

RVC: And what do you see as Wendi’s best literary agent superpower?

LR: Wendi is superb at giving constructive feedback. She somehow uplifts my writerly ego while simultaneously telling me what is not working and why. I appreciate her honesty and tact.

RVC: Did you have the idea for Fred’s Big Feelings: The Life and Legacy of Mister Rogers before you heard about the Tom Hanks Mr. Rogers movie?

LR: Yes. If I’m remembering correctly, my text was in its final stage of edits with my publisher when I first heard about the movie.

RVC: In what ways was the process of writing this picture book biography different than writing the fiction picture book Porcupine’s Pie?

LR: With Fred’s Big Feelings, I did a couple months of research before I even started writing. Organizing the research and finding the thread of the story I wanted to tell made the process much different from the story web brainstorming I tend to do for fiction plots.

RVC: How did you react to seeing how illustrator Brigette Barrager brought those feeling vocabulary words to life in a cartoonish style?

LR: I am such a fan of Brigette’s art. Her ability to convey emotions through color palette, visual cues, and setting is breathtaking. Not to mention all the depth of facial expressions. It was love at first sight!

RVC: Did you have much interaction with her directly or via your editor?

LR: Not really. One of the most surprising things about picture books to those not familiar with the industry is the disconnect between author and illustrator. It may seem jarring to have no interaction, but I’m okay with that. I recognize that my half of the book is text and the illustrator’s half is art. It is always exciting to see how those two parts combine to make a new whole.

RVC: One last question before we move to the final part of the interview. You’ve got a blog, and whether writers have one or not, they all seem to have a strong opinion about their value. What do YOU get out of putting up weekly posts? 

LR: My blog is aligned with the Debut Review Challenge that I launched in October 2019. The kidlit community is so supportive of one another and I wanted a way to give back so my blog features debut authors/​illustrators each week so readers can discover new kidlit talent. Of course, they are also encouraged to review five books during a challenge period for a chance to win signed books!

(Psst! I have a little secret to share with you. Since the challenge is only 6 months old and still garnering participants, you have an excellent chance of winning something! So join the fun!)

RVC: If Fred Rogers were here to transition us to the SPEED ROUND, he’d say that we should all be confident, eager, hopeful, and excited. With that in mind, ARE YOU READY?

LR: Ready, Neighbor!

RVC: Most surprisingly awesome daytrip destination in northern Virginia?

LR: Great Falls National Park.

RVC: Favorite Crayola color?

LR: Robin Egg Blue.

RVC: If someone made a movie of your life, which Hollywood actor should play you?

LR: Sutton Foster.

RVC: Most surprising Fred Rogers fact that didn’t make it into the book?

LR: The iconic beginning of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood–where Mister Rogers changes his shoes–started as a practical habit during his first children’s show when he had to run quietly behind the set between the organ and the puppets. Dress shoes were too noisy! (At least I was able to include this cool fact in the backmatter.)

RVC: Favorite picture book of the past year?

LR: I can’t pick just one! Here are three: Truman by Jean Reidy and Lucy Ruth Cummins; Rise! From Caged Bird to Poet of the People, Maya Angelou by Bethany Hegedus and Tonya Engel; In a Jar by Deborah Marcero.

RVC: Funniest question a kid ever asked you during an author event?

LR: One question I get asked again and again is, “Is that a real recipe at the end of Porcupine’s Pie?” I always ensure them that it is edible and quite delicious!

RVC: Thanks so much, Laura!

LR: Thank you for having me!

Author Interview: Dev Petty

On By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews

This month’s author interview is with Dev Petty, a former Visual Effects artist who “sat in a terribly dark room for ten years working as a texture painter” for films like The Matrix. Don’t read that the wrong way—she really liked it! But after having daughters, she discovered her passion and skill for writing, and things worked out for Dev there, too.

We’ll cover a lot more about her writing career below, but to prepare us for that, here are seven fun Dev facts:

  • Married her high school sweetheart.
  • Was on the Bay Bridge in the ’89 earthquake.
  • Loves Cheezits.
  • Great at word jumbles.
  • Wicked good at making sandwiches.
  • Swears a lot.
  • Practicing Jew but devoutly Californian.

Here’s a bonus eighth thing about Dev–she’s got a new book out, The Bear Must Go On, and it looks tremendously fun.

Plus, here are some URLs to learn a bit more about Dev and all that she does in the world of picture books:

https://www.devpetty.com/​

https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/tag/dev-petty/

https://twitter.com/devpetty

With that, let’s get right to the Qs and As here!

RVC: One thing that most text-​only picture writers lament is not being able to create the art for their own books. You painted well enough to work for Hollywood. So…why aren’t you doing your own art to go with your picture book manuscripts?

DP:  Yes, I was a good painter. I had a knack for color and composition and texture and was good with all the technology to make it sing. I teach art sometimes, and I make art all the time. BUT…being artistic and being able to tell a story with my art are different things. I don’t have a particular point of view. I know what I like, but that doesn’t mean I have a style and certainly no sense of character design, movement, etc. Honestly, I really like the writing part–I grew up in Berkeley in the 70s. I’m by nature pretty weird and have a lot of ideas…the writing suits me fine. Doing the art would feel sort of like a…job.

RVC: I’ll bet the Hollywood experiences still proved useful in other ways.

DP: Being in film does, for sure, inform how I tell a story. In film, you have to tell a story front to back–which is to say if someone is noticing some mistake in the background when something important is up front, you’ve failed as a storyteller. That helps me be economical with words and good at discerning what thread I want to pull on in a story.

Film also taught me to have a terribly thick skin.

RVC: What kind of writing training did you undertake when making the shift from creating art to writing picture books?

DP: I actually wasn’t much of a writer and started by taking a personal essay class, which–I ought to tell you–is the cheapest therapy you’ll ever have. I enjoyed writing but didn’t know that I wanted to write picture books until I just wrote one for fun and totally loved it. After that, I just read a lot of blog posts and a gazillion picture books and just wrote, wrote, wrote. I’m not too much for researching or classes or conferences. I just dove in and figured it out.

RVC: You’ve got a thing for animal characters, it seems. Why do they appeal to you as a storymaker?

DP: Well, yeah. I do write books with humans, just none have been picked up as yet. But I like to write about animals–they come with some intrinsic qualities that create good material. So I’m able to inject a lot into their personalities because there are already certain elements there. But I’m not one to just take a human-​like character and decide it’s a walrus for the fun of it.

RVC: Mike Boldt—the illustrator of the Frog books—did an interview where he talked about I Don’t Want to Go to Sleep. Regarding the character of Frog, Mike said that he can “hear his voice and see his expressions just by reading the manuscript.” How do you go about creating an effective voice? What specific steps/​techniques are you using?

DP: Mike is the best–just have to get that out there!

RVC: I quite agree! (I hope he sees this and wants do his own OPB interview down the road.)

