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I was always fascinated by the image of the green, crumpled elephant in Babar. Green and crumbled because,  “Alas, that very day, the King of the elephants had eaten a bad mushroom. It poisoned him and he became ill, so ill that he died. This was a great calamity.”

And that was the end of the issue. On to naming the new King who was, of course, Babar. The matter-of-fact way in which it was all dealt with was quite gratifying.

In thinking about some of my favorite picture books, I realized that many of them have that same matter-of-fact attitude toward misfortune. I mean where are Eloise’s parents? When I read Eloise to my daughters, the question never came up. Why should it when Eloise is living her life with such aplomb?

Who didn’t want to her appendix out after reading Madeline? Or, if not that, at least a broken arm and a big dramatic cast to show off at school?

Bad things happen. As a child, I found it scary, intriguing—and encouraging—when bad things happened in books. Encouraging because I felt trusted with grown-up information; yet even more encouraging was the fact that bad things happened, but I could move on. I couldn’t have put it in words, but the message was misfortune didn’t mean despair.

Now, as a grown-up writer of picture books, I wonder if we’ve gone too far in stripping “bad things” from our mainstream picture books?

In my picture book “Just a Minute” I couldn’t get away with Mom leaving 8-year-old Johnny in the big, busy ground floor of a department store under the watchful eye of “Mabel, selling socks.” The sales clerk Mabel, became Auntie Mabel, for everyone’s comfort.

Banished was even the hint of a possibility of something bad happening—which we won’t mention, because it is so horribly bad, but we all know is the barest chance our child might get kidnapped. Rather than spare my child the thought of being left to wait by themselves with Mabel selling socks (and spare myself the thought of what might happen!) I’d suggest reading “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry.

A funny, ridiculous story like this of a kidnapping gone very badly awry is encouraging in the most basic way—and that, rather than a diet of constant, unspoken fear seems much better nourishment for ourselves and our children.

In another picture book of mine, “A Christmas Crocodile,” [Maw Books review] a crocodile gets delivered to the wrong address on Christmas Eve (as if there’s a right address to deliver a crocodile on Christmas Eve…). The crocodile eats up the family’s big, elaborate Christmas. And for a while there was some discussion with the publisher of ending the book with an illustration of the family redecorating a new tree.

But I had very deliberately not gone there in my ending. The family had the best Christmas ever, but all was not restored. Sometimes something good is lost (the crocodile ate all the presents, too) but it’s fine. And David Small, the illustrator, agreed. (Little did I know at the time, what David knew about things not being restored. If you haven’t read his graphic memoir “Stitches” I’d recommend it.)

Could a story like “Sylvester’s Magic Pebble” by William Steig get published today? Sylvester turns into a rock. Our main character, a child, has disappeared, apparently died and his parents are left in mourning! Some kids’ story!

Everyone is sad, but even so, Sylvester tries to get used to being a rock. Fall comes, winter passes and in the spring, Sylvester’s parents come to the rock for a picnic. Sylvester’s father says, “Let us try to live again and be happy even though Sylvester, our angel is no longer with us.”

Sadness is acknowledged, but the story isn’t sad. Not only because the reader knows that Sylvester isn’t dead, but because of the straightforward march of the story. The voice seems to say, bad things happen. Winter comes to us all, but even so winter always turns to spring. It’s just a matter of fact.

Thank you so much Bonny Becker for being with us today courtesy of Provato Marketing.  Visit Bonny at her website as well as the Maw Books reviews and interview found at the links at beginning of article.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

Maw Books:  Would you briefly introduce yourself and the picture books that you have authored.

Mary Nethery: I’m the author of picture books Hannah and Jack (Athenuem); Orange Cat Goes to Market (Shaw’s Imprint, Candlewick); Mary Veronica’s Egg Orchard/Scholastic); and The Famous Nini: A Mostly True Story of a Plain White Cat Who Became a Star! (Clarion, Spring 2010). I also co-authored with Kirby Larson, Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship and Survival (Walker), and Nubs, the True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle (Little, Brown, Fall 2009).

I live and write in California with my darling husband and a new baby muse, Dash. Our son, H.A., is a Ph.D. student in philosophy at the University of Duquesne.

Maw Books:  What drew you to writing for children?

Mary Nethery: My mom says I started drawing while in the crib, using my fingers to paint pictures on a damp window-a possible prerequisite for writing? I began to write my first “novel” (with pictures-maybe it was a graphic novel!) as soon as I learned to write in first grade. I wrote all the way through high school, but got pragmatic in college. The absolute pleasure of reading to my son, H.A., brought me back to writing. I realized that the people I admired most were writers-the way they can make you laugh, cry, and just shake your head in awe. I wanted to be able to do that.

Maw Books:  In addition to your picture books you also have published stories in magazines.  Is there a different thought process when you sit down to write for a picture book as opposed to a short story?

Mary Nethery: A picture book is an art form that uses words and art to convey the full power of story. When I write a picture book text I think in on-stage scenes. I consider page turns. I think about the arc of the story and how it should progress through 32 pages with a quick denouement (the “aaah” factor) on the final page. A story created for a magazine must also follow story structure but it can’t rely on the art or the picture book format to carry any aspect of it. So that means making different decisions about what you’re going to include or not include in the text so the story is fully comprehensible on its own.

Maw Books:  In my interview with Kirby last September, she talked a bit about what inspired the two of you to write The Two Bobbies.  We’ve heard her side of the story, what’s your side of the story?

Mary Nethery: It was Kirby’s idea for us to consider writing together, and I must say, “Brilliant idea, Kirby!” We decided we wanted to write about animals, specifically relationships between different species. Lots of possible stories later, I saw the two Bobbies on Anderson Cooper 360 and it just hit me like a brick. This was our story to tell, a gift to Kirby and Mary!

Maw Books:  How fun to be looking for a story and finding a great one!  Also, what is it like to co-author a book with another author, particularly Kirby?  Are there advantages and disadvantages to working together?

