Blog Posts - Kane Miller Books Friends

THE GATEWAY: AUTHOR MOTIVATION

12/7/2016

written by Cerberus Jones, author team of The Gateway

As a collaborative project between three authors, The Gateway series attempts to synthesize our different strengths into a single, cohesive vision. We aim to balance meticulously detailed, high-drama plots with richly drawn characters in an established and believable world.

It was a deliberate decision to use science fiction rather than fantasy as our vehicle, as it not only ensures a more consistent, logical universe, but also raises the stakes for the central characters - there are real consequences in the world of The Gateway, and no magic spells to wriggle out of them.
Our ambition was to write books that:

appeal equally to girls and boys. Amelia is the central voice, but Charlie is the loudest voice -- the two characters equally drive the narratives.
show kids actively engaging with the world. Amelia and Charlie deal with each new situation with bravery, integrity, logic and empathy. Though the aliens that arrive through the gateway often are cause for fear, confusion and disgust, just as often they provide the kids with an opportunity to meet the other with compassion, generosity and respect.
include healthy, honest relationships with adults. The usual trope in children’s literature is to first clear away the adults through abandonment, death or disaster, and then let the adventure begin. The adults in these books, though, particularly the parents, are reliable sources of protection, resilience, and affection.

Taken from Teachers’ Notes, created by Cerberus Jones, with thanks to Hardie Grant Egmont. Don't forget to check out Cerberus Jones' discussion of The Gateway's themes and writing style here. You can find the three parts of Cerberus Jones online as Chris Morphew, Rowan McAuley and David Harding.

You can find Kane Miller Books on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vimeo. Visit the “Talk, Play, Teach” page on this website for Discussion Questions and Teacher Tips for The Four-fingered Man.

INTERVIEW: MIRI-LESHEM PELLY (PART 2)

12/2/2016

One of the many storyboard drafts for SCRIBBLE & AUTHOR.

Miri Leshem-Pelly's Scribble & Author centers on the ongoing dialogue between Author and the protagonist of Author's design, Scribble. Readers follow Scribble as she sets off on the story Author has crafted for her, faces seemingly impossible odds and, with Author's encouragement, devises thoughtful and imaginative methods to overcome them. Scribble & Author speaks deeply to imagination, perseverance, and the very act of creating stories.

In the second half of Miri Leshem-Pelly's generous interview, she describes the process of designing a story, both in general and in the specific case of Scribble & Author, offers advice to children who themselves aspire to create books, and discusses the imporance of childhood reading. Enjoy! And don't forget to check out part one here.

Take us through the process of working on a project such as Scribble & Author. Did you come to the text first, or was it an initial illustration that then inspired the story?

Miri Leshem-Pelly: The starting point in this project was--what else--scribbles! :-) I scribbled on the page, looking for a new character, not knowing where it would take me. When I saw Scribble, I immediately fell in love with her and knew I’d found my new character. I wondered, What was Scribble looking for? What does she want? So I decided to ask her and guess what--Scribble answered! And so the story began to unfold. But it wasn’t that simple. Creating this book took me two years! I sent Scribble on many different adventures, over and over again, until the final story started to get its shape.

What emotional terrain are you taking the reader through in this story? Facing fears, ingenuity, the support of a good partnership. These are all things that stand out to me. Certainly, the mechanism of storytelling itself to ask questions and provide answers is a metaphor for meeting life’s challenges.

ML: I agree with your analysis. I wanted the book to be inspiring and empowering for the readers. It talks about overcoming fears and challenges, believing in yourself, making the efforts needed to achieve your goals. It also demonstrates the use of creativity and positive thinking to find solutions, even when the situation seems impossible.

Miri as a baby, reading a book. It's never too early to start reading!

What practical steps would you suggest to children who recognize in themselves the desire to write and/or illustrate books?

ML: I loved writing and illustrating when I was a child. I think this is a very satisfying hobby. First of all, I suggest reading a lot. Then, if you don’t know where to start, you can create an “ideas page,” where you write (or draw) all the things you love and pick one as a subject for your story. Next, draw the main character--person, animal or imaginary creature--and start talking with him--just like in Scribble & Author. This way you’ll get to know your character, his dreams and fears, problems and ambitions, and then I believe your story will arrive very quickly.

Finally, what to you is the value of early childhood reading?

ML: Books can open up both the mind and the heart of the young reader and enrich his life in many ways. Children have natural curiosity and a sense of wonder, and good books can satisfy these needs and deepen their understanding of the world around them, of other people, and of themselves.

Find information about Scribble & Author here and a direct link to the book here.

You can find Miri Leshem-Pelly online at http://mirileshem.com/english.