DP: Frog is fun to write because he’s sort of droll and dry but still curious and engaged in the world around him. Frog has a lot of questions. I’m not sure I take any specific steps–I can just sort of hear his voice, which is very much how I write in any case. I hear a book, at least the opening of a book, in my head before I ever put pen to paper. I don’t think I could write a narrative book with Frog. He’s all dialogue for me.

RVC: I’m a fan of Claymation, so obviously I dug your 2017 book, Claymates. What’s the story behind that book?

DP: A lot of wine.

Kidding!

Well, the extraordinary Lauren Eldridge and I were sort of Twitter friends and talked about working together. She would make these funny clay characters and I thought they were really hilarious. I didn’t want to take something normal, like a regular story, and have her illustrate it in clay. I wanted a story that was ABOUT the fact they were clay, where your character could be anything at any time. That’s so open and abstract and kind of 70s trippy and it all just came out at once–the ideas at least.

I pitched her the idea and she liked it! We did a full photographic dummy to try to sell it because, honestly, how could you pitch that story and not sound like a lunatic?! What’s funny is that in the same way the balls of clay become friends through experimentation, play, being silly–so did we. She’s one of my best friends in the world. Art brings the strangest bedfellows together.

RVC: You’ve talked before about the challenge of finding each story’s thread. Would you explain that concept by way via the creation of one of your books?

DP:  Well, Claymates is actually a great example. On the one hand, it’s just some goofball book about some balls of clay who make a mess of themselves. But in a bigger way, the thread of Claymates is about how no matter how many and what sort of hands (parents, teachers, friends) are trying to mold and shape us at any given time, ultimately we have an insatiable need to evolve on our own, experiment, make mistakes, play. I try to remember this as a parent–not to tinker too much in who my kids will become, they have to shape themselves. As long as they’re happy and good people, I don’t care what they end up doing.

RVC: In a 2014 guest post on Tara Lazar’s fine blog, you recommend writers stop writing. Care to give us an explanation on that surprising idea?

DP: Well, I think it’s really easy to go too quickly to writing once you have an idea. You get this lightbulb and want to RUN to start writing. But I’ve found I do much better when I just let things percolate a while, otherwise I just end up shuffling words about on the page instead of digging a little deeper, trying things, finding the thread.

RVC: While OPB interviews agents, we don’t always talk about the HOWS and WHYS of having/​getting one. You’re with Jennifer Rofé at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, right? How did you land that relationship, and what has it done for your career?

DP: Jen is actually my third agent (loooooonnnnnng story) and I’m so grateful I reached out to her when I was again looking. She’s Mike Boldt’s agent too, so I already knew she was awesome. Jen pushes me, sometimes really hard, to do my best work. She’s editorial, honest, and whipsmart. I rarely feel intimidated by anyone but if I were to, it might be her. Not because she’s mean, because she’s just really sharp, engaged, and articulate. When we talk I write “don’t babble” on my hands because she is so on point with everything and I never want to look back and think, “Darn, Dev, you babbled!”

But she’s also kind and has an uncanny sense of the industry and how to balance life and writing. She’s just a fantastic person and I’m very lucky.

RVC: If you could time-​travel back to that first year of your writing apprenticeship, what would you tell yourself to ease the process? What do you know now that you wish you knew then?

DP: I suppose that it’s just a really slow process, even if you start out with a popular book like I did. It takes time to build this career and you don’t want to rush it just to sell books. I learned most of that from Jen, for what it’s worth.

RVC: Alright, it’s time to transition to the always-​fun, never-​equaled, ever-​exciting SPEED ROUND! Are you ready?

DP: Word.

RVC: The Carlton Dance, the Macarena, or the Cha Cha Slide. Which are we most likely to catch you performing? 

DP: The Macarena. (I don’t even know what the other two are, but I still know without doubt the answer is the Macarena!)

RVC: Most underappreciated film in The Matrix series?

DP: The first one. Everyone loves it and appreciates it and knows it’s the best and it still couldn’t be overappreciated because it’s really original and thoughtful and smart, so it’s probably underappreciated.

RVC: If picture books were ice cream flavors, what flavor would your Frog series be?

DP: Bubblegum. It’s hard to know what the underlying flavor is and there’s weird chewy bits inside for some reason that you pick out and let stain and stick to your napkin and then eat all at once for like five minutes before spitting it out.

RVC: What’s something about your writing process that might surprise people?

DP: I tend to write the opening a bunch of different ways before committing. Once I find one I like, I let that guide the rest of the writing. I throw a LOT away but save everything in case I did something great.

RVC: “The last truly GREAT picture book I read was __________.”

DP: Oooh. I’m really picky actually. In a way that probably doesn’t serve me well.  Sam & Dave Dig a Hole is up there, for sure. It’s dead smart.

RVC: The one-​sentence message you hope all of your picture books deliver?

DP: Ask questions.

RVC: Thanks so much, Dev!

DP: The pleasure is mine! Thank you!

Author/​Illustrator Interview: Hannah Batsel

On By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews, Illustrator Interviews1 Comment

It’s always a treat to witness the beginning of a picture-​book career, and that’s what’s happening with the author/​illustrator we’re interviewing this month—Chicago artist Hannah Batsel, whose debut, A Is for Another Rabbit, comes out this month from Carolrhoda Books (Lerner Publishing). Hannah has a background in creating fine art and book arts, so she’s sure to have an interesting perspective on the process of becoming a picture maker. She’s also a self-​described “fashion idiot and rabbit superfan.” Talk about intriguing!

Let’s get to the interview to learn even more.

RVC: You probably don’t know this, Hannah, but I reached out to recent OPB-​interviewee (and Lerner editor) Carol Hinz for suggestions on early-​career writers who might be ideal for an OPB interview. Your name came up immediately—she clearly thinks you’re terrific. But here’s the real surprise—I already knew your name and work. You’ve got books in the Brizdle-​Schoenberg Special Collections Center at my college’s library, and I lurk in there a lot. 

Tell me about your interest in making special-​collections-​quality books like Ephemerus and Maneater, which are the two I’ve shown to my own students here.

HB: Wow, my reputation precedes me!

Well, I was first introduced to artist books and fine press books as a part of my printmaking studies, and I completely fell in love with them. I think that I’m a bit of a control freak, and the fact that I can write, illustrate, print, and bind an edition of books all by myself (and therefore obsess about whether that text line should be a sixteenth of an inch to the left or not for three days without annoying anyone else) is very empowering. Printing only small editions lets me branch out from the traditional codex structure and make weird double-​sided books, books with jointed paper dolls, fold-​out books that expand to twice their size—you name it! I think there’s a book design out there that’s perfectly suited to contain any conceivable human idea.

RVC: Let’s talk about my personal favorite—Maneater. It’s a boxed set of four books, where each sits inside the other like those Russian nesting dolls, and they’re held in place by little hidden magnets. And the story—if I recall it correctly—works backwards in time.

HB: It does work backwards in time—and then forward again! The smallest, innermost nested book takes place the furthest in the past, so as you read towards it, you get more context about the characters’ past relationships before having to read yourself back to the surface to finish the story in present day.