Mary Nethery: What’s it like to co-author a book with another author? In a word, if it’s Kirby, fabulous! There’s nothing quite like growing a friendship and a story at the same time. We always put our friendship first-we make sure nothing jeopardizes that. Then at the top of the list is story. Always be true to the story, give it everything you’ve got so it has the best chance to move the reader and make a difference in the world. I’m a lucky person. I learn lots from Kirby-not only is she a brilliant writer, but she’s an authentic, generous and lovely person who knows how to live the writer’s life. You just can’t help but adore her! There are no disadvantages!

Maw Books:  What was your reaction to hear of Bob Cat’s passing and do you know how Bobbi the dog is doing?

Mary Nethery: I cried. It broke my heart. Kirby and I had a plaque engraved for Melinda. It reads: “Bob Cat- Bobbi and Melinda’s Angel, An Inspiration to All.” Melinda had Bobbi come into the room to say goodbye to Bob Cat, and I know that had to be hard-beyond-words for both of them. Melinda has since rescued another cat who looks amazingly like the illustrations of Bob Cat and came with the same name! He’s cousin Bob Kitty. Melinda goes into classrooms with Bobbi to read Two Bobbies, and it helps to cushion the sadness children feel when they learn of Bob Cat’s death. But it was that spunky little Bob Cat who brought my new kitten Dash to our family. After Bob Cat’s death, Melinda told us she’d found Bob Kitty on Petfinder. Kirby and I, of course, rushed to Petfinder to see if we could see his picture. But, no cat, no picture. He was actually on another site. While I was rummaging around on Petfinder, I thought I might just sort of see if there might possibly be any rescue Bengal kittens available. My beloved Asta, a marbled Bengal, had died of lymphoma a year and a half ago and I couldn’t stop grieving for him. There was 3 month old Dashiell, cute as a button, already spoken for, but that didn’t stop me. I lit the candles on my funky altar and before long he was flying from Atlanta, Georgia to California to assume his new role as Baby Mewz. Right now, he’s taking a power nap in his favorite chair! Even Muses need a break.  Here he is in all his Baby Mewz glory:

Dash, the Baby Mewz (all he needs is a cigar!)

Maw Books: That looks like one relaxed kitty!  I noticed that in Mary Veronica’s Egg that all the characters are named Mary:  Mary Veronica, Mary Louise, and Mary Margaret.  Your name is Mary too.  I had to ask:  what was the thought process behind naming your characters all Mary, especially because that’s your name?

Mary Nethery: Well, I’ve never quite forgiven my mother for naming me Mary. Somehow it just doesn’t fit. I always wanted a boy’s name and I always liked my sisters’ names better-Gina and Anita. So I gave Mary Veronica two sisters, named everyone Mary and gave them my sisters’ middle names-Margaret and Louise. Any resemblance to actual persons is entirely coincidental.

Maw Books:  I can’t help but notice that all of your books so far are about animals!  Can you tell us about this obvious passion who have for animals and what draws you to write about them?

Mary Nethery: Oh, I’m definitely passionate about animals. I think they’re the most beautiful and under-rated creatures on earth-I believe in the power of animals to evolve the human spirit. I spent most of my childhood in the company of animals. My friends always say, “If I ever came back as a cat, I’d want to be your cat!” I take that as a compliment. One of my fondest dreams is to “sit” with a tiger. Just sit there in peace and feast my eyes on such beauty. I almost got to once, but no cigar. Yet. When my husband and I were in Kenya and Tanzania, every cat came to say “hey.” The other three people on safari with us had begun their safari before we arrived and they’d seen like one cat. I get in the land rover and we’re surrounded!

Maw Books:  Tanzania, how fun!  Education and teaching is obviously very important to you.  You have a degree in music (I’d love to know what you play!) with minors in art and English Literature (now that combination is just begging for a picture book to result from it!) with a Master’s in curriculum design.  You have also taught school and coordinated professional development.  If a child were to tell you that school isn’t important to them or it’s just too hard, what would you tell them?

Mary Nethery:  I play guitar and piano and I also do vocals. I think the minors in art and English Lit were definitely inspired by my days in the crib! A part of my presentations to kids is about the power of intention. Every child in the room has the capacity to create her own life. Some have more resources and support than others. But you work with what you’ve got and you believe in abundance and things happen. I also show kids that in order to become a writer or an artist (and lots of kids wish they were writers or artists) you have to go to school. It’s not going to happen any other way. Go after what you want.

Maw Books:  What is the best thing about going into schools for presentations?  Do you have any favorite experiences that you’d like to share?

Mary Nethery: I really enjoy school presentations. What I see in children is their glorious brilliance-they never cease to impress me with their insights and the quality of their questions. I like the kind of interaction between presenter and young audience-it’s typically more dynamic than adult to adult, I think.

One of my favorite experiences was presenting in Illinois and having two little gentlemen absolutely enthralled because I was from California- which translated to Hollywood for them. They were kids who weren’t doing so well in school, but came up after the presentation to give me their artwork, which when I looked at it, I thought, “Wow, you guys have something going here. Keep it up!”

Maw Books:  Describe yourself as a reader. What books or authors influenced and inspired you as a child? As an adult?

Mary Nethery: My favorite things about reading are finding books with humor, characters I want to keep as BFF, and insights into the human condition that are illuminating. The writer that influenced me the most, early on, was James Marshall. His quirkiness, droll humor, and sense of abandon and authenticity struck me as something I wanted to emulate. But I never got to meet him, drat. One of my favorite novels is How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff. I admire how she drips in the back story as if it were on an IV. That book has haunted me ever since I read the last line, closed the book, and said goodbye to her cast of characters and dystopia she so artfully created. I also love Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials Trilogy (especially the animal daemons); and M.T. Anderson’s Feed because it’s so visionary and written in such a cohesive style. My favorite picture book is Martha Speaks by Susan Meddaugh-I adore the sentient Martha! Wish I would’ve thought of that conceit!

Maw Books:  If you could have dinner with any three living authors or illustrators whom you have not yet met, whom would you choose?  And are you the type of person who would host at your home or would you go out?

Mary Nethery: Well, if we’re fantasizing here, I’d own a home that looks like it belongs in Tuscany or St. Remy and we’d eat in the courtyard by candlelight and the scent of lavender. And we could do that because I’d have my own chef and housekeeper. I’d invite Meg Rosoff, Susan Meddough, Philip Pullman and M.T. Anderson. There are more, but my courtyard isn’t that big. Oh, but we could fit one more, Maira Kalman, because I adore Ooh-la-la (Max In Love). Just think of the dinner conversation we’d have!

