​How did you find your way to becoming a kidlit illustrator?

Before I decided to change careers, I used to be a high school teacher for German and English literature and so books always had a very important status in my life. When I had my three children, I obviously introduced them to kidlit early on and that’s when my creative side emerged again and it could not be stopped. It was a very powerful calling that made me see who I really am.

Your work infuses such true-to-life humor! How do you find your inspiration?

I just think I try to look at things in a humorous way whenever possible. Life can be too hard otherwise.

How would you say your cultural heritage influences your creative decisions when you are creating art for children?

My art is a direct reflection of my cultural heritage and upbringing—you will find a lot of the spirit of European kidlit or even music I was brought up with in my illustrations and stories. Themes with darker emotions are not taboo and unconventional characters are very common in European stories for children.

Please share a little about your process.

A normal work day without any pressing deadlines usually starts with a long walk with my dog to clear my head or even find inspiration in nature. Then I start drawing in my tiny studio until my children come home from school. In the evenings I often work on my manuscripts. 

When I’m working on projects together with editors, I usually spend some days reading the manuscript I’m supposed to illustrate. Then I begin rough sketching and collecting material. Next stage is the storyboarding and then, when everything has been approved, I start working on the final coloured illustrations.

What are you working on now? And are you enjoying it?

I’m currently working on a picture book about an English bulldog as the main character and am very much enjoying it. There are other projects in the pipeline I can’t officially talk about yet!

Thanks so much, Stephanie, for stopping by to chat with us about your publishing company Spooky Cheetah Press! It was a real delight working with you as a work-for-hire author!

Delighted to be here, Dionna, and I enjoyed working with you too!

Please share a little about yourself and how you eventually found your home in the kidlit industry.

From the time I was a very little girl, there was nothing I enjoyed more than reading. My parents always told stories of how they’d have to take a book out of my hands and push me out the door to play with friends. When I became an adult my father would love to remind me of how he would wake up in the middle of the night and find me up reading.

“Steffie—it’s so late,” he’d say. “You have to go to sleep.”

“I will—as soon as I finish this chapter,” I’d invariably reply.

That love of books continued throughout my life. So to say that I’m lucky to be making a living creating books is a huge understatement!

I started my publishing career as an editorial assistant at a magazine. The job was not very glamorous and at times downright awful, but at least the pay was bad!  My last job "working for the man" was at a continuity company in Stamford, CT. We produced card-and-binder and card-and-box series that were sold through the mail. The work was interesting and fun—and the job led to me starting my own business…and to marrying my husband! So all in all a good experience!

After I started my book producing company, I continued working with my old company. I produced a series in a variety of subject areas, but none specifically for young readers. Then, in 2010, the company hired me to produce a series with Sesame Workshop. My work on that series, called Elmo’s Learning Adventure, led to work with Scholastic’s school and library publishing division, which remains my biggest client to this day.

Twenty years ago, when you founded your company, how did you come up with the name Spooky Cheetah Press?

Again — that last office job! I was doing photo research for a book about African wildlife. In those days we still leafed through books for images and I was tagging photos that I wanted to look at again with the art director. I labeled one image “spooky cheetah” and we all just loved the way it sounded. (I’m also a bit of an African wildlife nut.) I left to start my company soon after and settled on that as the name—even though most everyone agreed it was a better name for a dance club than a book producing company!

As an editorial director, you are uber busy, working as a liaison between many different industry professionals—book designers, editors and art directors from different publishing houses and numerous work-for-hire authors and illustrators? What are some of the challenges you face while doing so, but why do you keep at it? 

There are definitely a lot of challenges that come along with my job—and a healthy amount of stress. However, all are outweighed (by about a million times) by how much I love what I do and how much I appreciate working for myself. My biggest frustration these days is "pulling teeth" to get what I need from a client to meet our deadlines. My biggest pet peeve (always) is contributors who complain and/or act like prima donnas. I do whatever it takes to get the job done well and on time—and to keep my clients happy. I expect the same from the subcontractors who work for me. (As I’ve said to my husband many times, I’m the grease, never the squeaky wheel. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that same consideration from the people who work for me.  Happily there are lots of them!)

What do you love about what you do, being in the thick of things, producing high-quality nonfiction books for children of all ages?