RVC: How did this project come about?

HB: This project was inspired by my collection of late-​19th-century mass market colonialist children’s books (a mouthful, I know). These books’ covers are gilded and colorful and just a treat to look at, but their beauty belies a lot of frankly horrifying ideas about the Western world’s relationship with both the natural world and the cultures of people they didn’t understand.

The four books of Maneater are all illustrated in that lush and extravagant style, and each of the four books follows a different character. There’s a mythical tiger god who rules over life on a tropical island, an actual tiger who is captured from the island and sent to a zoo, a villager on the island who must emigrate and work at the zoo once the island is stripped of its natural resources, and a wealthy shareholder who ends up employing the zookeeper as a butler after a tiger attack forces him into retirement. The books can be read separately, but only when you read them together does a legacy of colonialist greed become clear.

RVC: In what ways are artist books like picture books?

HB: I would say that all of my artist books are picture books! They are certainly for an older audience, but every single page in them is illustrated. Like other picture books, they are meant to be held and explored and looked at, not just read. I even have an artist book that’s only pictures: Overhead, a book that I wrote, printed, and bound all on a commercial airline flight (confusing the flight attendants to no end, I’m sure.)

RVC: You earned a BFA in Printmaking and Book Arts from the University of Georgia, followed by an MFA in Interdisciplinary Book, Paper, and Print Arts from Columbia College Chicago. Clearly you had a book-​focused future planned early on. When did you get interested in this career path?

HB: I had a professor at the University of Georgia who got me into artist books (thanks, Eileen!). Once it clicked for me that books could be made out of just about anything by just about anyone, I set out to do it in as many ways as possible. I feel fortunate to have found something that I can confidently say I’ll be making for the rest of my life in some form or another.

RVC: Let’s talk about your debut picture book. What’s the story behind A Is for Another Rabbit?

HB: I was speaking with my mom on the phone about how I’d like to write a children’s book, and how abecedaria (that’s nerd talk for “alphabet books”) were some of my favorites. I told her that I especially love animal alphabet books, but that I would probably want to make every letter about rabbits, which would make for a very boring book. We started goofing off and improvising pages (“U is for Uuuuuughh, seriously? Stop with the rabbits already!”) and while some of our off-​the-​cuff joke pages were a bit—well—vulgar for a younger audience, others did make it into the first draft of the manuscript.

RVC: How did the story change in the rewriting/​revision process? Was it always metafiction from the first draft?

HB: Very little of the original manuscript ended up changing, actually! It was mostly minor tweaks. It was always metafiction; I think that with a format as tried-​and-​true as the alphabet book, the most interesting thing to do was to throw a monkey wrench into it and explore what would happen if this very rigidly-​structured genre went awry.

RVC: Please talk a little about how you handle pacing via image and text. 

HB: This is something that I tend not to think too hard about; rather, I draft out what feels best to me intuitively and then show as many people as I can so that they can tell me if something feels off. Pacing is one of those things that’s hard to get a grasp on if you’re too close to the project, so having outside perspectives helps a lot. In general, I try to keep my text as tight and necessary as possible—if I can cut something from a manuscript, I do!

RVC: A Is for Another Rabbit uses rhymes, at times (yep—look what I did right there!). What’s your philosophy for rhyming well?

HB: Keep a consistent meter, jam as many rhymes in there as possible (not just at the end of the line), and above all else, use a rhyming dictionary! There’s no shame in it, and there are tons of free ones online; starting with a really great final line and then looking up rhyming words to build up to that finale is a great way to write a stanza.

RVC: The book is dedicated to “my favorite animal in the whole world: the rabbit.” What’s the appeal of these “feisty, fantastic, fluffy-​tailed” critters?

HB: One little-​known rabbit personality trait that I love is their sheer audacity, their absolute impudence. When a cat behaves like a jerk, at least he’s got the claws and teeth to back it up. A rabbit is a prey animal who has been running for his life in the wild for millennia, and yet you let him up onto your couch one time and he thinks he’s the king of the world!

The misbehaving rabbits in my book are inspired by a real rabbit, Pip, that I used to have. He was allowed to go anywhere in the house except for under my bed, so of course, he loved to try to sneak under when I wasn’t looking. Whenever I caught him snooping around for a way in, he would leap into the air with joy at the thrill of being caught and flee the scene! He seemed to like getting caught even more than succeeding!

RVC: I can sympathize with that because (when they were very little) my two kids loved to sneak into my office and riffle through my manuscripts, papers, stories, etc. and wait until I came back to catch them, and they’d laugh, laugh, laugh. Then they grew up and couldn’t care less what I do for a living.

What’s next for you in terms of the picture book world?

HB: I’m always working on my next book, and right now, I’m finalizing the manuscript and initial sketches for a new picture book that will make use of my letterpress-​printing background. I can’t tell you much, but I’ll give you a hint: if A is for Another Rabbit is a good Easter read, this next one would be better suited for Halloween…

RVC: I look forward to the spooky fun!

Last question for the main part of this interview. Since Carol Hinz got you into this, what’s it been like working with her and Carolrhoda?

HB: Carol and the team at Carolrhoda have been an absolute dream to work with. Making your own books like I do means that I had no idea how a bigger production worked, which book sizes were standard, what to put on a title page, what a book contract looked like, or even… oops… how to accurately manage a final deadline. But Carol and Danielle Carnito, my art director, held my hand ever-​so-​patiently and walked me through the whole process.

One thing that’s a bit strange is that I’ve never met either of them in person! From start to finish, making a book together was a multi-​year process, all over email. For all I know, Carol could be a bunch of rabbits standing on each other’s shoulders in a trench coat. Wait—have you ever met her?

RVC: Hold on now… while I’ve interviewed Carol, I have NOT met her. Hmmmm. You might be on to something here.

HB: I think so!

RVC: Alrighty—it’s time for the much-​heralded, always-​awesome SPEED ROUND. Rabbit-​quick questions + hare-​fast answers, please! Are…you…ready?!?

HB: I was born ready.

RVC: Your three favorite picture book rabbits?

HB: Wait, wait, I’m not ready!

Uhhhh, jeez, this is a tough one! Honestly, Richard Scarry’s vast herd of fictional rabbits would probably take up all three slots. Naughty Bunny, The Bunny Book, Bunnies, I Am a Bunny, not to mention all of the Busytown buns—the guy’s practically cornered the market on great picture book rabbits! Honorable mentions, of course, for Margaret Wise Brown’s many picture book rabbits, especially those of Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny!

RVC: Most surprising rabbit fact?

HB: Rabbits can’t vomit. Hey, you asked for surprising!

RVC: Best place a rabbit might go to get GREAT Chicago deep dish?

HB: Pequod’s, hands down. That caramelized crust…

RVC: Best picture book art you’ve seen in the last year?

HB: Daria Tessler’s riso-​printed zine, Three Magical Recipes from the Book of Secrets of Albertus Magnus, published by Perfectly Acceptable Press here in Chicago.