Maw Books:  Perfect!  I love it!  What’s the last book you finished, what’s on your nightstand right now and what’s in the wings waiting for you to read?

Mary Nethery: I just finished Jennifer Allison’s Gilda Joyce, The Ghost Sonata. I’m now reading The Time Thief by Linda Buckley-Archer from the Gideon Trilogy (lovin’ it). And waiting for me is M.J. Rose’s The Reincarnationist, and The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene.

Maw Books:  This is a question that I ask every single author I interview.  And that is to share a recipe with with us which I then later try to make and spotlight on my blog.  You already have a recipe that you’ve contributed to the book Authors in the Kitchen.  Which recipe was it and would you be willing to share it here?

Mary Nethery: Writers in the Kitchen was compiled by Tricia Gardella, a dear friend. Here’s the recipe I contributed in honor of my Italian grandmother:

My Nonna’s Gnocchi

1.5 pounds of potatoes
1 cup flour
1.5 teaspoons salt

Boil, then finely mash the potatoes. Gently knead in the flour and salt. Form the dough into a ball. On a floured board, divide the ball into 4 equal pieces. Make a snake out of each piece. Cut each strip into 1 inch squares. Drop the squares into a pot of boiling water. When they rise to the top, boil for one more minute. Place in a serving dish and add a marinara or pesto sauce, topped with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Gnocci is an Italian comfort food! Enjoy! (Sorry this is a messy recipe to make, though.)

Maw Books:  What do you do outside the world of books?  Is there a profession other than your own you would like to attempt?

Mary Nethery: I’m always at my computer doing writing things. But I do love to travel to exotic places, eat desserts (especially frosting), play with Dash, find a great fashion piece on sale for lots and lots off, go out to dinner, movies and the theatre with my husband, and spend time with my writing friends. Other professions I’d like to attempt? Maybe a recording artist-I used to sing for my supper when I was in college, or maybe a fashion designer. Sometimes I think it would be exciting to be an ER doctor, but the blood would make me faint. Now that I think about it, I’d love to star in a soap opera!

Maw Books:  In addition to Two Bobbies, I understand you are in the final edits of another book , Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle that you’ve written again with Kirby Larson which will be published this fall.  Will you also tell us about that?

Mary Nethery: What I can say about this story is that it’s truly inspiring, the story of a lifetime. We’ve read about dogs in Iraq who’d been rescued and brought to the states by our men and women in uniform, but none who’d manifested his own destiny like Nubs did. This is a story of the power of love to flourish in even the most dire of circumstances. Everyone involved with Nubs’ story has shown such generosity of talent and love for this project, creating an absolutely stunning book that will make your heart a little bigger after reading it.

Maw Books:  I can’t wait to read it.  Tell us about The Famous Nini:  The Mostly True Story of a Plain White Cat Who Became a Star!

Mary Nethery: I never met a cat I didn’t love! One night I was watching a documentary on cats when I came upon Nini’s story. The idea that a simple white cat could somehow command world attention in the 1890’s didn’t surprise me, but it did intrigue me. Working with the New York Public Library, I found a few books that talked about Nini. Then, finally, I uncovered the person who originally brought Nini’s story to public attention-Jan Morris, a British historian, author and noted travel writer. I contacted her and asked if she knew exactly how Nini became a star. I was surprised and happy when she wrote me back. She said, “Oh I am so sorry, but all I know about the cat Nini I put into those books, and since I gathered the information in the late 1950’s, I’ve really forgotten where it came from!” Now I knew it wouldn’t be possible to solve this mystery. But I remained captivated. What could a cat in Venice in the 1890’s possibly have done to capture the attention of so many celebrities on the world stage-Verdi, the King and Queen of Italy, the Emperor of Ethiopia, Czar Alexander III, Pope Leo XIII? This is what inspired me to write The Famous Nini. I wanted to give Nini his very own story with a beginning, a middle and an end. To write that story, I posed the question: What does a cat have to offer that no other creature possesses? I found the answer in a simple truth- a purr, one of the most primal and soothing sounds in the universe, a gift only a cat can give.  Nini comes out from Clarion in 2010 and is illustrated by John Manders.

Maw Books:  I don’t know anything about Nini.  I can’t wait to read that one as well!  Is there anything else that you’d like to add for our readers?

Mary Nethery: I think I’ve babbled on far too long!

Maw Books:  Thank you so much for joining us today!  It was fun!

Visit Mary at her website.  I loved chatting with Mary and it was my pleasure to host her today courtesy of Provato Marketing, for other stops on the tour please check www.provatoevents.com.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

The anticipation in this book is really fun.  I was pretty sure that I knew what was in the egg but I was second guessing myself until the very end.  There is also some fun words that would make this a fun read-a-loud book like zinger, zapper, zowzer.  I also liked how it addressed how we don’t always get what we want, we have to deal with disappointment.  But also how are faith and confidence pay off in the end.

Mary Nethery website and Paul Yalowitz website.  Mary is also the author of Hannah and Jack, Orange Cat Goes to Market, and Two Bobbies:  A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship and Survival coauthored with Kirby Larson.  I reviewed Two Bobbies this past fall and highly recommend that you go read the review and my interview with Kirby in preparation for a author interview with Mary Nethery tomorrow!  Two Bobbies is a very touching story and I’m excited to talk to Mary about it!

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

Bonny is the author of The Christmas Crocodile (my book review), My Brother, The Robot (my book review), Holbrook: A Lizard’s Tale (my book review), Just a Minute, An Ant’s Day Off (my book review) and her newest A Visitor for Bear (my book review).  A Visitor for Bear was adorable and will easily be one of my favorite picture books this year.  A Visitor for Bear was also shortlisted for a Cybils award.  Needless to say, I’m excited to have Bonny with us today.  So let’s make her feel welcome . . .

Maw Book:  Welcome Bonny! You’re newest book A Visitor for Bear is receiving a lot of attention, selling well, receiving awards, and making short lists.  What are you thinking or feeling about reader reaction to A Visitor for Bear?

