John McRandle on his unusual picture book for grownups, THE AWFULBET

There's little in life I admire more than weirdness and originality, preferably both in the same work. And so, it's my great pleasure to introduce you to the oddest picture book you're likely to see today, The Awfulbet, written and illustrated by John McRandle.

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The Tale of The Awfulbet

by John McRandle

The Awfulbet: A Bracing Compendium of Disease & Effluvia For Grownups is an ABC book with a collection of 26 letters who endure a wide range of amusing afflictions. From Acne to Zombification, and all infirmities in between, each letter has been given an alliterative assortment of awfulness. For example, meet ‘B, who is Beset by Bunions, Baldness and Boils’, or ‘R, who is Ripe with Ringworm, Rosacea and Rabies’—the characters of the book possess a certain comical charm that will appeal to kids and grownups alike.

This is my first book, and my first foray into the world of self-publishing. Starting as a germ of an idea two years ago, the project came to me in a late-night burst of creativity. The writing was the fastest part, with the droll diseases flowing from my pen. But the illustration took a lot of time, as each letter’s illness had to be anthropomorphized and personalized to build the character. I suppose the genesis for The Awfulbet can be traced back to my youth reading Mad magazine and collecting Topps’ Wacky Packages, which fueled my interest in the sort of subversive humor that kids love. Some of my largest influences are Dr. Seuss, Edward Gorey, and Roald Dahl, as they play a huge role in my literary and artistic interests—and my love for darker and more disturbing work.

As a young person I was fascinated by the creatures you would find when turning over rocks, or the strange old things you'd find packed in the attic or basement that had been discarded by their owners but still had stories to tell. Growing up as the child of a German historian and an audiology professor, I always had an interest in language and science. We had a large library filled with art, natural history, and science books, and linguistic humor and wordplay were always popular in our house. What I hope to do with The Awfulbet is make something curiously creepy and grossly entertaining that appeals to the 13-year-old rock flipper and attic explorer in all of us.

BLURB:

The Awfulbet: A Bracing Compendium of Disease & Effluvia For Grownups chronicles the sad state of affairs in which these endearingly ill letters find themselves. From Acne to Zombification, there is no end to the problems these troubled souls will endure.

This contagious interpretation of an alphabet book springs from the fevered mind of John McRandle, a New York-based illustrator and musician. Night after night, he toiled until the wee hours, delving into the lives of these 26 little creatures. Now, the fruits of his labor can be yours!

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Learn more about The Awfulbet on the book's website.

You can purchase The Awfulbet from the Blurb bookstore. 

See more of John McRandle's work on Tumblr and follow him on Instagram as @jdmcrandle

#Writer & #artist Laura Wilbourn takes us on a #picturebook journey with Asterion's Elixer

When I met Laura Wilbourn at a SCBWI conference a few years back, I was immediately struck, not just by her intelligence and humor, but by the unusual, etherial quality of the picture book she had brought to show everyone she met. When I learned that she was about to publish a new book, Asterion's Elixir, I jumped to invite her to join us here and talk about her process. And look at these wonderful illustrations, which Laura does herself!

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Creating Asterion's Elixir

by Laura Wilbourn

I have always been a fan of imagination. As far back as I can remember, daydreaming has taken precedence over anything that required academic attention. In one recurring daydream that I recall vividly, I had the ability to magically transform myself into a flying unicorn. At the time, I was in first grade at the International School of Bangkok, and in this fantasy, the classroom was on fire. I transformed into a mystical creature that flew through the window and saved my class from the flames. Even though it occurred at such a young age, I feel this daydream was very telling of who I would become as a person and planted a seed from which my children’s books would originate. 

In second grade, my family and I moved back to California. With the option of choosing my own wallpaper for my room, of course I chose unicorns. Between the daydreams and the wallpaper, it may not come as a surprise that my children’s book, Asterion’s Elixir, includes a unicorn! 

Not only is there a unicorn, but a lot of color as well! My ultimate favorite color is blue (with red a very close second). What better place than space to fulfill this color scheme? An interesting fact about another influence in my life at the time I was writing this book: I was taking an astronomy class at Texas State about the stars and galaxies. Reading all that material and seeing all those pictures definitely sparked my mind's adventure into the unknown. This book is unique in that it contains many bright and engaging colored images, but there is an abundance of text as well. This is exactly what I wished for as a ten-year-old girl. I was never satisfied with the illustration-text ratio. It was either a lot of text and few pictures, or it was very little text and so many pictures. How do you solve this dilemma? Make your own children’s book! Make it exactly how you wanted it as a child, so that every part of the inner-child in you is fulfilled. 

