By
Isabel Atherton
Illustrated
by Bethany Straker
It is a pleasure to have a successful
children’s book team with us, in the persons of author Isabel Atherton (who
also happens to be my literary agent-extraordinnaire) and illustrator Bethany
Straker.
A few months ago we talked to them after the publication of their
adult picture book, ZOMBIE CAT,
which has gone on to develop cult status. Now they have followed their success
up with a string of children’s books.
We’ll talk about a few of them. First up we
have SMELLY GHOST.
In
Spooky Town, there live many ghosts, ghouls, skeletons, and scary creatures.
However, none of these creepy characters wants to play with a particular
ghost—Smelly Ghost. The reason is simple: Smelly Ghost only consumes
frightening junk food. He devours bone chips, chocolate toes, and eyeball
pizza. Sadly, these foods make his tummy growl and yell—keeping everyone far,
far away. Devastated, Smelly Ghost wonders why no one wants to be his friend.
The
story is exciting and has a message.
The West Uist Chronicle gives this book an
unreserved ***** rating. So too, did my granddaughter, which is quite an accolade in
itself.
So now, here are the creators to tell us
about themselves and about their collaboration.
Welcome, ladies.
Isabel,
tell us a little about yourself and your background.
Hello
Keith! Thanks so much for inviting us to talk about our work. A little bit
about myself – well, I’ve been in publishing for nearly a decade. I’ve been
running my own agency Creative Authors Ltd (www.creativeauthors.co.uk) for over six years. I relocated to New York City last
year and live in a 188 year old apartment in the Village, which I feel I am
always cleaning. I also have a little black pug called, Rosie, who sleeps on me
as I work. I thoroughly enjoy exploring the city with her. Being in NYC has
been brilliant for the agency and my clients, who are based all over the world.
Bethany,
give us the lowdown on yourself.
Hi Keith! Thanks for having us! I’m an illustrator based in
deepest Kentish countryside, and I’ve worked on a range of materials from
picture books to magazines. I mostly work with humorous subject matters as I
think my main style fits best with that and I like making people laugh. I do have
a softer side though, and have worked with the talented author, Rose Mannering,
on a sweet watercolour picture book called ‘The Spotty Dotty Daffodil’. I’ve
also worked with the wonderful writer Kate Ormand on a picture book about
recycling, called ‘Pierre the French Bulldog Recycles,’ so both of those have a
more serious theme. Teaching children is an important part of my work, and I’ve
worked with the super brainy James Duffett-Smith on space themed books, notably
an educational book about planets called ‘Stella and Steve Travel Through
Space.’ I have also written my own stories which are due to be published soon.
Their second book was SPRINGY CHICKEN. It too is funny, witty and beautifully
illustrated. Again, it is a ***** rating from
us.
Martha’s
the tallest chicken on the farm—and it’s not because she hit a growth spurt.
Unfortunately, instead of normal chicken legs to hold her up, Martha’s legs are
two giant yellow springs. After a run-in with a nasty fox, the farmer does the
best he can to fix poor Martha, but it just isn’t the same. Now, she’s too tall
to fit inside the chicken coop like all the other hens, her eggs are always
smashed and scrambled since she’s so high off the ground, and it’s difficult to
maneuver such big legs without stepping on a few toes and ruffling some
feathers. But when the fox comes back, can Martha and her spring-legs muster
the courage to save the day? Will that be enough for the brood to welcome her
back?
Isabel,
where do you get your ideas from? And can you give us an insight into how you
write your books?
I
was actually having lunch two years ago with our editor at Sky Pony and she
mentioned she really wanted a book about a chicken. I said to her I would give
writing a script a whirl. There were two drafts from memory. One was quite
sentimental and the other one (the one we ended up running with) was incredibly
quirky. What I described to Beth as a chicken sort of meets Edward
Scissorhands. Beth, who was on honeymoon at the time, (she is an incredibly
hardworking writer and illustrator) came back and said she preferred the more
quirky one. So we went with a chicken with springs for legs! I’ll always talk
to the illustrator to hear their thoughts. It really is a 100% collaboration.
Beth is simply awesome to work with – she totally gets my sense of humour.
Bethany,
these illustrations are spectacular. How did you go about deciding how to
illustrate your books? And can you give us a typical day for you?
Thanks Keith, that’s very kind! I think ‘Springy Chicken’
is amongst my strongest work. I find that as time has gone on I have grown in
confidence and that has reflected in my work. My illustrations start off with a
lot of talking to the author. Isabel and I are a great team, and we often have
a huge amount of excitable chatter before we begin work on the illustrations!
Isabel will tell me her vision for the characters, and the type of mood she
would like to get across. Then I submit some character sketches to her, and we
tweak until we are happy.
A typical day for me starts quite early. I like to have a
good breakfast with my husband before he goes to work, and then I feed the dog
and rabbit and get myself settled. I find it harder to work when the place is
untidy, so normally I’m tinkering around the house before starting. Then I’ll
put some music on, probably sing along very loudly and start on a spread. I’ll
do a few thumbnails first, but not too many as I find my best work is
spontaneous. Then I’ll start scribbling.
And coming up in September is RUBY MOO’S DEEP-SEA ADVENTURE. This
looks like a real fun adventure.
Ruby Moo has always been different from the other cows. She
isn’t content making yogurt, milk, and cheese on the dairy farm. Ruby wants to
be an astronaut, an explorer, and, more than anything, she wants to be the
first cow deep-sea diver. So one day, brave Ruby Moo stows away on a van and
rides it all the way to the ocean. Borrowing a helmet, she dives right into the
water and discovers an exciting shipwreck along with a scary, giant squid!
Thankfully, the squid is only looking for a chess partner—and maybe someone to
play with on his trampoline. Phew!
Isabel,
what else have you got in the pipeline? Do you have any plans for a further
adult picture book? Is Zombie Cat going to rise again?
Good
question, Keith! I am asked this often. Zombie Cat may well rise again at some
point in the future. I think, at present, I really want to carry focusing on
building Creative Authors Ltd in New York. I’ve been getting some wonderful
deals in for my clients and want to continue building both the UK & US side
of the agency.
Bethany,
what else are you working on?
I’ve just finished work on an adult picture book, called
‘Why Am I Scared of Everything?’ which I wrote and illustrated. Anxiety is
something that’s close to my heart, having suffered from it myself. I wanted to
create a book that addresses it, but makes the reader laugh in recognition and
hopefully find some reassurance in the pages. There are inspiring quotes to
contrast the character’s suffering, and to remind us that some things can be
overcome.
I am also awaiting the release of several new books,
including a second that I’ve written, this time for children, called ‘The Funny
Bunny Fly.’ This one concerns a weird little creature who spreads illness by
swimming around in dog poo. It’s a cautionary tale about washing your hands!
At the moment, I’m working on a knock-knock jokebook for
Skyhorse, and a new pitch with Rose Mannering, which we are very excited about.
I also tried my hand at illustrating a great new humorous history book, called
‘Faux Figures: Legends, Fakes, and Phonies Who Changed
History’ by Brianna DuMont. So I’m pretty busy at the moment.
Ladies, it has been a pleasure. We wish you
the greatest of success with Zombie Cat – and will be looking out for your next
work.
Thanks
so much, Keith!! Isy
Thanks Keith! Beth