RVC: What’s going to keep you up tonight after doing this interview?

HB: Nothing. I can go to sleep within 15 seconds of hitting the pillow; it’s like a superpower.

RVC: Three things that are at the heart of your overarching creative vision?

HB: Magic, fine detail, and the exploration of power (and the power of exploration!)

RVC: From one Chicagoan to another, thanks so much, Hannah! It was a hoot cluck chirp uhhh, say…what sound do rabbits make?

HB: Hmm, well they do thump their back feet on the ground when they’re angry. But I think this interview has been more like a contented tooth-​chatter, don’t you?

RVC: Right. That’s what I meant. It was truly a tooth-​chattering swell time. Thanks for playing along, Hannah!

Author Interview: Trisha Speed Shaskan

On By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews

The March 2020 Author Interview is with Trisha Speed Shaskan, a Minneapolis writer who’s authored 40+ books. I had the pleasure of meeting her at a Highlights Foundation writing retreat this past November, and straight off, I knew she was OPB material. Why? Because she loves dogs, thinks snorts are funny, and makes a lot of good kidlit. What more do you need than that, right?

Just in case you DO need a bit more to properly frame this interview, here are seven delightful Trisha facts.

  1. She has a dog named Beatrix Fluffernutter named after Beatrix Potter and the east coast sandwich with marshmallow fluff and peanut butter in it.
  2. She allowed the stars of her picture book, Punk Skunks!, to do a no-​holds-​barred interview at The Little Crooked Cottage.
  3. Just last year, she did an 18-​day, 22-​library “Create Your Own Comics” workshop in northern Minnesota alongside her husband/children’s book author & illustrator Stephen Shaskan.
  4. First read The Hobbit while traveling the London countryside by train.
  5. Worked at Wild Rumpus Books for Young Readers that is also licensed as a pet store! Among the children’s books, you’ll find animals both caged (chinchillas, a cockatiel, rats) and running free (chickens and Manx cats). During a Bunnicula anniversary event with author James Howe, Trisha kept the energetic bunnies from busting out of a cage.
  6. Worked as a literacy coach in an elementary school’s afterschool program.
  7. At the University of Minnesota-​Twin Cities, she was the mascot, Goldy Gopher. (But not for sports, she notes—only for PR events.)

With that, let’s get to the interview!

RVC: Let’s start with how you’re living the picture book author dream—you’re married to a pro illustrator. How did that come about (I hear it has to do with a rock band!), and how do you successfully work together to make great kidlit?

TSS: After receiving my B.A. in English, I worked at an elementary school where I met my future husband Stephen Shaskan. During the day, I worked as an educational assistant, and after school, I taught creative writing. During recess and in between resolving fights, flipping the rope for double dutch, and playing tag, Stephen and I connected over the picture books we were using in our classes, such as Raising Dragons by Jerdine Nolen and illustrated by Elise Primavera. We both loved a range of music from The Cure to Funkadelic.

RVC: With in-​common music like that, it’s no wonder you hit it off!

TSS: Absolutely. Yet for a couple years, we hung out as friends. Then I knew I wanted to date him. During my break at school, I drove to the floral shop to pick up some flowers to bring home. I also bought a bouquet of my faves, Stargazer lilies, for Stephen. When I arrived at school, Stephen was in the parking lot. When I got out of the car, I thought the bouquet looked huge; I felt too shy to give it to him. “Stargazer Lilies,” Stephen said, “My favorite.” I told him I bought them to bring home and placed the bouquet in the backseat of my car. Later on, during his art class, Stephen drew a beautiful picture of the Stargazer lilies and gave it to me as a gift. Soon afterwards, we dated. We also formed a band. I played drums. Stephen played guitar. But it took me a long time to tell him I had actually bought those Stargazer lilies for him!

RVC: What a great story.

TSS: Our friendship and the band were the start of many collaborations. At school, we co-​taught a class together. Eventually we ended up working on books together. I had known I wanted to write children’s books since college, so I went grad school to become a better writer. During that time, Stephen worked as an early childhood educator where he played guitar and sang songs about underwear and dinosaurs. But he also read picture books and loved the format. Between that experience, his degree in illustration, and my interest in writing for children, Stephen began creating children’s books.

RVC: And that’s when you started working together?

TSS: That’s right. At first, Stephen and I created our own books, but eventually we collaborated on picture books and graphic novels. We’re able to work well together because we respect each other, communicate really well, and can both laugh at ourselves. When we create a book together, we make sure we’re both fully invested in the story and play equal roles.

Punk Skunks is drawn from our experience playing music together but also using music with kids in the classroom. Neither of us would’ve created that book alone. Together, we brainstormed and figured out the plot and characters. But I don’t interfere with Stephen’s illustration process. And he doesn’t interfere with my writing process. While working on Punk Skunks, I was surprised by the art. I didn’t know there’d be a chorus of bunnies. Why wouldn’t there be?!

RVC: In your life and in interviews, the two of you have been quite open about how you’re able to stay married and continue to be effective collaborators. What are a few of your best tips for working with another creative?

TSS: When we collaborate on books, since we’re in the same house (versus people who collaborate with friends or a sibling), all of our resources go into one place: the same book. Especially when promoting it. So, it’s good to mix it up; sometimes work solo, sometimes work together. That way our house can remain somewhat clean.

RVC: What are some of the warning signs that it might not be a literary love match?

TSS: How do you know the collaboration isn’t working? If you’re not enjoying working together, or if it doesn’t feel good, it’s not a match. While Stephen and I enjoy creating books together and doing school visits together, there are some parts of the book business we do separately. For example, I do some presentations and attend some conferences by myself. We’ve figured out what works best by trying a bunch of things. If it’s more stress than fun, it’s not worth it.

RVC: Let’s jump back to your writerly beginnings. You wrote all kinds of things as a kid. Where’d you get the writing bug?

TSS: I grew up in the “Free to Be You and Me” era in a home filled with books and imagination. As a child, my parents read picture books to me. My mom called our milk “Mickey milk” because of In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak. When I was in elementary school, my older sister Nicole had a witchcraft book that contained a glossary of imaginary creatures in the back. She read the definitions aloud: banshee, elf, fairy. Then we made up stories about the creatures. Brownies were my favorite because despite their small stature, they caused a huge amount of havoc. Nicole and I also ran through a field of what I now know were weeds but we believed were flowers that certainly contained fairies.

RVC: What did your family think about you majoring in English at the University of Minnesota? And then getting an MFA in creative writing?

TSS: My mother didn’t think my English degree was practical. She wanted me to become a teacher, which would’ve been a good idea since I ended up teaching writing! My father told me I could do whatever I set out to do. Whenever he wanted to do anything, he figured it out, worked at it, and went for it. As a young man, he earned a technical college degree, apprenticed as a sheet metal worker, and worked for a heating and ventilating business until he was ready to launch his own business. His you-​can-​do-​anything-​you-​set-​your-​mind-​to attitude always inspired me. By the time I returned to college to get my MFA, my mother was happy I was leaving the “nonprofits” (where I ran a youth program) to pursue my passion for writing. HA!

