Ode to My Big Sis

Celebrating Rach’s birthday at Longwood Gardens in PA.

As extensive as the Star Wars universe is, I have an ace in the hole for any question I may have regarding a non-Jedi weapon or obscure alien race: my big sis, Rachel. I don’t talk about Rach enough. She really is a bureau of Star Wars knowledge, which comes in handy for shows like The Mandalorian or more recently Obi-Wan Kenobi, where characters from different storylines just pop in and I need a guide to walk me through scenes ripe with backstory.

Rachel is my buddy for all things nerdy. She is the friend you want to bring to trivia night. The storage of obscure medieval facts, the expert on Lord of the Rings, the cabinet of American curiosities, she is a veritable mountain of knowledge. Her birthday was this past week, my big sis is now 30.

Squinting our way through a sunny ferry to Fort Sumter, SC.

An aficionado of Greco-Roman mythology, Rach will happily devour books dedicated to the drama brewing on Mount Olympus. She frequents the library, reading every Weird U.S. book there is. She loves the ocean, and is an expert diver. If there is a dog nearby, you know she’ll not only want to pet it, but pick it up and beg the dog for kisses. She likes German beer, sunning by the pool. She’s an avid gamer.

Rach is someone who I love to laugh with. I’m confident that when we’re old ladies, we’ll still find Spongebob hilarious. When I moved home, we started walking at night in our neighborhood. She enjoys a good pedicure. She likes collecting snow globes from places she’s been. She’s been to Europe twice. Now she and I frequent the library together.

We enjoy good humor. We love books. We’re nerds of a feather. I love my big sister, and I am so grateful God gave her to me and my family. Rachel, my big sis with an arsenal of random facts up her sleeve. It sure comes in handy.

Interview with Rebekah Lowell

On a steamy Virginia morning under the shade of Hollins University’s Front Quadrangle canopy of ash, poplar, and dogwood trees, I graduated with my M.F.A. in Children’s Book Writing and Illustrating. My family was present, the speeches were moving, and I gave sweaty hugs to my old co-workers, professors, and friends. I will go further into my four-year graduate school journey in another blog post, but the purpose of mentioning my graduation here is that it ties into this month’s guest for my kid lit interview series.

Meet Rebekah, a fellow Hollins graduate. Photo courtesy of Rebekah Lowell.

Rebekah Lowell graduated in 2018 with the same M.F.A. I received (I was actually in attendance for her graduation as part of my duties as a Hollins Student Activities GA). The first and only of its kind in the U.S., the Hollins University Children’s Book Writing and Illustrating graduate program was a safe haven for Rebekah to hone in her artistic skills while exploring new forms of storytelling. She recently received representation from the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, an esteemed children’s book agency representing award-winning authors and illustrators. Her personal debut novel-in-verse, The Road to After, reimagines her trek to Hollins via the perspective of a girl escaping domestic abuse with her mother and sister.

How did you receive an agent?

The easy answer is by saying that signed with my first agent because I paid $50 and met with her at a one-on-one at NESCBWI. But the more complicated answer is everything that led up to that offer of rep. In 2018, I had a BFA from RISD, four years of grad school under my belt, several NESCBWI conferences, portfolio reviews, countless critique group meetings, about twenty picture book manuscripts, a dozen dummies, a 4x4 Mentorship Program with Brian Lies, and many, many rejections under my belt. 

I went to that conference hoping for the best but was prepared for another rejection. After four solid years of querying my best work, I received my first offer.  

Apple picking. Photo courtesy of Rebekah Lowell.

We sold my first novel in verse but after a couple of years of working together, we parted ways amicably. I’m now represented by Paige Terlip at Andrea Brown Literary Agency and I’m so thrilled by this! 

Who are your favorite children's book authors or illustrators?  

(I am also adding broader illustrators as well because their work inspires me.)

Barbara Cooney

Beatrix Potter

Jessie Wilcox Smith

Garth Williams

E.H. Shephard

Arthur Rackham

Edmund Dulac

Robert Lawson

Robert McCloskley

Arnold Lobel

Jerry Pinkney

Bernie Fuchs

Brian Lies

Mary Jane Begin

Sophie Blackhall

Michaela Goade

Melissa Sweet

Eric Rohman

Ashley Wolff

Katherine Roy

John Rocco

Eliza Wheeler

Studio reading nook. Photo courtesy of Rebekah Lowell.

Isabelle Arsenault

Julia Denos

Sarah Jacoby

EB Lewis

David Wiesner

Matt Ottley

Elise Hurst

Bob Marstal

Vesper Stamper

Camille Garoche

Corinna Luyken

Jen Betton

Esme Shapiro

Anna Walker

Abigail Halpin 

Erin McGuire

Jane Kim of Inkdwell (nature art)

Liz Clayton Fuller (bird art)

I feel like I am forgetting some! I love art, can you tell? 

How would you describe your illustrative style?

Natural, whimsical, empathetic, classic, I’ve also heard quiet. Lately I’ve been working on keeping my classic look while incorporating bolder decisions with color and value. After learning surface pattern design with Bonnie Christine, I’ve started a shift in my illustration work as well. 

Do you have a specific place devoted to your creative process?

Yes! I have a studio space over my garage. My father built my house and I live in the field where I grew up (and where I used to have a horse). Having a studio space where I can work from home and live on the land I love - where I find inspiration and can be near my family - is a dream come true. I have two sides to my studio space: one side is where I have my computer and art tables set up, along with flat file storage, and the other side is set up to be more like a little library. I have two 12-cube shelves packed with kid lit books and a large fluffy bean bag to curl up on to read. I also have vertical art canvas storage on that side, but it’s still my reading nook side. To write, we must read. 

You attended Hollins University in Virginia for your M.F.A. in Children's Book Writing and Illustrating. How has receiving this degree impacted your writing and illustrating career? 

The Road to After, published earlier this month by Penguin Random House. Photo courtesy of Rebekah Lowell.

Attending Hollins has impacted my creative career more than any other venture I have set towards working in the industry of children’s literature. Studying under Ruth Sanderson the first year I was at Hollins, we focused on creating a picture book dummy for a manuscript I had. That dummy is the one that Brian Lies chose anonymously when I was selected for the 4x4 Mentorship Program where we worked together for several months. While working with Brian, I found my current illustration style, which helped me focus on my thesis. I fully believe finding my style helped me sign with my first agent. The dummy I shared with Wendi Gu, which prompted her offer of representation, was one of my thesis projects that I worked on with Mary Jane Begin and Lisa Fraustino. It was in one of my writing classes with Hillary Homzie that I penned the first words of what is now The Road to After, and they were read and critiqued by Writer-in-Residence Cece Bell, who introduced me to novels in verse and Brown Girl Dreaming. My middle grade novel was published by Nancy Paulsen Books earlier this month. I met editor Frances Gilbert in 2014 at Hollins and Nicole de las Heras a summer later, and right now we are all working together on another book, Catching Flight. The illustration that caught Frances’ attention on Twitter was from another one of my thesis projects. Hollins didn’t hand any of this to me, but I think it presents every opportunity for someone who is hungry for success. I strongly feel that it’s because I kept working, kept revising, kept drawing, kept submitting, kept relationships going, kept showing up, and kept hope alive that it all came together this way. 

Do you have any advice for aspiring children's book author-illustrators?

Consistency is key. Do something small each day toward your goals. Keep tabs on yourself in planners or notebooks, chart your milestones, or find accountability partners or a critique group to keep you going. Don’t stop the momentum because the more you put it off, the more the long journey ahead can feel daunting. Just do the next thing, and you will get there. No one is an overnight success. 

To see more of Rebekah’s work, visit her website rebekahlowell.com and follow her on Instagram @rebekahlowell. Her debut novel-in-verse, The Road to After, is out on shelves now.

Learn more about Hollins University’s graduate programs in children’s literature here.

Poem for Spring

Anytime I read poetry, I’m clobbered with inspiration and I take to pen and paper. And lately I’ve been writing poems more frequently, anywhere between 2-3 poems a week to the occasional streak of a poem a day. It’s also spring, and with every walk outside, every flower or tree in bloom, I see a poem. Here’s one inspired by the toads in my neighborhood.

Toad in the Road

Glass smooth paper skin

greets me like a cold dawn,

the call of a 2am stir.

I am a bulbous toad croaking

in the dark.

Whatever we had going for us

has vanished like the road unlit

by the once flickering flashlight for tag.

Once we had what they call a fling

but most animals don’t

mate for life.

There is still sleep to be had

you know, I know.

The toad chirps twice, three times

then it’s off to bed, mind

flickering like an open slab of road.

Interview with Lindsay Eagar

This month’s interviewee, MG novelist Lindsay Eagar! Cin cin to mugsy mornings!

Middle grade isn’t a genre, it’s an age group in the literary world. Publishers use age groups to classify books that will eventually land on bookstore and library shelves, which are processed into even more categories (nonfiction, mystery, memoir, to name a few). I know MG is an age group and not a genre, but I’ve always identified with its categorical themes of change, adventure, and internal conflict. The focus is on the main character and their relationships with family and friends, the scope is set on the character’s immediate world and their reaction to it. Profanity and graphic violence are avoided and any romance is relegated to a first crush or kiss. It’s a children’s book age group that radiates sweetness while simultaneously delving into slightly more mature themes that kids are slowly learning, and I admire its simplistic yet profound views on life. A clear example is Kate DiCamillo’s Opal coming to terms with her mother’s absence in Because of Winn Dixie, or Lindsay Eagar’s Carolina being drawn to her Grandpa Serge, who is dying from dementia in Hour of the Bees.

I love Eagar’s middle grade novel and have read it multiple times. In fact, I can proudly say I have read all of her books, which all happen to be MG novels. I managed to snag an interview with her to talk about her fantastic MG heroines, writing process, and tips for hopeful middle grade novelists.

How did you begin your journey as a children's book writer?   

Who doesn’t love a warm cup and a journal? Photo courtesy of Lindsay Eagar.

