Tiny Treasury

It’s the Friday Fifteen! Today’s guest is author Deborah Ellis.

Deborah’s first novel for young adults, Looking for X, was published in Fall 1999 and won the 2000 Governor General’s Award for Children’s Text in Canada. Her novel, The Breadwinner, is also widely acclaimed.

And now, onto the Fifteen!

1. Where are you now?
I’m in the Simcoe Public Library, in Simcoe, Ontario

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
I grew up in small town Ontario, so most of my favourite books took place in New York City - A Teddy Bear Habit by James Lincoln Collier, Harriet the Spy, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Valley of the Dolls

3. What are you reading now?
I’m reading a lot of stuff about the Renaissance, as I’m about to start another historical novel.

4. Do you have kids?
I don’t have kids. I like kids, but don’t have any.

5. What projects are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a book of interviews with kids who are part of military families, to find out what it’s like for them to have a parent serving overseas in harm’s way. If any kids would like to share their stories, their parents could contact me at dellis@can.rogers.com

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
I live near the north shore of Lake Erie, and my biggest writing luxury is to take a lawn chair and a towel to the beach and write and swim and write and swim all day long.

7. Coffee or tea?
Coffee. Cheap instant.

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).
I have no IPod or anything like that. I like silence, The Beatles and slow jazz, but am always open to hearing something new.

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
I like to walk around my town in the wee hours of the morning when everyone else is asleep.

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
Never went to college. Graduated from Paris District High School in Paris, Ontario.

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
My dream job is to be the Gorilla Girl with a traveling carnival - the woman who turns into a gorilla. Maybe one day.

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
Reruns of The West Wing. Also, there are sometimes British shows about people trying to live as though they lived in Tudor times, and so on. Those are great, too.

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
I entered a competition Groundwood Books was having for folks who had never published a novel for kids. I didn’t win, but they published the book - Looking for X - and it went on to win a Governor-General’s award.

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
Vanessa Redgrave. After her, Studs Terkel

15. Who is the best book character EVER?
Just about any character Dickens ever wrote.

Thanks, Deborah! Deborah’s new book, Jakeman, is in stores now (I just received a copy so look for my review in an upcoming post).

It’s the Friday Fifteen! Today’s guest is author Mariah Fredericks.

Mariah is the author of Head Games, now in stores.

1. Where are you now?
In my dining room in Jackson Heights, Queens.

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
At various ages, Richard Scarry’s What Do People Do All Day? Harriet the Spy, and The Chocolate War

3. What are you reading now?
A biography of Elizabeth I.

4. Do you have kids?
Yep, one big, gorgeous boy, six months old.

5. What projects are you working on now?
The final book in my tarot trilogy, called In the Cards: Life. Also a book about school politics and what happens when we lose faith in the value of tolerance.

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
A room of my own.

7. Coffee or tea?
Both.

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).
Green Day, Patti Scialfa, Billy Bragg, Pearl Jam and Stephen Sondheim.

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
That there’s not much surprising about me.

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
Vassar College, history.

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
Historical novelist or basset hound breeder.

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
The Wire

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
I wrote four adult novels that went nowhere. Then I decided nothing is more dramatic than what happens to us in ninth grade and wrote The True Meaning of Cleavage. A friend of mine suggested I send it to Dick Jackson. I did and about a month later, I had a message on my answering machine, “Hello, this is Dick Jackson…”

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
Peter O’Toole, for the stories.

15. Who is the best book character EVER?
Gotta go with Harriet the Spy.

Be sure and check out Mariah’s latest projects at her web site.

It’s the Friday Fifteen! Today’s guest is illustrator Richard Cowdrey. I first noticed Richard when he illustrated “Bad Dog, Marley” - one of my girls’ favorites!

Now, onto the Fifteen!

1. Where are you now?
I’m pacing around my cabin. I’m in a cabin near a pond in the woods. My mailing address is Gambire, near Kenyon College in Ohio.

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
Early on, the Disney books like Pinocchio and Bambi. In elementary school, I liked looking at medical journals and anatomy books. At 6th grade, I could name all of the bones in the body.

3. What are you reading now?
I’m a peruser, so CS Lewis, Mere Christianity.

4. Do you have kids?
Yes, I do. I have 4.

5. What projects are you working on now?
One project is confidential. I also just completed a book for Henry Holt, “The Fan Man,” coming out in 2008. It turned out nice, they loved it. It’s a very classic looking book.