You can find Kane Miller Books on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vimeo.

INTERVIEW: MEREDITH COSTAIN (Part 1)

11/21/2016

The Ella Diaries series, written by Meredith Costain and illustrated by Danielle McDonald, chronicles the life of a quirky, spirited young girl as she faces the trials of elementary school and beyond. Diary entry by diary entry, Ella's charming and unmistakable voice knits each story into a vivacious series that refuses to be put down.

Meredith Costain generously agreed to devote some of her time to answering our questions. Here she discusses how her own childhood and relationship to the arts, including literature and music, laid the foundation for her career as an author. If you'd like to read more of her wonderfully insightful answers, keep checking back! You can find part two here and part three here.

As a child, what role did books play in your home? Was reading enjoyed as entertainment?

Meredith Costain: I was lucky enough to grow up in a house full of books. Stories were a part of everyday life. I could read before I went to school and spent many happy hours with my nose stuck in a book, especially on long car trips. I had a little light built into my bedhead and used to snuggle down under the blankets every night to read.

My family also read and recited lots of poetry — particularly the verse of A A Milne and C J Dennis, and Hilaire Belloc’s hilarious Cautionary Tales for Children. So my head was always full of rhythm and rhyme — like an internal clock. My cousins and I (The Thrilling Three!) produced our own newspaper and wrote and performed highly dramatic plays for our pets.

You’ve been writing and performing music since childhood, and you’ve since traveled the world and continue to play blues piano. Tell us about how that support of the arts and culture as a child ultimately impacted your ability to become a writer as an adult.

MC: My brother and sister and I were all encouraged to learn piano, and I had ballet lessons in a dusty old scout hall (the inspiration for Ballet Backflip). We had an ancient collection of classical music records and I used to dust the lounge room while leaping about to the music from the ballet Les Sylphides.
I went to a tiny rural school and rode my bike a couple of miles there and back. Maybe it was the rhythm of the bike wheels going around . . . and around . . . and around . . . but as I rode my head filled up with stories and poems of my own. Once home I’d grab an old exercise book and pencil and race up to our haystack where it was quiet and secret and private and scribble them down. (Now that I’m ‘older,’ if I get stuck with a storyline I find the rhythm of going for a walk or a bike ride will help the words to come. Especially if it’s in rhyme!)

My mum encouraged me to send my poems off to writing competitions. I won a few in my teenage years, but the highlight was a poem I wrote when I was nine. It was published in the children’s section of the ‘big smoke’ metropolitan newspaper and they actually paid me for it! I sat in my bedroom and made a solemn vow that I would be ‘an author’ when I grew up. I even picked out a pen name for myself!

Take a look at all the books in the Ella Diaries series: Double Dare You, Ballet Backflip, I Heart Pets, Dreams Come True, and Pony School Showdown.

You can find Meredith Costain online at www.meredithcostain.com.

You can find Kane Miller Books on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vimeo.

INTERVIEW: ANNA BRANFORD (PART 2)

11/15/2016

Anna Branford's Lily the Elf series is full of delightful, imaginative stories that follow Lily, a young elf who lives with her dad "in a tiny elf house, hidden under a bridge in a busy city," as she learns and dreams. Beside them lives her granny (in a granny flat!), and together the three of them form an empathetic, loving family that infuses every page with warmth.

Here is the second half of Anna's thoughtful interview, in which she discusses how her own experiences and her own surroundings have impacted her creative endeavors.

Don't forget to check out part one here.

You still have your childhood piano. Do you feel your parents’ support of artistic expression ultimately impacted your ability to pursue writing as an adult?

Anna Branford: My parents are both creative people in different ways from each other, and in different ways from me. My father has a very scientific mind but he also works with his hands, mainly building furniture and other useful things, so the soundtrack of my early life was one of hammering, sawing and drilling. My mother’s creativity has more of a visual focus and she often added the whir of a hand-turned Singer sewing machine to the cacophony. One Christmas that we spent in a country with nothing festive for sale, she created everything for us – decorations and gifts – from paper, one of her own nighties, and any other bits and pieces that were available to her. It was perfect. So it was very normal in our home for quite a few things to exist in the evening that hadn’t been there that morning. I think my own creative endeavors were just a part of that same flow.

Lily and her family live close to nature, as you did as a child and continue to as an adult. Are there any autobiographical qualities found in the Lily the Elf stories?

AB: Certainly there are. Lily’s world is full of tangled mossy roots and rainwater and birdsong and all the other things I love best. But I think the most autobiographical component of the Lily stories is just that Lily is a quiet sort of elf, inclined to spend quite a bit of time lost in her own thoughts and doing her own thing, which is very much as I am. In fact, I would struggle a bit to write a story about an outgoing, confident, noisy creature, because I can’t quite imagine what that would be like.