My journey really begins with reading. I was fortunate to grow up in a house full of books with parents who made sure I had plenty of reading material, and I was voracious. I devoured books. I also loved telling stories in all forms—writing, drawing, directing my younger siblings in plays and ballets, coaching neighborhood children in home movies I directed with our camcorder. I was a writer because I was a reader, and the stories I inhaled were overwhelmingly for children: The Witches by Roald Dahl, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss, Greek mythology, Jan Brett, and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott were some of the most influential. 

Board influences! Photo courtesy of Lindsay Eagar.

I always knew I would write. It took me several failed novels to understand that I wanted to write children’s fiction, at least primarily, and between 2010-2013, I wrote and revised three projects: a since-trunked YA about bagpipe-playing mermaids in Ireland, a middle grade that eventually became Race to the Bottom of the Sea (my second published novel), and another middle grade novel, Hour of the Bees, which would be my debut. 

I queried Bees in summer of 2013 and signed with my first agent that August. We revised the book for about six months before taking it out on submission in late May 2014. I sold Bees and Race to Candlewick Press in June of 2014, and I’ve sold four more projects to Candlewick since then. 

Do you have any influences or favorite authors that have impacted your writing? 

It’s so hard to narrow it down! Here’s a few that came to mind:

A Series of Unfortunate Events taught me the boundlessness of form and structure, and the delights of playing with narration. 

Geek Love by Katherine Dunn was a book (NOT a children’s fiction book, FYI) that showed me how far an author can go in terms of subject matter, tone, blasphemies, shock, profanity, and that all of those things work in tandem with wonder. (Yes, even in children’s fiction!) 

Louis Sachar’s books remind me of what childhood feels like, what kinds of things were funny, what kinds of things hooked me into a plot. 

Kelly Barnhill’s work, especially in children’s fiction, has served as an echo for the kind of work I want to make. Her books are life-affirming, full of adventure and heart and despair—everything I want a children’s book to be.

What is your favorite genre and age group to write for? 

Hands-down, that upper middle grade category is golden. I’m talking about ages 10-14, when you start to understand that your childhood is winding to a close. It’s a bittersweet time, but it opens up so many possibilities as a writer. My favorite genre is anytime I get to bend reality. If that means big fantasy with lots of rules, great. If that means just a slight change in the rules of our current universe, great. I love using speculative genre as a way to illuminate a story. 

Do you have a specific place where you write your stories?

“ I almost always end up working at my kitchen table.” Photo courtesy of Lindsay Eagar.

Sigh. I have a beautiful office space in my bedroom with a gorgeous emerald green velvet chair that makes me feel like a Bond villain and lots of good artwork that makes me feel inspired… and I almost always end up working at my kitchen table, right in the middle of all my family’s action and drama. For as long as I’ve been seriously writing for publication, I’ve been a parent, so I’ve learned to write in little bursts here and there, sitting on the living room floor, hanging out near the swing set at the park, waiting in the school pickup. 

These days, my work time is much less fractured, thanks to a wonderful partner and the fact that my children are more independent now that they’re older. Still, I can’t bring myself to leave the kitchen table. My office space is lovely but dusty. Alas!

Your books feature adventurous girls navigating family, loss, and personal growth. What inspires the creation of your protagonists?

Absolutely they are inspired by me. Me as I was when I was ten, twelve, fourteen. Me as I was when I was twenty and looking back at my younger self with envy, because I mistakenly thought I was only blissfully happy when I was a kid. 

I was so lucky to have a good, safe, emotionally healthy childhood. But I still experienced grief, sorrows, injustices. Every time I write a protagonist who showcases big emotions, makes mistakes, thinks terrible thoughts, or causes drama in any way, I know I’m writing a character who would have been a mirror for me. 

What advice would you give to aspiring children's book authors? 
To be an author of any kind requires that you work much, much harder than you’ll get credit for. Writing is about quietly, invisibly chipping away at projects that no one else will ever love as much as you do, and the compensation is pathetically small, both in terms of paychecks and also in terms of respect, accolades, energy returns, etc. 

First checked out from the library in June 2018!

If you still want to do it, even though you’ll need a day job or a patron, and even though all book releases are ultimately disappointing because you give the world a piece of your soul and most of them don’t need what you’re selling, then you’ll want to protect your relationship with your writing at all costs. Publishing should be a small part of your writing life, not the other way around. It’s hard. It’s really hard. But if you can find a way to make your own forms of currency and provide your own compensation, then it’s the most fulfilling thing in the world. 

Please read Lindsay Eagar’s debut novel, Hour of the Bees, or any of her other wonderful MG novels for that matter. She has a new book, The Patron Thief of Bread, coming out in May! Visit her website, lindsayeagarbooks.com and follow her on Instagram @lindsayeagar. Tell her Rebecca sent you!

The Mid-Day Slump

It’s the afternoon. The sun is in the sky but its rays are a rusty orange, not golden like the first light of the morning. Lunch has been eaten, the computer awaits, and the clock says it’s 2pm. Then it hits me like a sleepy slap in the face. My bleary-eyes blink and I look outside, seeking natural light. I. Am. Insipid. Welcome to the Mid-Day Slump.

If I could compare this phenomenon to something more comprehensible, I’d say it’s like the entire month of March summed up into one feeling. Between the hours of 2-4pm, I hit my wall. The sleep I missed the previous night catches up to me, although I can’t physically take naps (I just can’t nap, no idea why). This bland piece of my afternoon is something I slump through each weekday, hence the title. It’s an unfortunate occurrence I and apparently my dad suffer through. My dad and I share many commonalities, among them migraines, oily Mediterranean skin, and the Mid-Day Slump. But I don’t blame his genes for this awful afternoon event. I believe everyone has that moment of their day where they might keel over in tiredness.

In all my writing and art classes, my instructors have encouraged me to create at the time of day when I feel most creative. If the night (specifically late-night, go figure) is my idea-making window of opportunity, then the Mid-Day Slump is it’s evil twin. It’s an agent of chaos disguised as a meaningless afternoon where I don’t feel like doing anything. Again, I’m sure everyone has their own daily burden of listlessness to bear. We’ve all identified whether we are a night owl, early bird, or day bird. The problem is I’m both a late-nighter and an early-riser, so that day bird just doesn’t fly for me.

I do find ways around the Mid-Day Slump, and it’s really not all that bad. If there’s work to be done, I buckle down. If there’s a good song on the radio, I take a karaoke break. At Hollins, I would reward myself by leaving my office and taking a trip downstairs to spend dining points at Greenberry’s cafe, where Ena, the best barista EVER, would make me a pumpkin chai latte with oat milk. The GREATEST pumpkin chai latte with oat milk (I’ve yet to find one as good as hers, though I’ve made a list of some runners-up). I try to avoid the clock, though that exhaustion wave usually submerges me anyway. There’s no avoiding it.

So to the Mid-Day Slump, I say, fine. I’m not surrendering to you, but I’m not going to pretend like you aren’t sitting in the corner, just waiting to hit me with your afternoon onslaught of boringness. I know you’re there, and I’m not scared of you. I know you’re there, and I’m writing these words at 2:30pm on a day in February to counteract your negativity. How’s that for a slump?

Winter 2022 Playlist Share

It’s a new year, hooray! That also means we have a whole post-holiday winter to go through, blahh. Sad things first: the Buffalo Bills suffered a heartbreaking playoff loss to the Chiefs, my car has been acting up and I went to the mechanic twice in one week, Novak was barred from playing in the Australian Open, and it’s too cold to go on weekend bike rides. But a lot of ch-ch-ch-ch-changes are happening in my life, and they’re all good (future post, perhaps?). I have a few trips planned, I’m writing and drawing and finishing up my thesis in hopes of publication. There’s a lot to look forward to in 2022.

I do love the quietness of winter and a new year, and that of course means delving into new music. An idea took root and starting growing as I was brainstorming this month’s blog while going through some of my playlists. Music is a major source of inspiration for my stories and art, so this month’s playlist share includes songs that take me to an ethereal plane, songs that make me feel like I’m drifting in celestial colors and lights. Here’s my official list of Music That Makes Me Feel Like I’m Floating on a Cloud (capitalized for significance).

Beach House: Myth

Washed Out: Eyes Be Closed

Moby: Porcelain

David Gray: Babylon

Tame Impala: Patience

Smashing Pumpkins: Drown

Arcade Fire: Wake Up

The Lumineers: Brightside

Radiohead: Everything In Its Right Place

Beach House: Space Song

Grizzly Bear: Cheerleader

Lykke Li and David Lynch: I’m Waiting Here

Fleet Foxes: Blue Ridge Mountains

Moby: Go

Cocteau Twins: Heaven or Las Vegas

Smashing Pumpkins: Mayonaise

Sharon Van Etten: Jupiter 4

The Verve: Slide Away

Sigur Rós: Hoppípolla

Favorite Things 2021

Happy New Year! I hope you enjoy the holiday season, time off from work, and depending on where you live, the colder weather. December and the rest of the winter season means I can finally break out my scarf collection, so I look forward to the cold. I also look forward to December because it’s my time to reflect on the year. While I usually share favorite books, I thought I’d change things up for this month’s blog post because I enjoyed a lot more than just books in 2021. I traveled, I watched beautiful animations, I listened to new music, I went to the movie theater. Here’s my list of favorite things from the past year, relatively in order.

Home Town: My mom introduced me to Ben and Erin Napier on HGTV a few years ago, and their home renovations are, in my opinion, timeless and wonderful. I love neighborhoods, and Home Town focuses on living in small-town Laurel, Mississippi. A new season of the show aired this spring, and once again, Ben and Erin continue to amaze me with what they come up with. I think what sets Home Town apart from other HGTV and DIY tv shows is Ben’s woodworking prowess and Erin’s eye for charming Southern design. I find a lot of house-related shows and catalog designs to be cold and museum-like; every one of Ben and Erin’s home designs is cozy and warm, as if it already looks liked-in. While one day I’d love to have a custom craftsman or cottage to myself, I’ll continue to gain home inspiration from the Napiers on Home Town.