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
Time, I guess. I’m the master of my time. I garden, I cut wood and do all of those outdoorsy things and then am able to come in and do what I want.

7. Coffee or tea?
Coffee.

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).
This is really hard because I listen to a wide range.
The last day I checked, and I don’t know if this is a fair or unfair cross-section, it was:
Watermark – excellent
Pink Floyd
Elton John
Keith Green
Genesis

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
I have no idea. I think I that I wanted to go into medicine but they don’t let people into medical school with a C average. So, I guess that I’ve never lost at Trivial Pursuit.

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
Columbus College of Art and Design

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
An EMT, probably. In fact, that still may be down the road.

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
I don’t watch much TV. House. And that Planet Earth series was really great.

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
There were a few big breaks along the way.

I would have to go back to high school where I was going to drop out. I was doing all of the wrong things. I would do these elaborate drawings on folders and the backs of tests. And this art teacher who I hated and thought he hated me went around and gathered up these elaborate doodles and drove from Cincinnati to the Columbus College of Art and Design. He told them that I was a real problem but had a lot of talent. They gave me a full, probationary scholarship (nothing below a B). I got to art school and did my thing.

Once I was there, I realized that I wasn’t “THE artist” at school at school anymore. There were a lot of good artists. So I worked hard to become an artist.

That art teacher, Mr. Kanig, and I ended up corresponding years later. After seeing the movie Mr. Holland’s Opus, I realized that I had never thanked him so I tracked him done and did it.

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
I’m not into the celeb thing. Maybe Wess Stafford? He is the founder of Compassion, International, which is this great organization where they hook up Americans with children from Africa and South America. You can “adopt” a child for $39/month.

15. Who is the best book character EVER?
Series – Paul Longshot for Paul

Thanks, Richard! You can find out more about Richard on his website.

It’s the Friday Fifteen! Today’s guest is illustrator Nathalie Dion.

1. Where are you now?
In my studio, which is at the top of the stairs; in a nest!

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
Martine’s collection; “Martine à la plage” “Martine à la campagne”…. Topo Gigio.

3. What are you reading now?
The curious incident of the dog in the night-time, by Mark Haddon. I bought the book for my daughter but ended up being the first one to read it!

4. Do you have kids?
Yes, I have a 14 years old daughter.

5. What projects are you working on now?
I just finished “Winter babies wear layers”, the 4th of a series of board books. The first was “Urban babies wear black”. And this week I am working on a cover for a “crime-mystery” book which will be published at The Penguin Group, and illustrating for Modern Bride Magazine, Elle Québec and Style at Home.

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
to draw in my squarred paper sketch book (Moleskine) with everything but the right brush, color or pen!

7. Coffee or tea?
Both.. When I have too much coffee I switch to tea and when I am too bored with tea I go back to coffee..

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).
RadioHead, Nirvana, Kate Bush, Beck, Siouxsie and the Banshees.

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
I guess considering my illustrations are quite “clean” , i would think one would be surprised that I love to draw on “wrong” paper with “wrong” tools (gives dirty results that I enjoy!)

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
College Saint-Laurent (Fine Arts)

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
A 20 pages advertorial or editorial in Vogue.

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
Nothing right now… (I don’t have cable…)

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
After a 10 years struggle… My first client was a children’s clothing designer who hired me to illustrate her catalogues. Then I developed a more “fashion” oriented style and was hired by ELLE Québec for my first editorial job. Then Anna Goodson saw what I did for ELLE and offered to represent me… And “boom”! there was THE big break…

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
Woody Allen (before Soon-Yi…)

15. Who is the best book character EVER?
Charlie Brown?

Thanks, Nathalie!

And don’t forget to check out Nathalie’s newest book, The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney:

It’s the Friday Fifteen! Today’s guest is author Cecil Castellucci.

Cecil’s first novel, Boy Proof, debuted in 2005, and won a number of accolades including the ALA (American Library Association) Best Books for Young Adults; ALA Recommended Books for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, Quick Pick; New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age and Book Sense Children’s Picks List Selection.

And now, onto the Fifteen!

1. Where are you now?
In Los Angeles, on my couch watching Star Trek the Next Generation: Season 1

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
Just the tip of the iceberg:

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Tripod Trilogy by John Christopher
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatly Snyder
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum

3. What are you reading now?
Flora Segunda by Ysabeau Wilce

4. Do you have kids?
Not yet. But I hope to one day!

5. What projects are you working on now?
I have a picture book called Grandma’s Gloves coming out on Candlewick as soon as the art is done. And then I’m working on an early chapter book / easy reader, for young kids, with Candlewick as well. Also I’m tinkering away at a new YA novel.

