Adelaide Literary Magazine No. 31, December 2019

INTERVIEWS



GAYLE COMPTON

Winner of the Adelaide Books
Children’s Literature Award

1. T ell us about yourself, something that we will not find in the official
author bio. Do you have any unusual creative writing habits?

I am an Eastern Kentucky hillbilly, an appellation I wear with a mixture of pride and shame.
I have a son’s love for my Kentucky hills. Only in my foolish youth was I known to visit “far
off” places like River Rouge, Michigan, and East Chicago, Indiana. Thankfully, I didn’t stay
quite long enough to unpack. I am ashamed that my people have for too many years put
their faith in a single industry. Coal mining is a dying occupation and jobs are disappear-
ing. It is little wonder the Hatfield and McCoy Feud is fast becoming our raison d’etre. Like
it or not, I live with my wife and two cats just a “hop and a jump” from where Randall
McCoy is buried. I attended college on the hill where “Cotton Top” Mounts was hanged.
Inevitably, my writing is inspired by the most interesting, most misunderstood people in
America—the common folk of Central Appalachia—my people, from the hard-working to
the bare-assed and proud.

I don’t claim to be a children’s writer. Roy Raccoon Goes Whale Fishing is my first attempt in
the genre. However, with a ten-year-old granddaughter, I read a lot of children’s books. Dr.
Seuss, Richard Scarry and Shel Silverstein are among my favorite writers.

My ideas come as a result of staying as wide awake as possible, even when I’m sleeping.
Although I work fulltime as an office factotum, I go home every evening with a pocketful of
notes. I sleep with a pen and notebook. Quite often I get out of bed to write down a single
line or paragraph that comes to me at these odd times. I jot down notes while walking,
driving and at stop signs and red lights. If a piece of paper isn’t handy I will scribble on my
hand. The genesis of a poem or story may be as simple as the purr of a cat or an overheard
anecdote. There is no dearth of ideas.

2. D o you remember what was your first story
(article, essay, or poem) about and when did you write it?

It was out of boredom with Bill and Susan, Perky and Fuzzy in my First Reader, that I
began making up my own stories and poems at the age of six. I just couldn’t identify

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with these kids who wore shoes in the summer, had a bathroom in the house and talked
in monosyllables. At Pikeville College I was fortunate enough to take Advanced Writing
under the poet Bruce Bennett Brown, editor of the college magazine Twigs, in which he
gave exposure to knowns and unknowns alike. However, it was not until 1978 before I saw
one of my stories published nationally. Martin Levin of the Saturday Review of Literature
accepted a piece titled “Old Time Whipping,” about how my parents used a mining belt
and a hickory switch in administering corporeal punishment for the benefit of yours truly.
Levin, an author and English professor at Columbia, called me at home and encouraged
me to write a book.

3. What are you working on right now?

I am finishing my first play, a one-act comedy about two Kentucky women fighting over a
shade lamp that was overlooked in their mother’s will. With high hopes I am submitting it to
Barter Theatre’s Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights in Abingdon, Virginia.

4. W hat do you deem the most relevant about your work?
What is the most important to be remembered?

Should readers find relevance in my writing I hope it would be my honesty in depicting the
people of Appalachia. Personally, I am bored by the rich and famous. Like Sherwood Ander-
son, I embrace the “grotesques” of my homeland, the misfits and downtrodden. In Appala-
chia we have our own way of looking at the world, our own way of talking. In the words of
Knott County, Kentucky, author James Still “Appalachia’s language has its own individuality,
its own syntax.” Ours is a culture that refuses to conform to mainstream America. Neither
will I.

5. Authors and books that have influenced your writing.

While struggling to develop a voice of my own, I have studied the masters. No other
writer has taught me more about the craft and about human nature than Mark Twain. I
think Huckleberry Finn is the greatest work of social criticism ever written. I also love the
bawdy humor of Francois Rabelais, a Franciscan monk who wrote in the fifteenth century
but whose writing is relevant even today. I have learned from the bare-bones writing of
Hemingway and the turgid prose of Faulkner, although I’m not a fan of either. My head
spins under the influence of poets Whitman, Yeats and Mary Oliver. Edith Grossman’s
translation of Don Quixote is always within reach. I’m partial to Southern writers with a
sense of place: Erskine Caldwell, Flannery O’Conner, Charles Portis, Pat Conroy and Rick
Bragg. I feel some of the nation’s best literature comes from right here in Appalachia, the
works of Jesse Stuart, Harriette Simpson Arnow, Wendell Berry and others. James Still’s
River of Earth, in my opinion, ranks with Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath as a monument
to human suffering.

The one person to whom I owe the greatest debt is my mother. Avalene Hobson was a born
story teller who gathered her children about her every night and held them spell-bound

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with the hilarious adventures of “Brownie, Snowball and Fluffy,” a mule, a rabbit and a cat.
Before I started school she taught me to read from Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Little Golden Books
and Whitman’s Bible Stories. When I was barely nine, she figured I was ready for Tom Sawyer,
Robin Hood and Treasure Island. Indeed, I was. Silly as they were, she read my first stories
and poems and told me I would be a writer someday. Without her creative genes the story
of Roy Raccoon could not have been written. It is offered here in her honor, and with many
thanks.

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JULIE REED

Shortlist Winner Nominee
of the Adelaide Books

Children’s Literature Award

1. T ell you a bit about myself – something not found in an official author’s bio.
Do I have any unusual creative habits?

The character Stella, of Stella’s Umbrellas originated when trying to keep my daughter, Stella,
for whom the character is based, occupied during my older daughter’s soccer game. Fair
skinned and red-faced from the heat, Stella and I decided to walk to the car to get an um-
brella to provide some shade. She loved writing stories at the time, so I suggested she write
a story about a little girl who owned magical umbrellas.
I do my best creative thinking when walking my dogs in nature and oddly, when folding laun-
dry. I think tackling mindless chores without any interruption allows for a creative flow to
emerge. I also write songs in my sleep. One of these days I’ll remember to place a notebook
by the nightstand to help me remember them in the morning.

2. What was my first story (article, essay or poem) and when did I write it?
When I was a young teen I used to write poetry for my grandmother. She and I were very
close, and in lieu of a birthday card or thank you note I would share a poem to express my
thoughts and feelings. Occasionally, I still enjoy presenting a gift to a friend or family mem-
ber accompanied with a poem.