Twin Peaks: I’m not exactly sure how I got into Twin Peaks, but when I watched the first episode in May, I was hooked. I won’t even attempt to explain the plot because it’s a massive puzzle that continues to stump even this avid viewer, but I think that’s the appeal of this show. David Lynch, the co-creator of Twin Peaks, is known to be a surrealist in his filmmaking. He’s also an artist who favors abstraction and mixing beauty with the strange, contrasting good with evil. With all that in mind, I don’t think Twin Peaks is meant to be completely understood by viewers, yet I still think about it. I love the characters, particularly the suave yet bright-eyed Special Agent Dale Cooper. He may just be one of my favorite tv protagonists. I also love the worldbuilding and the realness of the town of Twin Peaks. Everyone has something to hide, and more mysteries and secrets unfold with each episode. Probably my favorite aspect of Twin Peaks is the weirdness. I don’t fully understand the concept of the Red Room, but I love it. The music, the setting, the darkness, even the humor, it’s everything I didn’t know I would long to revisit on rewatches. I think that sums up my Twin Peaks experience; it fascinates me, it confuses me, and I think it’s one of the most unique tv shows out there.

Southern Trips: I already talked a little about this in my June and August blog posts, but I’ll give a quick recap. This summer, I drove, flew, and road the train to different places around the southern US. I love traveling. I love exploring, I love seeing new places and getting new ideas for my writing and art. In late spring, I camped in Shenandoah National Park in central Virginia with my best friend followed by a day trip to our country’s newest national park, New River Gorge in West Virginia. I visited Abbie, my friend from grad school, in Austin, Texas in June. In July, my twin sister and I drove from her home in Charleston, South Carolina to my parents’ home in Bel Air, Maryland with stops in Greenvillle, South Carolina, Asheville, North Carolina, and of course my school in Roanoke, Virginia. I already have a few trips planned for 2022, and I can’t wait to explore more new places.

Bookstores: This goes back to my August blog and recap on southern trips, but I’ll reiterate all the great indie bookstores I went to this year: Blue Bicycle Books in Charleston, M. Judson Booksellers in Greenville, Malaprop’s Bookstore in Asheville, Old Fox Books and Coffeehouse in Annapolis, and The Ivy Bookshop in Baltimore. I love the atmosphere of mom-and-pop’s, and if I ever opened my own small-business, it’d be a bookstore. Please support local and buy from your nearest indie bookstore!

Merci Suáez series: Candlewick Press does not disappoint in their books and authors; they do represent my favorite author, Kate DiCamillo, after all. Meg Medina won the 2021 Margaret Wise Brown award at Hollins this summer, so I decided to familiarize myself with some of her books. I love middle grade and I enjoy slice of life stories, so Merci Suárez was the perfect match. Merci Suárez Changes Gears won the 2019 Newberry Medal, which it undoubtedly earned. In it and its sequel, Merci Suárez Can’t Dance, Florida middle schooler Merci struggles with her family and friends while maintaining a prestigious private school scholarship. The story is relatable and sweet, perfect for fans of the simple, everyday-life type of stories. I love reading books I can relate to, and between Merci balancing academics, soccer, and family/friendship dynamics, the twelve-year-old version of me sees herself in Medina’s protagonist. The Cuban-American Suárez clan is fully fleshed out, with no character going unnoticed even though the plots in both stories focus on Merci. Hopefully Meg Medina has more Merci stories up her stories, I’ll be patiently waiting to see Merci grow up.

As Told By Ginger: We’re about to enter the animated tv series territory of this blog post; for some reason, I consumed a fair share of animated shows in 2021. I’ve always loved the limitless creativity of cartoons: the colors, wacky character designs and settings, and ridiculous plots. The Nicktoon, As Told By Ginger, however, does not fit your typical high-energy-kids-cartoon mold. It’s another slice of life story; like Merci, it centers on a middle school girl, Ginger Foutley, who over the course of the series grows and eventually enters high school with her best friends, Dodie and Macie. Ginger was part of the animation studio Klasky Csupo’s early-2000’s domination of Nickelodeon. While I remember a few episodes airing on tv, I wasn’t old enough to appreciate the overall theme of how an individual becomes a young adult. Ginger dealt with a lot of problems that many girls can still relate to. The daughter of a single-mother, Ginger and her brother Carl navigate the Connecticut suburbs without a father for most of the show. The series wasn’t afraid to tackle tough issues that many kids have to go through. Characters die, people fight, relationships end, and there’s a latent sense of persevering through pain and disappointment. If you want to watch a cartoon that tackles adolescence while maintaining a semi-mature, not-too-outlandish tone, please give As Told By Ginger a watch.

Over the Garden Wall: My illustration classmates in undergrad would constantly gush about Over the Garden Wall, and five years later I finally decided to watch it on Hulu. Set during autumn, brothers Wirt and Greg are seeking a way out of an eerie forest in order to get back home. They traverse spooky towns and meet a series of wayward characters with unique stories of their own. The show initially aired as a mini series on Cartoon Network, and I think it’s perfect in this format. I don’t want to share too much about Over the Garden Wall because I went into it completely blind, which I think is the best way to view this marvel of a cartoon. I wonder if Twin Peaks inspired the show’s creators because conceptually, it seems like a kid-friendly version of David Lynch’s style of weirdness. I love the character design, the animation, the somber atmosphere surrounding the optimistic protagonists. Apparently, the creators were inspired by old New England photographs and vintage Halloween postcards when developing the cartoon’s aesthetic, and it’s evident in the character and setting design. Watching Over the Garden Wall with a mug of warm apple cider and a view of the yellow and orange trees outside my window in October was an experience I won’t soon forget.

Get Back documentary: I’m a huge Beatles fan, if you didn’t already know, and I adore director Peter Jackson and his vision for Lord of the Rings. Put the two together and you get this incredible documentary about the making of the final Beatles album, Let it Be. Like Lord of the Rings, it is long, that’s just part of Jackson’s trademark. I think it’s worth sitting through the hours of found footage to gain insightful glimpses into not just The Beatles themselves, but into the music-making process. There’s this incredible moment where Paul is strumming on his bass and he pulls “Get Back” out of thin air. It’s amazing, and I keep thinking about it. We get to see quiet moments, like when the guys talk about lunch, or when George helps Ringo write “Octopus’s Garden” when they’re in the studio early. Paul and John are songwriting legends, and I smiled every time they were caught on camera goofing off. Watching Jackson’s documentary in mid November was both an early birthday and Christmas present all wrapped in three introspective parts. Get Back is an opportunity to view the creative process in action, and it’s all the more magical because it’s with The Beatles and footage that hasn’t been seen by the public in over fifty years.

New Music: Of course I have to include what I’ve been listening to on repeat. Here are the new-ish songs I’ve been playing the most in 2021.

1. “Rose Pink Cadillac” by Dope Lemon

2. “Basement Tapes” by Semisonic

3. “Worry with You” by Sleater-Kinney

4. “Can’t Stop the Rain” by Neal Francis

5. “Down” by St. Vincent

6. “Love Love Love” by My Morning Jacket

7. “Mariner’s Apartment Complex” by Lana Del Ray

8. “Low” by Chet Faker

9. “Making a Fire” by Foo Fighters

10. “Hypotheticals” by Lake Street Drive

11. “Roots and Wings” by The Wallflowers

12. “ U and Me” by Alt-J

Maya and the Three: A beautifully animated masterpiece, Maya and the Three is a limited Netflix series set in ancient Mesoamerica. The titular heroine is both a princess and warrior of a grand civilization and she’s just so fun to root for. When vengeful gods threaten her family and home, Maya sets off on a quest to find three fighters destined to help her fulfill an old prophecy that will save her land. Some story points are cliché, but the richly animated characters and colorful world make up for any familiarities. I respect children’s books and animations for their possibilities, and when they’re done right, like in Maya and the Three, they remind me of the limitless power and beauty of story. Drawing inspiration from Mexican and other indigenous cultures of Central America, the series is loaded with plucky characters with vibrant personalities. Everyone shines, not one person is dull. I paused the show multiple times just to savor the gorgeous compositions in front of me. I recommend Maya and the Three to anyone who admires the art of animation mixed with authentic storytelling.

Spider Man: The last movie I saw in a theater was Spider Man: Far From Home with my older sister Rachel in the summer of 2019. I didn’t know the next movie-theater -movie I’d be seeing wouldn’t be for another two years, and ironically it would be the next Spider Man movie in the Marvel timeline. Spider Man: No Way Home reminded me of my love for movies and going to the theater in general. No Way Home came out near my birthday this year, so Rachel bought me a pair of tickets and I took my best friend Katie to see it the week before Christmas. I. Love. This. Movie. I have a lot of fond memories with Marvel movies in theaters. I remember watching The Avengers in 2012 with my high school friends only to see it again on a big screen with friends in college. In the early 2010s, I saw the second round of X-Men movies with my neighbor at our local theater. I still remember yelling in both Avengers Infinity War and Endgame, the latter I saw with a large group of friends on opening night in grad school (it was awesome, and I for one never yell in movie theaters). And No Way Home reminded me of the original Sam Raimi Spider Man trilogy. My family and I saw 2002’s Spider Man at a drive-in and in 2004, I watched Spider Man 2 with my extended family at Thanksgiving (also, I forgot how good Spider Man 2 was, and still is. It’s my favorite Spider Man movie to date.) I love this character because it’s my first blockbuster viewing experience. In 2002, I was seven and scared of the Green Goblin. At the end of 2021, I’m reliving those experiences because I’m still terrified of the Green Goblin, but I’ll never tire of seeing a fun movie in a theater with friends.

Interview with Sam DeVotta

Meet Sam! (image courtesy of Sam Devotta)

Happy almost-Thanksgiving to my friends in the US! I say that because this month’s guest for my children’s book interview series already celebrated the holiday last month. I met Sam Devotta at the Fall-I-Day 2021 virtual book preview with Tundra Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers. Sam works as a Senior Associate for Marketing and Publicity in her home office near Toronto, the headquarters for Penguin Random House Canada. I chatted with Sam to get her inside look at the goings-on in the children’s book industry.