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
Fountain Pens. Long stretches in cafes. Dreaming while looking out of windows.

7. Coffee or tea?
Both! I swear! I love them equally!

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).
Coco Rosie
Joanna Newsom
Dead Kennedys
Edith Piaf
Sam Cook

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
While living on the street for six weeks waiting for Star Wars Episode I tickets, I slept next to a murderer on the lam. Is that too scary? How about, my first job, when I was 15, was as a girl friday for a nobel prize winning neuroscientist.

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
I went to NYU first for film production, then ran out of money to finish, so I went to Paris, France for a year and then finished my degree in Film Production at Concordia University in Montreal.

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
Astronaut or earth bound space voyager (like at JPL)

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
Uh… I don’t have broadcast or cable TV in my house. So, I can’t say what’s great on TV right now, like this week, because I watch TV on DVD’s.

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
The first story I published was in the LA Times Kids Reading Room. It was a story called Moon Picnic. Also, I joined SCBWI and went to a working writers retreat where I met my agent and my publisher, Candlewick Press. Go, SCBWI!!!

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
Dead: Luis Bunuel
Alive: Dolly Parton

15. Who is the best book character EVER?
Too tough a question!
I’ll say Anne of Green Gables, since I didn’t put that up in my fave books for kids.

–

Thanks, Cecil (and thanks to Tracy at Candlewick Press for making the intro)! Be sure and check out Cecil’s latest book, Beige:

You can keep with Cecil on her blog.

Cecil Castellucci, Beige, Boy Proof, Candlewick Press

It’s our first ever dual Friday Fifteen! Our participants today are husband and wife Mary Jane and Herm Auch - and they work together!

First up, Mary Jane…

1. Where are you now?
On a plane over Pennsylvania, flying to visit our daughter in San Francisco.

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
My mother taught me to read, so when I got to school I was bored silly by the Dick and Jane books. My understanding teacher let me read all of the WIZARD OF OZ books instead, which I loved. I read A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN in fifth grade, and was hooked on reading for life.

3. What are you reading now?
THE HOUSE BY THE SEA by May Sarton and RAT LIFE by Tedd Arnold.

4. Do you have kids?
Yes, a daughter, Kat, and a son, Ian. They’re both graphic artists and both in publishing. Kat is a magazine designer and Ian is a newspaper and web designer.

5. What projects are you working on now?
I’m writing a midgrade novel with canine characters and a YA novel about a boy who loves guitars. Herm and I are doing illustrations for our next picture book, THE PLOT CHICKENS. We have also been attending recording sessions for Full Cast Audio’s CD of ONE-HANDED CATCH, the novel I wrote based on Herm’s childhood accident.

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
Our art studio! Herm built a two-story addition on our house with a cathedral ceiling, a balcony, and lots of windows. His computer and photography studio is upstairs and my painting, sewing and sculpting space is downstairs. My drawing board is right next to the woodstove, which is very cozy for our dog and me during our long upstate NY winters.

7. Coffee or tea?
Green tea and chai.

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).
Angel Band, Robin and Linda Williams, Steve Greene, Spider John Koerner, and CHESTER AND LESTER – an album with unbelievable guitar duets by Chet Atkins and Les Paul

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
I love to play the guitar and just started taking fiddle lessons.

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
Skidmore College as an art major, then Columbia University Medical School for Occupational Therapy.

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
Backup singer, luthier (guitar maker)

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
I’m hooked on Idol for the moment, but after that, not much.

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
I took a weeklong course from Natalie Babbitt and another the next year from Patty MacLachlan. They both encouraged me until I made my first sale — after two years of rejections.

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
I’d love to meet Kyra Sedgwick. I admire her work, especially in the projects she has done with her husband, Kevin Bacon. She has an amazing ability to show both the strength and weakness in her characters, and has an incredibly expressive face. I enjoy creating multi-layered characters and pictured her as Lila when I was writing WING NUT.

15. Who is the best book character EVER?
Rabble Starkey from Lois Lowry’s book of the same name

And now, Herm:

1. Where are you now?
35,000 feet over Ohio. Same plane as MJ – just a little farther along on the trip.

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
THE RED PONY and HANS BRINKER AND THE SILVER SKATES

3. What are you reading now?
ARROGANCE by Bernard Goldberg

4. Do you have kids?
Yep. The same two as MJ.

5. What projects are you working on now?
Illustrating THE PLOT CHICKENS, designing brochures and publicity for the Heritage Square Museum in Ontario, NY, our home town.