RVC: What’s the most valuable takeaway from your MFA days?

TSS: I knew in order to get published I needed to become a better writer. During my MFA days, I dug in, sentence by sentence, and studied how language worked in all kinds of books from fiction, to nonfiction, to poetry. In my own writing, I learned to look for repetitive ideas and ask questions, such as: Is this dialogue moving the story forward?

RVC: You got started with work-​for-​hire books, with your first being an easy reader, The Treasure Map. How did that come about, and is that a viable way for new authors to break into the world of kidlit?

TSS: During my first year in the MFA program, I wrote The Treasure Map and an editor at the nearby, local Capstone Press bought it plus 3 more books to-​be-​determined. I continued writing more books-​for-​hire, often in a series, such as Word Fun: If You Were Alliteration. I wrote over 40 books-​for-​hire. Those books opened up opportunities. Before I was traditionally published (although the easy readers were original, I didn’t own the copyrights), being published allowed me to apply for the McKnight Fellowship in Children’s Literature for $25,000 at a time when I felt like quitting writing. I won the Fellowship. I also won an artist grant from the state of MN to move from work-​for-​hire to writing my own stories. A couple of my books-​for-​hire sold well, which led to school visits. I couldn’t make a living solely on writing books-​for-​hire, but the benefits I have received from those books have made a huge impact on my career.

RVC: What are some of the things that doing so many work-​for-​hire books—most of which were for kids older than picture-​book age—taught you?

TSS: I learned to write at different reading-​levels from kindergarten through second grade. I learned to communicate complex ideas in simple language; for example, jet propulsion at a second-​grade reading level. I learned that when I study a topic and get to know it, whether it’s the Mississippi River or an octopus, I often fall in love with the topic; just like getting to know a person who becomes a lovely friend.

RVC: You broke into picture books in 2016 with Punk Skunks! What got you to make that move? 

TSS: I worked for hire to make money, but always worked on my own stories. My agent and Stephen’s sent out an early chapter book I wrote and paired it with some of Stephen’s illustrations. An editor liked the story but wanted me to try in a different format or wanted us to pitch a new story. We pitched a new story. That’s when we began to collaborate on what became Punk Skunks! At first it was an illustrated chapter book, but after the editor who asked for it rejected it, we thought it would make a better picture book. One of my writing teachers used to say “No work is lost work,” and thankfully that rang true.

RVC: You seem to have a special affinity for the main character in your own 2019 picture book, The Itty-​Bitty Witch. Why’s that so?

TSS: Betty Ann Batsworth is not only small, but she’s also determined. She never gives up.

RVC: What appeals to you most about picture books, both making them and reading them?

TSS: Reading a picture book to children is an interactive experience. The story speaks the language of poetry and song; the language is active. Picture books also contain visual literacy. Children infer what occurs between the text and art. And the art can contain a beautiful range of styles and mediums–whatever best fits the story–that adds to the colorful dance between the book and its audience.

RVC: What makes a Trisha Speed Shaskan school visit special?

TSS: As an educator, I LOVE school visits and the students and staff can tell; I bring my passion, positive energy, and enthusiasm for stories and creativity. I keep the visit interactive. I show students: Creating stories is fun and accessible to everyone!

RVC: As an author, how do you measure success?

TSS: If I feel I have created the best possible story I can, I consider it a success.

RVC: Last “serious” question to this part of the interview. You and your husband have different agents—you work with Sara Crowe at Pippin Properties, and he works with Teresa Kietlinski at Bookmark Literary. Do you ever have that my-​dad-​can-​beat-​up-​your-​dad thing where you brag about your respective agent’s superpowers in an awesome display of vicarious one-upmanship?

TSS: SNORT! Stephen and I are extremely grateful and lucky to have two, phenomenal agents that are uniquely perfect for each one of us! We admire each other’s agents and our own, so it all works out.

RVC: Glad to hear it!

Alright, it’s time to fire up THE LIGHTNING ROUND!!! That means fastball questions and rocket-​blast answers. Ready?

TSS: Set!

RVC: Best picture book sound effect—burp, fart, or snort?

TSS: LOL! “SNORT!” Of course!

RVC: Favorite literary villain?

TSS: Cruella de Vil, who puts the vile in villain!

RVC: Something about your writing process that might surprise people?

TSS: For every book I write, I do research. My favorite type of research is consulting an expert. For Q & Ray Case #2: Meteorite or Meteor-​Wrong, I asked Dr. Randy Korotev who has been studying meteorites for over 40 years to check the science to make sure it was accurate. After reading a page in the book where Ray was eating a Limburger and onion sandwich, Dr. Korotev told me: When he was in elementary school, each day he walked home for lunch and ate the exact same sandwich!

RVC: Best compliment a kid ever gave your writing?

TSS: It ROCKS!

RVC: Thanks so much, Trisha! This was a snort-​tastically good time!

 

Author/​Illustrator Interview: Elisha Cooper

On By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews, Illustrator Interviews

This month’s interview is with Elisha Cooper, an author who both writes and illustrates his own picture books. Instead of doing a standard bio paragraph here, let’s begin the process of getting to know him and his work a little bit better via two lists.

List One—Books Elisha Made:

  • While Elisha has created a lot of picture books, here are a few that OPB especially digs. For details on any of them, go ahead and click on those lovely covers!

List Two—Stuff Elisha Likes:

 

And, because we like to underpromise and overdeliver here at OPB, I offer a bonus third list, detailing a few of the various ways you can find out more about Elisha’s fine work via the Internet.

List Three—Bonus Stuff!

With that, let’s move on to the interview!

RVC: I confess—after reading scads of interviews others have done with you, I can’t find anyone who asked this question, so I’ll ask it. How do you pronounce your name? Is “Elisha” like Uh-​LIE-​sha, or Uh-​LEE-​sha? Something else entirely? This word-​loving, name-​loving person needs to know!

EC: It’s Uh-​LIE-​sha, though I’m fine with any pronunciation. I had a friend in high school who spent four years calling me “Isaiah.” There have been times I wish I’d been named Elijah (the more famous prophet), as that is easier to pronounce, and sounds tougher. But I’ve come to appreciate my name, its ambiguity.

Just this week The Cleveland Plain Dealer reviewed my book, praising the author and “her” beautiful watercolors. I sort of love that.

RVC: Wow, that’s some crackerjack reporting from The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Well done them!

Now that we’ve gotten the vital 411 on this name situation, let’s talk about your most recent picture book, River, which has been well received by readers and critics. In your Author’s Note for that book, you thank the Sendak Foundation. But on other occasions, you’ve also claimed to have been “the worst Maurice Sendak Fellow ever.” I’m getting the sense that you’re a man of great contradictions.