I was drawn to one of your blog posts — the magic and curiosity of experiencing the familiar as majestic, which Lily is forced to embrace any time she encounters something like a human’s ring (which she uses as a wading pool) or an owl, so much larger than herself. That shift in perspective--was that the original spark for this series, or was it something else?

AB: Thank you for reading my blog! Even though I have just the fondness for beautiful, natural places you’ve noted, and escape into them as often as I can, I actually live in quite an ordinary modern city. So one of the sparks for the Lily the Elf series is the search for the magical, beautiful places hiding in urban spaces. Children, I think, are often very good at finding them, and turning a small suburban park into a great wilderness, or a balcony garden into a place of mystery and magic. It’s something I love doing too, and can be a wonderful way of experiencing the familiar as majestic.

Take a look at all of the books in the Lily the Elf series: The Midnight Owl, The Precious Ring, The Wishing Seed and The Elf Flute!

You can find Anna Branford online at www.annabranford.com.

You can find Kane Miller Books on Facebook, Twitter, and Vimeo.

THE FOUR-FINGERED MAN: THEMES & WRITING STYLE

11/10/2016

Cerberus Jones, the three-part team of authors behind The Gateway series, here addresses the themes and writing style integral to The Four-Fingered Man. As the first book in its series, The Four-Fingered Man opens the door to a fascinating and wonderful new world, full as much of mystery and aliens as of family and friendship. Find more information about the series here and a direct link to the book here. Check back soon for more from Cerberus Jones!

THEMES & WRITING STYLE
by Cerberus Jones

As the first in an ongoing series of books, this story is principally one of new beginnings and discovery. The central character, Amelia, has been lifted out of her old, familiar life in the city and is forced to start from scratch in the tiny beachside town of Forgotten Bay. Here she must navigate not only the displacement of moving into a new house, but also a new school, new friends, and a new dynamic with her parents, who are also starting over with a sea-change from their top-level jobs in science and diplomacy to taking over the rundown Gateway Hotel.

Initially overwhelmed and disoriented, Amelia quickly engages with Charlie — her equal, but opposite in many ways. Exploring the hotel together, they realize that it is full of secrets and oddities. And with each new secret, Amelia is led first to doubt, then to suspect, and finally to distrust her parents. What she knows of their character through being raised and loved by them is called into question by the things she witnesses firsthand. How can she reconcile hard evidence with what she feels to be true about her parents?

In the story’s conclusion, Amelia is given the last pieces of information she needs to resolve the mystery. She is able to see that, with a different perspective, those same facts can be completely reinterpreted.

*

The Gateway books are classic, self-contained mystery stories, though amplified with science-fiction styling. As such, each book focuses on a central problem or puzzle, gradually reveals clues chapter by chapter, and invites the reader to participate with Amelia and Charlie as they attempt to analyze the facts, use logic to form, test, discard and refine hypotheses, and finally resolve the mystery.

As Amelia and Charlie are quite different characters, with different perspectives on what is at stake, they often come up with different theories; one tends to zero in on an element that the other has overlooked or considered irrelevant. As they wrestle with the problem, and argue out their reasoning, so the reader is encouraged to develop their close reading skills - to interrogate the text, engage actively as the story unfolds, and see if they can solve the mystery before the characters do.

Taken from Teachers’ Notes, created by Cerberus Jones, with thanks to Hardie Grant Egmont. You can find the three parts of Cerberus Jones online as Chris Morphew, Rowan McAuley and David Harding.

You can find Kane Miller Books on Facebook, Twitter and Vimeo. Visit the “Talk, Play, Teach” page on this website for Discussion Questions and Teacher Tips for The Four-fingered Man.

INTERVIEW: MIRI LESHEM-PELLY (PART 1)

11/8/2016

Miri Leshem-Pelly's Scribble & Author centers on the ongoing dialogue between Author and the protagonist of Author's design, Scribble. Readers follow Scribble as she sets off on the story Author has crafted for her, faces seemingly impossible odds and, with Author's encouragement, devises thoughtful and imaginative methods to overcome them. Scribble & Author speaks deeply to imagination, perseverance, and the very act of creating stories.

Miri Leshem-Pelly kindly agreed to answer some questions for us, so below you will find the first part of a two-part interview with Scribble & Author's author (and illustrator)! Here she discusses the influence of her own life on her work and what it means to write books for children. You can find part two here.

As a child, what role did books play in your home? Was reading enjoyed as entertainment?