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
My Cintiq.

7. Coffee or tea?
Coffee

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).
Alison Kraus, Tish Hinojosa, Diana Krall, Leonard Cohen, Roy Orbison

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
I played the accordion as a kid, even though I only have one hand.

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
Rochester Institute of Technology — illustration major

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
Cabinetmaker

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
NBA playoffs, 24

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
Started by illustrating MJ’s Third Grade Science series. It didn’t help that I was married to the author. They made me send in a lot of samples for approval.

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
David Robinson, former Spurs player

15. Who is the best book character EVER?
Huw Morgan from HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY

Thanks Mary Jane and Herm!

You can see more about them on their website.

It’s the Friday Fifteen!

Today’s guest is Troy CLE, who wrote the heavily anticipated The Marvelous Effect. I first met Troy when he was kind enough to help me out with a post or two about his book. The post summarizing the release of The Marvelous Effect remains the most popular post on my site to date, garnering more than one million hits in two days - and almost a quarter of a million hits in one hour. In terms of popularity, I’d say that Troy is making a name for himself!

Now, onto the Fifteen!

1. Where are you now?
On the New York train to East Orange

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Superfudge

3. What are you reading now?
Wish I had time to read. I am deep in writing book 1.5

4. Do you have kids?
Yeah- Marvelous World

5. What projects are you working on now?
Marvelous World Movie
Promoting this book is a full time project

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
Apple Pro Book

7. Coffee or tea?
Lemonade Passion Fruit Iced tea

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).
Linkin Park
Fall Out Boy
50 Cent
John Mayer
Lil’ Wayne

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
I was a Classically trained pianist

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
BA American Literature and English-NYU
MS Digital Design- NYU

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
Visual Effects Artist

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
Come On! I have to choose between 24 and Entourage?

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
I faked being my own publicist.

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
Charlie Murphy

15. Who is the best book character EVER?
Don’t I have to say Louis Proof?

You can check out Troy’s web sites here:
http://www.marvelousworld.net
http://www.myspace.com/troycle
http://www.myspace.com/themarvelouseffect

And oh yeah, The Marvelous Effect is in stores now. Pick one up today!

Thanks Troy!

It’s the Friday Fifteen! Today’s guest is Illustrator Tamaye Perry.

Tamaye has a slew of book covers and magazine layouts on her resume. What called my attention to her is the cover for Jerry Spinelli’s There’s a Girl in My Hammerlock.

Now onto the Fifteen!

1. Where are you now?
Brooklyn, New York

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
Where the Wild Things Are, all of the Dr. Seuss and Judy Blume books

3. What are you reading now?
Triksta by Nik Coen (I designed the paperback for that cover)

4. Do you have kids?
No

5. What projects are you working on now?
A couple of logos for Nick Jr. and Noggin and of course some covers

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
On my down time I watch a lot of movies

7. Coffee or tea?
decaf coffee

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).
Johnny Cash, The Smiths, Al Green, Belle and Sebastian, and Bjork

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
I’m a big horror movie fan.

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
Art Center College of Design

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
I wanted be an architect before I became a graphic designer.

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
CSI

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
I started working freelance for Roberto de Vicq at HarperCollins while I was working at Entertainment Weekly.

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
Gerard Butler

15. Who is the best book character EVER?
This one’s hard. There’s too many good ones.

You can see some of Tamaye’s work at her website. Here are some of my favorites:

Thanks Tamaye!

Tamaye Perry, Jerry Spinelli, illustrator, There’s a Girl in My Hammerlock, Noggin, Entertainment Weekly

It’s the Friday Fifteen!

1. Where are you now?

At my desk at home in Chappaqua, New York.

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?

How much space do I have? To name just a few: Harriet the Spy, A Wrinkle in Time, Pippi Longstocking, The Black Stallion, Little Women, The Secret Garden, The Secret Language, Charlotte’s Web, My Side of the Mountain, The Island of the Blue Dolphins, Little House on the Prairie, Rascal, Half Magic, anything by Beverly Cleary….I read A LOT.

3. What are you reading now?

Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock. I love this book–it’s fresh and quirky. Also The Moons of Jupiter by Alice Munro. Munro is one of my favorite writers, so I’m reading her stuff super-slowly, to make it last.

