Here is the 9th post in this series of interviews with our published members. This post is special because it's the first time we are talking about a series of books which have two authors. Please welcome Katie Hayoz and Laurie Theurer who have just self-published their series of picture books entitled 'A Monster's Guide to Life... In a Pandemic'. This is a series of four books: Zombie Covers His Coughs, Witch Washes Her Hands, Werewolf Howls at Home, and Mummy Wears a Mask. Tell us about your new series of books. Katie: The books are actually a subset of a different series that we haven’t yet published. We were originally planning on writing A Monster’s Guide to Life series about monsters learning life skills. However, the pandemic is something that we could not ignore and it only seemed right for the monsters to learn how to deal with life in these weird times as well. The children’s books that we’d read on the pandemic were mostly informative and/or serious. We wanted to talk about some COVID issues through humor. Laurie: Katie hit the nail on the head here. As soon as we got started on writing the original series, the Coronavirus started spreading exponentially. It made sense to switch focus and concentrate on pandemic-related books that we hope can help children to understand what’s going on and what all these new social rules mean. We also hope to give them a giggle or two and make the whole thing a little less scary for them. What inspired you when working on this project? Katie: We got inspired by bouncing ideas off of each other. In early March, we went on a writing retreat together. We both have a similar sense of humor, so when discussing a monster project Katie had put aside for years, together our ideas snowballed into something bigger and better. The enthusiasm and creativity of two brains was inspiring. That’s when we decided to partner up to write these books. Laurie: Exactly what Katie said! The most inspiring part for me was not only our very similar senses of humor, which is terrific and keeps us laughing, but what turned out to be an incredibly good balance of knowledge and experience when it comes to writing and self-publishing. This made us able to support each other in areas where one of us had more experience and the other less. No matter what challenge came our way, at least one of us seemed to have the answer to it! Tell us about the creative process for these books. Katie: We had to figure out how to go about writing a series together because we have quite different writing styles. We’re used to giving each other honest feedback, though, as we are in a critique group together. We each took the lead on two of the four books but exchanged thoughts and suggestions. Sometimes we wrote passages together over Skype. Laurie: It’s been an absolute pleasure developing these books together. As Katie mentioned, we’ve been in a critique group together for some years, so we were already able to be open and honest with each other. I cannot stress enough how priceless these are in a collaboration. If certain parts of a given book weren’t working for some reason, this ability to communicate openly with each other allowed us to work through the text together until we had something we both felt was strong. Did you encounter anything unexpected while working on this project? Katie: Unexpected? The whole writing a monster series for the pandemic was unexpected! But as we were in confinement, it became clear that was what we wanted to do. In order to go quickly, we decided to publish them ourselves. The work involved finding an illustrator, creating the layout, editing, setting the books up for sale, etc.—all a bit of craziness in the midst of working at home with our families. But another unexpected plus was connecting with the illustrator, Maria van Bruggen. We never thought we’d come across an illustrator who was as quick and easy-going as she is. Laurie: Ditto what Katie said. The whole series was quite unexpected, that’s for sure. There we were, calmly planning for a “regular” series of books about monsters and along comes a pandemic. I was working on the book dealing with Witch learning to ride a bike when I had the sudden realization that she could be learning the importance of washing her hands instead. Next thing you know, Katie and I had four re-imagined books solely about the pandemic...with a very unclear timeline. We had no idea at the time whether it would pass by quickly, whether a treatment or vaccination would be available shortly, or whether the virus was here to stay. So, we got to work. Now for something completely different! Hiking in the Mountains or Lazing by the Pool, Why? Katie: Uh…lazing by a stream in the mountains? Not a hiker. Not a pool person. But definitely a lazing about person… Laurie: If these were my only two options, I guess I’d choose hiking in the mountains (with a splash in the pool afterwards). I’m not very good at lazing anywhere, though. Thank you so much, Katie and Laurie, for such an interesting