3. What am I working on right now?
I am always concocting future adventures for Stella to discover.

4. W hat do I deem the most relevant about my work?
What is the most important to be remembered?

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With respect to Stella’s Umbrellas, I love her character’s authenticity. She really marches
to her own beat and does so by making her little world a better place each day. Ultimately,
I intended my story to show how important it is to be kind and how much our words can
positively affect people.
5. What authors and books have influenced my writings?
As a child and as a parent reading to my children I have always been drawn to rhyming
children’s books. I still have my original copy of The Giant Jam Sandwich, story and pictures
by John Vernon Lord with verses by Janet Burroway. Thanks, mom, for reading it to me a
billion times! I also adore Priscilla and the Splish-Splash Surprise. I love Nathaniel Hobbie’s
creative word usage. Jocelyn Hobbie’s illustrations transport me to a happy place where
there is always a silver lining.

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LAZARO MARIANO
PEREZ

Shortlist Winner Nominee
of the Adelaide Books

Children’s Literature Award

1.  Tell us a bit about yourself – something that we will not find in the
official author’s bio. Do you have any unusual creative habits?

I rarely write anything without coming up with the tittle first. Most of my ideas come from
the tittles and the tittles come from everywhere, the lyrics of a song, the verse of a poem, a
dream, a videogame, or even a folktale. Sometimes I’ll think of an interesting concept like
“What if there was a sketchbook that brought things to life”, but don’t have a story to go with
it until much later, so I just have this post-it note on my phone full of random ideas and seeds
of stories that have yet to manifest themselves.
Occasionally I’ll write a story in Spanish first and then translate it. The process helps me find
unique metaphors and word phrasing that I feel give my writing a different flavor and texture.

2. D o you remember what was your first story
(article, essay, or poem) about and when did you write it?

My first story called “Omi” revolved around an African warrior on a mission to save the chief-
tain’s daughter. I wrote it around 2010 for a Creative Writing class in college and I fell in love
with writing fiction ever since. I had always liked telling stories and writing poems as a teen,
but I’d never written any fiction longer than two pages until “Omi”.

3. What are you working on right now?
I’m currently working on an epic fantasy/sci-fi (and a dash of horror) novel called “The Gift
of Water”. The story focuses on four teenaged characters as they each play a vital role in the
struggles of three kingdoms over the most valuable treasure in the world of Solara, water.

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4. W hat do you deem the most relevant about your work?
What is the most important to be remembered?

I’ve often felt stuck between two worlds on many aspects of my life. I’m a mixed child, so
growing up I always felt like I had to choose between being “white” or “black” in order to
be perceived as one of them, but never both. Same goes for language and culture, I know
English and Spanish, but my family only knows Spanish, so there’s a lot of my current life I
don’t get to share with them. The list goes on.
I think the tensions of being from two proverbial worlds as well as growing up in a period of
extreme poverty in Cuba always comes up in my writing. I often explore themes of identity,
isolation, injustice, courage, family love and endurance despite incredible hardships.

5. Authors and books that have influenced your writings?
The first book I ever read (for fun) was Emilio Salgari’s “The Black Corsair”. I was ten at the
time and was immediately pulled into this world of adventure, pirates, and swordfights. I loved
it so much I read the rest of the series and never stopped reading after that. I draw a lot of
inspiration from Chinua Achebe, George R.R Martin, H.P Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, Andrew
Sapkowski, and folktales from every culture. Some of my favorite books are “Things Fall Apart,
The Last Wish, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Famished Road, and The Old Man and the Sea”.
Norberto Fuentes’ “Condenados de Condado” and my grandfather’s accounts of what he
saw during the early 60s (the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, and the Cuban
Civil War) inspired me to turn a short story I had been working on called “Abiku” into a full-
fledged novel. It became “Facing the Sun” which I finished and published last year. I aimed to
tackle themes of manhood, love, violence, and maturation through the eyes of an 11-year-
old Cuban boy and a splash of magical realism. This story has a special place in my heart as I
was born and raised in Cuba for more than half my life.

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RITA GLEN

Shortlist Winner Nominee
of the Adelaide Books

Children’s Literature Award

1.  Tell us a bit about yourself – something that we will not find in the
official author’s bio. Do you have any unusual creative habits?

I don’t think I have any unusual creative habits. The usual way I get a story is that a character
or two start wandering around in the background of my mind, looking for a story to appear
in. The next step is often when I hear some interesting phrase or a striking outlook from
one of my students that seems to fit my internal characters. With any luck, the characters
then coalesce into a situation and I can start the actual writing. There will turn out to be
some reason that I’m toying with a particular character in my mind and I assume the spoken
phrase clicks into place with that reason but I usually don’t see the connection until I start
the actual writing.

2.  Do you remember what was your first story
(article, essay, or poem) about and when did you write it?

I enjoyed writing even as a child but it usually took the form of journaling or writing about
an incident in a letter to a friend. The first story I remember writing as a conscious creative
act was about my quiet, somewhat prim four-year-old daughter and her struggles to find
common ground with a little neighbour boy with a more boisterous personality.

3. What are you working on right now?
I have no new piece on the page at the moment. I do have a couple of characters in my head
waiting for the right phrase and situation to present itself to them. My day job as a Grade
1 Teacher is occupying a lot of space right now but I try to spend some time writing on the
weekends.

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4. W hat do you deem the most relevant about your work?
What is the most important to be remembered?

This is a big question for such an amateur writer as me to answer. I think my writing is
relevant because I live with children on a daily basis. I know their reality and what they
laugh at and what is not of interest to them. Childhood today is a bit over-monitored and it
seems like every mean or thoughtless act is examined and worried over by adults. Children
have a radar for a book that is merely a dressed up morality lesson. When young children
forget to be kind or won’t share, they are not helped by a storybook telling them it’s wrong.
When they are unkind or inconsiderate, it’s mostly because they are too young to look
outside of themselves a bit and see another’s perspective. I like writing about characters
who can be selfish as well as kind and struggle to see the point of view of others, just as
real children do.

5. Authors and books that have influenced your writings?

My neighbour and friend, Carole Glasser Langille, (who is a writer as well), has been the
biggest influence on my writing. I would not have written at all without her. Carole encour-
aged me to try my first story, based solely on my ability to amuse her in emails. I was recov-
ering from a serious accident last year when Carole sent me the link to this competition,
pointing out that submitting a manuscript was something I could do with the small energy I
had at that time. Carole has gifted me with kind encouragement, thoughtful criticism and
unfailing patience when I live in my other lives too much and don’t make time to write or
even send manuscripts out. She fills my cup with writer conversation and makes me feel like
that other identity needs more time in my life.