4. Do you have kids?

I have two sons, ages 17 and 13, and a daughter, age 11. They’re all very witty and very verbal–our meals are sometimes so hilarious that we forget to eat. Some of the humor in Just Another Day in my Insanely Real Life comes from our dinner table–for example, Cassie’s list of “The Funniest Words in the English Language.”

5. What projects are you working on now?

I’m awaiting comments from my editor on a middle grade novel tentatively titled Solving Zoe, to be published in 2009. It’s about a girl who goes to a progressive school for gifted kids and feels lost–until she discovers her own gift for reading codes. And I’m just starting a new middle grade novel, sort of feeling out the characters. For me it’s always characters first, then plot: probably not the most efficient method of working, but if I don’t hear that character’s voice, I don’t know where the story is going.

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?

Being in a family of great readers. My husband and kids always have first crack at my work, and luckily for me, they know how to be critical and supportive at the same time.

7. Coffee or tea?

Two cups of coffee to get me going in the morning, then chai tea for the rest of the day.

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).

Bob Dylan, Wilco, Amy Winehouse, Pink, U2.

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?

I’m the worst typist in the world. This is because when I was in high school, I boycotted my typing class. Not very smart, huh?

Here’s something else: I’m terrified of Ferris wheels. I know it’s weird, but I can’t help it. I’m not too happy about roller coasters either, for that matter.

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?

Yale College (English).

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?

Broadcasting for the NY Yankees. Or socializing kittens at the SPCA, a job my older son had for the past two summers. Of course, he didn’t get paid, and I’m afraid my dream job would have to include a paycheck.

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?

The Wire on HBO–every episode is teeming with flawed, complex, surprisingly sympathetic characters. I’ve also always loved The Sopranos and Seinfeld, and have a lot of respect for The Simpsons.

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?

I’m glad you put “big break” in quotation marks! I’m not sure I’m there yet, but I know I got published because I viewed my rejection letters as constructive criticism, and used the feedback to revise. If you’re a newbie, you need to have thick skin–an expression I’ve always hated. (But really, if you want to get published, you do.)

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?

Two of my favorite actors are Kate Winslet and Johnny Depp. But they’re so glamorous and talented– I’m not sure what I’d say to them. Actually, I think the person I’d most want to meet is cartoonist Roz Chast. I just totally get her; we’d talk about how how much we hate driving on highways.

15. Who is the best book character EVER?

For younger readers, Pippi Longstocking, a hilarious, iconoclastic superhero. Or maybe Harriet the Spy, for her depth and artistic sensibility.
For YA readers, Holden Caulfield. He’s the great teen voice, isn’t he?

–

Thanks, Barbara! Barbara’s book, Just Another Day in My Insanely Real Life, was released in paperback last month. Look for it in stores.

It’s the Friday Fifteen!

Photo credit: (c) Danielle Levitt, New York magazine

Today’s guest is our first ever cover photographer. Meet Ali Smith, who has photographed covers for a number of teen books - as well as collections for her own books.

On a personal note, the first book cover that I saw that Ali had done was Sara Shepard’s Pretty Little Liars:

Now, onto the Fifteen!

1. Where are you now?
Same place I always seem to be…in front of my computer

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
I loved the Little House series and the Laura Ingalls Wilder biography where they showed photos of her and her family. It was mind blowing for me at the time that the person who’d written that series was an actual person who you could see in photographs. She seemed like an epic hero, not a young girl. Good lesson that the two things could be one in the same.

3. What are you reading now?
I’m reading lots of books related to motherhood. a) because I’m working on my next book of photography that centers around the subject and b) because I labor under the delusion that if I read enough, I will somehow be prepared for my own role as mother when the time comes.

4. Do you have kids?
For six years, I was a devoted stepmother. But the relationship with her father has ended and, sadly, it seems my relationship with her may have ended as a result. Atl east for now. I am planning on having a child soon.

5. What projects are you working on now?
Besides shooting book covers pretty consistently, which I love doing, I’m working on the aforementioned book of portraiture. My first book, “Laws of the Bandit Queens”, was portraits of and life laws from 35 amazing women like Alice Walker, Janeane Garofalo, Sandra Bernhard, Geraldine Ferraro… This one centers on what motherhood and family really are and how a woman can parent well and still maintain a sense of self. I guess I’ve always looked for role models and guidance through my photography.