Miri Leshem-Pelly: I grew up in Israel, near Tel-Aviv. My childhood house was filled with books, and I was inspired by my mother, who has always been an enthusiastic reader. Reading was one of my main hobbies, as well as writing and drawing. I feel so lucky that I got to turn my childhood hobbies into my profession!

What are the challenges and opportunities you face as a writer for children?

ML: As a picture book writer, the main challenge I face is the need to express an idea using a very limited number of words, while still keeping it communicative and engaging. Sometimes I find that the easy part is writing, but then comes the real complicated work of erasing…

The main opportunity for me in writing for children is that I get to stay a child myself! It connects me with my curiosity, enthusiasm and joy of life. And I also love to meet my young readers when I do author visits. I see this as one of the great perks of my work.

Are there any autobiographical qualities to this story of a scribble and an author? The conversation between you as illustrator and you as author, possibly?

ML: This is a very interesting question! But actually I don’t see the author and the illustrator in me as two individual beings… I see creating a book as one combined task.

However, I do feel that the conversation between Scribble and the author reflects an inner dialogue I have with my creation. I often wonder how much control I have over my characters and how much they get to lead the plot…

And there is one more dialogue in Scribble & Author - a dialogue between imagination and reality. I used photographs of real objects on top of the watercolor drawings to portray the conflict between reality and imagination. As a child I remember sometimes tearing apart my drawings in anger, because they turned out different than the image I had in my mind. But as I grew older I learned not only to accept this gap between imagination and reality, but to really love it. Today I try to let go and allow the physical materials (like, for example, the way watercolors are absorbed into the paper) to interact and influence my creation. This makes the art process much more surprising and fascinating.

How has your love of nature influenced your storytelling? Scribble, for instance, takes quite an adventure!

ML: I love nature! I grew up in a family of nature lovers and went on numerous trips as a child. Sometimes I used to complain about waking up early on vacation days to go hiking, while my classmates get to sleep late. But today I know that those family trips became my sweetest childhood memories: crossing rivers, jumping between rocks, or the satisfaction of reaching the mountaintop after a long, hard climb. So it was only *natural* for me to give Scribble a taste of these adventures.

Miri as a child and Scribble, both standing on a mountaintop.

Take a look at Scribble & Author here!

You can find Miri Leshem-Pelly online at http://mirileshem.com/english.

You can find Kane Miller Books on Facebook, Twitter and Vimeo.

INTERVIEW: ANNA BRANFORD (part 1)

11/4/2016

Anna Branford's Lily the Elf series is full of delightful, imaginative stories that follow Lily, a young elf who lives with her dad "in a tiny elf house, hidden under a bridge in a busy city," as she learns and dreams. Beside them lives her granny (in a granny flat!), and together the three of them form an empathetic, loving family that infuses every page with warmth.

Anna generously took the time to answer some questions for us. Here she discusses children's books--both writing them and experiencing them--and the kind of impact they can have both personally and on a much larger scale.

You can find part two of our interview here.

As a child, what role did books play in your home? Was reading enjoyed as entertainment?

Anna Branford: Books were a very important part of my early life. I still have some of my original childhood copies with inscriptions handwritten by my grandmother, who must have been sending them all over the globe! One of the reasons I think books mattered a great deal to me in my childhood was that we moved a great many times, so there was a lot of leaving homes and schools and friends and familiarity behind. Books made portable worlds where things remained constant. Even when the books themselves were left behind, in the new edition at a new school library I was able to find everything just where I’d left it. I still enjoy that feature of books when the world around me seems to be changing too fast.

Your own reading tastes are varied, from a love for the Ramona stories to bell hooks. There’s a great quote about Ramona — "She represents the kind of girl who has not been subdued by adults or the world in general." I’d love to know if this impacts how and why you write for children.

AB: That is a marvelous quote, and I agree with it very much. Ramona was and is a favorite of mine because she lets the reader right into her world and the funny tangles of her thoughts. She is good but not too good, in a way that makes her beautifully relatable and easy to feel very fond of. And because she never allowed herself to be subdued, none of it was ever compromised.

What are the challenges and opportunities you face as a writer for children?

AB: One of the challenges is creating stories for children in which there is magic, beauty and hope while being very aware that for many children life is incredibly difficult. In all of my children’s writing I would love to be able to lend a few extra details to the kind of inner life that a child might be able to carry with them through whatever is going on in the world around them, and find strength and solace in. That aim is both a challenge and an opportunity, I think.

I can’t resist adding a quote from hooks: “Life-transforming ideas have always come to me through books.” What to you is the value of early childhood reading?