In terms of books, I’m not very good at seeing influences clearly. I enjoy sharing picture
books with my Grade 1 class and I have certain types that appeal to me more. I love books
that use word play or bring the reading and writing process to life, such as “Mr. Zinger’s Hat”
by Cory Fagan and “The Plot Chickens” by Mary Jane Auch. I am drawn to books written as

letters, such as the “Dear Peter Rabbit” series by Alma
Flor Ada, but have not yet had the courage to attempt
one myself. I love the work of David Weisner but it’s so
visual and my own style is more word-driven, I think.
I love books with a fairy tale setting, either with new
characters or a old take told with a sense of humor,
such as “Moonstruck: The True Story of the Cow Who
Jumped over the Moon” by Gennifer Choldenko. Young
children relax into a story more if the characters are a
little removed from reality. They can identify with the
characters but don’t have to cringe at a real-life situ-
ation where they may also have been thoughtless or
made mistakes. The familiarity of the fairy tale world
also provides an instant setting without needing too
many descriptive words to set the stage.

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TONI FUHRMAN

Finalist of the Adelaide Books
Children’s Literature Award

1. T ell us a bit about yourself – something that we will not find in the
official author’s bio. Do you have any unusual creative habits?

I love writing by hand. I once took a calligraphy course so that I could indulge my love of hand-
writing. I often write the first draft of my novels by hand. This may seem labor intensive but it
doesn’t seem so to me. I’m working on a few pages at a time. The pages just pile up and, some
months later, I have several hundred pages and that wonderful thing—a novel manuscript!
Once the first draft is complete, I find it much easier to edit and rewrite on my laptop.
I do write plot outlines, but only after I’ve drafted the entire manuscript, and only to assist
me in recalling the sequence of events, as well as each character’s entrance into the story. I
don’t map out novels or stories before I write them, or as I write them, because, for me, the
story and the characters have lives of their own.
My job is to get the story down on the page and allow the characters to progress in their
own way and at their own pace. They’re often fated, as I may already have determined the
ending, but they have a lot of freedom within that boundary. Sometimes they force me to
rethink my endings. That’s when I know I’ve created strong characters.
My story ideas are often a momentary thought, realization, or insight, during which I visu-
alize the story, or the key elements of the story, sometimes from beginning to end. It might
simply be a title—at this point nothing more than a place marker. More often than not, the
title and its accompanying note land on a stray piece of paper. I try to remember to write
down the idea in some more permanent place, like a journal, before the idea is lost and gone
forever. There’s a Chinese proverb that goes something like this: “The faintest ink is better
than the best memory.”

2. D o you remember what was your first story
(article, essay, or poem) about and when did you write it?

I wrote an essay about my mother in elementary school. I remember that I described her—I
thought she was very pretty—and said other nice things about her. I thought it was a good

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essay, but my teacher, a nun (I went to a Catholic school), was critical. I can’t remember
why. Obviously, because I remember this so clearly, I thought the criticism was unjustified. I
don’t remember that she gave my essay any redeeming qualities. But it didn’t result in my
putting down my #2 pencil and resigning from the writing world. I still like to think it was a
good essay.

I took my first writing course, and got my first short story rejection (from The New Yorker),
as an undergraduate. Although it didn’t appear in The New Yorker, my short story was pub-
lished in the campus magazine. I saw my work published for the first time and I felt validated.
The name of the story was “Grace.” It took place during the course of a Roman Catholic Mass
and was about a young man reflecting on a woman he loved, or thought he loved, whose
name was “Grace.” The story, of course, played on the nuances of the title.

3. What are you working on right now?

I’m working on a number of short stories, which I’m planning to collect into a book, as well
as a novel.

The novel takes place in the Midwest (as have my other three novels). In the last few days
of his life, a man engages in a final struggle with self-doubt as he deals with memories of his
past.

The story collection includes contemporary fiction, mostly centering on love and family, and
several children’s stories, including “The Leftover King.”

4. W hat do you deem the most relevant about your work?
What is the most important to be remembered?

Although my writing is character driven and revolves around family and relationships, it’s
influenced by a personal quest—my search for love, purpose, rootedness, a sense of belong-
ing—“a room of one’s own,” as Virginia Woolf so memorably put it.

What I hope for, as a writer, is that my stories inspire empathy. I believe that empathy is fic-
tion’s greatest gift to the reader—the feeling that “I see,” “I understand,” “I’ve been there,”
“I could be that person,” or, best of all, “I am that person.”

Creative writing has sustained me throughout my life. There are stories I have to tell—or,
perhaps, one story that I have to keep telling. I’ll keep telling those stories, or that one story,
as long as I’m able.

5. Authors and books that have influenced your writings?

My third novel, A Windless Place, published in 2019 by Adelaide Books, was inspired by Gus-
tave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, a major stylistic influence, and “Spring and Fall: To a Young
Child” by Gerard Manley Hopkins, one of my favorite poets.

However, my primary stylistic model and ongoing inspiration is Jane Austen. I read her six
major novels over and over because I admire her stylistic clarity, her utter lack of sentimen-
tality, her smooth, effortless narration, her satire, her witty and engaging dialogue, and her
timeless stories of family conflict and romantic mishap.

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Jane Austen is a realist in the best sense; that is, she portrays her flawed characters with wit,
humor, and compassion. As she said in one of her letters, “Three or four Families in a Coun-
try Village is the very thing to work on.” Modestly, she refers to her literary output as “the
little bit (two Inches wide) of ivory on which I work with so fine a Brush, as produces little
effect after much labour”—a reference to the miniaturist art (watercolor on ivory) that was
popular at the time.
I enjoy novels in which the tumult of quiet lives is revealed in carefully crafted prose.
My “three or four Families in a Country Village” live primarily in small towns in the Midwest.
The “little bit (two Inches wide) of ivory” on which I work is the limited perspective I have
chosen to tell my stories.
My children’s stories are influenced by the poetry and prose I’ve listened to and read as both
child and adult, from The Tall Book of Mother Goose (illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky) to
the poetry that my father read to the family as I was growing up; from the Brothers Grimm
and Hans Christian Anderson to Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; and from
Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty, and Frances Hodgson Bur-
nett’s The Secret Garden to E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web and Maurice Sendak’s Where the
Wild Things Are.
I hope readers enjoy “The Leftover King,” A Windless Place, and my other stories and novels.
I love knowing that my work is published and available to be read. It’s that same wonderful
sense of validation I felt, years ago, when my first story was published.

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SUSAN L. POLLET

Finalist of the Adelaide Books
Children’s Literature Award

1. T ell us a bit about yourself – something that we will not find in the official
author/illustrator’s bio. Do you have any unusual creative habits?