How did you begin your career in children's book publishing?

Back in 2014, I enrolled in a publishing certificate program at Ryerson University. Once my certificate was completed, I did three internships including one at Tundra Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers. I loved the experience (and the people I was working with!) so when the position of associate publicist at Tundra came up in 2017, I jumped at the chance and have been here ever since. I originally thought I would work in editorial but I ended up falling in love with marketing and publicity while at my internship.

What does a day in the life of a Senior Associate for Marketing and Publicity at Tundra look like?

“The Penguin Random House Canada office in downtown Toronto is right near the CN Tower and I was able to see it through the window near my desk. Since I work from home now, I have a mini version of the tower. :) ” (image courtesy of Sam Devotta)

So many emails!! But in all seriousness, every day is a little different. On the publicity side, there are a lot of emails including pitches to media (radio, newspapers, television, festivals, online outlets including bloggers, etc.) and following up on campaigns or other opportunities. There’s also event planning, communicating with authors and editors, and various admin tasks. On the marketing side, I run the social media accounts for Penguin Teen Canada so there’s a lot of planning my posting schedule (and then actually taking/editing photos!), interacting with our followers, reaching out to influencers, and updating our blog.

“I just decorated for Christmas and I love that my WFH (Work from Home) setup is right beside my tree.” (image courtesy of Sam Devotta)

How has the pandemic changed the landscape of work for book publishing professionals?

One of the biggest changes for marketing and publicity during the pandemic has been the way we approach events. While we’ve slowly started doing in-person or hybrid (half online, half in-person) events again this fall, last year we had to quickly learn how to navigate Zoom and other hosting platforms so that we could continue to put events together. Our virtual events include book launches, festivals, or panels, as well as different types of story times – some of them are pre-recorded so they can be shared at any time, others are “live”. We try to work with bookstores whenever we can and the events are hosted on either Zoom or Instagram Live. It’s actually a little easier to do a virtual event than an in-person event but it’s not as much fun!

Do you focus in a particular genre or age group as a Marketing and Publicity Associate, or do you work on a variety of titles?

I work on everything from board books to young adult! Because I run the Penguin Teen Canada social media accounts, I only focus on YA and the occasional middle grade title there, but in general I work on everything. I think it’s fun to work across the different age groups: some days I’ll spend the morning talking about a cute picture book perfect for story times and the afternoon hyping up a fierce YA that tackles heavy topics. 

Is there any advice you would give to individuals looking to work in children's book publishing?

“Fall 2021 titles: just a sampling of the books I’ve worked on over the past few months including a picture book, graphic novel/early chapter book, middle grade, and YA.” (image courtesy of Sam Devotta)

It might seem obvious, but reading is key! Especially if you’re looking to work with kids’ books, it’s important to have some sense of what kinds of books are out there and to be at least somewhat aware of the different keystones of each age group. I’d also suggest applying for entry level positions even if you don’t have all the qualifications they’re looking for, you never know what kind of opportunities can come up during the application or interviewing process. And finally, if you do get a job in publishing, don’t be afraid to ask questions! I’m a big fan of asking questions (including asking the same questions multiple times!) and for the most part, people are open to talking things through or it will show that you have initiative and interest in the industry and might help make you more memorable (this is especially true during an internship). 

Please give Sam a follow on Twitter and Instagram @samdevotta and follow her social media wizardry for Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers on @penguinteenca.

Interview with Claudia Mills

Meet author and Hollins Professor Claudia Mills (image courtesy of Claudia Mills).

Last week, I paid for my thesis, my final graduate class at Hollins University. When I set my mind on grad school, I promised myself to do it debt free, and I did. It is so satisfying to accomplish a goal.

My thesis is still underway; I am busy writing, rewriting, editing, and drawing my illustrated middle grade novel. But I’m not the only one reading and revising my story. Part of the Hollins thesis involves the guidance of two professors, and the wonderful Claudia Mills is both my primary thesis advisor and a skilled middle grade novelist. In fact, her newest middle grade novel, The Lost Language, comes out tomorrow! I have been Claudia’s student in three different writing classes, and in every class of hers, I learn something new. She is an excellent teacher, and it’s been my pleasure getting to know her throughout my grad school tenure. I chatted with her about her new book, which I will be reading soon, the writing process, and her influences.

When did you know you wanted to be a children's book writer?

I always knew I wanted to be a writer. When I was in first grade, I wrote the world's simplest book - just a collection of crudely drawn crayon pictures with one-word captions ("Tree," "Rainbow," "Cloud," etc.) - but at the back of the book I was already advertising future publications. I promised readers a "thick book - 100 pages" on "My Life" and a "big book - 100 pages" of "Powatree." I couldn't yet spell, but I already had big dreams of a future as a writer. Many of my books for young readers draw heavily on my own experiences, so they are in that way about "My Life," and my most recent book, a verse novel, is at long last my big book of "Powatree." I chose to write for children as it was the books I read as a child that touched me most deeply and shaped my life most profoundly.

Do you have any influences or favorite authors that have impacted your writing?

I still love the books I read as a child. My favorite author then and now has been Maud Hart Lovelace, who wrote the Betsy-Tacy series of books, which were based on her own childhood at the turn of the last century. Other favorite authors include Eleanor Estes (The Hundred Dresses), Madeleine L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time), and Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Secret Garden).

Claudia in Denver Botanic Gardens (Image courtesy of Claudia Mills).

Do you have a specific place where you write your stories?

I always write my books longhand, on a pad of narrow-ruled white paper with a Pilot fine-tipped back marker pen, while lying on the couch drinking hot chocolate. I like to write for an hour each day, timed with my beloved hand-crafted cherrywood hourglass. But as a special treat, I like to take myself somewhere else for a writing date. A favorite spot is the Denver Botanic Gardens (see photo).

The Lost Language is a novel-in-verse about a pair of best friends who work to save a language from extinction. Where did your idea for this story come from? What made you want to write this story in verse?

Claudia’s first book cover (image courtesy of Claudia Mills).

As a child I read the Golden Book Encyclopedia cover-to-cover, and in the volume for E I was excited to learn about the "universal language" of Esperanto, created in the 19th century to be a simplified language that could be spoken by all the world's people. This sounded so wonderful to me: to have everybody in the world able to communicate so easily by speaking a common tongue. I yearned to learn Esperanto myself and start speaking it. But as an adult I came to appreciate the wonderful diversity of the world's estimated 7000 different languages, and I became consumed with the tragedy of their accelerating extinction. I thought of how, if I had been a child now, I would have yearned to learn and speak an endangered language, as a child's attempt to try to save it. As the book is so focused on the importance of language, verse seemed the right choice for writing it, as it puts a premium on compressed expression of emotion through well-chosen words.

Is there a particular genre you find yourself revisiting as an author? An age group you prefer to write for?

I've written mainly chapter books for third-grade level readers, and middle-grade novels, always realistic fiction focused on school and family. That is what I love to read most, too. Real life is infinitely interesting to me!

What advice would you give to aspiring children's book authors?

Claudia’s newest book, a novel-in-verse (image courtesy of Claudia Mills).

The three most important commandments for any writer, in any field, are the obvious ones: 1) read! read! read!; 2) write! write! write!; and 3) revise! revise! revise! To these I would add my own fourth one: take joy in the process of writing. Sometimes writers take pride in talking about how terribly hard writing is and how much they suffer in doing it. They come right out and say, "I hate writing, but love having written." I say: give yourself permission to LOVE writing and to do it with joy. I think you'll write better if you write this way - and have a lot more fun doing it.

You can find The Lost Language at a bookstore near you and follow Claudia’s latest writing news at claudiamillsauthor.com

Writing and Reading Poems Amidst Stress

Happy fall, everyone!

A tree sketch from a mid-morning forest hike with a friend.

I love this season. The chill in the air, cinnamon brooms in the grocery store, brittle leaf piles, and the multitude of festivals are just some of my many autumn joys. But this year it’s been different. I’m working on my M.F.A. thesis, an illustrated middle grade novel, which is tough to do when you’re fighting self-doubt and applying for full-time work. My hopes were high going into fall; I was going to finish my book and work a dream job, but both have yet to happen. This fall I’ve been worried and unsure of my direction. I’ve prayed for guidance and I’ve spent nights staring at my ceiling, overthinking my future. But through all my fears, I’ve been reading.

This September, I’ve revisited poems. Not just in the works of Mary Oliver, Ada Limón, and the Book of Psalms. No, I’ve taken time to sit down and write many poems.

In high school, I wrote journals and journals of poems, dreams, and observations. My writing teacher encouraged me to write a poem everyday, and I did. In undergrad, my Illustration professor assigned us a daily sketchbook, where we had to draw a picture every day. Both exercises I found were beneficial to my creative improvement. I generated story and art ideas from these forms of ritualistic documenting.

While I never stopped writing poems or drawing in my sketchbook, I did fall out of the daily routine somewhere. Earlier this month, fatigue from staring at the screen, poring through applications and scrolling through the pages and pages of my manuscript slapped me silly. I started taking breaks from the computer to go to my library and rent books from my “To Read” list, and I somehow ended up in the poetry section.

Poetry has been a place of solace for me since I first read Shel Silverstein as a seven year old. It’s my way of self-reflecting, of taking a step back from what I’m doing and just sitting with whatever I’m feeling or observing. In the middle of this month, after getting a haircut, I stopped in a tea shop and read my rented copy of Mary Oliver’s Red Bird. It was wonderful. I miss reading and writing poems.

So despite my uncertainties and failures of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, I’ll have poetry. My computer exhaustion has led me outside, to run and go on walks and ride my bike. It’s pushed me toward daily journaling and drawing, and I’m writing poems again. Here’s an autumn-inspired one I wrote earlier this month after driving home from visiting my grandparents in their upstate New York lake cottage.