Bonny Becker: I’m thrilled! So many people have told me how “A Visitor for Bear” is their child’s favorite book or how their three-year-old will suddenly use a phrase from the books, exclaiming things like “Begone!” and “I am undone!” I mean, how cool is that? I have to admit, I really love the idea that this story is part of someone’s life. It’s an amazing feeling.

Maw Books:  What led you to write A Visitor for Bear instead of any of the other stories you could have written?

Bonny Becker: Stories have a certain “energy”. When I first started writing, I pretty much wrote or, at least, started writing most ideas that came to me. And then down the road I’d find out that there wasn’t enough there to keep me going. But I’m much better now at knowing the stories that have “something.” And I could just feel how fun this story would be to write.

Maw Books:  What’s your favorite scene that you wrote for the book?  Why?  And also, what is your favorite illustration as well?

Bonny Becker: I think my favorite scene is when Mouse wins Bear over as they sit having tea. It’s one of the last scenes I wrote as I struggled with how the dynamic would change between Mouse and Bear. I really like it because it ended up turning on Mouse just appreciating Bear—which is something I really believe in: that most of us thrive on simply being accepted and appreciated.

I’m not sure I can pick one favorite illustration. I love the spot illustration of Mouse peeking out from a bowl. I really like the ending illustration. All of Mouse’s reactions throughout make me smile. If I could pick one for my wall I realize I couldn’t decide on just one.

Maw Books:  Authors normally don’t give any input regarding the illustrations.  The illustrations for  A Visitor for Bear are WONDERFUL.  What was your reaction when you first saw the illustrations and what is your experience like to collaborate on picture books with an illustrator?

Bonny Becker: Kady MacDonald Denton is the illustrator and I was ecstatic when I saw her early sketches. I had no clear idea what Mouse and Bear looked like. I knew their personalities, but had no image in my head. Kady’s pictures were them! There they were on paper.

I always liken the author-illustrator relationship to that between the buyer and seller in a real estate deal. It all goes through an agent—in this case, the editor. At first it’s scary to give up any say-so in the illustrations. But, I’ve been lucky and had wonderful illustrators, including Kady, David Small, Jack E. Davis, and Nina Laden who did things I could never come up with.

I’m also really excited about the art in my new chapter book “The Magical Ms. Plum” that’s coming out this fall. The artist is Amy Portnoy. This is her first kid’s book, but she’s published some cartoons in The New Yorker and places like that. Her style is funny and warm.

Maw Books:  Holbrook, A Lizard’s Tale is about an artist who feels that he has something special inside of him, a way of seeing the world,  Holbrook hopes to find someone who will appreciate his artistic talent.  Is there a little bit of you inside of Holbrook?

Bonny Becker: Oh, yeah. Totally. I can’t remember when I didn’t want to be a writer. It goes way back and has been a major force in my life. But I do believe that everyone has that “big thing inside” (as Holbrook thinks of it.) And it expresses itself everywhere–skateboarding, cooking, engineering, science, being a good mother, knitting, custom cars, teaching–it’s everywhere! If you look around any room everything, everything is there because of human creativity.

Maw Books:  You grew up in a large family – I know how that goes, I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters myself – and you say that you have a lot of chaos in your life. Was any of that inspiration for both My Brother, the Robot and The Christmas Crocodile?

Bonny Becker: Absolutely. In fact, I worked the names of my brother and 4 sisters into “My Brother, the Robot.” I loved growing up in a big family. You have the same family size I did, but you had a nice even split of boys and girls. My family is still really close.

Maw Books:  Is there a particular book or scene that you feel most proud of?  And why?

Bonny Becker: That’s a tough question. I’m really proud of “A Visitor for Bear” and feel really good about the upcoming “The Magical Ms. Plum.” I think because both feel like I got it right. They’re not necessarily perfect. But I like the way each makes me feel. I hope I captured a kind of emotional experience that I really wanted to capture.

Maw Books:  If you could go back to the very beginning, would you change anything about the way you write?  Would you change anything in any of your books?

Bonny Becker: If I could go back, it would be nice if I knew then what I know now. In other words, I’d be more skilled and have a clearer sense of the kind of things I wanted to write. But I don’t think there’s any way I could have had a short cut to that. Having more confidence—that would have been good. I would tell my younger writing self not to worry so much. But my younger self would probably ignore me.

Maw Books:  What motivates you to write for children and young readers?

Bonny Becker: Reading as a kid was some of the most meaningful reading of my life—getting totally lost in Narnia and Oz and Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane. I really want to recreate that enchantment for myself and for my readers.

Maw Books:  What are some of your favorite experiences so far from book signings, school visits, interviews, and other promotional activities for your books?  Are there any particular moments that stand out to you that make it all worth it?

Bonny Becker: Well, one of the funniest moments was at a reading for “A Visitor for Bear.” A boy, maybe three or four, couldn’t wait to tell me something, but his mom made him wait patiently until I’d finished. At last it was his turn. He stood up, walked right up to me and announced in the loudest possible voice, “Today, I pooped in the potty!” He was enormously satisfied with himself. No buried potty training trauma for that kid!

A really meaningful moment, was at a school visit where a girl came up and told me that her brother had read “Holbrook: A Lizard’s Tale” and had decided to become an artist. Wow! You can’t have a bigger impact than that!

Maw Books:  I’m in the midst of potty training right now!  Ugh.  What are the challenges of being a children’s book writer?  Particularly in a time, when publishers aren’t doing very well in this economic climate?

Bonny Becker: It’s hard to find that line between being a commercial success and writing meaningful stories. Kids publishing has become a business that is so much more than writing a good book. I’m sure there’s always been that element, but now it’s huge.

I can’t decide how much time and energy and resources to spend on marketing versus what I put into my writing. You can’t just write your book and then sit around waiting for the world to come to your door. And, you really have no business complaining if they don’t. But I also see marketing and promotional efforts that, at least for me, would suck up all my time and energy! So I’m struggling to find that balance. And this is true for all the writers I know.

Maw Books:  Do you keep up with the blogs of the kidlitosphere?  Which do you read regularly? Have you considered starting your own blog?