Everything! Nonfiction is so much fun for me. I’m super curious about so many things... working on nonfiction for kids gives me the opportunity to learn something new and interesting practically every day. 

Even more important, my job gives me the chance to (hopefully) impact young readers in a meaningful way. Over the past six or so years I’ve become a bit of a zealot about trying to instill a love of reading in young kids. I was lucky that my daughter joyfully took to reading as a very little girl. It breaks my heart to see how many other kids struggle to read and end up hating it—which of course leads to academic difficulties and setbacks all the way down the road. My greatest hope is that I can create books that might light a spark for a young reader. 

So far on your kidlit journey, describe an accomplishment/achievement that has brought you a sense of satisfaction, maybe one that surprised you?

The first time I felt a real sense of pride about what I do was when I worked on Elmo’s Learning Adventure. It was the first time I worked with a client who wanted exactly what I did—to push the kids and give them all the tools we could to learn and grow as readers and as human beings. (As opposed to "don’t use that word, kids won’t know what it means", or "we can’t talk about that…") The guiding principals so evident in the Sesame Street show were the same for our series. It was so gratifying. (Looking at photos of Muppets all day and writing in the voices of Elmo, Cookie, Grover, et al was pretty cool too!)

That was the start, of course. Working on school and library books for Scholastic continues to be very satisfying. Nothing’s perfect—and I’m certainly not saving any lives—but I can feel good about what I do. 

Are you open to working with new authors, illustrators and graphic designers? If so, how might they submit samples of their work to you?

Yes. Writers can send manuscripts that only they have edited through my website. Likewise designers can send a link to a portfolio. I just thought of another pet peeve! Contributors should look at my site and note what I do before sending anything. If we don’t seem like a good fit, we’re probably not. The submission will go directly into the trash. I can’t tell you how many solicitations I’ve received from business and finance writers who think they’d be "perfect" for me.  Whaaa????

Thanks oodles for stopping by, Kara, and  many more thanks for choosing my entry GOT ME A DADDY MAP to be on your 2018 Query Kombat team!

I'm happy to be here!

What did you enjoy about hosting the 2018 Query Kombat Kompetition along with Michelle Hauck and Michael Anthony?

I enjoyed the high level of camaraderie between Kontestants. It seemed like a lot of people made connections either through being on the same team or competing against each other. Getting into the contest is exciting for the month or so it goes on, but making connections with other writers can benefit a writer's career for years. To me, that's the real prize of Query Kombat.

I was truly surprised and delighted when my entry was chosen to compete. There were so many excellent entries across multiple genres, including queries and openings from young-adult and adult novelists. Why did you choose my middle-grade entry to be on your team of twenty-one kombatants?

I chose your entry because it absolutely dripped with voice! I think voice is more crucial in middle grade than any other age category. Others may disagree, but for me a strong narrative voice usually is what makes me pull a middle-grade book off the shelf.

How did you feel about someone from your team (yours truly!!!) being crowned 2018 Query Kombat Grand Champion?

Not gonna lie, having someone on my team win felt pretty good! I was just filling in as a host for Laura Heffernan this year, so to be honest, I didn't care too much about winning when we began. But having so many of my entries make it past the first couple rounds helped confirm to me that I do recognize good writing when I see it. Being in the publishing world for several years has helped with that, no question.

Thanks so much for chatting with me here on my blog, Kara! 

Delighted to be here, and congrats again! Don't forget to let me know when you sign with an agent!

When you first received the manuscript for BUSY-EYED DAY, what did you love about it?

I loved all the SPACE it left for the illustrator! The language is so playful and so unique, but also so open-ended. I knew it would be one of those texts where I would be so delighted and pleasantly surprised to see where the illustrator took it.

Do tell your thought process regarding who should illustrate it, and how did you come to choose Frann?

​Andrea Welch, the book’s editor, suggested we send this manuscript to Frann Preston-Gannon. She’d been a fan of Frann’s work for a long time and had been hoping to find the perfect manuscript to send to her. I agreed, just based on Frann’s style and the samples I saw, I knew I’d love what she did!

What did you appreciate about Frann’s attitude as she worked through revising the illustrations for this story?

Frann is a total pro, so the collaborative part of the process—the back and forth between her, me, and the editor—was productive and FUN (as I believe the picture-book process should be!). I’m a firm believer that books are always better when everyone (author, illustrator, editor, art director) is open to considering a number of different solutions for any one page. Frann had a great attitude about this and was always game for trying new things and pushing existing things a bit further. 

