Last week I met up with an illustrator friend of mine, Hannah Shaw. I first met Hannah years ago at the grand, exuberant Random House Christmas Party. I remember the first one well, as it was packed full of people, dizzying with noise and heat, waiters with canapes, and even a harp player. It was a treat to speak to Hannah, as we shared the same publisher, editor, and were both new to the game. It isn't quite the same now as our paths have split, Hannah works for a whole array of publishers, and she's very prolific. I slowly create one book a year, for my one publisher, but we observe each others careers with interest.
We wandered through Soho last week looking for somewhere for dinner, stopping by Polpo first, but the inevitable hour and a half wait was too long. So we ended up in a small crowded Pizza Express, talking about Hannah's plans, and my imminent holiday.
Over dinner, conversation drifted to our books, and at one point I was describing what I really liked about Hannah's debut book 'Evil Weasel'. It's a naughty, spiky story about a bad character, and it's full of illustrations drawn with skewed perspectives, “to reflect the Weasel's distorted morals, I guess” I said. To which Hannah looked shocked, held up both hands and said “Thats a bit deep Katie!” I've had this reaction before. And it struck me once again, that I have a terrible habit of finding meaning in everything. It's why I should've done an English degree, because I enjoy the thrill of uncovering the hidden meanings of a poem, novel, or play. The trouble is I read picture books and apply just as much scrutiny as I would to a novel. This includes my own work, which might be because I fancy myself as being a 'proper writer' one day, and so I approach writing in a serious way... Or I'm just a narcissist.
Hannah's comment got me thinking about my new book, because I wrote it at a difficult time. When I look at it, I see how thinly I've disguised a personal experience as a picture book. But others just see a sweet funny story, about a dog and a cat. Because it means something to me, it's the hardest book I've ever had to draw. The book has taken me so long it's going to be published late, and my stomach turns over when I think of it being on a bookshelf for all to see.
Picture books can make you laugh, cry, they can even stay with a reader through their entire lifetime. They aren't necessarily just 32 pages of whimsy... unless you want them to be.
(Here's an unsuitably high-brow quote, to finish this ridiculous blog-post)
'Find the key emotion; this may be all you need know to find your short story.'
-F. Scott Fitzgerald
Image by Komako Sakai
Monday, January 9, 2012 
Ten things that I'm enjoying right now, or lusting after. 