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
That I get to work in my pj’s. (I work from a home office) except for at the shoots, naturally. Although I have had to do an underwater shoot (for “MIX”) in a bathing suit. It’s fun that each day of work is going to be a bit different.

7. Coffee or tea?
Coffee! Although I’m really trying to switch to tea. If for no other reason, because my coffee habit is costing me a small fortune.

8. Name five artists on your ipod (or mp3 player).

Myself (My latest album came out about six months ago. It’s called “You Showed Me” and is under the artists’ names “Steve Almaas and Ali Smith”. Steve is my ex. The album came out right after the breakup. Fun fun fun.)

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
I danced at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, with Rudolph Nuryev.

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
NYU. Started out for Visual Arts in general but really found myself in photography. Big bonus was I went for free because my mom was a nurse at NYU!!

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
Photography is my dream job. If I couldn’t shoot kids’ books, as long as I was shooting, I’d still be in my dream job.

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
Hmmm… That really depends. Am I trying to turn my brain off, or really enjoy what I’m watching. I don’t watch much at all anymore because it’s usually awful.
Channels 1 through 36 may as well not exist. To turn my brain off, I love to veg to Bravo’s intensely ridiculous lineup of Project Runway, Shear Genius, Top Chef, etc. But the shows i really love are “Campus Ladies” on Oxygen and “The Sarah Silverman Show”. I wish wish wish they’d put “Little Britain” on the air here!

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
Years ago, an amazing woman named Alison Donalty, Art Director extraordinaire at HarperCollins Children’s Books, asked me to fill in for her when she went on maternity leave. I didn’t have any experience in publishing, just as a music and editorial photographer who sometimes did random advertising work. Her faith in me, that I could handle it, was so touching and opened the door to this whole world of photography for publishing which I just love! Sometimes you really need just one person to have faith in you and give you a break. Then when my agent, Shannon Associates, showed faith in me, it really all came together!

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
I’ve honestly met all the ones I’ve wanted to. Which is good because it calms you down about that stuff and makes everything seem more attainable to you when you see everyone’s just a person doing their best.

15. Who is the best book character ever?
Wow! That’s just impossible for me to answer. I tend to associate myself with some of the darker characters… Not anyone in fun teen novels. I got a lot from characters like the main character in Camus’ “The Stranger”, for instance, but he’s not the best character ever. I swing towards brooders. Sorry. That was a lame way to end the interview. i guess i could just say “the pig from Charlotte’s Web” and be done with it.

I would like to add something else since you’ve been talking about “MIX”. This mix program within the Aladdin imprint at Simon & Schuster has been a really great experience. There’s an amazing creative team headed up by art director Karin Paprocki and involving designer Jessica Sonkin, who I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with on a few covers. It’s exciting to be involved in the development of something like this. It’s pure fun!

I’ve also had the chance to shoot several covers for the Simon Pulse (teen pb books) imprint headed by Russell Gordon.

-

Here are some more cool covers from Ali’s portfolio (click on the thumbnail to expand):

You can check out some more of Ali’s work on her web site. Ali’s agents can be found at Shannon Associates - you can visit the kids’ book section here.

Thanks, Ali, for sharing!

It’s the Friday Fifteen!

Today’s guest is author Tricia Rayburn. Let’s get to the Fifteen…

1. Where are you now?
Near the beach on the South Fork of Long Island.

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
Anything with two covers and lots of pages in-between! I especially loved The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and was seriously addicted to the Baby-Sitters Club, Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High series.

3. What are you reading now?
King Dork by Frank Portman

4. Do you have kids?
Not yet! But I do have one very mischievous shih tzu.

5. What projects are you working on now?
The sequel to The Melting of Maggie Bean, which should be out next spring.

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
The big, beautiful desk I bought when my book deal was official!

7. Coffee or tea?
Coffee. Lots of it, preferably iced.

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).
Counting Crows, U2, Dixie Chicks, Pete Yorn, Gwen Stefani

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
I was the worst skipper in my childhood Polish dancing group.

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
Middlebury College in Vermont, majored in American Literature.

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
Professional singer, ballroom dancer or surfer. Not that I’m qualified — at all — for any of those positions.

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
It WAS Gilmore Girls, but now it’s Planet Earth, Grey’s Anatomy and LOST.

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
The Melting of Maggie Bean was my MFA thesis, and I sent her into the publishing world as an afterthought, and with no expectations. She’s an actual book now thanks to my amazing agent, Rebecca Sherman of Writers House, and my incredible editor, Jen Klonsky at Simon & Schuster.