I wonder—is this an example of what you wrote in 2008 for Publisher’s Weekly in an article called “About the Author” where you mused on the “unique ridiculousness of the author’s note”?

EC: I know I’m trying to have it both ways. I was one of the worst Sendak fellows (I didn’t work in the studio they gave me), but the fellowship was also incredibly important for River. It allowed me the space to think, and start sketching nature along the Hudson. With that Publisher’s Weekly piece I believe I was trying to point out how we as authors (we as humans, really) are always trying to craft and present a more perfect version of ourselves. I’m as guilty of that as anyone.

RVC: Speaking of versions of ourselves…how did the actual version of yourself that grew up on a farm inform your work as a picture book maker?

EC: Animals, animals, animals. And views! I was surrounded by barn cats, dogs, goats and cows. I drew them, walked with them, milked them (my goats), and read with them. They were my companions. I read a ton, too, when I wasn’t shooting my BB gun or throwing a football.

In some deep way–and I know this answer has that crafting revisionism I was just disparaging–my childhood could not have been better designed for a future children’s book author.

RVC: Rumor has it that you would’ve preferred to play in the NFL than create kid’s books. Fact, or alternate fact?

EC: Fact. Who wouldn’t?! Yes, like any number of kids in the 80s, I dreamed of playing professional football. I even sent drawings of Lynn Swann to Lynn Swann (the Pittsburgh Steelers were my team). I think I still have the autographed photo he sent me in response. I played football at Yale, but was a back-​up. I still love football, how within the brutal mayhem there can be moments of grace and beauty.

RVC: At what point did you realize you were well-​suited to create picture books? Was it post-​college during that stint as a messenger for The New Yorker where you delivered art and manuscripts (which sounds pretty cool, by the way)?

EC: Hmm, I don’t know if there was one moment. I’ve always kept sketchbooks. Always written, always drawn. When I was at The New Yorker, a colleague  suggested I try children’s books and I sort of slid into the field. I’m still uncertain what makes a picture book a children’s book (Sendak has a great rant about that). My hope is that if I love something, and draw and write about it, a child or an adult out there may love it, too.

I don’t mean to punt on your question, but I don’t think I’ve ever had one “eureka” moment. I’ve always felt art in me. Which doesn’t mean I don’t get stuck, or rip stuff up, or struggle. I know something’s good, though, when I tape it on my wall and it stays there.

RVC: I suspect that most picture book makers believe their process to be bizarre, messy, and/​or inefficient. Given that, I’m still asking: what’s YOUR process? How does the magic happen for you?

EC: Coffee. Family. Newspaper. Second coffee. Music. Write (café), or paint (home). Third coffee. Paint more. Run. Visit bookstore. Bike along river. Read. Cook. Family. Sports. Sleep.

Repeat.

RVC: How does the process differ for making your non-​kid books, like A Year in New York and Falling: A Daughter, a Father, and a Journey Back?

EC: For my books of essays, the memoirs (Crawling and Falling), I just spent more time writing. Which is sort of obvious! More hours in Brooklyn at favorite cafés, taking notes then writing up those notes, then editing editing editing. The more I make books, the more I think of myself as an editor. This goes for my children’s books, as well. I put something up on the wall, look at it hard, then change it.

RVC: Here’s something that’ll likely surprise you. I think I personally know some of the barns you used in your book Farm. How? Well, I went to Northern Illinois University for my undergrad degree (Go Huskies!), and I’ve read that you spent a lot of time driving around DeKalb County (for you non-​NIU types, that’s where NIU is located—about 60 miles west of Chicago, smack-​dab in the middle of Big Corn country) with your sketchbook while cooking up that book. Is this possible or am I way off base here?

EC: That’s so cool. Go Huskies! Yes, Farm is set almost entirely in DeKalb County. I drove many back roads there. While the farm in my book is a combination of a few farms, the main “model” was a farm in Hinckley, Illinois. A wonderful family let me hang around their farm for the year; a highlight was riding in the their combine harvester.

Writing that sentence, I realize how lucky I am to be doing what I’m doing (whatever that is).

RVC: What’s the most challenging part about drawing a barn well?

EC: No challenge. A barn is a barn, and I like to draw them (which reminds me: Edward Hopper painted barns so well). Now, having said that, and knowing this makes me sound a little cocky, here’s a list of things I can’t draw: donkeys, giraffes, horses, dinosaurs, dragons, faces, cactuses, politicians, canyons, hands, violins, lips. The list goes on!

RVC: Here’s one final set of questions for this part of the interview. Looking back at Big Cat, Little Cat—one of my Elisha Cooper favs that could’ve been included at the list in the intro but I wanted to save it for the Big Finish here!—what are you most proud of about it now? How has your relationship with it changed over the years? 

EC: Thank you! I’m so glad you like the book. Though, I’m not sure if I view my books in that way, with pride (in other words, it’s just a book). That could be my hang-​up with the word “pride,” as I do feel a sense of contentment with this book. I like the simple ink line in Big Cat. I had never used ink before, so that was a cool learning experience. I suppose the Caldecott Honor changed my relationship with the book, but I have tried not to let it. I try to remember the book I made.

RVC: Okay, it’s time to shift gears to part two of the interview—the no-​holds-​barred LIGHTNING ROUND! Zippy questions and zappy answers, please. Ready?

EC: Scared!

RVC: Most underrated Pittsburgh Steeler of all time?

EC: Louis Lipps.

RVC: Most surprising thing on your playlist right now?

EC: What’s a playlist? Don’t have one. Though I do have an old wood-​cased CD player next to my desk.

For River, I penciled the book to Hamilton, and painted it to Turandot, La Boheme, and Madame Butterfly.

RVC: Which animal didn’t quite make the cut (but you wished had!) for 8: An Animal Alphabet?

EC: Ooof. I think I packed every animal I could into that book.

RVC: Which do you fret over more—words or images?

EC: Don’t fret.

RVC: Best compliment a child ever gave on your picture books?

EC: Oh, goodness. I’d have to answer with the image, in my mind’s eye, of a kid after a school assembly clutching my book in her arms and looking up at me. That look floors me every time.

RVC: Three words that sum up your philosophy of picture books?

EC: Location, location, location. Um, no. Isn’t that for real estate? But, you know what, since where I actually am–whether it be in a café or alongside a river–is so essential to my work, I’ll stick with that answer.

 RVC: Thanks so much, Elisha!

EC: And thank you! This was fun.

 

Author Interview: Heidi E.Y. Stemple

On By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews4 Comments

OPB’s first author interview of 2020 is with Heidi E.Y. Stemple. Over the years, I’d had three personal picture-​book-​related interactions with her. The first was a paid critique at an SCBWI regional event in Miami a few years back. The next was me participating in the famous Picture Book Boot Camp at Jane Yolen’s super-​cool farmhouse back in 2017, where Heidi both cooked (OMG and YUM!) and helped out with feedback and discussions, plus she took a bunch of us owling! The most recent was last month at a Highlights Foundation workshop where Heidi served as a faculty member (she’s the one in the front on the right–I’m just above her to the right, though since all the rest of the people there were women, I’m pretty hard to miss!)

