Questions for Illustrators

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Mum Me and the Mulberry Tree

Mum Me and the Mulberry Tree

There is already a really successful Author Interview series (90 so far and another 10 to transcribe and edit, always looking for more 😉) here on the blog and I started thinking about one of the major contributors who often get overlooked when it comes to the book world.

Illustrators, from striking graphic designs for literary covers to full picture books lovingly illustrating the whole story, illustrators are right there at the heart of what pulls us into the a book.

2023 saw the start of an Illustrator Interview, a series of interviews with book/cover illustrators/artists and I’m just finalising a series of questions for this, if you’re interested please email me.

I was thinking these could be the questions, any thoughts?

  • What’s your name, could you add lots of images and links
  • When did you know you wanted to become an illustrator?
  • How long does it typically take to make a page or cover for a book?
  • What’s your favourite piece of art equipment?
  • do you have a favourite colour scheme, if so what and why?
  • Who were your inspirations when starting out?
  • Do you have another job beside being an illustrator, if so what?
  • What do you do to overcome a creative block?
  • Do you have a favourite piece in your portfolio, if so could you share it and talk about it?
  • What was your first book related project?
  • What type of media do you prefer to work in and why?
  • Do you have a playlist you like working to? If so do you want to share it?
  • Do you have any rituals when working?
  • Do you have a favourite artist outside of the world of books, if so who and why?
  • Did the books you read as a child influence your work?
  • Has your illustration/art style changed over time?
  • How closely do you work with the author on developing the illustrations for a book?
  • If you could illustrate any classic book which would it be and why?
  • Which illustrated books in the last year have you loved?
  • If you can please tell us about your latest project and if not your last project
  • Do you have any events on in the near future?

An alphabetical list by surname of all the illustrator interviews, with date the interview was published.

  1. Rowena Aitken (24/10/23)
  2. Ian Archie Beck (15/02/23)
  3. Tom Brown (08/02/23)
  4. Karin Celestine (11/01/23)
  5. Jan Dolby (27/10/24)
  6. Olaf Falafel (01/02/23)
  7. Steve May (01/03/23)
  8. James Mayhew (05/01/23)
  9. Maria Oliver (25/01/23)
  10. Rikin Parekh (22/03/23)
  11. Keith Robinson (18/01/23)
  12. Lynne Russell (08/03/23)
  13. Mahendra Singh (26/11/24)
  14. Robyn Wilson-Owen (22/02/23)

Questions for Authors

by Big Bearded Bookseller | Leave a comment

Meet The Author

Meet The Author

The Author Q&A has been running for a few years now and there are 88 interviews on the blog.

There are still about ten interviews in the pipeline but I’m always on the lookout for more authors who would like to be involved so please contact me if you’re interested.

Here’s a list of questions, just answer what you want and feel comfortable with and feel free to adapt where necessary  🙂

The finished Q&A will go on my blog and a separate newsletter.

  • Tell me what inspired you to write your (debut) novel?
  • What came first the characters or the world?
  • How hard was it to get your first (debut) book published?
  • How long did it take to write?
  • Do you have a writing playlist? If so do you want to share it?
  • How many publishers turned you down?
  • What kind of reactions have you had to your book?
  • What’s the favourite reaction you’ve had to your book?
  • What can you tell us about your next book?
  • Do you take notice of online reviews?
  • Would you ever consider writing outside your current genre?
  • What did you do before (or still do) you became a writer?
  • Which author(s) inspire you?
  • Which genres do you read yourself?
  • What is your biggest motivator?
  • What will always distract you?
  • How much (if any) say do you have in your book covers?
  • Were you a big reader as a child?
  • What were your favourite childhood books?
  • Do you have a favourite bookshop? If so, which?
  • What books can you not resist buying?
  • Do you have any rituals when writing?
  • How many books are in your own physical TBR pile?
  • What is your current or latest read?
  • Any books that you’re looking forward to in the next 12 months?
  • Any plans or projects in the near future you can tell us about?
  • Any events in the near future?
  • and finally, what inspired you to write the genre you do?

please remember to add your socials, a small bio, and a few photos and email the answers to bigbeardedbookseller@gmail.com

thanks

Stephen

and here’s an alphabetical list by surname of all the author interviews, with date the interview was published on.