When you saw the text alongside the illustrations, what did you love about it?

Everything! I loved the relationships Frann built within this family, the way the kids played off each other, their mom, Grammy, the nuanced moments between them all. I also just loved Frann’s treatment of the lines of text that left so much room for interpretation, One-eyed Jack/Two-eyed Zach, in particular. 

Why do you hope children will receive a copy this book?

Aside from being a darling, playful, and gorgeous book, I like how this book invites readers to look closely at everyday moments and to play with language. Maybe after reading BUSY-EYED DAY suddenly that dog won't be just a dog, but will be a wide-eyed dog, and maybe a regular trip to the park will suddenly be filled with new detail and language!

BUSY-EYED DAY is a rhyming and richly illustrated picture book that celebrates the act of being observant and enjoying the magnificence found in the everyday world, perfect for the youngest of readers. It is written by Anne Marie Pace, illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon, and published by Simon & Schuster, with a release date of April 10. 2018. 
Order your copy of BUSY-EYED DAY from an indie near you.  ​​

​When you first received the manuscript for BUSY-EYED DAY, what did you love about it?

Whenever I get sent a text, the way I know it is right for me is that I am immediately hit with  an urge to start drawing. I found the sweet jollity of Anne Marie’s text instantly appealing and all I wanted to do was to start creating the characters of the two siblings. My mind led itself into the oasis of a city park and I wanted to get drawing as soon as I could. 


How did you do to get into the spirit of the story so you could tell it authentically?

This project was the first thing I came back to after my maternity leave for my first baby. For the three months previous, I had spent pretty much everyday pushing around my new-born in our local park. She was considerate enough to be born in June so thankfully my walks were taken through the summer months. 

My local park is huge and is right in the middle of Brixton in South London. If you walk to the top of the hill you can look back over the expanse of the city and see the imposing and impressive Skyline of London, while still surrounded by bird song and greenery. I used this time to take reference photos of trees and other elements of a city park that I could work from later on. Although the park in BUSY-EYED DAY isn’t directly based on my local park, it undoubtedly influenced by it!

Do tell! What was your illustrative process? 

All picture books usually start with a storyboard so you are able to map out the pages before you start the actual illustrations. This is an integral bit at this point, allowing you to nail the narrative, and that makes the illustrative process a lot easier later down the line. I also spent a while trying to get the characters right. After this I would create rough pencil sketches that I would scan into my computer and work on digitally to create a collage layered look. I'd then add textures to achieve my final colour spreads. All of this is done within Photoshop. I used a mixture of scanned in mediums, such as paint textures, and also Photoshop brushes to achieve the end result. 

Describe how you and your art director, NAME, worked together on BUSY-EYED DAY.

Creating a book is such a collaborative project. Often you will send your art director all of the storyboards that they then comment on and there is a lot of back and forth to get them to a place you are all happy with. I then started on the first round of “rough” illustrations. This took me a few months and, when I felt I was in a good place with these, I sent them off to the publisher. This is always such an interesting and nerve-wrecking point as, once they have been shown around to the appropriate people at the publisher, you receive back all the comments. When illustrating someone else’s text, this is also the point where they first see the interpretations of their words and I am always nervous to hear their thoughts! 

What are your plans for launching this book? 

As I don’t live in the States, I am slightly removed from directly launching BUSY-EYED DAY in bookshop events or schools. The book isn’t currently being published in the UK, so my main aim is to support it on lovely blogs like this one and also to make use of social media to get it noticed in the world! 

​Frann Preston-Gannon is a London based author and illustrator of books for children. Her books have been published worldwide and include THE JOURNEY HOME, DAVE'S CAVE, BECAUSE OF AN ACORN, and HOW TO LOSE A LEMUR. In April 2011, she became the first UK recipient of the Sendak Fellowship and spent a month in autumn living with and learning from the great master of illustration, Maurice Sendak, at his home in Connecticut. Fran can be found at frann.co.uk, on Twitter @frannpg, and on Instagram @frann.pg.

When you first received the manuscript for BUSY-EYED DAY, what did you love about it?