Let’s put it plainly: Heidi knows her stuff. I know that firsthand, which is why I’ve asked her to help kick off the year with an interview that’s designed to get all picture book writers—from the newbies to the done-​it-​forever folks—inspired to make 2020 a great picture book year for us all.

But I know readers always want a bit of biographical goodness before getting into the Qs and the As and the Ins and Outs, so here are seven things about Heidi.

  1. Lives next to her mom…by choice!
  2. Barred owl hoot is 100% authentic.
  3. Undergraduate degree was in psychology.
  4. Worked as a private investigator.
  5. Author of 25+ books (as well as oodles of short stories and poems).
  6. Is the little girl in Owl Moon.
  7. Grandfather Will was International Kite Flying Champion (and the inspiration for Heidi’s co-​authored book A Kite for Moon).

With that, let’s zip right along to the interview. Let’s go!

website: www.heidieystemple.com
Twitter: @heidieys
Facebook: www.facebook.com/heidieystemple
Facebook: Owl Count

RVC: Let’s deal with the dinosaur in the room—your incredibly awesome mom, Jane Yolen (whose own OPB interview is here!). At what point did you realize the type of impact writing in general—and her writing, in specific—had on young readers?

HEYS: How do dinosaurs impact readers? (Bad joke?)

I grew up with a mom-​writer and a father who was a bird watcher. Both those things are so intertwined into my upbringing that I cannot imagine a life without books and nature. As you can imagine, I have always been privy to people telling us what my mom’s writing has contributed to their and their children’s lives. But, I think that the full impact of this has really come in more recent times—when she and I began to work together so closely. When I started writing (I guess my “recent times” means in the last 25 years—ha!) and when I really took a deep dive into picture books—keeping up with the market and teaching—that is when I started paying attention to the real impact.

There is a moment any time writers are together that we say “and THAT is why we do this.” It’s often a reaction to something a kid reader, or a parent or teacher said. One kid, after a school visit, wrote to me and said “reading Bad Girls made me want to be a great writer.” Another couldn’t believe I had written about being a bird watcher because he thought he was the only person who loved owls so much and it was exciting to know there were more of us. But, there are bigger stories, too. The kid who, after being burned in an accident, wanted to share How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? with every kid in the burn unit. The girl who wrote to say she had been an awful sister to her twin brother until she read Mapping the Bones and she was going to make a real effort to be better.

I have been talking about Owl Moon for so many years. I take the responsibility of being that little girl (my mom’s book is based on my father and my—as well as my brothers’—nighttime owling adventures) quite seriously. The fact is, many kids don’t have nature outside their backdoor, or a trusted adult to take them out at night. All too often, their first time out in the woods—or the only time– is within those pages.

RVC: You avoided going into the “Family business” for a long time. What did you do along the way, and what skills/​habits did those non-​writing things give you that serve you well as an author?

HEYS: Every part of my journey to now impacts my writing—what I write about, how I write, why I write. After college, I worked as a probation/​parole officer and a private investigator. I worked in and around law enforcement with victims and offenders for years. You can still find bits of this in my writing. Bad Girls is about women who committed all sorts of crimes. The Unsolved Mysteries from History are about investigation. My forthcoming graphic novel called (tentatively) Maddi Mouse and the Private Spies is about solving a crime. On the flip side of this is my love of birds from my dad. You Nest Here With Me, Fly with Me, and Counting Birds come directly from the way he raised me.

RVC: Your first publication was in a book called Famous Writers and Their Kids Write Spooky Stories. What’s the story of how that came to happen?

HEYS: I had just interviewed for a new job as a counselor at a battered woman’s shelter. I discovered I was pregnant on the same day I got the call saying I got the job. Problem was, I was so sick in my early pregnancy, I could barely leave the house. No way I could start a new job. I was bored. So, I accepted a co-​authorship opportunity for a story with my mom.

During the writing, I discovered some things about myself. Mainly, that I could write fiction. I knew I was a good writer, but that had been primarily report and legal writing (at the Department of Corrections, I wrote a lot of really great PSIs—Pre-Sentence Investigations). But, also, I learned that I could write an ending. I had written lots of stories without endings. That was always what scared me about fiction. Not finding ideas, or the writing, or the revision. But, endings are intimidating.

Funny story—it wasn’t until years later that I realized that so many pieces of my life had wound up in that story. In fact, it was about solving a ghost mystery. Turns out (spoiler alert) the woman who became the ghost had been killed by her abusive husband. How did I not connect those dots?

RVC: Tell me why the majority of your books are picture books. What’s so special about them versus, say, MG or YA?

HEYS: I actually just love picture books. They are the perfect size. You are constrained by your 32 pages and there is very little wiggle room. You really have to boil down your story to its essence without losing the beauty of it. It is often a puzzle how to have enough and not too much—detail, texture, beautiful (or pithy or funny or lyrical) language. That economy of language is a challenge. And picture books are meant for sharing. Just last night, I read two of my children’s books aloud to a group of adults at my bird club. Many of them came up to me after and said how moving it was to be read to—that no one had read aloud to them in ages, if ever.

I do love a middle grade length, and I’m working on a couple longer-​form manuscripts right now. YA isn’t for me. Too much angst.

My real love is picture books.

RVC: Many of your books are collaborations of one type or another, with Jane Yolen being a frequent partner. Talk about some of the Best Practices you’ve learned along the way in terms of effectively working with other creatives.

HEYS: Be open, be honest, be flexible, be organized, and be kind. I’m super bossy and opinionated, so not all these things are easy all of the time. But, if you are working with someone else, it’s really important to have a balance with that partner (or all of your collaborators, as in Fly with Me and Animal Stories, both of which I wrote with my mother and both brothers). If you don’t agree, stepping back and looking again with an open mind is one of my best pieces of advice. I am working with a non-​family member on a new book right now and I have to remember that she and I don’t have shorthand yet. My mom and I work so closely on so many projects, we can just jump in without the niceties. In critiquing, the rule is always “say something nice first.” But, when you work more closely, and have no fear of hurting any feelings, the process is easier—more direct.

RVC: Your jointly created book with your mom, You Nest Here With Me, has a unique story from idea to publication. What happened?

HEYS: You Nest Here With Me was written and sold more than 11 years before it was published. We sold the manuscript to the amazing Liz Van Doren when she worked at Harcourt. We were working with her when the publishing house was purchased by a bigger house and Liz was let go. Our book was orphaned. The new editor who inherited it didn’t love it as much.  It got shuffled around and eventually we got the rights back. That was just about the time that Liz Van Doren arrived at Boyds Mills Press. Turns out, she had been watching to see if and when the book come out and she asked after it. We sent it immediately back to her and she, for the second time, purchased it. Melissa Sweet agreed to illustrate (we were thrilled!) and we got on her 3‑year wait list (she is very much in demand). We had already waited 8 years, what was another 3? But, she got to it in early, 2 years later, and the book finally came out—11 years after that first sale.

