Today we're very excited to welcome Jackie Morris to the blog. Jackie has had many, many books published - some as author/illustrator, some as illustrator for others' words - but this year has seen two new ventures from her; firstly as the author of East of The Sun, West of the Moon - a retelling of the old folk tale, aimed at adults and older teens - and now as the author of Little Evie in the Wild Wood, a book illustrated by someone else! Jackie kindly agreed to answer my questions about the whys and hows of seeing someone else illustrate her work.....
Your latest book is something slightly different for you - a collaboration with artist Catherine Hyde who provided the illustrations while you wrote the story. Is this a move away from illustrating for you? or just a one off?
Originally I wrote Little Evie in the Dark Woods to illustrate it myself. The thing is I have many ideas, so many. So I have about six texts waiting to be worked on. At the moment I have about 4 novels, one almost finished, 3 at early stages, 3 picture book texts written, 4 or 5 at ideas stages and some nibbling at the edges of my imagination. It takes me about a year to do illustrations for a picture book.
So,
when I was talking to Catherine on the phone one day and we were
chatting away and I asked her what she was doing now that all the art
for firebird was completed and she said, ' well, I'm not sure.' Her work
is so rich and wild that I asked if she might like to have a look at a
text I had written, to see if it made pictures dance in her mind's eye
and she said yes.
It's so
nerve wracking sending a text to someone. I had never sent one to an
artist before, only to my editor at Frances Lincoln. I was so pleased
when Catherine came back with an enthusiastic response and also hearing
her talk about it she 'got' the text in exactly the way it was meant to
be read. You never know when there are only words, how people will take
them. But she understood exactly where I was coming from, how, why.
I
didn't hand over these words lightly. I had images in mind of what I
thought some of the book would look like. Each book for me is different.
Some begin with a picture. Some begin with words. It's only when I sit
down to really start on a book that the two things, the words and images
meld together. So in my mind Evie was quite open.
Also
I wanted to be taken seriously as a writer. I love writing. I love it
so much. I love the place I inhabit when I am hunting a story, chasing
words. I didn't want people to see my writing as just a vehicle to hang
my pictures on ( this was one of the comments in a rejection letter for
Tell Me a Dragon from a publisher who will not be named. That would be
an example of someone who just didn't 'get it') And I wanted, I really
wanted to experience what it was like to have someone take the bones of
my text and clothe it in the flesh of their art.
Previously you have collaborated with other writers while you have provided the illustrations. Did this collaboration prove different in any way?
I had always wondered
what it felt like for these authors to have their words taken and
'pictured'. I wanted to know what that felt like, as I thought it would
teach me something about how to work with them.
Obviously, you're used to visualizing how you would illustrate your stories but how does it feel to see someone else doing this?
Once
I handed Evie over to Catherine and we persuaded my publisher that
Catherine and I were a perfect combination ( something Janetta Otter-Barry was quick to see) it was time for me to step back. Catherine is a
wonderful artist with a great vision. It is a little nerve wracking to
hand over your 'baby' to someone else. I didn't tell Catherine that Evie
is a real person. The 'look' of the book was her territory, not mine,
though I am glad that we did talk about some things. Catherine was an
artist not an illustrator and hadn't studied book design, and although
she has two other books to her name the design approach to these was very
different. So we did talk about layout. My memory is that Catherine and
Janetta and Judith Escreet chose the size/shape of the book together.
But this is really Catherine's territory, so maybe I should let her
speak about this.
What I can say is that while Catherine
worked on this I was working on East of the Sun. Both are books about a
girl leaving home for the first time, both similar in theme, but one
with small pictures. At the end of the day when I came to my computer
and saw Catherine's progress, from early tentative sketches to
discovering the character of Evie, the wolf, the wood, to finished
pieces, each drawing, sketch, was a joy to see. So that was what it felt
like. A complete thrill.
It's maybe a bit early but what has the reaction to this book been? Are there die-hard Jackie Morris fans who would rather see a book that is just your work?
It's maybe a bit early but what has the reaction to this book been? Are there die-hard Jackie Morris fans who would rather see a book that is just your work?
I
have loved reading the book in schools, at festivals. Children adore
the dark walk through the wild wood, the wolf, the child. They love the
language that rolls along, and oh how they love the paintings. And so do
I.
Usually I read it
along with other books of mine, and some notice the difference. What I
love about the children's response is that they just love the book and
really it doesn't matter who did the words, who did the pictures they
just love it. I love that. In this age of celebrity authors the
children's response is that a good book is a good book and if it doesn't
interest them it doesn't matter who wrote or illustrated it.
Adults
now and again are not so open minded. One lady wouldn't look at it.
Even when I tried to open the book to show her how beautiful the
pictures were she put her hand on it to stop me. So she never saw the
wonderful wolf. She never saw Evie, so small in the forest, she never
saw Evie riding home in the setting sunlight with owls hooting and she
never heard a breath of a word I had written. I felt a little sad. My
words had no value for her.
What are your plans for the future - back to illustrating? more writing?
Plans
for the future? I have 5 books out this year: East of the Sun, West of
the Moon, Little Evie, with Catherine Hyde, Song of the Golden Hare, The
Wilful Princes and the Piebald Prince with Robin Hobb and Harper
Collins and Starlight Sailor, written by James Mayhew and published by
Barefoot Books. I have 2 picture books on contract with Janetta Otter-Barry books and 2 pending. I am about to finish a new re-telling which
will be taken to Janetta first to see if she wants it on her list. I
want to do some painting and writing texts for other illustrators will
free me up to be able to do this and I do, yes I do have a dream list of
illustrators I would just love to write for.
I
am hoping to repay James Mayhew. Years ago when I was on the verge of
throwing in my brushes with children's books he wrote Can You See a
Little Bear for me. Such a gift of a text. I promised then to do the same
for him. We have a text with a publisher now and are waiting, waiting,
brushes and fingers crossed to hear, and hoping. Working with James will
be a different experience again. He is steeped in the art of books like
no one else I know. I am hoping to learn from him and the whole
experience as indeed I learned from Catherine.
And I want to find another text for Catherine too as I loved working with her and I think we work well together.
And
you may notice, if you are sharp of eye, that at the beginning of this
writing I got the title of my book wrong. The title was edited, and I
didn't notice.
Originally I wrote Little Evie in the Darkwoods.
I think someone in marketing suggested this might be scary.
The
book is called Little Evie in the Wild Wood and I can honestly say that
it is one of the most beautiful books I have had the great pleasure to
work on.
Reading it makes me smile, and there is so much in its pages for me to look at.
Many thanks, Jackie, for stopping round and best of luck with future projects.
Readers can of course buy Little Evie in the Wild Wood
, and any of Jackie's other books,
from Amazon but the authors are running a special competition through a
selection of independent retailers - details of which can be found on www.jackiemorris.co.uk
Many thanks, Jackie, for stopping round and best of luck with future projects.
Readers can of course buy Little Evie in the Wild Wood
, and any of Jackie's other books,
from Amazon but the authors are running a special competition through a
selection of independent retailers - details of which can be found on www.jackiemorris.co.uk 
from Amazon
from Amazon