Interview by Shannon Barnes
Tell us about your latest book or a project you are working on.
This summer, I wrapped up final art on my second author-illustrator book—Juni and the Anything Tree—which will be published next autumn by Orca Book Publishers. I’m currently illustrating two picture books—Poh Poh’s Sword by Julia Hune-Brown (Second Story Press) and Letter Babies Line Up by Lana Button (Owlkids Books). One is a moving story about a Cantonese Opera performer who travels from China to Canada in the 1930s. I’ve loved diving into the research for this book and painting all the beautiful opera costumes. The second book is a fun introduction to lowercase letters, which is a fun world to create. I find myself asking questions like, "Where would baby letters live?" "Do they wear shoes?" "Do they even have feet?!"
Tell us about your writing/illustrating process.
I start by keeping it loose and getting ideas out, not worrying if anything makes sense at the outset. Sometimes I’ll sketch ideas first if the words don’t come, and work back and forth between writing and sketching until the story starts to take shape. Then I’ll refine and chop away at the text (my favourite bit!). Next, I’ll send it to my critique group for feedback, and then on to my agent. If my agent likes the story, I’ll make a book dummy with sketches, then continue to work together to tweak the manuscript until we feel it’s ready to go out on submission.
How did you first get published?
My first picture book, The Pie Reports, was out on submission for nine months before it landed on the desks of Vanessa McCumber and Rachel Page at Orca Book Publishers. Vanessa worked with me to find the heart of the story, and Rachel was brilliant in gently guiding me, illustration-wise. Bringing a story out into the world is truly a team effort. What do you like about writing/illustrating for young people? Writing and illustrating books for young people is the best job. A story can be so powerful; it can make a child laugh, think, feel, imagine, empathize and understand. I am so grateful I get to contribute to this magical world of books.
Tell us about writers/illustrators who inspire you.
This is a tough question, as I have so many inspirations in the kidlit world. I’m a big fan of Sophie Blackall, David Litchfield and the Fan Brothers. My daughter and I love the Mega Bat series written by Anna Humphrey, and we are also leaning hard into Rania Telgemeier's graphic novels at the moment. I’m in awe of writers who can weave a heartfelt story with humour. A book that can make your eyes water with laughter on one page and pull on the heartstrings on the next is something to behold.