AB: Another wonderful quote. My favorite parts of books, whether for children or adults, are the parts that allow people to feel understood in the very feelings, thoughts and experiences they’d imagined were theirs alone. Without intruding or presuming, books offer us company in the strangest corners of our minds. Many a transformative sentence begins “You know that feeling when…” followed by something that sounds obscure but in fact goes right to the heart of the actual experience of being a person. It’s as true when you’re five as when you’re fifty, and just as important, I think.

Take a look at all of the books in the Lily the Elf series: The Midnight Owl, The Precious Ring, The Wishing Seed and The Elf Flute!

You can find Anna Branford online at www.annabranford.com.

You can find Kane Miller Books on Facebook, Twitter, and Vimeo.

interview: melanie hope greenberg (americanly)

9/1/2016

Americanly, by Lynn Parrish Sutton, is the follow up to the birdily, bugily, hugely, shyly Animally. The tender "I love you" refrain continues, this time accompanied by illustrations from Melanie Hope Greenberg.

Kane Miller Books invited Melanie to share some insight into life as an illustrator, the challenge of painting some of the United States' most iconic sites and scenery and—as always—the power of early reading and books in the home.

Kane Miller Books: As a child, did you have books in the home?

Melanie Hope Greenberg: I grew up in a lower middle class neighborhood in the South Bronx. My parents were first generation Americans. My father owned a luncheonette and my mother was a homemaker. We had books on our shelves but not a lot of them. I can remember Disney books, Little Golden Books, a Bumper Book of nursery rhymes and Nancy Drew Mystery Stories. My father was an avid book reader. My two older sisters taught me to read before I started kindergarten. My exposure to the creative arts at home were through TV, movies and lots of music. Reading became more prolific once I started school. I also loved to borrow books from the local Clason's Point Library.

KMB: When did you first become aware that "illustrator" was an occupation?

MHG: My oldest sister became a professional clothing designer which convinced me that one can earn a living through their talents. My first professional job was with UNICEF Greeting Cards, in 1981. I also became a member of the Graphic Artist Guild where I learned about the National Stationery Show held in New York City. After attending the show with my art portfolio I started to earn part of my livelihood as a greeting card illustrator. Many people said my colorful whimsical art style was perfect for picture books. I was already a professional illustrator by time I entered the children’s book publishing world. A book agent saw my client list and understood that I ran an art business. From there, I learned the craft of picture book creation and it was a natural fit.

KMB: Did you encounter any barriers while pursuing your interest?

MHG: All. The. Time. I’ve been in children’s publishing since 1985. The publishing world has gone through drastic changes with never-ending new technologies. Many of the skills from my early career are completely different from the skills I need today. To survive, I surf the waves of changes and trends while maintaining artistic truth. With so much information overload, I need to stay quiet during the day for balance, for trusting the muse and my instincts.

KMB: What are the challenges you face as an illustrator for children, and what have those taught you?

MHG: I’ve learned how to perceive my art challenges as fun. With painting fiction picture books the challenge is to figure out the book’s continuity or the invisible glue that binds the story from beginning to end. Illustrating for children allows multi-layered portrayals of silent stories, moods and actions that the text may not describe. Once an informed message or the theme of a book is realized, illustrating that vision becomes fun. For instance, I’ve illustrated Mother Nature as a Caribbean Islands lady on the New York City subway, and gardens with curved lines because nature has no straight lines. However, certain books are not esoteric, they are straightforward, such as Americanly.

The challenge with painting Americanly, a non-fiction picture book, was to create accurate yet stylized depictions of iconic architecture, natural landmarks and parks. — Melanie Hope Greenberg

KMB: How did you determine how you would present perspective in each?

MHG: I tried to be as creative as possible with each composition. There were 44 illustrations and I did not want looking them looking alike. I used boxes, art popping out of boxes and vignettes. Working to Lynn Parrish Sutton’s text, I experimented with layouts in a book dummy or a fake book. I cut paper to the size of the book, then played with shapes to create the compositions for each spread. Because the text rhymes I had to be sensitive to the pacing, working with the poem’s rhythm for every page and page turn.

Some of the illustrations required more reworking than others. For example, here is an example of how the illustrations progressed for the depiction of the North Atlantic tide.

KMB: What advice would you offer aspiring illustrators for children’s books?

MHG: Find love and joy in the practice. Become excellent at your craft through practice until creativity becomes a way of life and perhaps your livelihood. Read, read, read.

KMB: Finally, to you, what is the power of literacy and early reading?

Reading opens our minds and hearts to the world. Reading moves humanity forward in evolutionary progress. Literacy brings diverse communities together to understand our unity as well as our individual places in the world. A bird flies with two wings, inspiration and self-effort: to read is to fly. — Melanie Hope Greenberg

KMB: Thank you, Melanie!

Buy your very own copy of Americanly.