I am a person with a lot of ideas. I have been a voracious reader since my early childhood.
When I am not writing, I dream a lot about what I will write. I am a visual learner. I create
outlines and lists in my head, even in the middle of the night. Eventually, those thoughts end
up on my computer on Chrome. When I am not writing, I research everything I can about
the subject I want to write about, and download books on my Kindle so that I always have
a ready supply of background information. Because of the demands of my legal career and
family responsibilities, I only had time for legal writing, and articles about legal subjects. I
published over sixty articles in my field of family and criminal law. Now that I am older, and
in a sense freer, I am allowing my imagination to take me, ever increasingly, toward fictional
characters and stories. Much of what has been residing in my head for sixty plus years is end-
ing up in Times New Roman font. The other expression of my creativity is in my paintings and
illustrations. I study at the Art Student’s League, and I have recently created illustrations for
children’s books. I work on them in the studio there, and at home. I frequently go to book-
stores, museums, galleries and exhibitions, and look at books regarding art, to give myself a
‘good eye.’ I alternate between writing and my artwork, so that my mind is stimulated seven
days a week. One practice informs the other.

2. Do you remember what was your first work about and when did you create it?

Even as a child, I wrote. I remember accompanying my mother to the private school where she
taught as a high school English teacher when I had school vacation at a public school. I was in
seventh grade at the time, and she was teaching high school seniors. She taught a class about
writing with free association, and then asked the students to write a story using that tech-
nique. She told me that I should join in on the assignment. Later, when we arrived home, and
after she read all of the stories, including mine, she told me that she was so proud that I un-
derstood the concept, and that my writing was on par or better than the much older students.
Given that she had extremely high standards and was a harsh critic of herself and others, her
words meant a lot to me. I consider that “work” my awakening in terms of my creativity. I am

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grateful to Adelaide Publishing for publishing my first novel fifty-one years later, and for being
in contract with me for two more books to be published in the Spring of 2020.

3. What are you working on right now?

Currently, I am working on a fictional novel about divorce focusing on the older woman’s point
of view. I am using everything I learned as an attorney and in my research, from friends and
family, and from my own personal experiences to inform the characters I am writing about.
I was the Director of the New York State Parent Education and Awareness Program, which
involved statewide educational programs for divorcing and separating parents. At that time, I
wrote scholarly articles on the topic. I am now letting “free association” take me to new places.

4.  What do you deem the most relevant about your work?
What is the most important to be remembered?

My work is, at heart, about the struggles people go through in life. I am intrigued by psycho-
logical and ethical issues. I lay out individual’s concerns, their highs and lows, their strengths
and weaknesses, where they have succeeded and where they have failed. I try to give a re-
alistic and comprehensive picture of whichever character I am writing about. Some of my
characters are combinations of numerous people I have known, with bits and pieces coming
together in a mosaic. In the end, I am always hopeful that the reader will connect with my
characters, and, in some cases, provide inspiration to them. All of my books are set in a par-
ticular period of time. I want the reader to remember the concerns of individuals during that
snapshot in history. Nonetheless, the struggles are meant to transcend the snapshot and to
be universal in nature.

5. A uthors and books that have influenced your writings?
Artists that have influenced your work?

The author who has intrigued and influenced me the most is probably Oliver Sacks. His concern
for his patients, and his medical knowledge, were
combined in unique and readable ways to inspire.
I was particularly enamored with his books, “The
Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat,” “Awakenings,”
and his memoir “On the Move: a Life.” I am attract-
ed to stories of dysfunctional families, written with
ironic humor, including Augusten Burroughs’ book,
“Running With Scissors.” I continually read memoirs,
including Joan Didion’s “The Year of Magical Think-
ing.” I am fascinated by biographies, including “Just
Kids,” by Patti Smith. In terms of my artwork, I am
drawn to the works of Henri Matisse, Mary Cassatt,
Berthe Morisot, and Frida Kahlo. I am attracted to
the subject matter of their works, their composi-
tions, and, most importantly, their use of color.

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ANTJE TAYLOR

Finalist of the Adelaide Books
Children’s Literature Award

1. T ell us a bit about yourself – something that we will not find in the
official author’s bio. Do you have any unusual creative habits?

I probably would not call myself creative, except maybe with words. Living in Australia, I love
being outdoors, especially the beach.
In my free time (when I am not a mum to two beautiful children (3 and 5) or work as a
management consultant), I competitively do outrigger canoe paddling. This has taken me
to different places in Australia as well as a couple of times to Hawaii. This year I was able
to represent my birth country Germany at the Outrigger World Championships which were
held at the Sunshine Coast in Australia.

2.  Do you remember what was your first story (article, essay,
or poem) about and when did you write it?

I have always been a vivid reader, from early on, but I never thought I would write myself
(beside the mandatory essays etc at school). I do remember writing a couple of poems for
big birthdays for my parents, but having my kids has really inspired me to write myself. I
wanted to put the stories and lessons I was telling them on paper. As such, the first story I
have ever written is the children’s book I have published this year “Friends don’t like roaring”.
It is beautiful to see how excited my kids are to have this story read to them and how they
repeat the lesson from it.

3. What are you working on right now?
With both the stories I have written so far (Friends don’t like roaring and Friends like taking
turns) I try to show my kids how they should interact with others. Being with a 3 and 5 year
old, I have quite a few more ideas for stories, but everyday life has not allowed me to write
another one. Hopefully soon!

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4.  What do you deem the most relevant about your work?

What is the most important to be remembered?
I would like kids to emphasise with my characters and as such take on board the lessons I try
to convey in my stories. It is rewarding to hear when parents tell me that their little one is
re-telling the story and explaining how the characters should behave.
5. Authors and books that have influenced your writings?
Since my son was born and later my daughter, we have read at least a book every night time.
While the kids have their favorites, we also enjoy going to the library and reading “new”
books. As such, I come across lots of different books. Given that I am writing for toddlers up
to pre-school, I believe that both the story, but even more the illustrations are key. For kids
who cannot read themselves, it is important to see pictures.

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CAROLYN
WEISBECKER

Finalist of the Adelaide Books
Children’s Literature Award

1. T ell us a bit about yourself – something that we will not find in the
official author’s bio. Do you have any unusual creative habits?

I interview my characters before I decide to use them. But first, I search online images until I
find a photo that says, “Hey, I’m that person you plan to write about. Use me!” At that point,
the characters tend to speak for themselves. My job is to sit back and let them.

2. D o you remember what was your first story
( article, essay, or poem) about and when did you write it?

I wrote my first story in 1976 for a fiction writing contest entitled, “Who I Would Invite for
Thanksgiving Dinner.” The contest was held by the local newspaper and open to all ages. I
was the only kid and won first place out of about 800 entries. I encouraged my characters to
tell the story; I believe that led to my win, which was dinner for four at a steakhouse called
the Hilltop Haven.

3. What are you working on right now?
Right now, I’m finishing a middle grade novel called “Because Madison Hates Me,” revising
a short story collection, and editing a comedy fiction novel. When I feel overwhelmed or
simply need a break, I write short stories about everyday life because it’s a topic I know well.