I loved the unusualness of it. The language. The wide-open illustration possibilities. The way it explored an important concept—opening your eyes to the wonderfulness in the world around us—in such a fresh, unexpected, and deceptively simple way. The text is very spare, and I think Anne Marie was concerned that it wouldn’t quite make sense to me because she included an explanation of what she envisioned was happening in the story on a second page. But that wasn’t necessary--I knew I was buying this manuscript after reading the first few lines!

Do tell about the acquisition process.

Anne Marie has a terrific agent, Linda Pratt of Wernick & Pratt, who knows my taste very well. Linda knew I liked Anne Marie’s work, and she had a hunch I would love BUSY-EYED DAY. She was right! She sent it to me, and as soon as I finished reading it, I shared it with my colleagues who loved it as well.

What did you appreciate about Anne Marie’s attitude as she worked through the story’s revision?

Anne Marie is a fantastic reviser. Each time I asked an editorial question, she responded with thoughtful, creative ideas. For instance, at the very beginning of the process we talked about the possibility of adding a refrain to the text to help pull it together, and she came up with the perfect solution. Then, as the artwork began coming in, we found ourselves wondering if we should tweak the wording in a few spots to complement Frann Preston Gannon’s pictures. Again, Anne Marie’s revisions were pitch-perfect and really brought the book to a whole new level.

When you saw the text alongside the illustrations, what did you love about it?

The finished book turned out even more terrific than I’d hoped. Anne Marie’s text is a delightful read-aloud. And there’s so much for kids to discover in Frann’s pictures. I also love how Frann’s illustrations perfectly capture the original tone and vibe of Anne Marie’s text.

Why do you hope children will receive a copy of this book?

I think little listeners and readers will respond to the fantastic language and engaging rhythm of Anne Marie’s text. I think they’ll see themselves in the playful and curious cast of characters Frann created. And I hope they’ll be inspired to get outside and use their own eyes to observe and explore the wonderful world that surrounds us.

Andrea Welch is Executive Editor at Beach Lane Books, a San Diego-based imprint of Simon & Schuster. She has the pleasure of working with a long list of talented authors and illustrators, including Liz Garton Scanlon, Denise Fleming, and April Pulley Sayre. Recent celebrated books she has edited include LIFE by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Brendan Wenzel; THE ANTLERED SHIP by Dashka Slater, illustrated by Terry & Eric Fan; and the New York Times bestselling LMNO Peas series. 

BUSY-EYED DAY is a rhyming and richly illustrated picture book that celebrates the act of being observant and enjoying the magnificence found in the everyday world, perfect for the youngest of readers. It is written by Anne Marie Pace, illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon, and published by Simon & Schuster, with a release date of April 10. 2018. 
Order your copy of BUSY-EYED DAY from an indie near you.  ​

When you first received the manuscript for BUSY-EYED DAY, what did you love about it?

I was drawn to the simplicity of Anne Marie’s text that is so beautifully crafted to make for a really fun read-aloud experience. There is such a lovely, joyful rhythm to the words.

What changes did you request from Anne Marie before you started the submission process?

I didn’t request any changes to the text. This was a text that Anne Marie had written when we first began working together. I sent it out to some places, but the thing that both she and I loved about it, i.e. the simplicity and joy of the text, were thought to be too slim at the time. So the manuscript was shelved for a good long while because trying to address that concern would change so much that it would become a different story.

Do tell your thought process regarding which editor you would send it to. Why were you pleased that Andrea Welch wanted to acquire it?

The funny thing is the idea of pairing Anne Marie and her editor, Andrea Welch came before the idea of sharing this particular text.  Andrea had considered a number of Anne Marie’s manuscripts over the years, and she always made clear that she was a fan of Anne Marie’s style even though the right fit hadn’t been found. I had a good idea of what Andrea might respond to at the time we submitted BUSY-EYED DAY. I was on the phone with Anne Marie describing what I thought that was, and it was Anne Marie, not me, who said, “OK, what do you think about BUSY-EYED DAY?”  I immediately thought, “Of course!” so I sent it to Andrea straight away. Andrea got back to me that same day, and she said “I love this!”.

When you first saw the ARC of BUSY-EYED DAY, what did you love about it?

I love that the cover captures the wonderment that is at the heart of the story. I also love the warmth of the family that comes through so clearly in Frann Preston-Gannon’s illustrations. 