interview. It's wonderful to see how co-authorship can work so well. We wish you and your monsters in a pandemic series all the best. Sandra Yoong-Chia Bio: Katie Hayoz (Katie Lee Koz) Katie Hayoz is originally from Wisconsin, USA, but has been living in Geneva for 23 years. She writes for adults, teens, and now—under the name Katie Lee Koz—also for children. Her young adult novel, Untethered, took second place in the Mslexia international children’s novel competition 2012-13 and is an Indie BRAG medallion winner. Her Clockwork Siren series (for adults) has been chosen to be part of the curated Library Journal’s Self-E Select module. In 2018, her unpublished chapter book, Kelsie Carter and the Evil Chihuahua Army, was included in the Europe/British Isles SCBWI Undiscovered Voices anthology. She’s written picture books and video scripts for Kyowon publishing. Her shorter work has appeared in various places. Bio: Laurie Theurer Laurie Theurer is originally from California, but left the USA shortly after completing university to volunteer for 2 ½ years with the US Peace Corps, assigned as an English teacher to a secondary school in Loei, Thailand. Afterwards, she relocated to the Zurich region, where she’s remained for the past 23 years. She writes for adults, primarily flash fiction and poetry, as well as for all children of all ages. She’s published several flash fiction and poetry pieces with Café Aphra, GWG Offshoots, Flash Flood, Into the Void, 100 Voices, Reflex Fiction, Lunate Fiction, and is a regular contributor to The Woolf Literary. She’s also been shortlisted for the Fish Flash Fiction Award and Flash 500. Her debut children’s’ book, Swisstory: The Untold, Bloody, and Absolutely True History of Switzerland was published with Bergli Books in late 2019 and won the SCBWI 2020 Crystal Kite Award for the region Europe, Africa, and Latin America. This is the 8th in our series which highlights new books by our members. Please give a round of applause for Katelyn Aronson and her debut picture book, Piglette. Tell us about your new book Piglette is a story I originally wrote for my sister as a birthday present, so it was truly a “heart piece” of mine (as all writing should be). It’s about a very particular little piglet, who isn’t sure of where she fits in the world, but she’s eager to follow her snout and sniff out new horizons. Her passion is flowers, and when she leaves her farm to work at a perfumery in Paris, she thinks she’s finally found her perfect place. Major themes are leaving home, trying new things, homesickness, the search for belonging, and the ties that ultimately bind us homeward. What inspired you when working on this project? Even though Piglette is set in France, the spark of the story came to me thanks to a chance encounter in Italy. I was wandering the streets of Bologna and came across a magical perfumery, which you can read about on my blog. I never forgot that place, and months later, when the character of Piglette appeared in my mind (as characters often do!), I knew that a similar perfumery would be part of my little piglet’s destiny. Tell us about the creative process for this book. Piglette is one of my earliest manuscripts (I wrote it about five years ago now). So while I don’t remember the exact process, it started as my stories often do. A character appeared in my imagination, and I could tell right away that she merited a story all her own. So I spent time with her, trying to get to know her, finding out what that story was. At the very beginning, Piglette’s name was actually Paquerette (which in French refers to the little wild daisies that spring up on lawns and gardens). There were also a few more French references sprinkled through the text, which were removed to make the story more accessible to a young American audience. Did you encounter anything unexpected while working on this project. The most unexpected thing about Piglette’s publication process was…it’s speed! (We don’t often get to say that in the book industry, eh?) From offer to publication, my manuscript became a book in just one year. What a ride! I had the most wonderful experience working with my editor, Tamar Brazis, and fashion illustrator Eva Byrne. So I couldn’t be happier to announce that I get to work with them all over again. Piglette 2 is already slated to release in summer 2021, only a year after the first installlment! Now for something completely different! Beach Resort or City Getaway, Why? City Getaway for sure. Even if I do miss California every day, in general, lying on a beach is not for me. I like wandering a city, getting lost in it, discovering hidden treasures in little side streets—like the Italian perfumery that inspired Piglette, which I found by accident. Serendipity is to blame for my some of my favorite memories. Thanks Katelyn for a lovely interview. It's very interesting to see how wandering the streets of Bologna, Italy and a character like Piglette come together to create a beautiful, heartwarming story. I'm sure kids everywhere