Bonny Becker: I check in most days. Among others, I read Fuse 8, BookMoot, Bookshelves of Doom, Chicken Spaghetti, Educating Alice, Jen Robinson’s Book Page, laurasalas, Mother Reader, Oz and Ends, Read Roger and Seven Impossible Things before Breakfast.

Starting my own blog is something I think about all the time. It’s part of that “write my books” “market my books” dilemma.

Maw Books:  All right!  I had all but one of those blogs in my reader!  Great blogs!  What were you like as a young reader?  And what are you reading now?

Bonny Becker: Voracious and enthralled. I just finished Neil Gaiman’s “A Graveyard Book” which I enjoyed immensely. I’ve also started in on re-reading a lot of fantasy—from the Narnia books to “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell” by Susanna Clarke, because I’m going to teach a class on fantasy next fall.

Maw Books:  What is your favorite word?

Bonny Becker: Noooooo. That’s like asking which eyeball do I want to live without. I can’t do it.

Maw Books:  And conversely, what is a word you hate?

Bonny Becker:  Utilize. (“Use” works just fine!)

Pus (shudder)

Maw Books:  Eeww.  Pus I agree with.  What’s the best writing advice that you have ever received?  And what’s the best writing advice that you could give?

Bonny Becker: Received: “If you’re easily discouraged, you should be.”

Given: “All you need to do, all you can do is simply the next draft.”

Maw Books:  This is a question that I ask of every single author I review and that is to share with us a recipe, either one that appears in their books or a personal favorite.  I later try to make the recipe and blog about it.  Is there a particular recipe that you would like to share with us?

Bonny Becker: This is a cookie recipe I make every Christmas with my daughters:

Chocolate Mocha Pecan Balls

Ingredients
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
½ cup granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups finely chopped pecans
Confectioners’ (powdered) sugar for coating the cookies

Directions

In a bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter with the granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, the espresso powder, the cocoa powder and the salt. Beat mixture until it is well combined.

Add the flour. Beat the dough until it is just combined and beat in pecans. Chill the dough, covered, for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and arrange the balls about 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Bake the cookies in batches in the middle of the oven for about 12 to 15 minutes or until they are just firm and let them cool for 5 minutes on the sheets.

Toss the warm cookies in batches in a bowl of the confectioners’ sugar to coat them well. The cookies may be made 2 months in advance and kept frozen in airtight containers. Makes about 95 cookies.

Maw Books:  Delicious!  I can’t wait to try them!  Tell us about A Birthday for Bear and A Bedtime for Bear (I believe there is yet a third?)  What do you love so much about mouse and bear to continue on with the series and when can we expect to see them in stores?

Bonny Becker: In “A Birthday for Bear” Bear is his fastidious, grumpy self on his birthday—even denying that it is his birthday. Mouse disguises himself as various deliverymen, etc. trying to get Bear to admit it’s his birthday and enjoy the day.

In “A Bedtime for Bear”, Bear has Mouse over for Bear’s first ever sleep over. But in order to sleep, Bear does need quiet, absolute quiet. To Bear’s great frustration and growing annoyance, Mouse is not as quiet as a… well, you know.

“Birthday” will be out this fall in the form of an early reader. “Bedtime” will come out in 2010 as a picture book and then will come out in an early reader format. Candlewick is interested in developing a picture book and an early reader line for these characters.

Kady is illustrating the upcoming books and is doing another incredible job.

Maw Books:  Tell us about The Magical Ms. Plum?  What is it about and when can we expect to find that out as well?

Bonny Becker: “The Magical Ms. Plum” is a middle-grade chapter book about a teacher with a magical classroom—more specifically a classroom with a magic supply closet. Any kid who goes in there to get something for Ms. Plum ends up finding a magical, miniature animal and has an adventure. It’s episodic—each chapter features a different child, a different animal and a different experience. Ms. Plum and her classroom are exactly the kind of thing I would have loved to happen as a kid. Magic! Magic! Magic! That’s what I wanted more than anything in the third and fourth grades.

Maw Books:  What are you working on now?  And what are your continued goals and aspirations for the future?

Bonny Becker: I’m working on an older age novel—say 10 to 14 year olds. And it too is about magic.

Maw Books:  Wonderful!  Thank you so much Bonny for being with us today!  And I wish you much success.  Needless to say, I can’t wait until Birthday for Bear and your other books!

Bonny Becker website .  Thanks again to Bonny Becker for appearing, courtesy of Provato Marketing, for other stops on the tour please check www.provatoevents.com.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

No one ever comes to Bear’s house.  And he quite likes it that way.  He doesn’t like visitors and to make sure that it stays that way he has a big “No Visitors Allowed” sign on his door.  One morning, he hears a tap on his front door.  When he opens the door there was a small, gray, bright-eyed mouse.  “Go away,” says the bear and goes back to making his breakfast.  But the mouse keeps popping up in the most unexpected places.  When he first finds the mouse in the cupboard, he asks for a spot of tea.  “Out” commands the bear and shows him the door.  And again and again and again.  The mouse finds his way back in the house and each time the bear shows him the door.  Bear boards up the windows, stops up the chimney and even plugs the drain in the bathtub.  But there’s the mouse!  Will he ever be able to get rid of him?  And will he regret it if he does?

So delightful.  A perfect book to read-a-loud.  Young ones will love to find the mouse as he manages his way back into the house.  A beautiful story about friendship.  And the illustrations.  The illustrations!  Kady MacDonald Denton has created the cutest book with soft colors done in watercolor, ink, and qouache.  There are several more Bear and Mouse books in the works and that’s a good thing because you won’t be able to get enough of them.  A Visitor for Bear was nominated for a Cybils award and at our recent Children’s Literature Book Club meeting where we discussed all the nominated books, this book was everybody’s clear favorite.

Loved it!  And guess what?  Tomorrow is an interview with Bonny Becker!  So excited!  This book is one of my favorite picture books this past year, so it’s fun to talk with Bonny.  I can’t wait to share it with you.

Bonny Becker website and Kady MacDonald Denton website.  Bonny is also the author of  The Christmas Crocodile (my book review), My Brother, The Robot (my book review), Holbrook: A Lizard’s Tale (my book review), Just a Minute, An Ant’s Day Off (my book review).