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
Is it wrong to say Oprah? Cause I really would, even without the whole book club thing. If it IS wrong to say Oprah, then Kate Winslet, Reese Witherspoon or Adam Brody.

15. Who is the best book character EVER?
I’ve started to answer this question ten times, only to delete each attempt. Any character that a reader relates to, cares for and is inspired by, is a character worth knowing.

–

Thanks, Tricia! Tricia’s new book, The Melting of Maggie Bean,is in stores now. And for more info, you can check out her MySpace profile.

For the first week since I introduced the Friday Fifteen, I don’t have an interview lined up. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. I have a number of interviews in the queue, but the formatting, presentation and permissions tend to take a few days for each. And on this particular week, my family and I found ourselves fighting off a nasty flu.

I contemplated trying to rush something out this morning but that wouldn’t be fair to the great authors and illustrators that agree to share their stories.

So the Fifteen is on hiatus this week.

Next week, I promise to be back in the swing of things. May is a busy release month and I have a number of interviews queued up and ready to go to coincide with new releases. Definitely stop back and check them out.

It’s the Friday Fifteen! Today’s guest is author and illustrator Tony Ross. He has illustrated a number of books including Harry the Poisonous Centipede, written by Lynne Reid Banks, and the Little Wolf series written by Ian Whybrow. I was intrigued by Tony for his Little Princess series which he authored and illustrated. His latest in the series is I Don’t Want To Go To Bed.

And onto the Fifteen!

1. Where are you now?
In my studio in Cheshire

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
Rupert, William, Swallows and Amazons

3. What are you reading now?
Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction.

4. Do you have kids?
Yes, three girls, Philippa, Alex, and Kate

5. What projects are you working on now?
Lots. A book of adventure stories for Orchard, some Astrid Lindren titles for OUP, Horrid Henry, and things for Andersen Press

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
Free lunches and travel, maybe together

7. Coffee or tea?
Both

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).
Bjork, Rod Stewart, Johnny Cash, The Beatles, Andrea Bocelli

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
I appeared in Coronation Street

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
Liverpool Art School, dept. of graphic design

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
A cowboy

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
Friends

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
By slogging around London with my first book, and folder from art school

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
Lisa Kudrow. If she is busy, anyone at all.

15. Who is the best book character EVER?
Winnie The Pooh

Thanks, Tony!

You can find out more about Tony at the British Council Magic Pencil site.

Tony Ross, Little Princess series, HarperCollins UK

It’s the Friday Fifteen! Today’s guest is children’s author Amy Timberlake who wrote one of my girls’ favorite books, The Dirty Cowboy, illustrated by Adam Rex. Her newest book, That Girl Lucy Moon, is winning awards left and right:

1. Where are you now?
In my office staring at my laptop. There are a bunch of maps of southeastern Wisconsin to my right, a photo of an old cowboy named Bill Graham (not the preacher) in front of me. Piles of drafts of the book I’m working on now are all over my desk.

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
Thurber’s Many Moons, The Nancy Drew Books, Agatha Christie Mysteries (Hercules Pie-rot only — that’s how I said his name). I also loved fairy tales (read those over and over again) and the King Arthur stories. Growing up, I was always at my local library — my library card was my prized possession. If you had a library card you were allowed to read ANYTHING. That’s how I saw it. I did get questioned now and again by my choices. (I couldn’t see over the edge of the check-out desk when I was reading Agatha Christie mysteries for instance — a few of the librarians thought I was a little young to be reading about murder.)

3. What are you reading now?
Some books for the book I’m writing. Also Katharine Weber, Objects in the Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear and Anne Lamott’s Grace (Eventually), and some books on playwriting.

4. Do you have kids?
Haven’t seen any around lately.

5. What projects are you working on now?
A middle grade novel for Hyperion Books for Children. I just published a middle grade novel with them this fall called That Girl Lucy Moon.

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
My macintosh laptop. I love macs. They’re more expensive, but I believe everything is more enjoyable on a Mac. It’s kind of an emotional thing.

7. Coffee or tea?
Coffee if my husband makes it. Tea (with milk and sugar) if I make it.

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).
Keith Jarrett, Zap Mama, Blind Boys of Alabama, Mistsuko Uchida, and Woody Allen.

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
I’m addicted to technology blogs.

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
Mount Holyoke College — graduated with a B.A. in American History

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
A historian — I love the research and the writing, but I’m not crazy about academia, so I’m not sure how that would work out. Maybe I’d be one of those local historians who keeps records in their basement.