will enjoy getting to know Piglette and we eagerly await the second book coming out next year. Sandra Yoong-Chia Bio: Katelyn Aronson I was born and raised in Orange County, California. I went on to work in independent children’s bookstores there until the age of 25, when I followed my “European dream" and moved to France. Today, I divide my time between France and Switzerland, teaching French and English as foreign languages and writing stories. ... to one of our Swiss region members, Laurie Theurer, on winning a Crystal Kite Award, for her book, Swisstory. It was announced in the latest Insight email from SCBWI. The annual Crystal Kite Award is a peer-given award to recognize great books from 15 SCBWI regional divisions around the world. You can see the other winners here. (Note: the website has yet to be updated at time of posting this blog post, please check back in a few days for the full list of 2020 winners for books published in 2019.) (Update 9 June 2020: The full list of 2020 winners are now published on the SCBWI website.) Sandra Yoong-Chia Here's the 7th instalment of this series of posts which feature new books by our members. Please put your hands together for Sandra Nickel and her children's non-fiction book called Nacho's Nachos! Tell us about your new book. It’s the deliciously true story about how nachos were invented—about what happened when a regular customer asked Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya for something new and there were no chefs in the kitchen. This year is the 80th anniversary of the invention of nachos and Oliver Dominguez has created a fantastic retro vibe for the story. The book also includes the original recipe, which has inspired variations that have literally spread all over the world, from Texas to Paris to Egypt! What inspired you when working on this project? Around six years ago I was making nachos in my kitchen and wondered: where did these come from? I hopped online and discovered that Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya had invented them. It was unbelievable to me that I didn’t know my favorite snack was created by a man named Nacho. I had eaten nachos every single Saturday growing up, and I didn’t know that! I immediately thought: People need to know this. Kids need to know this! I started researching and discovered the stories about the invention didn’t agree. My curiosity drove me to travel to Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. The families of Anaya, Mamie Finan—the woman for whom nachos were invented—and Rodolfo de los Santos—the owner of the restaurant where nachos were invented—still live in the area and very generously agreed to speak with me. What I discovered was that even in Piedras Negras, folks have different versions of the story. It made me double down on research and look beyond the internet. I found two archived newspaper articles, where the reporters interviewed Anaya himself. When I read them, I felt that I was as close as I was ever going to get to the truth. With those articles and the details I gathered from photographs and interviews, I at last had my story! Tell us about the creative process for this book. I wrote my first drafts from what I found on the internet, before my trip to Mexico. They were narrative nonfiction, and I imagined conversations. I also imagined the setting since I didn’t have photos or descriptions of the restaurant where nachos were invented. After my trip to Mexico, gathering photos, discovering the archived articles, and interviewing the families, I decided to write the story as straight nonfiction. So many of the details out there are wrong. People have even posted photos of Anaya that aren’t him. In fact, there isn’t a single accurate photo of him on the internet. I wanted to be sure that my version only included details that I could verify. I also provided all the photographs I collected to Oliver Dominguez so his artwork could be as accurate as possible too. Did you encounter anything unexpected while working on this project? The great thing about writing, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, is that it’s always filled with the unexpected! My favorite unexpected discovery for Nacho’s Nachos was that the original nachos were different from the piles of tortilla chips we now see all loaded up with lots of toppings. Anaya’s original creation was pure and simple: a freshly fried tortilla quarter, with melted cheddar cheese and a single strip of pickled jalapeno pepper. It really is perfection! Now for something completely different! Hot Air Balloon Ride in the sky or Hovercraft Ride through the swamp, Why? Ooooh, that’s a hard one for me. I’m hugely scared of heights and I get motion sick on boats. That said, I have tested my acrophobia by skydiving and paragliding, so I’m going to go with hot air balloon ride. I have a lingering hope that confronting my fear of heights will one day make it disappear. Wish me luck! Good luck, Sandra, for both the hot air balloon ride as well as the