Seriously.  Somebody tell me that they don’t like this book.  Because I don’t think you would dare.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

From the dust jacket:

Holbrook loves to paint.  He has to paint.  But no one in the dusty town of Rattler’s Bend understands how important art is.  Hoping to find someone who will appreciate his artistic efforts, the young lizard, sets off for Golden City – where he encounters a colorful cast of characters, from singing snails to streetwise pigeons.  The elegant mink and renowned art patron Count Rainer Rumolde takes Holbrook under is paw and introduces him to the great artists of the day, among them the prima ballerina Margot Frogtayne and the gifted tenor Enrico Esccargot.  But not all that glitters is gold, and Holbrook soon finds himself trapped in a frightening world he didn’t know existed.  His only chance of escape is to rely on the few tools at his disposal – imagination, courage, and newfound friends.

I really enjoyed reading this story of a lizard who loved to paint.  Holbrook has big dreams and living under a rock (literally) isn’t going to make him famous anytime soon.  He knew he was meant to be an artist.  He saw the world like nobody else saw it:

He knew his pictures didn’t look exactly real.  Not like a real creosote bush or a real red-tailed hawk.  But he wasn’t trying to do that.  He had been able to draw how things looked practically since he was hatched, scratching pictures in the dirt with a twig.  He wasn’t trying to show how things looked; he was trying to show how they felt.

The characters in Holbrook:  A Lizards Tale were really fun.  Each one was inspired by a famous artist.  For example Holbrook’s painting which he hopes to enter into an exhibition is clearly Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night.  Margot Frogtayne, is Margot Fonteyn, a famous ballerina.  Enrico Caruso is a Italian singer played by Enrico Esccargot.  Other artists such as T.S. Eliot, Andy Warhol, and Rod McKuen make a appearance.

It’s a relatively quick read that I think both kids and adults will like.  It may introduce kids to new concepts such as sweatshops and will also be sure to inspire the artist in them.  Kids will enjoy this story of following your dreams even when in the face of adversity.

Bonny Becker’s website.  Bonny is also the author of  The Christmas Crocodile (my book review), My Brother, The Robot (my book review), Just a Minute, An Ant’s Day Off (my book review) and her newest A Visitor for Bear (my book review).  It’s my pleasure today to review Bonny’s books as well as host Bonny in a wonderful interview tomorrow.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

Of course, Chip isn’t happy about the whole thing.  Especially, when Simon turns out to be the perfect addition to the swimming team.  Chip realizes that his team and his dad doesn’t need him anymore.  Not when they are winning match after match.  As annoying as Chip finds Simon, he soon finds out that he was sold at a discount for a reason.  He’s not like the other robots: he’s got feelings.  And in the end, it’s the feelings that will make all the difference.

My Brother, The Robot is a fun book that will appeal to young boys.  And to those who know they are far from perfect.

Bonny Becker website.   Bonny is also the author of  The Christmas Crocodile (my book review), Holbrook: A Lizard’s Tale (my book review), Just a Minute, An Ant’s Day Off (my book review) and her newest A Visitor for Bear (my book review).  It’s my pleasure today to review Bonny’s books as well as host Bonny in a wonderful interview tomorrow.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

Bart was shocked when he popped his head out of the sand mound and saw the great big blue sky.  At a creek, he meets two frogs who eye Bart a little to hungrily.  He hops on a leaf and rows down the creek, discovers a huge flower and decides to enjoy his day in the sun.  That is until a bee shows up!  His adventures continue when it begins to rain and he knows he needs to make it back inside as quickly as possible.  But can he get past the guard?  Will he be able to tell his friend Floyd all about the big world outside?

Reading An Ant’s Day Off made me want a day off now and then.  But sigh . . . my bosses wake me up at 4 in the morning and then proceed to kick my head after they’ve crawled in bed with me.  They are mean and cruel slave masters.

Bonny Becker’s website and Nina Laden’s website.  Bonny is also the author of The Christmas Crocodile (my book review),My Brother, The Robot (my book review), Holbrook: A Lizard’s Tale (my book review), Just a Minute, and her newest A Visitor for Bear (my book review). It’s my pleasure today to review Bonny’s books as well as host Bonny in a wonderful interview tomorrow.

So if you had no limitations, no responsibilities, and could do anything you wanted, what would be your perfect day off?

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

So on to The Christmas Crocodile by Bonny Becker which is illustrated by David Small. What a fun Christmas book!  On Christmas Eve, Alice Jayne finds a crocodile underneath the tree with a red bow around his neck.  It wasn’t there for long.  Because he ate it.  And then he ate some of the presents, a shoe, and the Christmas roast.  While he wrecked havoc on Christmas, everybody had differing opinions on what should be done with him.  Uncle Theodore wanted to send him to Africa, Aunt Figgy wanted to send him to an orphanage, and her father to the zoo but all that Alice Jayne wanted was to give him a home.

They all decided to sleep on it before making a decision, but the crocodile escaped from the basement and decided to take a little nibble of Aunt Figgy’s toes.  Alice Jayne understood that he didn’t mean to be bad.  Not really.  It’s not his fault that he eats up all of Christmas.  What are they going to do with him?

I just might have to add this picture book to my Christmas book collection.  The text is really fun, the illustrations by David Small are even funner.  For a picture book, the text is on the longer side side but I can’t imagine it even shorter.  There is something new to discover on every page.  I love how the book ends.  It will have kids giggling with imagination.

Bonny Becker website and David Small website.  Bonny is also the author of My Brother, The Robot (my book review), Holbrook: A Lizard’s Tale (my book review), Just a Minute, An Ant’s Day Off (my book review). and her newest A Visitor for Bear (my book review).  It’s my pleasure today to review Bonny’s books as well as host Bonny in a wonderful interview tomorrow.

Have you had any Christmas disasters that you can contribute to a pet?  Let’s hear them?!

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

Maw Books:  Welcome!  Would you both take a moment to introduce yourselves and share a bit about you.

Carmela D’Amico: I’ve been writing since I could read. I love reading, hearing, telling and writing stories. I feel so very fortunate that I get to do what I love!