4. W hat do you deem the most relevant about your work?
What is the most important to be remembered?

What is most relevant about my work is that it focuses on everyday life—the challenges and
issues we, as human beings, identify with and face, such as loneliness, loss, redemption, joy,

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and self-discovery. The most important thing is for my readers to see that every story—no
matter how simple—is a testament to the commonalities we share.
5. Authors and books that have influenced your writings?
I like to think that everything I’ve read throughout my life have influenced my writing, tech-
nically and creatively. For craft books, I inhale Stephen King’s “On Writing” and Natalie Gold-
berg’s “Writing Down the Bones.” Goldberg’s words of “I am trying to come alive, to find the
distances in my own recesses and bring them forward and give them color and form” influ-
ences me to listen to my muse. I read almost all genres, including kidlit. Fiction writers who
inspire me include Nicholas Sparks, Shari Lapena, Chris Bohjalian, Rachel Vincent, Donna
Tartt, and Lauren Myracle.

268

ROBERT HOLCOMB III

Finalist of the Adelaide Books
Children’s Literature Award

1. T ell us a bit about yourself – something that we will not find in the
official author’s bio. Do you have any unusual creative habits?

A bit about myself not found in an authors bio; I have been drawing and writing a story in-
volving a bugged eyed snake named Sidewinder for twenty nine years. An unusual creative
habit I have; listening to a song on repeat during a “drawing or writing episode”. I will put
my earphones on and crank the volume drowning out the real world and focusing on writ-
ing my story or drawing a character or scene. I have created a playlist for these “episodes”
that includes songs “Jump” by The Pointer Sisters, “Let’s Go” by Wang Chung , “Change The
Paradigm” by Austra to name a few. I’m not sure if its the BPM, the bass or vocals that these
songs have that take me to my creative place, but it works!

2. D o you remember what was your first story
(article, essay, or poem) about and when did you write it?

In fifth grade English class, we were taught how to write a short story and draw accompany-
ing pictures. My story followed Sidewinder, his name was Ryan at the time, and his brother
Chip on a day trip to the beach. At the beach they meet a quintet of penguins that drifted
from the arctic on a small iceberg after being chased by a polar bear. Sidewinder and Chip
build a boat and send the penguins back to their home. I still have the finished story book
after all these years!

3. What are you working on right now?
Currently I am working on a few different stories. “The Potato Dilemma” tells the story
a young girl, Tahliah, who builds robotic animals from empty soda and soup cans for her
schools science fair. She builds a giraffe, a dodo, even a panda fish! The robotic animals are
powered by potatoes which are harvested on her families farm.
Another tale I am working on is “Gus And The Recliner”. Inspired by Rose from The Golden
Girls, this story shows what happens when Gus spends the weekend with his grandparents.

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Gus loves his grandparents and loves playing on their recliner. His imagination turns the re-
cliner into a pirate ship, a space shuttle even a submarine. Gus’s imagination is encouraged
by his grandmother who plays along! This story has evolved into a homage to my grand-
mother. She was always my biggest cheerleader.
Lastly, I am working on a tale called “Andia”. A young boy named Ben chases his dog, Shadow,
into a dark forest. After catching up with Shadow, the environment around them has com-
pletely changed. Ben and Shadow have walked into a snow covered land where the streets
are lined with over sized gourds which people live in. An enormous white pumpkin palace
towers over the gourd village housing the tyrant leopard seal king, Speck.

4. W hat do you deem the most relevant about your work?
What is the most important to be remembered?

All my stories, in every stage of creation, are relevant by three qualities; personal experi-
ences/interests, dreams, and global causes. The “Gus And The Recliner” story is based on
my childhood growing up and the positive impact my grandmother had on me. The “Andia”
story is based on a dream I had. A stark white tower in a field of white snow. The only col-
or in the dream were the stained glass windows high up on the tower. Another story I am
creating is based on animal conservation. Set in the 1930’s a duo attempt to rescue the last
two Tasmanian Tigers from a Scotland zoo. A deep passion drives me to create and explore
where my tales can take me and future readers. I strive to leave a mark in the readers mind. I
want to raise an interest in the subject matter or stretch their imagination for the fantastical.

5. Authors and books that have influenced your writings?
I am influenced by many writers in many genres. Of note Chris Van Allsburg has been an in-
spiration for as long as I can remember; weaving a story with absolute stunning illustrations.
Stephen King is perhaps my all time hero as a writ-
er and as a public figure. I’ve take a page from him
and attempt to connect all my stores in one way or
another. Armistead Maupin is another author who
influences me. He demonstrates how much detail
you can fit into just a few paragraphs! I think a close
second to all time hero’s is L. Frank Baum. The lands,
cities, characters he created with his Oz series are/
were great escapes to help children escape the
harsh world events of the time. When I need a break
from the news, I tend to revisit the Oz series.

270

LAURA MUNCIE

Finalist of the Adelaide Books
Children’s Literature Award

1. T ell us a bit about yourself – something that we will not find in the
official author’s bio. Do you have any unusual creative habits?

I’m a self taught artist and often paint in the dark with only a candle beside me. I find the
struggle against the dim light pushes me to draw from imagination. I also like that the pic-
ture ends up so bright and colourful.

2. D o you remember what was your first story (article, essay,
or poem) about and when did you write it?

I wrote my first article as a teenager for the local newspaper The Lanark Gazette. The school
had a column in the paper and students sent in news. I wrote about going with school friends
to give blood at the local blood drive.

3. What are you working on right now?
I have 3 children’s books in progress just now.

4. What do you deem the most relevant about your work?
What is the most important to be remembered?
I try to bring a sense of innocence to the children’s stories I write. A place where the familiar
meets the fantastical. When I wrote Tiny Mountain I kept the home setting and situations
familiar, but the mountain fantastical.
It was also important to me that the mother in Tiny Mountain had a voice and said some-
thing meaningful. I wrote her character this way after reading a news article criticising chil-
dren’s books for stereotyping mother characters. The article claimed children’s books omit
mothers or have them doing pointless and crazy things. But when you write for young chil-
dren you write for two audiences, the child and the adult reader. I wrote Tiny Mountain
hoping that somewhere a Mum may read it and enjoy it. That would make me very happy.

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5. Authors and books that have influenced your writings?
I admire Rotraut Susanne Berner, German illustrator and picture book creator. Her art is
graphic design based and fun.
I also love Swedish writer illustrator Sven Nordqvist. Nordqvist writes books that are perfect
for reading cuddled up your little one on a chilly night.

272

AASHI PARIKH

Finalist of the Adelaide Books
Children’s Literature Award

1. T ell us a bit about yourself – something that we will not find in the
official author’s bio. Do you have any unusual creative habits?