Fields of Goldenrod

Waves of green ripple in crests of 

yellow, golds in the late afternoon 

glimmer like an adolescent’s eye, 

like the first crisp cut of teeth 

snapping through an Empire apple, 

my mother’s favorite. 

It is autumn when I see fields of 

Solidago and can munch on rusty reds

and corn yellows, 

can feel my hairs rippling so slightly, 

catching in the afternoon’s wearing light in

gleams of gold. 

It stretches and I swim with the perennials. 

Summer Reading: This Year's Favorites

I try to read as much as I can. This means planned and compulsive book hauls from my local library along with the occasional spending spree at an independent bookshop. Thanks to a few trips down South this summer, I was able to visit some literary nooks on Southern Living’s list of The South’s Best Bookstores (BookPeople in Austin, Blue Bicycle Books in Charleston, Malaprop’s Bookstore in Asheville, The Ivy Bookshop in Towson, And Old Fox Books in Annapolis). I love being surrounded by hardcovers and paperbacks while sipping chai tea and reading (or writing) in a local bookstore. I’ll go out of my way to find an independent bookshop in whatever town or city I’m exploring.

Despite my summer of travels, online classes, and dogsitting gigs, I made plenty of time to read, and I’m happy to report that this was yet another bookish summer. I love recommending books to folks looking for a good read. In no particular order, here’s a list of some of my favorite reads from June to August.

1. The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson: I’ve seen this book on the recommended shelf in the Roanoke Barnes and Noble all spring, so I added it to my “Middle Grade Books to Read” list. Finally, I got my hands on it at the incredible Austin Public Library on my first day of my great Texas adventure with Abbie. The book explores the Baba Yaga myth in twelve year old Marinka, who just wants her moving house to settle down so she can find a friend. Her grandmother guides the dead to the afterlife as a Yaga, a job Marinka is not keen on being raised to do. The story is fantastical and relatable to any child in a migratory household (I wonder how families on the move would feel if they lived in a house with legs? And chicken legs, at that!) The cover art introduces readers to the whimsy of Marinka’s magical world. It’s also surprisingly heartfelt, and there’s some great themes on communal support in times of hardship. It’s a sweet story, one I’ll associate with lamplit nights reading in Abbie’s cozy spare room in Austin.

2. The Carrying by Ada Limón: I’ve read this twice before, but I’m putting it on this list because I bought a copy at Malaprop’s Bookstore in July when my sister and I roadtripped from Charleston, South Carolina to Asheville, North Carolina. I was introduced to Ada Limón back in undergrad. My Poetry II class read Bright Dead Things in Fall of 2016, and as much as I loved that collection, I think this one is even better. Quiet, philosophical musings like “On a Lamppost Long Ago” and “Sundown and All the Damage Down” still have yet to leave my mind. I only buy books that I love and will reread; The Carrying is one of my favorite collections of poems that I will revisit time and time again.

3. Be a Tree! by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Felicita Sala: One look at the front cover of this stunning picture book and I was hooked. Who doesn’t love trees? Italian author Maria Gianferrari and Italian illustrator Felicita Sala teamed up to explore trees all over the world, and the result is an arboreal dream. The colors are alive, the perspective shows different, dizzying aspects of trees, and the text pairs to the idea of natural harmony. Sala has a great illustrative style, check her out on Instagram! This lovely book proudly rests on my picture book shelves.

4. The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart: Another great roadie read; I rented this from my home library in Maryland and brought it along on my Charleston, Greenville, and Asheville roadtrip with Sarah. Coyote Sunrise is the name of our protagonist, who travels cross-country with her rolling-stone father Rodeo in an effort to escape a family tragedy in their home state of Washington. Their school-bus home, a character in itself, finds other wandering souls seeking answers on the road. Through Coyote’s eyes, we learn about grief, love, and the concept of home. This middle grade novel has a lot of heart. I love books set on the road, and this is one I’ll be reading again soon.

5. Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina: Another middle grade novel, this one a Newberry winner! Merci lives in Las Casitas with her Cuban-American family in Florida, which includes her grandparents, Lolo and Abuela. Between navigating preteen complications involving a new student and a snippy classmate, Merci notices Lolo hasn’t been himself. She decides to get to the bottom of it and finds that family can be just as confusing as sixth grade. This well-written coming-of-age tale charmed me. The characters feel real and the family and school aspects of the story as well as our protagonists’s personal struggles are fairly balanced, representing Merci’s three-dimensional world. I love middle grade for its simplicity, even in intricate situations where young characters are thrown multiple curveballs.

6. The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner: I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but that’s exactly what I did when I picked this up from the adult section of my local library. Penner weaves between female characters living in two timelines, one, an unhappy wife visiting modern-day London, the other an apothecary with a secret side business in 18th century London. The cover, colored in pink and purple flowers surrounding an enchanting gold bottle of potion promised me a mystical tale. While the dialogue set in the past may not be historically accurate, this adult novel did interest me with it twists and turns. I’m picky when it comes to liking books, even more so with adult reads, but I did enjoy Penner’s debut.

7. Daniel Finds a Poem by Micha Archer: I interviewed Archer back in May, and I continue to fall in love with her illustrations. Her stories are just as impressionable, and in this vibrant picture book, Daniel walks around his neighborhood, asking friends what a poem is. The responses he collects stitch together into one final poem that beautifully summarizes this lyrical story. The character of Daniel is cute and curious, any young child can connect with him. If you love collage and texture, with lovely words to match, please give this picture book a read.

8. Newspaper Blackout by Austin Kleon: My Poetry II professor mentioned the blackout poem, but I only recently read from this form. The creator, Kleon, writes in his introduction for Blackout about his initial discovery. A frustrated short story writer down on his publication luck, Kleon took a permanent marker to a stack of newspapers, blotting out blocks of text to form short insightful groups of words. He christened them “Newspaper Blackout Poems,” featured them on his blog, and made history. The poems are short, incredibly, impossibly so, but there are many gems that even non-poetry readers will find special. Personal highlights include “In Italy,” “Cowboy Scene,” and “Captain’s Log.”

   Fall is within reach, and my library list continues to grow. Happy reading, bibliophiles!

One Long Train Ride Leads to Austin, TX

Spacious Amtrak seating.

My first summer at Hollins, I met Abbie Pannell in the Tinker dorms. As new students, we were in the same classes, and I had a great first year getting to know her as well as my other classmates. She explained how she recently moved to Austin, Texas and that I was welcome to visit. I always wanted an excuse to go visit the Lone Star state, and having a friend who lived there made the trip all the more tantalizing. I planned on flying out to Abbie in early June of 2020. We’d spend a week in Austin, she’d show me around, and then we’d drive up to Virginia in her car the next weekend in time for summer classes.

Abbie, a gracious host with nice plants!

Unfortunately, the pandemic cancelled 2020 and 2021 in person classes, so I wouldn’t get to see Abbie in Texas or at Hollins for our usual grad summer semester. Still, I was eager for an Austin visit and I wanted to make a trip out of getting there. This past May, I looked into booking a rental car to drive from Virginia to Texas, spend a week in Austin, and fly home. With travel being at an all time high this summer, prices for cars and flights were astronomically high. I also waited last minute to make my travel plans, so that certainly didn’t help. Luckily, I had accumulated enough Amtrak points from all the train trips I took in grad school, and I looked up train routes to Austin. With all my saved points, I was able to book a cheap, albeit semi-complicated route to Austin. I took the Capitol Limited Amtrak and started in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia on Wednesday evening, and arrived in Chicago, Illinois Thursday morning for a four hour layover in The Windy City. From there, I hopped on the Texas Eagle Amtrak, passing St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas, and Fort Worth. I arrived in Austin Friday evening, drained from audiobooks and leftover Chicago deep dish. I had some leftover Southwest points to get me a flight home a week later, so the long train trip would just be a one-way adventure. At last I was in Texas and with my grad school friend, who I had not seen in two years.

Terry Black’s with Abbie and Marina.

Abbie showed me around her home in the Zilker neighborhood, a funky community within walking distance of the city. She is an expert indoor gardener; I marveled at her healthy green plants and succulents and came away with enough growing advice to start potting my own indoor jungle. We started our Austin adventure Friday night with a trip to Austin Eastciders. Abbie and I met some of her friends to try a cider flight and each new flavor we tried was delicious. Saturday we walked all around downtown in the Texas heat. We started on the trail that goes over Lady Bird Lake (an Austin landmark) to get brunch at The Westin, where Abbie was a server. She ordered a bunch of plates and we shared an avocado toast garnished with radishes, bacon deviled eggs, cocktails, and more. Being book lovers and members of the Children’s Book Writing and Illustrating M.F.A., she showed me the Austin Public Library, one of the coolest libraries I’ve ever seen, and BookPeople, a bookstore with an extensive children’s section complete with handwritten staff recommendations.

Zilker night walks.

I spent my week in Austin outside, running in the early morning to unsuccessfully avoid the June humidity. Abbie had to work a few days during my visit, so I had some alone time to walk and take pictures of cacti and flowers. She directed me to one of her favorite coffee shops, Opa! a Greek cafe with great chai tea and even greater baklava (I loved it so much I went twice and camped out with my laptop). Marina, a childhood friend who now lives north of Austin, agreed to meet up with me Sunday afternoon, and we toured the adorably quirky Austin Botanical Gardens. Abbie met up with us after her shift to introduce us to dinner at the legendary Terry Black’s Barbecue. The line was out the door, which Marina and I would soon understand why. I am not exaggerating when I say Terry Black’s is one of the best spots for American barbecue, and I’ve been to some great spots in the South. Our shared bounty included brisket, sausage, and an array of colorful sides.

Abbie ensured my visit included more Austin staples: a takeout trip to Whataburger, indoor rock-climbing, a hike on the Barton Creek greenbelt, a grocery run to H-E-B, bat-watching under the Congress Avenue Bridge, a Tex-Mex brunch, and kolaches. It was a relaxing time. On nights in, she introduced me to a Netflix series, Hilda, based on the popular children’s graphic novel series and I brought her into the world of Twin Peaks.