Visit Melanie Hope Greenberg at www.melaniehopegreenberg.com and on Facebook.

Visit Kane Miller Books on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Vimeo!

Interview: Katherine Woodfine (The Mystery of the clockwork sparrow)

7/21/2016

Recently orphaned Sophie Taylor, now a shopgirl at London's newly opened Sinclair's department store, finds herself implicated in the theft of the priceless clockwork sparrow in this Edwardian mystery adventure. The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow is the first book in a fiction series by debut author Katherine Woodfine. The second book, The Mystery of the Jeweled Moth, is also available from Kane Miller.

When you're done reading, hop on over to Katherine's website for a host of videos in which she talks more about her influences. And be sure to check out Katherine's Edwardiana board on Pinterest! It's superb!)

Katherine Woodfine introduces The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow, and takes readers on a tour of her favorite parts of London, England. This video is available on our Vimeo channel to view, share and download (link).

Kane Miller: What attracted you to the Edwardian era and why you chose to set the character of Miss Sophie, a young woman with contemporary ideals, in that time period?

KW: So many of the books that today we think of as the "classics" of children’s literature were written during the Edwardian era–The Secret Garden, The Railway Children, The Wind in the Willows, Peter Pan and many more. I grew up reading those books, and I was enchanted by the world they depicted. In some ways, it seemed incredibly innocent and old-fashioned: a story-book land of hot buttered toast for tea, and little girls in velvet frocks and frilly petticoats. Yet at the same time, the heroes of these stories had real and often frightening hardships to deal with–from Sara Crewe being banished to the attic by the horrible Miss Minchin in A Little Princess, to Mole’s adventures in the nightmarish Wild Woods in The Wind in the Willows.

Perhaps because of all that childhood reading, the Edwardian era has always fascinated me. What’s more, there are surprisingly few children’s books written today that are set during that time. We’re used to encountering historical adventures set in Victorian London, and books set during World War I, but the Edwardian period is a fascinating little space in between the two that we don’t tend to hear quite so much about, but is rich in incredible history.

When I came to write The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow, I knew straight away that I was going to set the book during the 1900s. I wanted to write something that was inspired by my own childhood reading–both classic children’s adventures, and the mystery stories I devoured growing up–so the historical setting came very naturally. The Edwardian era was also a time in which things were changing rapidly and the old rigid rules of Victorian society were beginning to break down, which perfectly suited the story I wanted to tell–about a group of young people who became friends and solved mysteries together, in spite of coming from very different backgrounds.

I also knew that I wanted the story to have capable and independent young heroines. We’re used to seeing the character of the downtrodden orphan girl in Edwardian children’s literature, but I wanted to put my own contemporary spin on that familiar character–and in doing so to have the opportunity to challenge some of the outdated stereotypes that we so often see in children’s books of that period.

The author's hometown.

It’s been great fun writing about Sophie and Lil, who are absolutely Edwardian girls from the top of their straw sailor hats to the tips of their buttoned boots–but who I hope are also characters that children today will be able to relate to. And ultimately, I’d love to think that Clockwork Sparrow and Jeweled Moth might inspire some young readers to go off and discover some of those wonderful Edwardian children’s classics for themselves too!

KM: As a child, what role did books play in your home? Were they available as entertainment?

KW: I was absolutely obsessed with reading as a child. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love books! I’d often get in trouble for reading in bed after "lights out" or trying to sneakily read my book at the dinner table.

There were always lots of books at home, because my parents were both readers. I especially enjoyed reading the books that my mum had kept from her own childhood, mostly old hardback editions of books by authors like Enid Blyton, Malcolm Saville and Lorna Hill. We read together a lot. I particularly remember my mum reading me The Hobbit, and we also listened to lots of audio books. I have very fond memories of audio recordings of Winnie the Pooh, the Roald Dahl books and lots of children’s poetry.

A hugely important part of my childhood was visiting the local library every Saturday, which was the highlight of my week! The library was one of my favorite places, and there was nothing I liked better than coming home on Saturday laden down with a pile of new books to read.

KM: When did you first become aware that "author" was an occupation?

KW: As a child, I don’t think I made a connection between the names I saw on the covers of books and real people. Growing up in a village in Lancashire, in the north of England, I didn’t come into contact with writers. I went to a small village school, and author visits were unheard of: the most exciting book event was when the mobile library came to visit. As a consequence, "authors" seemed like rather magical, otherworldly figures.

It probably wasn’t until I was 10 or 11 that I realized that being an author was a real occupation. Even then I had no idea how you could go about becoming one. If you were good at writing, the careers advice you were given at school tended to suggest areas like journalism or law. Being "an author" was never really presented as an option.