Though the influences of this story are easy to distinguish, my process is harder to explain. I don’t have a clear-cut path when I create a book. I do both the writing and the sketching at the same time. However, what is consistent is that the seed of a story begins with a drawing that eventually blossoms into character development. From here, a few more sketches are made which make room for plot development. It is a back and forth movement between the graphic and the literary art, and somehow I end up with a book and illustrations in the end. 

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Learn more about Laura Wilbourn and purchase Asterion's Elixir on her website. Follow her on Facebook.

Marla F. Jones on Life as a #Kidlit Writer/Illustrator

As a writer who can draw a bit, I have huge admiration for people who hone their skills in both fields, and thereby can illustrate their own books. One great example is today's guest, Marla F. Jones.

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I love books. I love reading. As a first grade teacher and mother of two, I read literally thousands of children's books. So when I retired from teaching, I promptly joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and began the on-line writing course at the Children’s Book Insider, or “the CBI Clubhouse.” My first real writing gig was creating curriculum activities for Augsburg Fortress Publishing. My first book, Ponder Porcupine, was written to supplement a piece of curriculum.

Susan York Meyers, a published author and friend, graciously mentored me through the process of writing for children. I  completed the Children’s Book Insider’s writing course (some parts more than once), joined a couple of critique groups, revised and polished, received additional critiques, revised and polished some more. I followed submission guidelines exactly and sent my manuscript to editors and agents. Rejections abounded, saying 'I like it, it just doesn't fit our line-up' or “really fun story, it’s just not for me”. So, I decided to put my money where my mouth is and publish it myself.

But did I have what it takes to illustrate my own picture book? As a teacher, I enjoyed working with beautiful papers, creating colorful bulletin boards and games. So, I created a few cut-paper art illustrations for my story and asked my family, friends and colleagues if the pictures were good enough for a children’s book. Everyone gave me an enthusiastic “thumbs up”!

I’m a folk artist. I am not classically trained but I’ve always had a deep appreciation for all types of visual media. Folk artists typically use bright, bold colors in a unique or unusual way. The illustrations for We’re Counting on Noah’s Ark! include colorful papers, fabrics and found objects. Look close and you’ll spy twigs, pinecones, and textural objects. I especially love repurposing. After all, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”! The layers are assembled then scanned. Scanning causes shadows to appear, giving it a fun, 3-D look. The paper and the scanner do the shadows for me! At this point, with my computer I add highlights, shading, and tiny details as well as fix imperfections.

When author Susan Meyers saw the published book, We’re Counting on Noah’s Ark!, she liked the artwork and asked me to illustrate her picture book,  Grrr…Night!.  It stars a little monster who can’t go to sleep. My latest book, Let’s Follow Them!, came out in July 2014. I wrote and illustrated it, using the map of our city in the cover background.

I work hard at my craft. Every day. I attend writing conferences, take classes, and soak up everything I can about writing and illustrating picture books. I’m also the co-founder of a group called Next Generation Writers. Our slogan is “nurturing tomorrow’s storytellers and artists.” We teach writing/illustrating workshops to elementary students and adults.

What could be better? I get to do the things I love every day—teaching, writing and illustrating.

Full circle, right?

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Books written and/or illustrated by Marla F. Jones:

Let’s Follow Them! (available through Ingram and Amazon)

Grrr…Night!, written by Susan York Meyers, (available through Amazon or author/illustrator)

We’re Counting on Noah’s Ark! (available through Amazon and Marla’s web site)

Ponder Porcupine (available through Amazon and Marla’s web site)

Learn more about Marla F. Jones on her website.

Purchase her books on Amazon. 

The Cover Evolution

I always hated the Dick and Jane books, in part because I was too advanced a reader by the time we got them in school, and in part because of their illustrations. It is particularly the memory of their covers that gives me a queasy feeling even today.

Like fiction prose, book illustration also follows changing fashion. These two pictures show covers of excellent middle-grade novels. They have the same publisher, but are from two different eras. The cover for Hiaasen's more recent Hoot is streamlined and neutral, yet intriguing. The older one, Snyder's Witches of Worm, has many problems: it's too busy, it misrepresents a serious psychological study of a girl as a mystery romp, and it gives away part of the ending (the girl and the boy aren't speaking for most of the story).

Of course, what a middle-grade novelist really wants is a movie still on the cover, since that means she's sold her story as a screenplay!