launch of your new book! It was very interesting to find out how invention stories get muddled as time passes. Great to have writers like you who are committed to delivering historical truth to kids! Sandra Yoong-Chia Bio: Sandra Nickel Sandra Nickel writes books and poetry for young readers. In 2020 and 2021, she has three books coming out: Nacho's Nachos (Lee & Low), The Stuff Between the Stars (Abrams) and Breaking Through the Clouds (Abrams). Sandra's poetry can be found in SCOOP magazine. Sandra holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and has presented workshops on writing for children and young adults throughout Europe and the United States. Sandra has twice won the Katherine Paterson Prize for picture books. How are you all doing? We are living in strange times; almost all countries are in some sort of lockdown, work from home has become a norm, people argue about the benefits of wearing a mask or not... etc. It's all due to Covid-19, a virus which has caused a global pandemic and almost ground the world to a halt. BUT we are survivors, we go on, we do our best in these limiting times. Whenever i think of limits, i think of a box and that is the inspiration for my prompt for you today. Here is April 2020's Prompt: A Box! What can be in that box? Why is that box so important? Who does the box belong to? Where did the box come from? What is inside that box or what can come out of that box? How do we get the box open? When we do get it open, what will happen? Now go forth and create; write, draw whatever you want to with A Box! Enjoy the spring sunshine! sandra yoong-chia The SCBWI Winter conference in New York was informative and inspiring, and when I think back over the keynote and craft-focused presentations that I heard, one stands out above all the others. Most of you have probably heard of James Patterson. He is a best-selling author who has sold more books than J. K. Rowling and Stephen King (more than 300 million, as of 2014). And within the past few years, he has started writing books for children, and I honestly did not know what to expect when I took my seat at the Golden Kite award ceremony to listen to James Patterson’s keynote address. What could this best-selling author of books for adults who is now writing and publishing books for young readers have to say that could relate to my own creative journey? “States in the US use third grade reading levels to plan future prison capacity.” Wow. I don’t know what I was expecting Patterson to say, but it was not that! Having informed us as to how states use the information regarding student reading levels, Patterson had more startling facts to share. The best state has 58% of kids reading at grade level. In many states, 2/3 of kids are reading below grade level. In other words, in many states, the percentage of kids not reading at grade level is higher than the percentage of kids who are reading at grade level, in the best-performing state. So why did James Patterson share these facts with us? And why is he writing books for young readers? Why did he start a children’s publishing imprint, Jimmy Patterson Books, at one of the major US publishers? Because as an author he visits prisons, where he sees men who spend 20-23 hours a day in their cells, and to pass the time, they read. As he visited these prisons, talking to these men, he asked himself, “How could their lives have been different if they were reading like this as children?” He challenged us, as creators, as publishers and editors and agents, to think about the kinds of books we’re putting out into the world. “PLEASE GIVE ME ANOTHER BOOK!” This is the motto of Jimmy Books, and the motto he challenged us to embrace as we create our own stories for young readers. Even if you’re writing for a different regional market, where the situation is (hopefully) less dire, the core message still resonates. We need to create books that will make young readers want more books, because whether they’re reading a chapter book biography of a famous inventor, a middle grade adventure about space aliens taking over the school cafeteria, or a young adult contemporary romance, when kids are reading, they’re developing empathy, increasing their literacy and phonological skills, and improving their math skills. We’re all members of SCBWI because we want to write and/or illustrate stories for young readers, and we’re committed to improving our craft as we create those stories. As we start a new year, and a new decade, I hope that we can all approach our creative projects with a renewed sense of purpose, a renewed understanding of the importance of the stories we’re telling, and that we find camaraderie and support along our own creative journeys from interacting with other members of SCBWI. Elisabeth Norton The cold evening wrapped itself around me as I got off the bus. Not sure of the right direction to go in, I pulled out my phone to turn on the trusty Google Maps app. I noticed a lady next to me, doing the same thing. We looked up at each other