The moral of this story—never give up.

RVC: I think some people have the misconception that every book idea created by a successful writer like you somehow readily translates into a publication deal. Care to dispel that belief?

HEYS: That is hilarious! I have drawers and files of unsold manuscripts. Some are no good (what was I thinking??) and some are quite wonderful and it baffles me why they don’t sell. But, at the risk of repeating myself, I will say again, never give up. I have a picture book manuscript that I sent around and it got a bunch of rejections. The common theme of the comments was “would she consider writing a longer book about this character?” Why yes! I would absolutely consider it. I, too, love the character. So, I am working on converting the rhyming picture book manuscript into a chapter book. That, too, may not sell. But, you never know until you try.

I have lots of ideas. I just keep writing and sending them out. Eventually some of them will sell, but not all of them. You never know what will happen when, maybe years from now, I pull them out—maybe the market will have changed. Maybe I will be a better writer by then and will give them a new life. Maybe I will look at them and know why they were rejected. But, I will keep writing and growing and, hopefully, selling books!

RVC: How vital is it for picture book authors to have literary agents, and what do you appreciate most about yours?

HEYS: Frankly, my agent (the amazing Elizabeth Harding at Curtis Brown, Ltd. [see here OPB interview here!]) does all the stuff I have no desire to do. She (and her fab assistants and the legal team and the financial team, etc.) take care of contracts and submissions, make sure I’m paid, deal with issues in the market, chase down books promised in contracts that we haven’t received. All the stuff. Also, she is on top of the market in a way I am not. If I send her a manuscript, she knows where to send it—who is looking for quirky character-​driven stories vs. who is looking for girl STEM books or quiet lyrical texts. And, her name opens doors, or more accurately, allows my stuff to be seen without hitting the slush pile. It is much harder to work as an unagented writer or illustrator in today’s market.

That being said, it is not impossible. Many people are happily unagented.

RVC: Let’s talk craft issues. What’s most often the difference between a really good picture book manuscript that doesn’t get accepted, and a manuscript that DOES get snapped up? What’s the secret sauce that even good writers sometimes forget or don’t use often enough?

HEYS: There is no secret sauce. There is no magic. Well, there is a little magic, but mostly it’s pretty feet-​on-​the-​ground, fingers-​on-​the-​keypad work. For me, the difference between a brilliant and a blah manuscript is the language. The problem with this question is that the language isn’t the same for every book. Each book is unique, but that story voice is what sends it up and over the top. For You Nest Here With Me, it’s the combination of the brevity of text and a spot-​on rhyme paired with the nonfictional element. It’s the pairing of themes—birds and home—that works. In Counting Birds, I took a nonfiction subject and boiled it down (fewer details, more heart) to a read aloud, making it accessible to the very youngest readers. I like to think the alliteration I use sparingly and gently helps. And the fact that the arc of the book begins with one point and grows exponentially, just like the subject matter, bringing it back to the beginning only on the last page. In A Kite for Moon, we collapsed time to show the growth of the character to adulthood in a way that excites me every time I read it aloud and, in my humble opinion, we lay out an ahhhh-​worthy ending without telling the reader how to feel.

Here are some other books that I think have been written perfectly:

Water Is Water (Miranda Paul, Jason Chin)
Circus Train (Jennifer Cole Judd, Melanie Matthews)
Always Remember (Cece Meng, Jago)
P. Zonka Lays An Egg (Julie Paschkis)
The Dress and the Girl (Camille Andros, Julie Morstad)

RVC: You’re a well-​known fan of backmatter. What’s your secret to making it a meaningful part of the book versus just an info dump of extra research the author did?

HEYS: Remembering who you are writing for is key–you are either writing the backmatter for the same kid who is reading the book or for the adult who will need scaffolding for questions after. I prefer to write it for the child reader. Make sure it’s organized. And, I like to answer 2 questions:

  1. Why me?
  2. Why this story?

Answering these questions give the child reader a deeper connection to the book because they have a connection to why I wanted to write it.

RVC: What’s the most unusual-​but-​still-​effective backmatter you’ve run across?

HEYS:  I love all backmatter. I love writing backmatter. One of my favorite things I’ve written is the backmatter in Eek, You Reek! in which I got to write a list of stinking words and then define them. Of course, they all mean “stink” (in some form) so I used humor to differentiate them. For example, “Bouquet: This should refer to the lovely smell of flowers, but in this case, it means the wafting smell of ick.” 

I love backmatter that connects fictional elements of a story to real life subjects. A new fun one I just discovered is in a book about a girl who is teleported different places because of shoes. The backmatter tells you nonfictional information about women who wore that type of shoe in history. Brilliant! Melissa Sweet’s use of endpages as star maps in Tupelo Rides the Rails is a brilliant way to add in supplemental information. Or the amazing diagram of the squid’s parts in Giant Squid. I love silly backmatter like in Some Pets that points out all the pets in the book (and gives them names as well as species) for very young readers. I am always fascinated with timelines that tie the book’s subject into historical context. Good backmatter almost always invites the reader back into the book–and what is better than having a kid read your book?

Having that kid read it twice!

RVC: Here’s the last question for the first part of the interview. What does writing success look like to you?

HEYS: I am not trying to be a bestseller or an award winner. I just want to keep writing. I am not dismissing those things—they are great. Every sale means I can pay my bills and eat. Every award means my book will be discovered by more schools and libraries and, therefore, read by more children. And, I love stickers on my books! Counting Birds has 5 now and I delight in putting them all on the cover. But, really, it’s just being able to continue working that is my idea of success.

RVC: Here it comes—the much-​ballyhooed and never-​quite-​equaled OPB LIGHTNING ROUND! Speed-​of-​sound questions followed by speed-​of-​light answers, please! Ready?

HEYS: Let’s do this!

RVC: What secret talent do you have that nobody would suspect?

HEYS: Most people sing in the shower—I practice owl calls in the shower.

RVC: Most underappreciated bird?

HEYS: Blue-​footed booby. People get stuck at its name and don’t see how amazing this little show off is. Go Google its amazing courtship walk.

RVC: The one food you could eat every day for the rest of your life? 

HEYS: Cheese. Also pancakes.

RVC: Your favorite three indie bookstores?

HEYS: I’m going to choose my locals: the Eric Carle Museum Bookstore, Odyssey Bookshop, and we have a new one I’d like to give a shout out to, even though I haven’t been there yet: High Five Books. But, I could make a very, very long list here.

RVC: The best non-​Yolen picture book of 2019?

HEYS: Zero percent chance of me being able to answer this! But, I am heading to Carle Museum Bookstore to buy a copy of Moth (a gorgeous new nonfiction about natural selection) and Margarita Engle’s new Dancing Hands because it looks so gorgeous.

RVC: Three words that sum up your picture book philosophy?

HEYS: Language, compression, readers.

RVC: Thanks so much, Heidi!