Category: Author Interviews

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!

Author Interview: Carol Gordon Ekster

On By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews2 Comments

The final Author Interview of 2019 is with … Carol Gordon Ekster. Here are nine biographical bullet points to help you get to know her a bit better.

  1. Elementary school teacher for 35 years.
  2. Does yoga daily.
  3. As an adult, finally learned she loves dogs!
  4. Used to live in Brooklyn, right near the boardwalk and beach.
  5. Graduated from Boston University.
  6. Has a Master’s degree in reading and language.
  7. Married Mark, a high school pal.
  8. Has a daughter, Dara, who “continues to fascinate me and teach me new things all the time.”
  9. Belongs to five picture book critique groups.

With that, it’s time to interview away. Here we go!

RVC: Let’s start with a different question than I normally ask in these interviews. You’re more prolific on social media than many writers I encounter—witness 39k thousand tweets, for example! What’s your social media strategy? (And your secret for success, too, if you don’t mind sharing!)

CGE: Thanks for noticing, Ryan! I work hard to keep active on Twitter. I promote other #kidlit authors whenever I can. I share #amwriting content that I think is valuable. You don’t want to just promote your own books. That’s not how it works. But Twitter is my favorite social media platform for authors. When I can, I follow #PBchat nights. I learn from the agents, editors, and other authors and illustrators who are in the trenches of this children’s literature world. It’s all so interesting and informative. I keep up with others getting contracts, new books coming out, incredible resources and opportunities, etc. And I’ve done #PBpitch. It’s how I sold my fifth book. Last October when I participated, an editor liked my pitch, I sent in my manuscript and was offered a contract. You can read about my #PBpitch success here: http://www.pbpitch.com/book-dealssuccess-stories.html

Twitter is also a fun way to connect with readers and educators. As a retired teacher, I love connecting with educators who share a passion for books and use them consistently with their students. I also follow @nerdybookclub and nerdcamps (like @nErDcampVT and @nErDcampLI) on Twitter.

I limit my time on any social media as I don’t want to take too much time away from actual writing, but this is absolutely an important aspect of writing. It helps you build your platform, which is imperative if you want to get your name and books out there. Don’t forget though, I’m retired from teaching with no little ones around, so I have the time and opportunity to devote to my writing life.

RVC: How specifically did your years of teaching prepare you for this terrific second career?

CGE: Well, not only was my master’s degree in reading and language, but it seems that all the workshops and courses for recertification all throughout my career dealt with either writing or picture books. Though I never wanted to write myself (at the time), I did feel having writing workshops for my fourth graders was imperative to their education and growth as individuals. We didn’t write fiction. They wrote about what they knew. Each child left my class with a book of their writing from the year…something I know families cherished. Reading so many picture books throughout the year to support all aspects of my curriculum as well as social issues that arose, as well as helping children write, prepared me for becoming a children’s author.

When I started writing at the end of my career and sharing my work with students, it was a fantastic experience for them to see me go through the writing process. I loved hearing their feedback and I think it was invaluable for them to see how I worked to improve my writing through revision.  My background also helps me create follow-​up activities for my books as well as know how to interact with children in readings or school visits.

RVC: Your picture book career seemed to have officially begun on a beach in the summer of 2002. Talk about what happened, and what the process was in terms of moving from an idea to publication with that first book.

CGE: I took lots of courses and workshops on writing, but I never wanted to write. I found writing challenging. Then a few years before retiring, it’s like the universe aligned for me to have another career. I’m absolutely not the sitting around type, so this was a gift. Out of the clear blue, I walked off the beach on this particular day, went to get Post-​its and a pen from my car, and wrote my first picture book that day. It seriously felt like I had no control in this action. Writing happened to me. I never looked back and dug into the writing life. That first manuscript was didactic, too long, read more like a magazine article, and would never sell. I joined SCBWI and a critique group, and the stories kept coming. The 20th manuscript I wrote, Where Am I Sleeping Tonight?, was the first one to sell. Six years after that day on the beach, I held my first published book in my hand.

RVC: Listed among the bio tidbits above is the fact that you’re in five critique groups. How does that work for you? Do you run the same manuscript by each group?