What do you hope children will take away from this book?

To use their eyes to notice the small things that we encounter in our day-to-day lives, things that are ordinary and extraordinary all at once.

​Linda Pratt and friend and colleague, Marcia Wernick, established the Wernick & Pratt Agency in 2011. The agency represents authors and illustrators of children’s books with a focus on attending to their long-term careers and goals. Our clients range from award-winners and bestsellers to new and emerging talents. Among Linda’s clients are Richard Peck, Kathryn Erskine, Aaron Becker, Steve Light, Lita Judge, Anne Marie Pace, and LeUyen Pham, among others.  Linda is a member of SCBWI and AAR, and  has also served on the Rutgers Council for Children’s Literature, which plans the annual Rutgers One-on-One Mentoring Conference for five years.  www.wernickpratt.com

 BUSY-EYED DAY is a rhyming and richly illustrated picture book that celebrates the act of being observant and enjoying the magnificence found in the everyday world, perfect for the youngest of readers. It is written by Anne Marie Pace, illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon, and published by Simon & Schuster, with a release date of April 10. 2018. 
Order your copy of BUSY-EYED DAY from an indie near you.  ​

How did you come up with the idea for BUSY-EYED DAY? Did you have any challenges while writing it?

The original idea came from the initial couplet:  Big-eyed bug/Stalk-eyed slug. I seem to remember thinking it up while driving, so I asked my son to write it down for me on a scrap of paper. I had trouble coming up with enough bug-related verses to fill a manuscript, but when I remembered the fun my family had had on a day in Central Park a number of years ago, I was inspired to broaden my thinking about different kinds of eyes into its current incarnation.

How was writing this story different from some of your others?

Well, for one thing, it’s much shorter. I think it’s only about 60 words. For another, it rhymes. I write in rhyme about a quarter of the time, but this is my first published rhymer (another is coming in 2019!). Rhyming books are so much fun to read with kids, and they’re also good for kids learning to read, since the rhyming creates a structure in which kids are more easily able to predict new words.

Do tell about the revision process for BUSY-EYED DAY.

I think I did less revision on this manuscript than I’ve ever done for any of my other books, but there was still some. I didn’t do any for my agent; we sent it out just as I sent it to her.  After Beach Lane acquired the manuscript, there were a few changes, but they were pretty minimal. My editor Andrea Welch wanted me to add a refrain every few stanzas.  And there were small changes throughout.  For example, we talked some about whether girl and squirrel rhyme. They don’t rhyme in every English or American accent, but we decided to stay with it anyway. And there was a couplet that read Bog-eyed frog/Frog-eyed dog which was revised to read Side-eyed frog/Wide-eyed dog because there wasn’t really a bog; the frog is in a pond. The biggest change was the title, which was originally BIG-EYED BUG, but some people felt that promised kids a bug book and it’s not a bug book, so we went with BUSY-EYED DAY, which does keep its promise.

When you first saw Frann’s illustrations, what did you love about them? Did the end result surprise you in a good way?

Oh, gosh, this is hard because I’m not good at describing art.  I can tell you that as soon as Andrea mentioned Frann’s name and I looked at her website, I was smitten by her style.  I love the bright natural colors and I love the way she uses brushstrokes for beautiful, interesting effects. My favorite spread in the book is the last one, which takes a bird’s-eye view of the park and we can see all the different people and animals that Sammi and her family have seen during their busy-eyed day.

Why are you excited to see this book in the hands of children? 
​
Getting books into the hands of kids is the whole point and I like to see their reactions when they hear the story and see the illustrations. Hopefully, they will like it and not say, “Read a different one, Mom; this one’s not very good.” But that’s always a risk. (Smile!)

​Anne Marie Pace is a children's book author whose titles  include GROUNDHUG DAY (Disney-Hyperion, 2017, illustrated by Christopher Denise); PIGLOO (Henry Holt, 2016, illustrated by Lorna Hussey); and the published and upcoming books of the VAMPIRINA BALLERINA series (Disney-Hyperion, illustrated by LeUyen Pham), the inspiration for the hit Disney Junior animated series VAMPIRINA. New this spring is BUSY-EYED DAY (Beach Lane Books, illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon). Find her at annemariepace.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter and Instagram @annemariepace.