and asked at the same time, "Are you going to the creative mind thing?" We both smiled and got to know each other as we walked together to the event called "Inside the Creative Mind", organised by Basel Creatives, a community of Basel-based small business owners, freelancers, artists and entrepreneurs. It was a heart-warming start to a great evening of wonderful chit-chat with like-minded individuals and an inspiring live interview, given by one of our own SCBWI members, Simona Ceccarelli. The interview was mainly about Simona's interesting career path; how she went from being a scientist to being a children's book illustrator. While Simona's story may not be uncommon in terms of making a career change, I found what she said to be very thought-provoking and insightful. Here's just a few points which captured my heart and mind (note: these are not direct quotes, I have paraphrased): One of the first things she said was that there is no such thing as a non-creative person. Simona believes that as humans, we all make things happen and that is the act of creating. This is so true! She quoted Neil Gaiman who spoke about goals as mountains where we can not see the route and have no map, we just need to take one step after another in the direction of the mountain. I liked this image so much that I searched the Internet to find the exact quote from Neil Gaiman. I think I found it in a keynote speech Neil Gaiman gave to the University of the Arts graduating class in 2012. You can read that speech here. Another thing Simona talked about which hit home was that we are all conditioned for tribal behaviour. Our tribe is where we get our validations and when we switch careers, it means leaving our current tribe and finding a new one. That is exactly what SCBWI is to me, my tribe of fellow creatives who are involved in the creation of children's books and spur me on. Simona made a brilliant reference to the book, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, when she spoke about inspiration and how her processes are very structured. She talked about the importance of trusting the process, of just showing up, taking the steps daily but not planning on landing on that mountain. I felt very encouraged as a creative person by this, because it confirms that it's not just about waiting for inspiration to hit you, you can make inspiration come to you by turning up and putting in the hours. She finished with this marvelous quote from Adam Grant (author of Originals: How non-conformists move the world): "Originals are afraid of failing, just like the rest of us. But they are even more afraid of failing to try." Now that is a quote and a half, isn't it? I am glad I went to this event. My tank is full. I am now wanting to go create, to keep trying, to keep showing up and doing the work, to share with my tribe in my journey up my mountain, to be an original. What about you? Will you join us in this creative journey? Sandra Yoong-Chia Note: Simona's new book, This Book is Upside Down, will be coming out in April 2020. Do look out for it! It's a new year, a new decade!
What have you been doing the first few weeks of 2020? I hope that you have been able to spend some time thinking about your creative work. Maybe you have considered changing where or when you write/draw? Maybe you have decided to dive into a new project? Or maybe you are just stuck, not knowing where to start or what to do to jump start your creative process for this new year. One of the things I find most useful is using a prompt to get me to put pen/pencil to paper. It's just a kickoff but who knows where it will take me. In light of that thought, I am starting a new series of posts here. Every couple of months I will post a writing/illustration prompt and you guys can take it and run with it. Here is January 2020's Prompt: Write about someone who has reluctantly made a New Year's resolution. Draw about kicking a habit (whether it's a literal or figurative interpretation is up to you). If you want to post some of what you have written or drawn based on the prompt in the comments below, that would be great. Now Go Create! Sandra Yoong-Chia We have talked in the past few months, with much excitement, to our members who have published new books. But did you know that SCBWI has a Happy Book Birthday program? Yep, it's a chance for authors and illustrators to publicise their newly published books in the month that they are released. All you have to do is submit information about your upcoming book the month before it is due to be launched and, ta-da, you have your book listed on the Happy Book Birthday page in the month that it comes out. SCBWI will advertise the page on the first of each month through all their social media channels. This is the privilege of membership! So do take advantage of this opportunity to celebrate your achievement and send your book-baby out into the big wide book-buying world. Here's a link to December's Happy Book Birthday page and here's the link to submission details. Sandra