CGE: I started in one group, but then so many people joined as we met in a public library. This meant that we had to open it to the public. I could no longer share my work every time we met. I started writing later in life, so I think that’s why I write so much, making up for lost time. I had so many manuscripts to share that I began to seek out other groups. I keep a spreadsheet of the manuscripts I bring to each group, and sometimes I do bring the same one to different groups, but I’m not consistent about that. I simply have too many stories!

RVC: You’re a long-​time member of SCBWI. What’s the #1 most useful thing that organization did for you? Why should aspiring picture book writers consider joining?

CGE: I honestly wouldn’t be published without SCBWI. My first two manuscripts were bought in response to my submitting to publishers who listed a call for submissions in the Bulletin. In addition, the professional support, conferences, resources, and opportunities for submission to editors, have helped me with my craft and my career. Aspiring picture book writers need to join SCBWI if they’re serious about this business. It’s essential.

RVC: From what I’ve read about you in other interviews, it sounds as if you’re playing a pretty big game in terms of submissions. What’s the ratio of how many books you’ve sold vs. how many manuscripts you’ve submitted? How do you keep the energy up? The organization/​record-​keeping?

CGE: Yes. I do submit quite a bit. Let’s just say at this point, I’ve collected close to 2,000 rejections from agents and publishers. If you want to do the math, I’ve sold five books, two magazine articles, and one e‑book. I used to have a paper sheet for each manuscript, but that became burdensome as I approached 100 manuscripts. I recently transferred that information to a Google document, which is much easier. I keep my energy up by believing in the process. For my newest acquisition, Some Daddies, which will be out in 2021, I saw the difference in what an agent previously said (“I like it. There aren’t enough daddy books”) to the response I got from the acquiring editor: “We love how this book celebrates the diversity of what it can look like to be a dad. This is so important for young kids who are starting to notice other children’s parents and compare them to their own, as well as how they develop their perception of healthy masculinity. This is a joyful book with a serious message—the type of book we would be proud to publish at Beaming Books.”

That’s what you want, an editor to love your manuscript. That’s what you’re waiting for.

RVC: What happens when you get a rejection? Do you have a standard response strategy?

CGE: I move on and think about where to send it next! I have to believe it’s just not the right publisher or agent.

(Okay, I feel a little badly, especially when I first send something out and have hope in my heart…but I get over it.)

RVC: While you’ve claimed that you don’t LOVE book promoting, you sure seem committed to doing a lot of it. What’s a book PR success story in your past?

CGE: I don’t love promoting, because it can be uncomfortable. I like the creative aspects, like thinking about who will be interested in knowing about this book. I enjoy offering advice to my writing buddies about where they might sell their books. I’m not sure how successful I’ve been, but I know that for my book on shared custody, I reached out to many divorce lawyers in my state who had resources on their website. And I recently noticed a five-​star review on Amazon that said, “I am a divorce attorney. I give this book out to clients who have children going through this. It is a great way for parents and children to have healthy conversations about their situation.”

In the past, I’ve had fun thinking outside the box. I contacted a few bakeries to sell Ruth the Sleuth and The Messy Room. The story begins and ends with chocolate chip cookies. Two bakeries took books on consignment. One owner told me many people read the book, but only a few buy it. I didn’t sell a lot of books. Sometimes it’s not about sales. I believe that you never know where one reading of a book may lead.

RVC: What’s the most important thing people should know or understand about being a traditionally published picture book author?

CGE: You’ll need patience, perseverance, and dedication. And you have to learn to accept this path with all its twists, turns, disappointments, expectations and joys. It’s not an easy path, but it IS an amazing journey. Learn to feel gratitude for being able to touch lives in this way and remember to enjoy the ride!

RVC: How do you keep a picture book from being too didactic, yet still have lessons in it? I’m especially thinking about Where Am I Sleeping Tonight? here.

CGE: Oh, goodness. I’m still a teacher at heart. A lot of my stories are too didactic. But I’m working on it. Where Am I Sleeping Tonight? (A Story of Divorce) is a bit lesson heavy (I deal with responsibility in this book as well as divorce), but it’s also heartfelt and helps children through this emotional and difficult situation. I know it makes them feel less alone.