BUSY-EYED DAY is a rhyming and richly illustrated picture book that celebrates the act of being observant and enjoying the magnificence found in the everyday world, perfect for the youngest of readers. It is written by Anne Marie Pace, illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon, and published by Simon & Schuster, with a release date of April 10. 2018. 
Order your copy of BUSY-EYED DAY from an indie near you.  ​

What inspired you to write ONE DAY IN THE EUCALYPTUS, EUCALYPTUS TREE?

I wrote ONE DAY IN THE EUCALYPTUS, EUCALYPTUS TREE while I was attending graduate school and after I had just gotten back from a trip to Northern California, a coastal land where the eucalyptus tree grows like a weed. In order to help pay the bills, I worked as a janitor at my wife’s preschool. It was during those late hours until 11:00 p.m. and sometimes past midnight that I would make up silly songs to pass the time. As it happened, a silly song bounced around in my head as I was vacuuming up tiny little playground pebbles: “One day in the eucalyptus, eucalyptus tree, hung a scare in the air where no eye could see, when along skipped a boy with a twirly-whirly toy to the shade of the eucalyptus, eucalyptus tree.” And perhaps, as you read that line, you can imagine me moving through the preschool and including into my silly song various, haphazard stuffed animals that were housed on the shelves.

I wrote songs. I listened to music. I think you can see the compost heap of musical influences in the syncopated rhythms and near-rhymes in the book. In music composition, you have rhythm and beats and rests and time. But music is fluid and the tempo can change. There are various symbols in music that prompt me, the singer, to crescendo a line or to soften a phrase. I image these symbols as I write picture books. I choose words with certain syllables and stresses to guide the reader’s tongue. I use commas and periods and line breaks like rests in a line of music. I don’t know if this is called poetry, but when I write, I see music. I can’t help it.

What is one of the biggest challenges you face as a children's author, and how do you overcome that challenge?

One of the biggest challenges is finding the strength to try again even when you fail. I fail a bunch. Just ask my editor and my agent. Sometimes I wonder if they'll ever get sick of me and kick me to the curb. I spend months, even years writing a picture book, and when that picture book doesn’t work, there is an amazing sense of loss. Usually, after a manuscript gets rejected, I can’t write for one to two weeks. I’ve learned that this is okay. I’ve learned that the sting of loss is normal. As social scientist Brene Brown admonishes in her book Rising Strong, a loss must be addressed and emotional wounds must be allowed time to heal. Only when we can acknowledge the pain and allow time for healing can we stand up and try again.

What children's project are you working on now?

I am working on a bunch of projects. Like a musician playing music to soothe his soul, so I write for the love of writing. My graduate instructor, Phyllis Root, called such a lifestyle of writing “play.” I think of her often when I write. When I had the honor of studying under her at Hamline University, she never told me my writing was crazy or stupid, she just let me play and believed something wonderful would happen in that space between my heart and the page.

​This philosophy is important, because sometimes what I think is awesome isn't, and sometimes what I think is stupid is awesome. The best thing I can do is just write and let the chips fall where they may. I never know when a picture book will pop into my head. I always try to write it down. So, of the five picture books I’m writing now, I don’t know if you’ll see one or all of them. I’ve learned, or, I’ve come to learn that such a process of creativity is okay. Artists can’t stop creating. It’s what we can’t help doing. It’s what I can’t help doing.

​Daniel Bernstrom is the author of ONE DAY IN THE EUCALYPTUS, EUCALYPTUS, TREE--a rhythmic tale of a sneaky snake that has no idea his bellilicious delights are planning an escape!. Told In the spirit of There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, Daniel's rhythmically delightful text is a perfect read-aloud with gorgeous illustrations by award-winning Brendan Wenzel, published by HarperCollins in 2016. Daniel , a visually impaired author, has two forthcoming picture books being released by Harper Collins sometime in 2018. Daniel currently works as an adjunct instructor at Minnesota State College Southeast where he teaches creative writing, English, and speech. He received his MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University. Find him at lillylabs.com. 

How did you become the illustrator for SHORT PUMP BUMP! written by Angie Miles?
 
I was one of several illustrators who had been doing freelance work for Angie’s literacy website, HappyReading.org. Angie and I worked very well together from the beginning, and when she was ready to publish SHORT PUMP BUMP!, she made a point of reaching out to me to see if I was interested. She knows plenty of talented illustrators, so I was really quite honored.