A final tea time.

On one of our last nights of our Great Austin Adventure, Abbie drove me out to Hill Country for a mini hike up Pennybacker Bridge Overlook, which rests over the Colorado River. I looked out at the Austin skyline and reflected on a successful trip: Abbie and I prepped for our summer semester and read books, had a wine, cheese, and tea party with one of her serving friends, and took lantern-lit night walks in her neighborhood when the air was slightly less humid. We hiked, ate, laughed, and lamented on not being able to finish our M.F.A. in person with all our summer friends from all over the U.S.. My Austin adventure with Abbie was worth the wait (in terms of patience and train miles), and I’m already looking forward to the next grad school friend visit.

Interview with Micha Archer

Happy May everyone! I love spring because the flowers and trees are at their fullest; there’s a balance of rain and sun that allows both flora and fauna to thrive. I moved back home temporarily and my parents have a beautiful backyard garden with colorful flowers that pop against the green manicured lawn. There are budding tomatoes, squash, and oodles of herbs growing from the ground. A certain warmness bubbles in me every time I sit in the backyard and spot a rabbit munching on some cloves or a robin plucking out an unfortunate worm. That same sensation crawls its way into my heart every time I flip through a picture book by Micha Archer, a gifted collagist and children’s illustrator.

Prairie Days, one of Micha’s gorgeous illustrating creds.

I recently discovered Micha through readbrightly.com’s (one of my favorite kid lit blogs) list for earth-friendly reads for kids and another list recommending lyrical picture books to encourage a young reader’s love of poetry. I immediately searched her website and visited my local library to get my hands on one of her books. While there’s a myriad of words I can think of when thumbing through the pages of a book by Micha, lyrical and earth-friendly may be two of the best ways to describe her fascinating work. She uses handmade textures to create brilliant, bold colors for her land and cityscapes where her semi-realistic child characters frolic. The style has stolen my heart, and Micha is my new favorite current picture book illustrator. I went on a shopping spree and bought a few of her books and reached out for an interview. She happily agreed and I was all the more excited to get to know more about her and her process. Please do check out her latest written and illustrated picture book, Wonder Walkers, and read on to find out more about the incredibly talented Micha Archer.

How did you begin your journey as a children's book illustrator?

I was encouraged to do art from a young age, my mother was an artist and we spent a lot of time drawing and painting together and going to art museums .

I loved working with kids and found my way into teaching Kindergarten. There I was exposed to hundreds of children's books and was enamored by the illustrations and which stories the kids wanted to read over and over. I often would make song and poetry charts and would fill the borders with drawings illustrating the themes. I knew I wanted to illustrate then.

I found an agent and at first mainly did educational illustration which had the challenges of tight spaces and short deadlines. It was great practice. This led to doing Two books with Barefoot Books (Lola's Fandango and Wise Fool).

This made me interested in doing more trade books.

I needed a new agent and the agent I was interested in was looking for both authors and illustrators. He saw a drawing I did on my website of a little boy on a stage and asked me if there was a story behind him. I took this as a chance to impress him and came up with my first book Daniel Finds a Poem. He shopped it around and it landed in Nancy Paulsen's hands at Penguin and she loved it. I have worked with her now on 5 books, 3 of them Daniel books ( the third is in process now)

Daniel Finds a Poem*

Girl Running

Daniel's Good Day*

Wonder Walkers*

Daniel III ( Not sure of the title yet)*

I have also done 2 books with Charlesbridge-

Around the World in a Bathtub

Spring Equations

And one with Reycraft

My Big Family

* written by me

Do you have any influences or favorite artists that have impacted your style?

Many, and they change all the time.

Micha’s home studio space (image courtesy of Micha Archer).

My aunt Betty

My Mom

Artists-

Romare Bearden with his collage artist,

Matisse for the colors and patterns,

Mary Cassatt for her tender portraiture with children.

Miro and Klee and Calder for their simplicity and use of space and color.

Artwork from West Africa, India and Central America has influenced me all through my life.

Illustrators-

Maurice Sendak line drawings.

Evaline Ness for anything she does

Roger Duvoisin

Ezra Jack Keats

To name just a few.

Can you discuss your illustrative process? What tools and techniques do you use?

I do dummies in pencil and sometimes completely on the computer.

For my finals I make my own collage papers with inks and acrylics using whatever I can as stamps.

I glue all kinds of things to blocks of wood for stamping or just slide paint across colored paper with a credit card.

I layer tissue papers and use origami papers that I alter or just take parts out of.

I use jagged scissors . I use fun brushes to make patterns.

I spend hours and hours making piles and piles of papers.

It's important to me to manipulate every piece of paper I put down so my work isn't flat.

Do you have a specific place where you create your work?

I have a studio in my house. Not far from the kitchen so I can see the work on the wall and be thinking about it and cooking as I work.

I have also taken my book projects on the road.

Last year I set up in a little tower in a huge manor we were caretaking in Spain and then in a tiny cabin in the Costa Rican mountains.

What are some of your rituals you use to get into a creative sphere?

Making my papers can get me going.

Making fun random collages with my scraps helps too.

Looking through art and photo books to get ideas when designing my dummies.

Painted colored papers (Image courtesy of Micha Archer).

Lots and lots of really quick sketching.

Listening to podcasts while I illustrate but not when I am designing or writing. I listen to music when I am designing.

I have a writing group once a week with just 2 other women and that really helps get my juices flowing.

I sit in our window seat when I am writing.

I take a ton of walks and bike rides to keep me from getting too obsessive. It helps to step away and see the big picture.

You both illustrate and write picture books. Do you prefer to work with your own text, or do you find coming up with a story to be a challenge?

I like both, I love the challenge of both. Writing to me is so much like collage work; adding and taking a way. It's almost like carving sometimes ; starting with too many words and simplifying down until it's almost a haiku poem. I have been working with Patricia Maclachlan( Prairie Days 2020 and Snow Horses 2022, Simon and Schuster) Her books are beautifully written and they tell you in words how to illustrate the page.

What advice would you give to aspiring children's book authors-illustrators?

Draw daily,

Work reallllllly hard,

Start over early when something isn't working,

Learn Photoshop and Indesign,

When you get a book -Be easy to work with, Editors and Art Directors are super busy

Micha’s accumulated cut texture papers (image courtesy of Micha Archer).

Be yourself and different- don't look at too many other illustrators because you might get overly influenced.

When my 2 kids were little I told myself that I actually had a third child named Art. If I didn't pay enough attention to little Arty they would die.

Feed your art daily in one way or another. Don't give up.

Visit michaarcher.com to see more of Micha’s beautiful collage works and find her on instagram @michaarcherart. Her latest picture book Wonder Walkers is out now. Check it out!

Spring 2021 Playlist Share

Wow! It’s been a long while since I shared what music I’m currently listening to. I’ve been juggling so many assignments and trying to work through a massive creative block that’s hindering me from drumming up new illustrations (future blog post on that). My fellow creatives know what I’m talking about: writer’s block, creative ruts, and an overall blasé attitude toward chasing new ideas. It happens and it’s awful.

At least music is there for me. Even when I’m stuck, music is a crutch for me to cling to. I’ve got Spotify, Youtube, and of course my favorite radio stations; in Maryland, it’s 103.1 WRNR which is a great source for new alternative. Here in Roanoke, Virginia, I have 101.5 The Mountain, which has introduced me to modern bluegrass and indie/folk. I love it!

The Strokes have been keeping this spring alive for me, as have Semisonic and their sudden reappearance into the alt-rock scene. Let’s just get into it, here’s some of what I’ve been currently listening to:

Semisonic: You’re Not Alone

Arlo Parks: Hurt

Sylvan Esso: Ferris Wheel

Chet Faker: Low

The Strokes: Making Bad Decisions

Beabadoobee: Care

Semisonic: Basement Tapes

Glass Animals: Heat Waves

Shakey Graves: Dearly Departed

Lake Street Dive: Hypotheticals

Foo Fighters: Waiting on a War

Fiona Apple: Shameika

The Strokes: The Adults are Talking

Big Thief: UFOF

Black Pumas: Colors

Falling Back in Love with Oils

Spending the day in front of a computer is draining. My eyes water, my mood dampens, and the midday slump lasts longer (midday slump- future blog post to come). So I’ve been doing everything I can to get time away from the screen. I’ve been spending a lot of mornings and afternoons outdoors during the work week. Since I as a staff member am closed off from the university gym, I’ve been running, walking, and jumping rope outside while the weather isn’t thick with humidity just yet.

Another non-screen hobby I’ve made an effort to revisit is painting. Besides work and online school, I make a lot of my art on the computer. I type my stories in Word or Google and I assemble my illustrations in Photoshop. There are a lot of advantages to working digitally, but with so many Zoom meetings and email scrolls, one can only hope to stare at something that doesn’t blink back glaring blue light. For my own sanity, I need to step away from the computer and physically make art.

An oil moon detail from a work in progress.

Traditional media is what I have been trained in. I went to school for it and I grew up drawing with pencils, crayons, and Bic pens. In high school, I met oil paint my senior year. We learned a flat, semi-transparent technique that involved gessoing a blank canvas, waiting for it to dry, then using oil paints by dipping the brush in turpenoid and painting on clean coats. In undergrad, we followed a similar technique involving turpenoid and linseed oil to clean the brush and paint flat layers. However, one of my professors taught me a new method for oil painting, one that didn’t involved flatness. We learned about thick painting, impasto, or what he called “sexy painting.”

For those unaware, oil painting is an age-old medium that many fine artists have used in the past. It stains easily and can be difficult to get out of clothes, plus it’s flammable. And unlike acrylic or watercolor, it takes a while to dry. My high school teacher’s instructions avoided disastrous cleanup, but with the impasto method, it can be very messy and smelly, especially if you use turpentine, not turpenoid. Painting with oils in thick coats is quite the scene; when I do it, it gets everywhere and I end up ruining brushes in the process. My fingers turn colors and I squeeze through tube after tube. Impasto oil painting is a cluster. And I love it.