When The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow was first published in the UK, I went back to my old primary school to do an event, which was a very special experience. It was lovely to speak to the children, but also to know that, as a result, they might be more aware that a writing career was possible for them. Although I hope the idea of writing for a living still has a bit of magic about it, hopefully "being an author" will be something much more real and achievable to them as a result.

KM: What challenges do you face as an author for children, and what have those taught you?

KW: I love being a children’s author; it really is a dream come true. However, I do think that one challenge can be that children’s books are still often seen as being less "worthy" than adult books.

I’d like to see children’s books get the same kind of coverage in the media that books for adults receive. It’s so important that parents and teachers can access information about children’s books, but also it’s hugely rewarding to discuss children’s books as literature in their own right.

With this in mind, a couple of years ago, some friends and I started up a monthly children’s books show, called "Down the Rabbit Hole," on a London-based radio station. Each month we have authors and illustrators join us in the studio to talk about new children’s books, from picture books through to YA, and we’ve seen for ourselves what a delight it is to have a proper space for a meaningful discussion of children’s books. (You can find out more and listen at Down the Rabbit Hole.)

KM: Did you encounter any barriers while pursuing your career as a writer?

KW: Pursuing any career in the arts can be challenging. I always knew that I wanted my career to relate to books, and ideally writing, but I didn’t really know where to start. I was fortunate enough to have some tremendously encouraging teachers while I was at school, and I went on to study English Literature at University, but after that I was unsure what to do next.

I was interested in working in publishing, but soon found that the vast majority of jobs were in London, where it was expensive to live and I didn’t really know anyone. Starting salaries were low, and most jobs required at least some relevant work experience or an internship. It all seemed rather out of my reach, so I ended up getting a job in an art gallery and bookshop in the city of Manchester, close to where I grew up. I kept exploring my love of books and writing in my own time, studying for a part-time MA in literature, writing a blog and entering a few writing competitions.

A couple of years and a couple of jobs later, I found out about a great role in London that had become available at a big reading charity, working on projects relating to children’s books. I now had plenty of relevant experience to offer, and getting to work with some of the UK’s best known children’s authors and illustrators was incredibly exciting.

What’s more, working in the children’s book world also gave me the opportunity to learn more about the publishing industry, and gave me the confidence to take my own writing further. I now combine my own writing with working on a handful of children’s books projects that I love: the radio show, Down the Rabbit Hole; reviewing books for a children’s magazine; and running YALC, a huge YA convention that takes place in London each year.

ADVICE FROM A WRITER:

Write as much as you can. I wrote non-stop as a child–stories, diaries, plays for my friends to act out, my own "newspapers" and I think all that time that I spent writing has helped me hugely. Writing is like a sport–you have to keep practicing!
Have fun with it. Play, enjoy being creative and let your imagination loose. Don’t worry too much about spelling, punctuation, neat handwriting and getting it perfect (I realize this is contrary to what a lot of teachers might tell children at school, but I think it’s so important to have some space to simply be imaginative without worrying about getting it "right.") Just enjoy exploring your ideas; you can always fix the spelling later!
Try to finish projects if you can. It can be tempting to abandon a piece of writing and start something new–but you’ll get a huge sense of achievement from completing something. Once you’ve finished a piece of writing, put it away for a while, then get it out again and read it with fresh eyes. Think about what you could do to make it even better.
Read as much as you can! Reading will help you enormously if you want to become an author. Try reading a range of different kinds of books, and find out what kinds of writing inspires you, and connects with you, the most.
Finally, stick to it, be determined and have faith. There’s no single route you have to follow, but it pays to be open to opportunities, be flexible and to learn as much as you can about your industry. If it’s your passion, then keep writing. Whatever you're doing, make sure you find space for it in your everyday life. For me, it’s been a bit of a wiggly path to get here, but I feel very much as though all the twists and turns have led me to exactly the right place.

From Katherine Woodfine's Edwardiana Pinterest board.

KM: Lastly, to your mind, what is the power of literacy and early reading?

KW: I am so passionate about the power of reading. Literacy really does transform lives, and children’s books are hugely important. They are often the first works of art we encounter, and those early experiences can have an enormous impact on how we feel about reading–and about the arts–for the rest of our lives.

Books also offer children valuable opportunities to learn, to use their imaginations, to broaden their horizons and to experience a range of different perspectives. In today’s world, I think it’s more important than ever that children are offered that opportunity to look beyond their own experiences, to empathize and to make connections with others from the earliest age. Books are an incredibly powerful tool in doing exactly that.

KM: Thank you, Katherine!

Order The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow and The Mystery of the Jeweled Moth.

Visit Katherine Woodfine at www.katherinewoodfine.co.uk.