I am marine biologist/environmentalist, and because of my love for animals, I often like
writing about them. In terms of unusual creative habits, much like Ahalya in my story, I love
climbing trees and have written from a tree-top before. I generally find writing in nature very
relaxing. I also sometimes write in a state of half-sleep just as I’m going to bed

2. D o you remember what was your first story
(article, essay, or poem) about and when did you write it?

My first published work was a poem I wrote in 7th grade for a National Poetry Competition
in India. But just in general, the first poem I ever made was about the phases of the moon
(full moon, half moon, quarter moon) when I was two years old. There was also one about
pooping, but let’s not talk about that!

3. What are you working on right now?
I am currently working on a short story that explores the history of beluga whales in captivity
and some of the threats to survival they face today. It shifts between different time periods
and points of view, and is titled “The Fate of the White Whale”.

4. W hat do you deem the most relevant about your work?
What is the most important to be remembered?

I remember once reading something along the lines of, “you should only write if you have
something to say.” I try to remember this when I write, it helps maintain sincerity and avoid
fluff. When I write poems, they are almost always just an unloading of raw and honest emo-
tions. I hold this honesty very important - even if the writing is abstract, the thoughts and
emotions being put down need to be absolutely honest, otherwise it has no value. With

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Adelaide Literary Magazine
short stories as well, I try to be honest in what I’m trying to convey - something real and
relevant to me which I hope the reader can relate to in some way.
My short story here was about this simple fear Ahalya has, a fear of crying in front of others.
To me it is very relevant because I myself and many people I know can be afraid of showing
their vulnerability, often a result of being let down by others in the past. But in the story,
Ahalya’s tears are what lead to growth and healing in the family, a message that will hopeful-
ly lend the reader some courage to be open with their emotions.
5. Authors and books that have influenced your writings?
I am a sucker for fantasy fiction. I started reading as a full-time hobby when I was seven, and
grew up on J.K. Rowling, Roald Dahl, Lemony Snicket, Kenneth Grahame, Christopher Paolini
Frank L. Baum and the likes, so they and others I read during that time definitely influence
me. Neil Gaiman is one author whose style of writing I sometimes draw a lot of inspiration
from. I like the new worlds that a good fantasy can pull you into, and I am hopeful that one
day I will be able to create one of my own.

274

ADRIAN HARDY
HANSEN

Finalist of the Adelaide Books
Children’s Literature Award

1. T ell us a bit about yourself – something that we will not find in the
official author’s bio. Do you have any unusual creative habits?

Well, as a classical hobby-pianist and admirer of Chopin, I’ve learned to “focus” - to get in that
“flow” - every time I hear his music. There’s such grief, and sadness, yet, for some reason, I find it
sweet. It’s a good kind of sadness, a sadness that I enjoy now, and it’s the same kind of sadness
that I try to recreate every time I need to focus on some sort of creative work, writing for example.

2.  Do you remember what was your first story
(article, essay, or poem) about and when did you write it?

Disregarding those I wrote during 1st-10th grade, the candidates consists of small pieces
that I wrote in a time of my life where I realised that I truly enjoyed writing. There were more
specifically two pieces that wrote with “passion” - that I didn’t write because I had to, but
because I wanted. One essay on globalisation and the organisation between states based on
the philosophy of Aristotle and a few others, and an epic poem based on Greek mythology
which covers the end of the world(fictional, not based on an actual myth in this mythology).
I think the poem was the first one, being written while drunk after my 18th-year birthday.

3. What are you working on right now?
Right now, I’m working on what seems to be a novel. It’s not set in stone, it’ll be what it’ll be,
but it’s a reflection around a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche, who said “
“The thought of suicide is a great consolation: by means of it one gets through many a dark
night.” It explores our way of dealing with emotional distress, and what happens when we’re
pushed to the edge of what seems to be the cliff we call life.

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4. What do you deem the most relevant about your work?
What is the most important to be remembered?
Through all aspects of life, I try to achieve an objective view on it. I try to see things for what
they are, and I love exploring the thoughts and ideas which people frown upon, not to be
“edgy”, but to analyze them, and understand why people frown upon them - to understand
people. Through my works, I hope I’ll help people to not only reflect on life, but to reflect on
themselves, and their inner workings. To understand the thoughts that populate their mind,
and understand how their thoughts stand as a mirror which reflects the information passed
on to it by the outside. More importantly, I hope to raise awareness of a crucially important
idea, not an original one in any way, and despite people learning about it in school, they
disregard it and fail to apply it in life. I hope to raise awareness around the same idea Plato
presented in his philosophy, “The allegory of the cave”, and how it’s so relevant to our per-
ception of the world, and, more importantly, the society we live in.
5. Authors and books that have influenced your writings?
I bought a facsimile-edition of Shakespeare’s first folio and loved the works in it, especially
the sonnets. I decided to go deeper, to explore more, and, being a Norwegian, I quickly
looked upon Ibsen, and read 4 of his realistic/naturalistic works: “Samfunnets støtter”/”The
pillars of society”, “Et dukkehjem”/”A dollhouse”(?), “En folkefiende”/”An enemy of society”,
and “Gjengangere”/”Ghosts”. More recently, I started to explore Knut Hamsun, and “Victo-
ria” is probably the most beautiful book I’ve ever read, and I also read “Gift”/”Poison” by
Alexander Kielland, who with Jonas Lie, Henrik Ibsen and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, stands as
what we call “De fire store”, or “The great four” authors of Norway.

276

ERIN LEE CARMAN

Winner of the Adelaide Books
Children’s Illustration Award

1. T ell us a bit about yourself – something that we will not find in the
official illustrator’s bio. Do you have any unusual creative habits?

I grew up a dancer, so visual communication was a muscle I grew up learning to use and
explore through movement, and I think that’s completely influenced why I became an illus-
trator/visual designer. I’m really big on communication, and I find it super interesting how
everyone perceives and experiences the same things differently. All of my projects actually
have to do with communication and human connection somehow. A weird creative habit I
have is how messy I am when I’m drawing or making things. I’m a very organized, methodical
person, but somehow I always end up with ink all over my arms, all over my hands, it’ll be in
my hair – even if I’m just using, like, one pencil. I don’t know how it happens.

2. Do you remember what was your first work about and when did you create it?
I decided to start learning to draw when I was 14 because I would see these portrait draw-
ings of people and just be totally mindblown by them. I didn’t understand how drawing like
that was possible, so I decided to learn, and my first works were graphite portraits of people.
I think the first person I ever drew was Taylor Swift, and it was definitely terrible. I’m sure
my mom still has it.

3. What are you working on right now?
I’m currently working on my senior thesis project for my BFA, and I just started my first year
of grad school, as well. For my thesis, I’m examining and reconsidering science communica-
tion to find a way to make it more accessible and engaging to non-scientists. I’ve been look-
ing at the typical “language” that is often used to communicate science and comparing it to
the “language” of other practices, like art, dance, graphic design, animation, etc., to consider
what science could look and sound like in other “languages.” I’m hoping to eventually cre-
ate a framework that scientists could use to help communicate their work more accessibly,
through the lens of design thinking and visual language.