Tell us about your process for creating the illustrations for SHORT PUMP BUMP!
 
Angie’s idea was to use photographs for most of the locations she wanted to feature in SHORT PUMP BUMP!, and for me to place illustrated characters in each scene. I opened her pictures in Adobe Photoshop where I was able to sketch the characters on a separate layer, similar to placing tracing paper over a printed photo and drawing on that. (I guess I should mention I use a digital drawing tablet from Wacom that allows me to draw directly in Photoshop.) Working digitally like this was a huge help, making it much easier to have the characters convincingly interact with elements in the photo. For example, one of Angie's poems needed to have characters not just walking down Monument Avenue, but also sitting on the curb or standing behind trees. Being able to work digitally helped me to keep the characters aligned perfectly with the photo during each stage of my illustration process. 
 
Once Angie approved a sketch, I printed a composite with the photo and traced my characters onto art paper using a Huion LED light board. Then I went over the new pencil drawing in ink using a crowquill pen. This process of working both digitally and traditionally is referred to as a hybrid workflow. Personally, I prefer working this way as I feel I have more control over my line-work using traditional art tools rather than drawing entirely digitally. After the inking is done, I scan my artwork and bring it into Photoshop where I place it on a layer above the photo, using my original sketch as a guide. The final stage is to add color, which is so much fun to do digitally. I love having the freedom to experiment with different color combinations quickly and easily. I can also easily make subtle adjustments to help balance out the colors of my artwork with the colors of the photo, which helps the characters fit into the scene better. And the best part is no messy brushes or palette to clean up afterwards!

Did you have any challenges along the way? Any unexpected surprises?
 
Many of the location photos I had to work with presented difficulties in terms of being able to easily place my characters the way I wanted. Angie took lots of pictures so I had multiple angles for each of the locations, but I still often found myself wishing I could somehow slightly change the angle or lighting of the photo in ways that even Photoshop can’t pull off. In the end, it was simply a matter of me pushing my ideas a little bit differently; working with the photograph, not against it.
 
The only unexpected surprise I can think of has to do with the illustration I did of Angie and me for the back of the book. When I first sent the final artwork, Angie asked if I could make an adjustment to her skin tone as she felt what I had done was a slightly off. She had sent me several photos of herself which I used for reference, so I was at a bit of a loss for what to do. In Photoshop, I can lift the color from any image and draw or paint with that color, which I had already done using the reference photos she sent. In fairness to Angie, she did acknowledge that the photos weren’t truly accurate representations of her skin tone in real life. We went back and forth a few times before she told me something like “I’m more caramel than mocha.” The “unexpected surprise” part of this story came when, out of desperation, I used a color sample of a picture of caramel I found online without telling her what I did. When she saw it, she said “That’s it! You got it!”

What do you love about the final product, published by Belle Isle Books, and have you had fun launching it?
 
I feel great joy of seeing something I spent several years working on in print and being read by kids and parents. I have to also say that I am really pleased with the job Belle Isle Books did on the design and layout. The colors they chose complement my artwork so well, and they did a nice job repurposing some of my characters for the non-numbered pages of the book. But my personal favorite was the way the title shows the “M” in Bump kind of jumping. (I’m a sucker for playful typography!)
 
Our initial launch was just before the winter holidays, so I have personally only had the chance so far to share the book with my family and close friends. I also set up my very first online shop on my website where people can buy signed copies of SHORT PUMP BUMP!, along with art prints and greeting cards. Angie has already done several school and library events, and we have plans on making joint appearances down the road. In the meantime, my first public event will be doing book signings at the SCBWI MD/DE/WV Annual Conference in Maryland this March, so I’m pretty excited about that.

Scott DuBar is an illustrator and graphic designer based in Charlottesville, Virginia. His vibrant and humorous work appears regularly on websites and in magazines across the country. In 2016, his illustration Underwater Tiger appeared on a limited-edition drink, Tiger’s Blood, from Mike’s HARDER. Scott’s first illustrated children’s book, SHORT PUMP BUMP!--a lyrical, spherical, rhyming romp through Richmond, Virginia, written by Angie Miles was released December 15, 2017 from Belle Isle Books and is available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Signed copies are available from Scott’s website at scottdubar.com.