Shenandoah Farm, View from Car, oil on canvas. 16x12”

There’s a certain richness one can find in color and texture when choosing the “sexy paint” route for oils. If you’ve ever seen a Van Gogh painting in real life, you’ll know what I mean. He’s probably one of the most famous oil impasto painters, for good reason. His work is vivid and expressive, it’s colorful and it makes the viewer want to visit his oil dream worlds. I think that’s what I love most about painting with thick oils. When used by those who understand its potency, there’s a lot of emotion in it.

It’s messy, it reeks, and it burns through money as tubes of oil paint are not cheap. In fact, oils are the most expensive paints at the store so the next time you’re scratching your head at the price of an oil painting at your local gallery, keep that in mind.

But oil paints are worth it. I love getting down and dirty with the pigment. I love the richness of mixed colors, I love using my scratchy brushes and my palette knife to get layers of texture on the canvas. I miss using my whole body to make art; when I have a big canvas in front of me, I do stretch and lunge and reach all around to angle each corner and get the perspective I’m looking for without touching a wet part of the painting. It’s fun, it’s like building or tinkering. Oil painting is creative problem solving.

Since I’ve been staring at screens day in and day out, I’ve managed to scrounge up some old canvases and revisit one of my favorite traditional mediums. I’m experimenting with subjects, though I’m mainly focused on natural landscapes with vibrant colors; I love high contrast and brightness, even in nocturnal settings. I’m grateful to manage my free time and to live in an area with so much inspiration; the Blue Ridge mountains are outside my window, and I’m surrounded by trees and fields.

If you’re like me and you’re sick of staring at a screen all day, I encourage you to find a hobby that involves traditional skills. Use your hands, get creative and get messy!

Coal Walk

One of my favorite moments in The Office is in season three, a special episode entitled “Beach Games.” At this point, a lot of us have seen The Office so I’m not going to go into unnecessary details, but my favorite part starts when Michael introduces the coal walk as a management parable (genius, right?). After he chickens out on doing the walk and Dwight fails to suck up, Michael segues into another segment of his management search. A lone Pam stands in front of the hot coals, and she scampers across. She does it in a mere amount of seconds, without any witnesses. She doesn’t need to do the coal walk, she does it because she wants to. And her sudden rush of adrenaline brings on an honest moment of revelation.

I know it’s a silly sitcom that we all love. In our family, we’ve watched seasons 1-4 so many times that it’s now a source of background noise when nothing else is on tv. But Pam is a character I’ve always related to, even back in middle school when I watched the show on live cable, and her coal walk monologue is significant to me.

‘I’ve been trying to be more honest lately. And I just need to say a few things.”

I’m in my final semester of working as a GA at Hollins University and I’m not quite sure what will happen next. I’m ready to move forward, but I’m uncertain where forward is. I’m still working on my picture books and my middle grade novel (which at this point has become my baby because I’ve spent so much time with it and I care for it very much). But the publishing road is an arduous journey that is hard to break into. It’s honestly like trying to bust through a fortress and I don’t have a battering ram just yet. I have some tools thanks to grad school, SCBWI, and networking, but still I have a ways to go before I make it through. I’m 26 years old and some things that I thought would’ve happened by now haven’t, and I am a swirling tempest of happiness, sadness, indifference, and blessedness.

So what now? Well, I’ve been inconsistent with blogging and part of me wants to be better with it, especially at a time like this where folks have been holed up as this crazy pandemic rages on. But besides the consistent posting, the interviews, the few articles of travel and outdoors-related adventure, like Pam, I want to be more honest here. I’m spending less time on social media because I find it very 2D and surface-level, plus there’s just so much noise (how’s that for honesty?). But here, it’s more quiet and I can share stories. There’s a danger to having too much screen time, but when I’m on my own website and blog, I plan on making my occasional blog posts count.

So for starters, I’ll admit I need to be more like Pam and just go for the coal walks life has to offer. It’s hard to be an introvert in a family of extroverts. It’s easy to be an introvert in a world where we’re told to stay inside and wear a mask when we venture into public places. I still can’t believe this is our situation right now. But it’s also a time for me to reflect on things, to move forward and not wallow in self-pity. If anything, this pandemic has reminded me that I need to focus on what truly matters. And what truly matters to me involves surrounding myself with folks I love, with places I enjoy frequenting, with memories I like to revisit to draw writing and artistic inspiration from.

Time is fleeting. I think I can get a project started and completed in a week, then days later I haven’t even started yet. Hopefully writing about my shortcomings on here will help with accountability. Life just isn’t that long, and I don’t want to be silent about things that matter to me. So with the future of this blog in mind, I’m prepared to write more about my relationship with Jesus, because faith is extremely important to me and it’s something that I unfortunately don’t talk about enough. Get ready for more posts on books that I like, personal challenges, family, trips (fingers crossed), music, and whatever God has in store for me. Look for more personality and meaning; I’ll be sharing more introspection and thoughts, and as always, look forward to more artwork.

“Okay, I am gonna go walk in the water now.”

Hanging Out in Charleston, SC

Travel van inspiration.

Oyster art courtesy of Empire Oyster.

This past holiday week, my family flew down to Charleston, South Carolina to enjoy a warmer version of Thanksgiving. Having spent the past two late Novembers in the windy city, where my sister and her boyfriend were currently living, the shorts-weather was quite the surprise. We arrived to calm sunshine and palm trees along with many wet greetings from Goose, their huggable golden retriever.

Another interesting surprise was Griff’s proposal on Sullivan’s Island, the day before Thanksgiving. Words can’t describe how happy I was and still am for Sarah, I am proud to report I happy-cried. And looking forward, I’m sure there will be plenty more to say about the behind-the-scenes for their wedding plans. For now, I can only be grateful to God for bringing Sarah and Griff together.

The trip continued with a charming night visit with Griff’s family and our family to The Barrel, a dog park/outdoor bar with astro-turf for the canines and local beers for the humans. My parents enjoyed fancy oysters courtesy of the visiting Empire Oyster. While I’m no fan of the shelled delicacies, I do commend the vendor on his incredible artistic license with the oysters. His set-up was unique, a standing boat which served as his bar, where he assembled gourmet oysters before our very eyes. With all the different smells and breeds for a dog to marvel at, Goose enjoyed the place even more than we did.

Joe Riley Waterfront Park by the popular Pineapple Fountain.

The wide array of food options was quite the sight driving through the palm tree-lined streets. Plenty of brunch, seafood, Mexican, though not a lot of Italian options. The South seems to lack the Italian dining options available up north, but it certainly makes up for that in fried chicken, biscuits, and other comfort foods. Speaking of biscuits, we tried a brunch place in Mount Pleasant called Vicious Biscuit. I opted for the sweet potato biscuit with maple bourbon butter while my family tried the many variations on biscuit sandwiches. It was delicious and we plan on returning next time we visit.

We wandered along the downtown area, running past Rainbow Row for a morning workout and photographing the pineapple fountain near the waterfront park on our phones. It was a sunny, pleasant escapade, albeit a little unusual to be sitting outside in balmy 65 degrees while pigging out on turkey and watching football come Thursday evening. Charleston is so nice because everyone’s outside be it shopping, walking or running, dining, or enjoying lovely scenery and historical sites like Angel Oak or Fort Sumter. Southern cities have so much to offer and I can’t wait to visit Sarah and Griff again in their new, sunny home.

Biking the Virginia Creeper Trail

This past weekend, my parents met me here in Roanoke to go further down Southwest Virginia for a weekend of biking. The pandemic has brought us deeper into the world of biking on trails, and when I was home this spring and summer, the three of us rode every Sunday on the NCR trail between White Hall, Maryland and New Freedom, Pennsylvania. My mom’s friend mentioned the Virginia Creeper Trail, a 34 mile gravel ride that starts in Abingdon and ends in Whitetop, Virginia. Of course we had to go since I attend grad school 2 hours away from Abingdon. We planned it out and made it happen, our first “bike packing” experience.

Riding along in the beginning.

Now this being our first bike packing trip, we packed rather light and only spent one night with what we could carry. I realize there are more hardcore bike packers out there, but this was new for us. We started the trip Friday night in Abingdon at a hotel, exploring the local fare at The Tavern, a very old German restaurant in the town’s main street. I ordered a pumpkin martini, it was delicious. We officially started on our bikes Saturday morning at the Abingdon trailhead. After gearing up our saddlebags and bungeeing bags together in the parking lot, we took off, enjoying rolling green hills, lovely, spacious, neighborhoods, and farmlands dotted with cows upon cows.

Around the midway point, I did take a tumble on a damp mud patch, but came out only with two bruised knees-no biggie. Damascus, Virginia is where the trail reaches the true midway point, but we rode on, determined to cover as much ground as possible as the trail starts to slope upward after Damascus. One takeaway from riding I can still feel is that once I stopped, I found it harder to keep going. We didn’t stop for many breaks, but one of them on the way up was at a little eatery called the Creeper Trail Cafe, where Mom and I noshed on some trail mix and dad ordered a plump cheeseburger. It was a nice pick-me-up, and a quaint spot. There were a ton of riders stopped at this trailside cafe, and we decided to come back on our way down.

Up and up we went, and this is when I could feel the burn in my rear and legs. Biking is good exercise, but I really feel the calories melt when I climb, not so much when I ride flat or downhill. The Virginia Creeper Trail is a popular tourist spot. We found this out when riding from Damascus to Whitetop; many tourists will hitch a ride on a shuttle service, which will drive them to Whitetop, bikes and all, and then they ride the 18 miles downhill back to town. Because of this, we had to dodge many large groups on our way up, making the ride that much more difficult. I’m all for folks who want to ride their bikes, and the weather was perfect that weekend. But the worst part of the trip I’d say would have to be the tourists; many of them were new to biking and did not know proper trail etiquette. This meant that many downhill riders did not get to their left when we rode up the mountain on their right, and this also meant that many groups congregated in the middle of the trail, not bothering to stay to the sides and get out of the way of passing riders.