Yoong-Chia In our 6th post of this series, we are happy to speak with Laurie Theurer, who has recently launched her non-fiction children's book on Swiss history, Swisstory. Tell us about your new book Finally, the real history of Switzerland for clever kids and clever kids-at-heart: dukes slaughtered by filthy peasants, innocent “witches” hung up by their necks, secret gold, female mountaineers and, of course, all those murderous cows. Not the fake history of Heidi and William Tell, but Swisstory—from ancient cave people right up to women’s right to vote. Hilariously illustrated by bestselling Swiss artist Michael Meister, Swisstory is outrageous, fascinating, gruesome—and completely true. What inspired you when working on this project? The initial concept for Swisstory was actually as an activity book with word games about Switzerland. The publisher was interested in the idea, but not completely sold on it. So, we ended-up brainstorming together for the next six months, going through idea after idea and trying multiple formats. During this time, I started researching bits of Swiss history and discovered that it was just as gruesome—if not more gruesome—than for most of the rest of Europe. That’s when it occurred to us... Swisstory wanted to be a history book. Not being a historian, I was naturally a bit concerned about tackling this task. However, I quickly found that my inexperience in Swiss history actually helped me. Through my research, I came across people and events that truly shocked me; not fitting in whatsoever with my pre-existing concept of a clean, organized, humanitarian Switzerland. I applied this sense of surprise, shock, and horror to each chapter, presenting it for children and adults alike who might appreciate knowing the “less-savory” sides of the history of Switzerland. Tell us about the creative process for this book. As mentioned above, the creative process for this book changed out of necessity time and again until we finally realized what the book actually wanted to be! Of course, the creative process didn’t stop there. There are twenty chapters in Swisstory, each addressing a different aspect of Swiss history. We pre-selected many of the chapter topics, as it’s nearly impossible to have a book about Swiss history that doesn’t include the unique Swiss political system, meat and dairy industries, or something about banks. However I discovered many more interesting topics during my research that the editor had not previously considered...especially those that were particularly shocking or totally gross. He had me checking my resources more than once to make absolutely sure that what I was writing had actually happened. More traditional history books are unlikely to go into the types of details that I explore in this book. Did you encounter anything unexpected while working on this project. About 90% of my research took me completely and totally by surprise. I’d call that encountering the unexpected! Like most people, I had a pre-existing image in my head about Switzerland as a tidy, organized, wealthy country. However, that image really only established itself in people’s minds within the past 100 years, or so. I’d had no idea of what had come before and how different Switzerland was prior to this time. This pre-conceived notion is so strong that many choose to overlook the less savory things that have happened in Switzerland within the past 100 years, as well. Now for something completely different! Beach Resort or City Getaway, Why? Neither! I’m a country person at heart. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy beaches and cities for a short time, and then find myself dreaming of green pastures, towering mountains, sparkling blue lakes, and walking along country paths. I guess I’m living in the right place. Thank you, Laurie, for this in-depth look into the creation of Swisstory. History is indeed a fascinating aspect of any country and to discover shocking things about a country is very intriguing. We wish Laurie all the best as her book goes out into the big wide world. Sandra Yoong-Chia Bio: Laurie Theurer Laurie grew up in southern California, graduated from university, and then set off as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer, teaching English in a secondary school in rural Thailand for two years. After returning to the U.S., she promptly met a Swiss man...finding herself moving to Zurich a short time later. She’s lived there ever since, working as a consultant in the pharmaceutical industry and raising two gorgeous girls. After dreaming about writing for years, Laurie finally decided to pursue her dream in 2012. Since then, she’s had work published in literary magazines, anthologies, and is finally about to see publication of her debut book, Swisstory: The Untold, Bloody, and Absolutely Real History of Switzerland, takes a humorous look at Switzerland and Swiss history and will be available in both English and German on October 15th, 2019. |
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