RVC: Without giving away too much, what are you working on now?

CGE: I always work on a few things at once…and tackle whatever I’m moved to work on. It’s so wonderfully opposite my teaching life. No daily schedule. No ringing bells. I decide when and what I want to work on, which is mostly a mix of fiction stories, concept books, and some biographies.  There are 27 items in my “still revising” folder and another document with many ideas that I haven’t really developed yet. There…I didn’t give anything away!

RVC: Fair enough! It’s time to transition to THE LIGHTNING ROUND. Cheetah-​fast questions and race-​car-​quick answers, please! Ready?

CGE: Ready!

RVC: Favorite place to get a gift card for?

CGE: Starbucks or a bookstore.

RVC: Best delivery system for chocolate?

CGE: This will sound weird but I get it in my calcium…it’s dark chocolate, looks like candy, and is delicious!

RVC: What’s your secret talent?

CGE: Ooh…I wish I had one!

RVC: If your books were children, which one are you most proud of?

CGE: As long as the others didn’t find out…I’ll whisper to you that it’s probably Before I Sleep: I Say Thank You, because I believe teaching children gratitude can make for a happier society. And it went into its third printing in the first two years. (But I do have reasons why I love each one of my books. And now I feel guilty. You’re a very tough-question-askerer!)

RVC: An under-​appreciated but awesome picture book of the past year?

CGE: It’s so hard to pick just one. I read so many picture books every week. But I loved a recent book that I read. It’s beautifully written and a touching book: Small World by Ishta Mercurio, illustrated by Jen Corace.

RVC: Best compliment a student ever gave you?

CGE: A compliment that I always appreciated hearing was, “You make learning fun,” because I worked really hard to ensure students experienced the joy of learning.

RVC: Thanks so much, Carol!

 

Author Interview: Artemis Roehrig

On By Only Picture BooksIn Author Interviews2 Comments

The November 2019 author interview is with Northeasterner author and science guru Artemis Roehrig. What’s cool is that a few days after this interview goes live, I’ll meet her in person at a Highlights Foundation event with Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple. How’s that for some PB-​related name dropping? And a dose of literary kismet?

By way of getting to know Artemis, let’s play the Eight Truths and One Whopper game. Here we go!

  1. Favorite food is macaroni and cheese.
  2. Didn’t get on an airplane until age 18.
  3. Longtime member of the pit orchestra for Valley Light Opera.
  4. Secretly hates coffee.
  5. Has four pet tarantulas.
  6. Earned a master’s degree at UMass in Organismic & Evolutionary Biology.
  7. Still owns a huge collection of Beanie Babies.
  8. Taught summer classes at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
  9. Participates in a combination dance class/​book club.

(If you’re not sure which is false, I’ll spill those biographical beans by the end of the interview.)

For those who are nostalgic about standard bios, though, I’ll offer this, too. Artemis grew up in Western Massachusetts, attended Skidmore College as an undergraduate, and she’s a proud SCBWI member.

Shall we proceed to the interview now? Let’s go!

RVC: Let’s start with your cool first name. Do you have siblings with the name of gods/​goddesses? Do your two kids have equally mythologically wonderful monikers? What’s the real scoop here?

AR: My mother is Greek (check out her memoir Eleven Stories High: Growing Up in Stuyvesant Town, 1948–1968 by Corinne Demas), and since I have my dad’s last name, I think it was important to them that I have an unquestionably Greek first name. And yes, my kids have mythological names too, you’ll have to wait until they publish their first books to find out what they are though!

RVC: Gotcha. (Note to self: Watch for future books from a “Zeus Medusa Perseus Hephaestus Roehrig.”)

So, you made your first book when you were 6, right? A homemade book with your mom called Two Christmas Mice? What do you remember most about that project?

AR: One year we decided to exchange homemade books with our close friends instead of buying Christmas presents. So Two Christmas Mice started as one of those projects. I was very into craft projects at that age, so making books was right up my alley.