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interview: Kevin Frank (Scurvy Dogs)

7/21/2016

Scurvy Dogs is a fully illustrated middle grade graphic novel for kids who like silly books. Let Kevin Frank take you on a swashbuckling journey like no other!

Kevin Frank answers our questions and treats us to an early sketch from the book!

Kane Miller: As a child, what role did books play in your home?

Kevin Frank: We loved books in our home. My dad would read stories to my brother and me before bed each night (Watership Down was a favorite), and my mom was our church librarian for a while. They kept a close eye on how much TV we watched, but there was no limit to how much time we could spend reading. Summers included frequent trips to the public library where I checked out every science fiction book they had to offer (it was a small-town library), along with every "how to draw" book I could find. We also took advantage of the school book club program. When I was in grade school, I remember ordering a book described as something like "young boys stranded on a desert island learn how to survive," which sounded like an exciting adventure story. It was Lord of the Flies, and it took me years to really appreciate that book.

KM: When did you first become aware that "illustrator" was an actual occupation?

KF: One of the how-to-draw books I found at our library featured a section on careers in illustration/cartooning. It must have been from the 1950s because all of the photos were of men wearing fedoras and suits, sitting at drafting boards. Not a very realistic view of the industry even when I was young, but it did pique my interest: "Wait… people get PAID for doing this?" I was hooked. But I have yet to meet any fellow authors or artists who work in suits and fedoras all day. Most of us can't be bothered to get out of our PJs.

KM: Did you encounter any barriers while pursuing your professional interests?

KF: Honestly, no. Sure, it's difficult to get published (and paid!), but I get to do something I really enjoy, and then get the added pleasure of sharing my work with others. And most times I even get paid. I know people who have encountered real barriers in life, and I'm fully aware of how fortunate I have been. Although I did once get a wicked paper cut.

KM: What are the challenges you face as a writer/illustrator for children, and what have those taught you?

KF: I started writing for my own children, naturally, so I learned firsthand some of the things that did and didn't work. I found that pictures can tell a story too, and how disarming that can be for children. They think that they aren't reading, but of course they are; they're just reading a different language. Combining words and images in a format like a graphic novel helps to expand their grasp of narrative—"It can be like this. Or it can be like that.”—to be followed by questions: “What else could it be like?" I think that's very exciting.

KM: Scurvy Dogs features a crew of backyard pets seeking adventure as pirates. Are you a keen observer of animal behavior?

KF: No, not at all! I just decided that if Snoopy can imagine he's flying a World War I Flying Ace, then my dogs could imagine that they're ferocious pirates. But I have not observed any actual dogs in pirate costumes in my neighborhood.

KM: Did you always envision Scurvy Dogs as a graphic novel?

KF: I envision everything as a graphic novel! I wish I could draw myself in this interview…of course, in my PJs. That's how I frame stories, through a combination of words and pictures. For instance, why would I describe three dogs paddling a shopping cart when I could draw it? Plus, there are details I can add to a story through images that I would not be able to squeeze into the word count of an early-reader story. It's such a cliché to say that a picture is worth 1000 words, but there is truth to it, and this means that I'm inserting 1000 words into every page of my stories.

Work flow from SCURVY DOGS, by Kevin Frank (Kane Miller).

KM: What steps would you suggest to a child or anyone with an interest in becoming an illustrator?

KF: Practice. Not exciting advice, I realize, but that's really all there is to it. Do it. Do it again and again. And try to do it better each time. Then find something that interests you, and write (or draw) about that. Monsters? Horses? Aliens? Toast! Dirt! Tell that story! It's YOUR story and you're the only one who can tell it.

Next, get your story published, it doesn't even matter where. Find the place that will accept your work; some magazine or blog or school newsletter will take your story or art, but seeing your work published is an infectious thrill that will spur you on to create more and better work. "My work has been seen in..." All it takes is once. Then you use that first publication as a stepping stone to getting your work accepted elsewhere.

KM: To you, what is the power of literacy and early reading?

KF: For me, early reading is worthless if it's not fun. Nothing squelches a new reader faster than being forced to read some book they hate. That's why I write books that I want to read myself. I confess that sometimes I crack myself up while reading my own stories, and I hope that joy translates to my readers. All the opportunities that early literacy give to children can be so easily forfeited by one or two boring books. That's the secret power of pictures in a story. They're fun, inviting and engaging.

KM: As are you, Kevin! Thanks for chatting... and thank you for Tinkles! We love him!

This promo video is available on our Vimeo channel to view, share and download (link).

Order Scurvy Dogs to meet Tinkles and the whole hilarious cast of characters!

Visit Kevin Frank at www.kevinfrank.net.

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