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Adelaide Literary Magazine
4. W hat do you deem the most relevant about your work?

What is the most important to be remembered?
I think relevance and importance really depend on context. I think in the context of how
humans are being treated right now in so many parts of the world, I draw a lot of portrai-
ture because I’m interested in how people feel, compared to how they may be perceived.
What that really comes down to is that all of us are humans who are deserving of kindness
and empathy, and everyone is experiencing something that you know nothing about, so it’s
important to remember to be kind. Everyone on the planet also knows something that you
don’t know, so it’s important to remember that you have the ability to learn something from
every person in the world, no matter who they are or where they come from, if you choose
to. So, if anyone takes anything away from something I create, I would want it to be that.
5. Artists that have influenced your work?
I actually was inspired to learn to draw by watching Kat Von D tattoo on tv when I was young-
er! So, Kat Von D was the first, and I’d come across these artists online called PEZ shortly after
I started learning to draw. I loved how their drawings all made a statement, whether it was
social commentary or just a pun – not to mention how technically amazing their drawings
were. So, they were a huge inspiration to my drawing style and still are, but I’m ultimately
inspired by everything that creatively tells a story. Especially animation.

278

TAMMY BOHLENS

Shortlist Winner Nominee
of the Adelaide Books

Children’s Illustration Award

1. T ell us a bit about yourself – something that we will not find in the
official illustrator’s bio. Do you have any unusual creative habits?

My work process includes drinking a lot of hot chocolate or tea and listening to podcasts
throughout the day. I always start my mornings with at least one hour of sketching. It helps
me to loosen my mind, get my ideas out and to warm up. Working in a calming space is really
important for me. My studio is decorated with lights, art of my favorite illustrators, clay dolls,
old book pages, maps and other collectables that inspire me.

2. Do you remember what was your first work about and when did you create it?
I always was a creative person. I found freedom in sculpting, writing, photography and paint-
ing, but my day jobs never had anything to do with art. Creating was just an outlet for me.
In 2016, I heard about the university for illustration (HAW Hamburg) in my hometown and
started taking drawing a lot more serious. My first illustration works were urban sketches,
fictional portraits and a lot of life drawing studies that I did for the university‘s qualifying
examination.

3. What are you working on right now?
Right now, I focus on finishing my first picture book. I also have a lot of fun working on an
exciting collaborative project with my friends from the wonderful Eiyia collective in the UK.

4. W hat do you deem the most relevant about your work?
What is the most important to be remembered?

I put a lot of time into creating my weird characters. I want them to be relatable and to be
heavily influenced by our world, but they should still look strange and like they could be
from another realm. I always imagine that you may find these creatures in your backyard, or

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Adelaide Literary Magazine
in your attic, in your closet, hiding in the drawer of socks... if you just look closely enough.
Creating a world full of stories, mysteries and whimsical atmospheres, that will take people‘s
minds somewhere else and give them a little break from the real struggles they may have, is
very imporant to me.
5. Artists that have influenced your work?
My art was heavily influenced by the classical book illustrations I found in my grandmothers
old fairytale books. I also admire the work of J.J. Grandville very much. Especially his collec-
tion „Public and Private Life of Animals“ inspired me a lot. Walter Moers‘ illustrations for his
Zamonia books also hold a special place in my heart.

280

MARIANNE SONG

Shortlist Winner Nominee
of the Adelaide Books

Children’s Illustration Award

1. T ell us a bit about yourself – something that we will not find in the
official illustrator’s bio. Do you have any unusual habits?

One of my key creative habits is reading newspapers and magazines every morning in pur-
suit of artistic freedom. I find The New York Times especially inspiring, and I enjoy reinter-
preting its photos and cartoons based on my own memories. I allow the vague montages
of the narrated aesthetic images to continuously roll through my mind while I match each
clipped picture with my fragmented memory. Then, I begin storying my response to the
inspirational image associations with colors. Every drawing is bordered with the nostalgia
of my search for the innocence and purity of childhood. The colors are an essential part of
the process to fill the inner emptiness arising from the unbridgeable chasm between my
desire and reality.
My talent does not lie in depicting realism. For example, in elementary school I had to devise
a way to draw roses by showing several layers of petals. Later, I applied geometric shapes,
specifically triangles, to my Rose Garden piece. Since then, I have focused on creating ab-
stract paintings that reflect my stormy emotions.

2. Do you remember what was your first work about and when did you create it?
From 2008 to 2010, I was a commercial real estate agent dealing with Korean clients in
Shanghai. My own vanity endlessly conflicted with my authentic self. The reckless pursuit of
wealth and happiness turned out to be a blindfold. The self-conceit lay in my social position,
which was attached to working for a Fortune 500 company and various Korean conglomer-
ates. The exploration of my deep sense of alienation from my career sparked an artistic fire
so intense that I purchased a canvas and oil paint to escape reality.
I found myself absorbed in painting a girl sleeping in rose bushes and basking in the evening
sunset. The girl seemed so happy and innocent, free of any expectations and responsibilities,

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Adelaide Literary Magazine

as the blue sky turned violet-red and the rose blooms burst open with wild abandon. I real-
ized that my avarice had imprisoned my true self in an unsatisfying and meaningless job. My
rebellious artistic spirit clashed with the persona steeped in servitude that I was forced to
adopt when working with clients. I was wandering and lost, confused about my life purpose,
unsatisfied with the rewards I reaped, and humiliated at having to prostrate myself before
my clients and bosses. While painting my geometric-patterned roses on canvas, I prayed to
God to guide me to my place in the world, where my talents fit perfectly.

3. What are you working on right now?

Currently, I am writing a historical and biographic non-fiction with a focus on feminism, titled
The Portrait of a Witch. The protagonist is Na Hye-seok, a South Korean artist who pursued
self-love in her painting and writing. Her bohemian, care-free intellectuality and narcissism
not only liberated her from a patriarchal and Confucianism-oriented society but distorted
her reputation like that of a witch. After being forcibly divorced because of a love affair,
she lost all of her social positions and was treated as a pariah. Her intense and stormy life
was reminiscent of a witch hunt, during which women would be persecuted for their belief.
Likewise, her soulful message for women’s self-actualization must have been cast in tears
and pain. I’d like to reintegrate her desires as her own and our identity hidden behind our
cerebral oppression with writing and painting. I believe that her intense and wild life would
match the ideals Post-Impressionists pursued. The spontaneity, wildness, and primary colors
in her works are representative of her identity as an artist and feminist. I hope that my ab-
stract painting, which reflects more of the Fauvism style, will bring her unfettered emotions
to full blossom.