RVC: From early on, it sounds as if your mom really wanted you to be a writer. Didn’t she urge you to get a degree in creative writing? What was it like having a successful writer parent?

AR: Yes, she always wanted me to be a writer, and she did convince me to take a creative writing class with Elizabeth McCracken while I was in college. However, I rebelled by majoring in biology.

RVC: I’ve been there there, too, trying like crazy to avoid Fate. But you finally surrendered, and you created a couple of books with your mom, like Does a Fiddler Crab Fiddle? and (forthcoming in 2020) Do Jellyfish Like Peanut Butter? What’s it like to work with her? How is that process different than writing a picture book solo?

AR: As someone in the sciences, collaborating comes very naturally. Look at how many authors there are on most scientific papers! It’s even easier writing with my mom, since we know one another so well. Plus we can be brutally honest with one another when things aren’t working well.

RVC: Talk about the particular challenges of doing nonfiction books for kids. You can’t just make stuff up the way you can with fiction, right? 

AR: Science books are tricky since new studies are constantly coming out. It’s important to always check dates on resources! Nonfiction takes just as much time to write as fiction, but you need spend lots of time on research too. I use a totally different part of my brain when writing fiction versus nonfiction. It’s like the difference between jazz and classical music.

RVC: You’ve spent a lot of time in Cape Cod. How influential is that place—or place in general—in your writing?

AR: I first became interested in pirates when I was a kid and learned about the Whydah, the pirate ship that had wrecked off the coast of Cape Cod, so I feel like it is the perfect place to be when writing about pirates! I also have been very inspired by the Cape for my STEM books. People tend to think of the Cape as just a place to go to the beach, but it has other fascinating habitats like swamps, coastal heathland, marshes, etc, to explore too.

RVC: You’ve got one pirate book out already—Are Pirates Polite? And you’ve got The Grumpy Pirate coming out in 2020 (yet another picture book that’s co-​authored with your mom). What do you find so interesting about pirates?

AR: Pirates are interesting because they are counterculture, which makes them a fun lens to use to look at ubiquitous topics such as politeness or grumpiness!

RVC: How do you balance the creative side of writing with the business side?

AR: The business side of writing definitely takes way more time and effort than I’d like. It’s not really possible to just lock yourself away and be creative. This is a super rough estimate, and varies drastically by project, but in general, I would say the actual writing takes less time and effort than the business.

RVC: Plenty of people give the same advice to aspiring picture book writers (read a lot, join a crit group, be part of SCBWI, pay attention to how kids talk and what they talk about, etc.). What’s one less-​common tip/​strategy/​technique that might help an unpublished picture book writer make real progress?

AR: Well, you hit on a lot of the good ones there. I’d say the most important part of publishing is not to take yourself too seriously. If you’re determined to be published, you’ll need to be very open to criticism. This might include things as extreme as trying out your main character as a different gender or different animal. Rewriting your rhyming book as prose and vice versa. Doubling your manuscript size or cutting it in half.

RVC: Terrific–thanks for those tips. But now it’s time … FOR … THE … SPEED ROUND!! 100mph questions and equally zoomy answers, please. Ready?

AR: Ready!

RVC: Where do you find the yummiest lobster roll in Cape Cod?

AR: I’m a vegetarian, but I’ll say Mac’s on the Pier in Wellfleet because it’s the best location to eat one!

RVC: Most underappreciated insect?

AR: Tiger beetles, since surprisingly few people have even heard of them.

RVC: Awesomest Crayola color that doesn’t yet exist?

AR: Compost. It would be one of those multicolored crayons, made up of various earthy browns and greens. Very useful for coloring in things like trees and grass.

RVC: Best STEM/​STEAM picture book you’ve read in the past year?

AR: Counting Birds: The Idea that Helped Save Our Feathered Friends by Heidi E.Y. Stemple, illustrated by Clover Robin.

RVC: Three words that encapsulate what a good picture book does.

AR: Interest. Educate. Inspire.

RVC: Thanks so much, Artemis!

Note to readers: Did you sleuth out which biographical lie was in that list at the top? The falsehood was … #7. Artemis always thought Beanie Babies were kind of silly. Nowhere near as cool as insects!