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
Old Westerns — anything Clint Eastwood. Sergio Leone is particularly great. By the way, I want Clint Eastwood’s poncho from those movies. If anyone has a knitting pattern, please pass it along — you can reach me through my website: www.amytimberlake.com.

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
I read 5 minutes of The Dirty Cowboy at an open mic during an SCBWI-Illinois Conference and an editor there came up to me and told me he wanted to see it. It was an amazing moment. This was in 2000.

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
Seriously? Seeing someone like Mother Theresa in action would change my life. For fun? Patricia Routledge seems like a hoot. Or maybe Emma Thompson — I love that she does her own adaptations, had her own show, and continues to be an amazing actor. I’d actually like to be like her. I don’t want to be an actor, I’d just like to be that good at what I do. For writers, I’d have to say I love Toni Morrison’s writing, though I don’t want to meet her. I mean what would I say? “You’re the best author ever!” Ugh. I just want her to write more and more and more books please.

15. Who is the best book character EVER?
Pippi Longstocking! Hey, that just came out. Funny how when you said “EVER” my favorite character as a child came out. I see I forgot to mention Pippi above. Read Pippi Longstocking everybody! Ha!

It’s the Friday Fifteen! Today’s guest is illustrator Adam Rex.

I’ll own up to being a fan - both of my girls just love his illustrations in Amy Timberlake’s The Dirty Cowboy (my mom does, too!) - and the book won a ton of awards.

1. Where are you now?
Home. In the spare bedroom in my apartment in West Philadelphia that serves as my studio, typing into an old G3 iMac that’s been making this fried baloney smell whenever I ask it stream video. I really need a new computer.

2. What were your favorite books as a kid?
The Monster at the End of This Book
The Bike Lesson
Where the Wild Things Area
That’s just off the top of my head, trying not to think about it too much.

3. What are you reading now?
A collection of short stories selected by David Sedaris titled Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules.

4. Do you have kids?
No–why, what have you heard?

5. What projects are you working on now?
I’m finishing up the art for my novel, The True Meaning of Smekday, which will be released by Hyperion this September. I then have a new picture book to illustrate, and I’m writing monster poems.

6. What is your biggest writing or illustrating luxury?
When I have work that’s portable (basically, anything apart from painting), I like to take it to a local cafe, sit, drink coffee, eat pastries, get into heated political conversations with all the other authors and artists, and so forth.

7. Coffee or tea?
See #6

8. Name five artists on your iPod (or mp3 player).
I think I’m the only person left who doesn’t have one of these things. My wife even has one, but I don’t. But the last five CDs I played were by They Might Be Giants, Mew, The Shins, The Flaming Lips, and The Hold Steady.

9. What would I be surprised to know about you?
Hmm. Most people seem to be surprised that my wife is an astrophysicist. I’m not sure why–an artist and a scientist don’t seem any less compatible to me than, say, a doctor and accountant. Or a lawyer and a computer programmer. We each appreciate the other’s work, but she doesn’t draw and I don’t launch sub-orbital telescopes, so there’s no competition. I know couples who are BOTH artists, and I can’t imagine how that works.

10. What college did you attend (in what subject)?
The University of Arizona, where I got a BFA in Illustration. I was lucky to have kids’ author/illustrator avid Christiana there as one of my instructors.

11. If you weren’t working with kids’ books, what would your dream job be?
It’s hard to imagine not doing what I do. I suppose I always wish I had time to try my hand at animated shorts and films.

12. What’s the best thing on TV right now?
My cat, I suppose. Though she’s sleeping next to an old war photo of my Grandpa–that’s pretty good, too.

13. How did you get your “big break” into the field?
I’d been sending work out to a few interested editors for a long time, but one editor at FSG gave me my first picture book when I visited him on a trip up and down the east coast. I was still living in Tucson at the time, and had never met any editors face-to-face. It’s part of why I’m still a big believer that successes come more often when you shake hands and make eye contact.

14. Which celeb would you want most to meet?
Maurice Sendak? Will Ferrell? I don’t know. Meeting famous people you admire almost never ends up being the experience you want it to be.

15. Who is the best book character EVER?
I feel uncomfortable putting all my eggs in one basket, but “Ford Prefect” popped into my head before I really had a chance to think, so I’ll go with that.

–

Thanks, Adam and we hope to hear back once Smekday is published!

(Psst, if you want to show your support, you can vote for this story here.)