Biking is the official sport of the pandemic, but my parents and I were still shocked at the number of folks who didn’t know the basic rules of trail riding. Since it’s becoming so popular, a lot of newbies are not acquainted to rougher terrain, and the ride up was very rocky and narrow. There was also a surprising number of little ones on the trail, a ride I wouldn’t suggest for kids, at least on busy, crowded weekends. The Damascus to Whitetop region is chock full of forest and creeks, a lot of greenery. The further and further we climbed, the harder the ride became. We climbed all the way to Whitetop and felt the relief of completing the whole Virginia Creeper Trail in about 4 hours with breaks included (more or less, I don’t have exact numbers). Of course, we had to ride back down to get to our inn reservation in Damascus.

We glided downhill, the difference between uphill and downhill when biking is astounding, especially in terms of time. Dad and I stopped for water at a nifty outfitter situated against the river portion of the trail, then we pressed forward on our ride to revisit the Creeper Trail Cafe for coffee and Pumpkin Pie cake (again, delicious). Back in Damascus, we checked into a kitschy local inn owned by an adorable couple who recommended the Damascus Old Mill Inn for dinner. Between appetizers of fried green tomatoes, wings, and more fall flavors for supper, a bluegrass band from North Carolina played on the outdoor patio. It was a lovely evening. Our host reminded us of our proximity to the North Carolina and Tennessee borders. Damascus is the town that emanates Appalachia.

Sunday morning, Mom and Dad had coffee as we ventured over to Sundog Outfitter, a local joint that miraculously still sold bikes despite the worldwide shortage (COVID 19’s sport, remember?). Dad scored me a new hybrid- better for roads and long distances, according to him. We rode our bikes back to Abingdon, once again enjoying some lovely scenery and taking in the joys of a flatter ride, though we were all sore from the 50 miles we rode the previous day. Our adventure ended with a pick-me-up at a local juice bar called White Birch then with another visit to Damascus, where we drove the car to pick up my new ride. It was a wonderful weekend and a great introduction to bike packing. We rode a grand total of 68 miles, and I loved it. Biking long distances and bike packing is not for everyone, but now I’m hooked and I hope to do some longer rides in the future. I think biking is a great way to exercise while traveling and enjoying local gems.

Interview with Elizabeth Dulemba

What a busy summer it has been! Thanks to COVID-19, Hollins Summer had to move to an all-online format. So instead of seeing my friends from all over the country for another crazy busy summer filled with writing and making art in the world of children’s literature, I spent my semester waving to my friends and professors on Zoom. Womp!

But it wasn’t all bad. I learned a lot, both in my classes and in the world of online chatting and virtual hangouts. It did take some getting used to, working from home and not with the in-person assistance of my instructors, but my classmates and I pushed through and managed to find the motivation to get the work done even without face-to-face contact. I just wrapped up the semester with two classes, a writing tutorial and an art studio entitled Children’s Book Design. My instructor, Elizabeth Dulemba (or E, as we refer to her in Design), is an incredible illustrator and writer. She has written and illustrated numerous picture books created in a variety of media, and she has a middle grade novel, A Bird on Water Street, that I recently bought. She has a fantastic website with tips and interviews with other famous children’s book makers. I had to get her on the blog, and below is my interview with her.

How did you break into the children's book industry?

Meet Elizabeth Dulemba, one of the very talented art professors at Hollins University! Image courtesy of Elizabeth Dulemba.

I was an Art Director, Graphic Designer, and in-house illustrator at various firms for about fifteen years, but my dream was always to illustrate picture books. When I got married, we moved, I went freelance, and started working towards publication. After years of working with licensed characters (other people’s art), it took a while to figure out what my look was. But I kept experimenting and sent out postcards, mailers, built a website, joined SCBWI, and tried to learn as much as I could about the industry. Three years in, I got my first contract with Shen’s Books (now an imprint of Lee & Low) to illustrate a variant of Cinderella called The Prince’s Diary. YAY!

Did you have a favorite book growing up or artist that really inspired you? 

Oh yes! The Golden Book of Elves and Fairies illustrated by Garth Williams (of Charlotte’s Web fame). It was my mother’s childhood book (image attached), so it was already worn when I got it. But I used to spend hours staring at the images, trying to crawl into the worlds on its pages. I realized then (about age 6), that if I could make images that created that sense of wonder for others, that would be my dream. The book is falling apart, but it’s a personal treasure now.

You work as both a writer and an illustrator. How does that help/hinder your relations with potential agents, editors, and publishers?

The Golden Book of Elves and Fairies, one of E’s favorite books. Image courtesy of Elizabeth Dulemba.

Interesting question. Having two muses is a bit of a struggle, even though most agents say they want someone who does both these days. There’s just not a ton of money in picture books, and to have to split a royalty in half, well. Many agents don’t want to bother. I think I’m actually a better novelist and board book writer than I am a picture book writer, which is my sweet spot for illustration, so there’s a slight disconnect. I have a LOT of not-yet-published stories in my studio. But when the writing and illustrations come together - what joy that is! 

Do you have a favorite subject to illustrate or write about? 

Most of my writing seems to center around finding family, where one belongs, or finding one’s value in being different. I’m sure it’s all very freudian and transparent to my own life. But it’s ironic how the same themes pop up again and again no matter the genre I’m working in. I also like drawing friendly monsters and dragons. :)

You also teach illustration courses at the undergraduate and graduate level. What is the most rewarding part of the job for you?

I love working with budding creators, helping them along their own creative journeys. To see the lightbulbs go off for someone else, or be there for their breakthroughs - that is an absolute honor. And since I don’t have kids of my own, my students become my kids, no matter their ages. I love it when they keep in touch!

What advice would you give to aspiring children's book author-illustrators? 

This is going to sound strange, but the best advice I can give is… forget the business. You’ve got to do it for yourself. You’ve got to enjoy the journey. So much of this business feels like a panic - like you might miss a trend, or a window of opportunity, and it’s just not so. Nobody is waiting for you, not in the beginning. If you rush through something to get to where you think you should be, it will show. Conversely, if you take your time with something because it brings you JOY, that will show too. And that is usually the stronger path to success.

E’s latest publications include On Eagle Cove, which comes out this fall. And the new, illustrated version of her novel, A Bird on Water Street came out last November. Merbaby’s Lullaby came out in 2019 from Simon & Schuster’s Little Simon imprint. And Crow Not Crow came out from Cornell Lab Publishing Group in 2018. Visit her stellar website, dulemba.com for more info!

Why is it so Hard to Write?

Writing is something I love to do. It’s an outlet for creative thinking, processing the world the way I see it. It is also an act I struggle to both channel and manage. Why is it so hard to write? Where exactly does writer’s block come from, and how can I avoid it?

In high school, I would write poems just about every day. Some of them were crummy, some experimental, but there were a few gems tucked away in the slush pile that I managed to pull out for my creative writing class, and my teacher noticed them. He even asked me in front of the class what I did for my poetry process, and I simply stated the truth, “I write one almost every day.” He praised me for this simple exercise and suggested the class do the same for their writing. I think therein lies my problem. The answer is staring me right in the face and clicking its tongue in disappointment.

I don’t write every day. That doesn’t mean that I don’t still write tons of poetry. No, I have journals and journals filled with poems, some crummy, some experimental, a few gems. I think the devil actually is in the details. I’ve always wanted to write a longer piece, something more than poems or short stories. I don’t have a problem with shorter length pieces. Two of my most recent writings are picture books; short, sweet, and straight-forward. I grapple with my one true desire, my creation of an original story in novel format.

I tend to get lost in the minute. Even in my art, I can spend way too much time on a particular line or shape, forgetting to look at the picture as a grand sum. I’m a detail-oriented worker, so I heavily focus on individual parts. In longer forms of writing, I write, rethink, doubt, rewrite, and just flat out avoid completing whatever chapter or section I’m working on. Ever since I started my MFA here at Hollins, I vowed that this would be the place where I would complete my middle-grade novel about a shy squirrel. It’s been two years and I’ve rewritten the first draft about four times, and it still isn’t even finished!

I feel like I’m losing the creative part of my mind, what’s wrong with me? Why can’t I just get the story straight? What’s keeping me from writing this darn novel? One of my professors suggested that the problem comes from my own anxiety, and I fear she is right. It’s ironic that we tend to think that adversity strictly comes from external forces instead of taking a good long look at the mirror and concluding that the real enemy is in ourselves.

Why do we doubt? For me, I doubt because I want to be perfect. I’ll have my first go at a story and will fret when it’s not going where I want it to go. I’ll have a thought from a long walk outside Monday morning yet come Tuesday afternoon, that surge of joyful inspiration will have dissolved in the dust. I wish I could generate time pockets where I could relive past feelings and memories that can contribute to my source material.

I know that writing is not really easy for anyone. It requires hard work and discipline, for some, a structured schedule. I know that writing also requires one to take a step back and to maybe take a break. It’s rather daunting, at least for us newbies, to just go go go and not stop (all work and no play, anyone?). So the advice that I guess I would give myself is to write in increments; do what you can, but don’t feel obligated to finish a whole novel within a week, or even within a month.

Maybe I’d suggest writing and pushing through what you can, but also making time for valuable breaks. If you don’t take a moment to remove yourself from your work, how will you be able to spot potential areas for improvement? And during those moments of worry and self-doubt, go outside, talk to someone, watch HGTV or paint a picture.

And don’t forget to share your writing with someone you know and can trust to give you sound feedback. Writing does not have to be a lonely sport. I’ve played sports all throughout my school-years and now realize that I need to be a part of a team. In fact, I thrive in the company of others in my job. It’s helpful and necessary to get a fresh set of eyes on your writing. And it’s more fun to be a part of a team. That’s one of the many reasons I’m so glad for my MFA.

If you have any other advice for those of us trying to beat the writer’s block, share in the comments. Let’s jump that hurdle and get down to why we love to write!