4.  What do you deem the most relevant about your work?
What is the most important to be remembered?

Self-love is the theme that rings true in my works. Humans are born with self-love or an
authentic self whereby life is directed as wished. However, as acceptance by others is a pre-
requisite for survival in society, a mask is often lacquered upon the innocent and pure faces
of ours. In other words, being honest with our feelings is the first step toward self-love. To
an artist, the work itself is him or her, since creating art can be deemed a form of self-confes-
sion. The resoluteness, fearlessness, and authenticity in an artist ironically lay vulnerabilities
out in the open without being conscious of others’ reactions, and that pathos could reach
deep enough to awake the souls of readers or audiences. I am still struggling to bridge the
gap between my superficiality and true self while engaging in creative activities like writing
and painting.

5. Artists that have influenced your work.

Feminism is the primary pillar that sustains my artwork. The female artists before me are
my source of artistic inspiration. Their emotional resilience felt through their works lifted
me up spiritually when I was lost in depression and my identities felt disintegrated. One of
these female artists was Chun Kyung-ja, a Korean painter. The main theme of her works is a

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woman with a wreath of flowers, painted with bright colors as if she is living in paradise free
of worry and depression. However, her truth is well expressed in her eyes, which are wide
open as if she is helpless. The melancholic mood enunciates her disappointment toward so-
ciety in which women toil endlessly. Her artistic struggle must have caused a social friction.
The paradoxical effect of depicting sadness with vibrant colors makes the artist’s work so
humane and reachable.

283

LISA WEE

Shortlist Winner Nominee
of the Adelaide Books

Children’s Illustration Award

1.  Tell us a bit about yourself – something that we will not find in the
official illustrator’s bio. Do you have any unusual creative habits?

I am Chinese and my mother tongue is Hokkien. As an Illustrator, I never know when inspi-
ration would hit me.
I remembered recently I was eating BBQ octopus and thinking of travelling at the same time.
It hit me that we always pack our ‘home’ with us whilst traveling. That gave me the inspira-
tion to create my recent art card called ‘Octopus in my luggage’

2. Do you remember what was your first work about and when did you create it?
My childhood Is filled with comics. Whether it is Marvel, DC or Dennis the Menace. I remem-
bered as a child that I longed to be a character of a comic book. Naturally my first work is the
drawings of my favorite comic characters.

3. What are you working on right now?
I just participated and completed folktale week, which spanned from Nov 4-10,2019. I chose
the story of Hansel and Gretel using Gretel as the main character and Hansel as a boy with
disabilities. Hansel and Gretel is a tale that is relevant today because it is a tale that brings
to light the issue of children abandonment. Being a girl or having disabilities are some of
the contributing factors to children abandonment. Throughout the week, I created 7 Illus-
trations using the prompts given to highlight the issues. I love the challenges and the excite-
ment seeing how the story comes together.

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4. W hat do you deem the most relevant about your work?

What is the most important to be remembered?
I love inclusive and multicultural characters within my illustrations. It reflects diversity and
our need for connection and interdependence with one another. I wanted to create Illustra-
tions where children from diverse backgrounds can see themselves in the stories they read.
5. Artists that have influenced your work?
Shaun Tan, Yuko Shimizu and Oliver Jeffers.

285

ANNALEIGHA WILKE

Finalist of the Adelaide Books
Children’s Illustration Award

1. T ell us a bit about yourself – something that we will not find in the
official illustrator’s bio. Do you have any unusual creative habits?

I train ferrets I’ve rescued! It started with needing a pet to keep me company and now I’ve
rescued nine total. I have a soft spot for them all even when they cause some trouble. As for
creative habits I have skills in a slew of art techniques ranging from pyrography and ceramics
to sewing and fiction writing; if I get stuck or burnt-out in drawing, I will usually stop working
and pick up one of those, like a palate-cleanser.

2. Do you remember what was your first work about and when did you create it?
It was either a marker drawing of a lady next to a fishbowl on a stand or this massive news-
paper hat we made in class. I made them both in 1st grade and the drawing won an award;
I like to think that helped my younger self find interest in drawing.

3. What are you working on right now?
A full plate of things for sure! I’m on the final component of my MFA so I’m both working on
my Illustration thesis and seeking my next new career. In my free time though, I’m currently
teaching myself the art of needle felting with my first project being a medival hydra sculp-
ture.

4.  What do you deem the most relevant about your work?
What is the most important to be remembered?

The most relevant thing is that all my work is deeply personal, related to who I am, things
I hold dear, or stories I created. Currently this is my Achilles’ heel as I try and navigate that
territory of putting myself out there and separating myself from my art.

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5. Artists that have influenced your work?
If I was going by the art itself, I’m influenced constantly by historical illustrations in ink and
watercolor as well as creature designers.The two artists that I look to constantly for ideas
are Ivy Teas and Julian Miholics for their ability to pull out energetic lines and details without
being too cluttered and overworked as well as their use of bold solid colors, which I struggle
with.

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MIRELA MANDZO

Finalist of the Adelaide Books
Children’s Illustration Award

1.  Tell us a bit about yourself – something that we will not find in the
official illustrator’s bio. Do you have any unusual creative habits?

I am a 22 years old successful senior geography student at the University of Tuzla. I am
finding art everywhere and in everything in my life. I can see the consistency of colors and
shapes in a unique way. Nature gives me the greatest inspiration, so I am trying to paint it
on the paper. My biggest inspirations come when I need to fix something or make a gift for
someone. Beside drawings, I am also involved in making handmade jewelry and decorations.
That includes: earrings, bracelets, greeting cards, drawing books, hand-painted envelopes,
wedding decor etc. Therefore, my life is an art and it would not have any sense without it.

2. Do you remember what was your first work about and when did you create it?
I started drawing when I was a little girl. My parents used to buy me coloring and picture
books, so I got into the world of drawing very early. They have always admired my drawings
but the first bigger acknowledgement I have received when I was in elementary school. The
theme was Christmas and New Year holiday spirit. Since then, my drawing skills and the
touch for it had have grown even more.

3. What are you working on right now?
Christmas and New Year are coming soon so I am working again on that theme. Besides that,
I have a few ideas how to incorporate my geographical knowledge and drawing skills to make
something interesting and fun for kids.

4.  What do you deem the most relevant about your work?
What is the most important to be remembered?

The most important thing about my drawings is that they have need to be fun for me and for
others, to have color consistency and positive effects.

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5. Artists that have influenced your work?
I am most fascinated by the work, the harmony of colors and tendency towards the nature of
Vincent van Gogh, but I do not draw like him of course. To be honest my dad had the biggest
impact on me and my work. He taught me some great moves. He has great talent and I used
to watch him drawing and that is how I learned to draw.

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