Steve D’Amico: I was the school “artist” at my elementary school, drawing dinosaurs, hot rods and superheroes for the other kids. I became the cartoonist for my high school newspaper and then went on to study design and art in college. I was a window display artist at Macy’s for almost 10 years, where I met and married Carmela. She was a writer and I was an illustrator, and we were both very interested in children’s literature…so a book was bound to arrive sooner or later.

Maw Books:  My husband is also an artist.  You seriously are giving me ideas that I’ve never thought of before!  Most authors do not collaborate with the illustrator for their picture books.  But you have the advantage of being married to each other!  What is it like to work together on the Ella series?  What are the advantages and the disadvantages?

Carmela D’Amico: The advantages are vast. When I write a picture book, I write in such a way that half or more of the story will be told via the illustrations. I’m a very visual/conceptual thinker so this comes pretty naturally to me. I have shown picture book manuscripts that are text alone to friends and editors alike. Even though I include a description of what will be happening visually on every page, it’s hard for others to see what’s going on in my head. (Imagine that!) Often when an editor or friend sees the illustrations later on, they’ll say things like, “Oh, I never realized THAT was what was going on.”

Steve and I know each other so well and we’re so symbiotic when working together, he can practically pluck images out of my mind and render them onto the page.

Steve D’Amico: Working as a team we’re able to make adjustments and revisions on-the-fly, before editorial input. Once we’ve cross-checked each others’ work and we feel things are solid, then we forward our work to the publisher. It’s a very synergistic way of working.

Maw Books:  Who came up with the idea of Ella in the first place?  Carmela or Steve? Did it seem a natural idea to tackle the project together or did you have misgivings in the beginning?

Carmela D’Amico: I came up with the idea of Ella. It definitely seemed natural to tackle the project together. We’d considered working on a children’s book together for some time.

Steve D’Amico: My contribution to the series was mostly visual, although we did brainstorm certain plot points together. The great thing about working together is that when one of us gets stuck, the other one is there to help out. I did all of the character and environment design work, but Carmela was definitely my art director.

We did have a few misgivings early on, not because we didn’t believe in Ella The Elegant Elephant as a story, but because quite honestly it’s not easy developing a creative working relationship within a marriage. That first book was a bit of a trial by fire, but once we figured out our roles and created a development system things came much easier.

Maw Books:  Ella is a wonderful character; small, timid and shy but very eager and smart.  How do you flesh out Ella’s character so she became alive for you?

Carmela D’Amico: By the time I started to write about Ella, she was already fully alive in my mind. I more or less watched her evolve as I wrote. I wish I could say something that would be more helpful to other writers. One thing I did do in the books that came after the first, was to always make sure that Ella was behaving in character. There were many times, while writing a rough draft, that Ella would say or do something that I’d later change because it didn’t seem true to her.

Steve D’Amico: I tried to reinforce through the pictures the type of personality Carmela gave Ella. Her features are extremely simple but also very expressive. She’s also fairly small compared to the other elephants, which kind of gives the impression to me of an underdog or someone who has to try a little harder.

Maw Books:  What are your goals for the Ella series?  What do you want children to come away with after reading one of your books?

Carmela D’Amico: We’re actually taking a little hiatus from Ella at the moment. We did four Ella books in four years. While that was exciting and kept us busy, I’m really enjoying branching out and working on other things at the moment. However, I do intend to return to Ella in a couple of years or so. Ella has been optioned for a TV series and if that comes to fruition I may do another book sooner. My Ella-goal du jour is to see her in a TV series. I think she’s a good role model for young children.

When a child comes away from an Ella book I want them to feel as though their their kindest and most generous instincts have been affirmed, as Ella is an extremely kind and generous little elephant.

Maw Books:  She’d be such a cute TV character!  I hope that works out.  I’m sure you have a lot of different stories planned for Ella.  What makes you choose the stories that you did write about instead of any of the other ones that you could have?

Carmela D’Amico: I tend to choose whatever story moves forward with greatest ease when I apply pen to paper.

Maw Books:  What are some of those rejected story ideas from your brainstorming and are there some stories that you are dying to share?

Carmela D’Amico: There’s one called The Perfect Present about Ella agonizing over what to get her mother for her birthday. And an Ella Christmas book that I’ve been tinkering with.

Steve D’Amico: There was another adventure planned where Ella and her friends play on an abandoned boat that had washed up on shore, only to have the tide come in and leave them stranded at sea. In the story Ella’s quick thinking saves the day, but Carmela and I got a little stuck with some of the story elements on that one, so we shelved it and went on to a different story. Who knows, maybe we’ll revisit it some day…

Maw Books:  They all sound wonderful!  Personally, I’d love a Christmas book.  A birthday book would be a hard book to pass up as well.  What led you to choose an island as the setting for the Ella series?

Carmela D’Amico: I saw the whole of the Elephant Islands in a daydream. I do a lot of my work subconsciously and will often sit back and close my eyes and just “see” what comes. This is how I dreamed up the islands. I thought, why not give this elephant a magical made-up world?

Steve: D’Amico: I loved Carmela’s idea of undiscovered islands…they could look like anything! I wanted to add a fantastical element to the geography, so after much sketching and deliberation I settled on cliff-like islands that were a cross between a flooded Grand Canyon and the islands of Halong Bay in China. The bridges that connect the islands were originally supposed to allow the elephants to travel between the islands during high tide. At low tide, they were all part of a single large island. That part of the environment was never described in the books, but it’s still part of the backdrop of the story in my mind.

Maw Books:  I love the idea of low and high tide.  Interesting to know what you’ve left out but feel as though it exists.  If you’re roles were switched – Carmela was the illustrator and Steve was the author what would change about your books?

Carmela Di’Amico: I honestly am such a fan of Steve’s work, I don’t think I’d change anything stylistically.

Steve D’Amico: Ditto.

Maw Books:  That just made my heart melt a little bit.  Carmela, when you wrote your first book at the age of five, what was it about and do you still have it?

Carmela D’Amico: Sadly, I do not still have it. It was called “What I See” and it was about what I saw on my way to and from school each day. My mom and I would cut through an orange grove to and from school, and the book was mainly about how the oranges smelled and looked and tasted.

Maw Books:  And what do you love about writing so much?  Especially writing for children?

Carmela D’Amico: It’s a challenge for me to fit my thoughts into words because, as I mentioned earlier, I’m a visual thinker. I tend to feel that words limit how we perceive our experiences more than they illuminate or augment them. This being said, words are the most effective tool we have to share our experiences with others. We primarily do this through stories. I guess you could say that, above all, I love the challenge of writing, of trying to share experiences, through words, with other human beings.

I am constantly surprised by how challenging is to write for children! When writing for children you must simplify without dumbing down. Children are wise and they know right off if they’re being talked down to. Boiling a story down to its essence is essential to writing for children and it’s also what I love most of all about the process.

Maw Books:  What were you like as a young reader?  Who are some of your favorite authors and a few books that you think nobody should miss?

Carmela D’ Amico: I went through phases with reading. Sometimes I would read constantly for months, other times not as much and I often would read the books I loved over and over again.

“Mandy” by Julie Andrews really captured me when I was child, as did “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I loved stories about young children who had a private little world all their own because I sensed the similarity between them and me. I didn’t have a little abandoned house in the woods or a neglected garden, but I kept to myself very much as I child. My mind was my “private world”.

I loved “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White. Wilbur possessed such naive sweetness and Charlotte such a worldly astuteness about things. I loved how their friendship evolved through the conversations they had. The way E.B. White wove the seasons in and out of the story and his poetic details about nature were a mesmerizing backdrop.

I loved everything Dr. Seuss from preschool age on. By the time I was in college I was able to recite “The Lorax” by heart from beginning to end, and “The Sneetches,” too.

Maw Books:  Steve, you’ve drawn your whole life.  Would you share with us what you were like growing up, why you enjoy working as an artist and what you do when you’re not collaborating with Carmela?

Steve D’Amico: I got a lot of encouragement and support from my parents and relatives when I was very young. I always assumed I’d be an “artist” one day…that’s what they told me!

I was bit of a clown in school and didn’t belong to any particular clique or group, really. I was fortunate to have pretty wide acceptance from most of the kids, who regarded my drawing skills as almost magical. In reality I just practiced a lot…even when I was supposed to be studying, I’d be doodling on a Pee Chee folder or drawing for a friend.

I work at a studio in Seattle called Smashing Ideas where I design games and websites for kids. I’ve done projects for Nick Jr., PBS Kids and The Disney Channel, to name a few. I also do quite a bit of freelance illustration. I just finished a job for Starbucks’ new training manual. I do quite a wide range of stuff, you can check out some of it on my blog at http://stevendamico.blogspot.com.

Maw Books:  My husband also grew up as an artist.  Like you, I’m very happy his parents didn’t discourage his dream to live as an artist although they were apprehensive.  Luckily, he’s an animator and I hope he’ll always be a working artist.  Steve, your illustrations have often been compared to H.A. Rey and Jean de Brunhoff.  Who are some of your favorite artists/illustrators?  What were your main influences in how you approached the illustrations for the Ella series?

Steve D’Amico: I’m always flattered when I’m compared to greats like Rey and Brunhoff, it’s really quite gratifying. The Ella books represent my first foray into charcoal as a medium. Prior to that I usually used pen and ink, because I am such a big fan of comic art. I’ve always been a huge Charles Schulz fan, I became very immersed in the world of Peanuts at a young age. As an adult and an illustrator I’ve gained a new appreciation for Schulz’s draftsmanship…he was a genius as an artist and a storyteller. His character designs were probably an influence on the proportions of the Ella characters to some degree.

H.A. Rey’s rendering style was influential. I used a similar charcoal and wash approach.

I love Dr. Seuss, of course. My siblings and I used to memorize entire pages of his books.

Going a bit further back, I love the pen and ink work of John Tenniel, who did the Alice In Wonderland books. Windsor McKay (Little Nemo In Slumberland), George Herriman (Krazy Kat), Jack Kirby (The Fantastic Four, Captain America), Alphonse Mucha, Maxfield Parrish, Maurice Sendak, Ludwig Bemelmans…I could go on and on.

Maw Books:  What are your work spaces like and do you have any writing or illustrating rituals?

Steve D’Amico: I need clean open spaces to work in. Too much clutter makes me claustrophobic, work-wise.

I tend to sketch and re-sketch my illustrations several times before committing to charcoal. I think a lot about where to put the “camera” and how the drawing will work in the flow of the book layout. Will it be a spread or a spot? Will it bleed off the page or not? Where should the page breaks go?  There are a lot of considerations for each illustration if the series of pictures is going to hang together well and assist the rhythm of the story.

Maw Books:  Ella’s favorite dessert is Zanzibar Cake.  One of my favorite features on my blog is to ask authors to share a recipe with us, especially if it appears in their book and then I’ll later try to make it. Would you share with us why Zanzibar Cake is her favorite cake and where this recipe came from?

Steve D’Amico: You can download the Zanzibar Cake recipe from the Ella website: http://www.ellatheelephant.com.

The recipe was actually given to us by a lady who made it for one of our bookstore appearances here in Seattle, and it was DELICIOUS. If you try it, you’ll see why it’s Ella’s favorite!

Maw Books:  I’m going to encourage everybody to go over to the website to download the recipe!  I’m certainly going to try my hand at it and highlight it later here.  What do you do outside the world of books and design/illustration?

Steve D’Amico: Haha…not a lot, these days. I’ve been pretty booked, so I’m glad that I love my work. I go running for exercise do odd home improvement projects and we have a fairly active social life. We both love to travel, we’re planning a trip to visit Carmela’s relatives in Italy next year.

Maw Books:  And what are you both working on right now?

Carmela D’Amico: We’re currently working together on a picture book called SUKI the Very Loud Bunny.

I’ve been at work on a novel for several years now and hope to have it finished it by 2010.

Maw Books:  Is there anything else that you’d like to share with the readers of the Maw Books Blog?

Carmela D’Amico: Thank you for having us!

Steve D’Amico: Yes, thanks so much!

Maw Books:  My pleasure!  Thank you!

Thanks again to Carmela D’Amico and Steve D’Amico for appearing, courtesy of Provato Marketing, for other stops on the tour please check www.provatoevents.com.  And visit the Ella the Elephant website.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.