  1. Alice Allan (13/11/24)
  2. Lulu Allison (17/06/22)
  3. Nicola Ashbrook (16/12/22)
  4. Lisette Auton (28/01/22)
  5. Sheila M. Averbuch (20/01/23)
  6. Timothy Baker (15/07/22)
  7. Lizzy Barber (03/06/22)
  8. Fiona Barker (23/09/22)
  9. Jon Barton (13/01/23)
  10. Jacey Bedford (24/03/23)
  11. Peter Bennett (18/11/22)
  12. Scott Berndt (11/03/25)
  13. Remington Blackstaff (21/04/23)
  14. Richard C. Bower (17/02/23)
  15. Steve Chambers (11/11/22)
  16. Jeevani Charika (15/04/22)
  17. Anne Coates (11/03/22)
  18. Dr Gabriel Constans (29/04/22)
  19. Kate and Liz Corr (12/08/22)
  20. Jon Cox (29/07/23)
  21. Stephen Cox (04/02/22)
  22. Annalisa Crawford (12/11/24)
  23. Paul Dalton (16/04/25)
  24. Ian Eagleton (25/03/23)
  25. Jeff Evans (06/01/23)
  26. Lissa Evans (31/03/23)
  27. Lisa Fantino (17/03/22)
  28. Victoria Goldman (20/03/23)
  29. Dana Goldstein (01/02/24)
  30. Anne Goodwin (22/07/22)
  31. April Grace (02/12/22)
  32. Drew Gummerson (29/07/22)
  33. James Harris (17/03/23)
  34. Stu Hennigan (02/09/22)
  35. Stu Hennigan (08/03/25)
  36. Andie Holman (04/06/25)
  37. Greg Howard (27/01/23)
  38. L.N. Hunter (21/08/23)
  39. Oli Jacobs (10/06/22)
  40. Amy Jeffs (28/10/22)
  41. Hettie Judah (10/03/23)
  42. Mathreyi Kamoor (05/05/23)
  43. Roxie Key (31/03/25)
  44. Janet Dean Knight (20/05/22)
  45. Laura Laakso (30/09/22)
  46. Ewan Lawrie (27/05/22)
  47. Amy McCaw (05/08/22)
  48. Juliet McKenna (10/02/23)
  49. Caron McKinlay (19/08/22)
  50. Anna McQuinn (04/02/22)
  51. Logan Macx (02/03/23)
  52. Sarah Manvell (25/03/22)
  53. Louise Morrish (30/12/22)
  54. Katie Munnik (24/10/24)
  55. Ivy Ngeow (01/07/22)
  56. Katharine Orton (25/11/22)
  57. Chris Parker (08/08/23)
  58. Rebecca Pert (08/07/22)
  59. Fi Phillips (15/03/23)
  60. Brian Pinkerton (08/03/25)
  61. Laure Van Rensburg (08/04/22)
  62. David Ross (03/03/23)
  63. Chrissie Sains (07/04/23)
  64. Ana Sampson (09/12/22)
  65. Jerry Simcock (23/12/22)
  66. Stephanie Sorrell (24/02/23)
  67. Steve Spithray (25/02/24)
  68. Nigel Stewart (13/05/22)
  69. Nigel Stewart (12/03/25)
  70. Sam Szanto (26/08/22)
  71. Sarah Tagholm (09/09/22)
  72. Hilary Tailor (22/04/22)
  73. Jodi Taylor (08/03/25)
  74. Deshan Tennekoon (14/10/22)
  75. Samantha Terrell (06/05/22)
  76. Anna Terreros-Martin (05/11/22)
  77. Gill Thompson (11/02/22)
  78. Laurie Ann Thompson (02/10/24)
  79. N.P. Thompson (02/10/23)
  80. Jennifer Walker (25/02/22)
  81. Louise Walters (16/09/22)
  82. Katie Ward (26/11/24)
  83. Mathew West (24/06/22)
  84. Eileen Wharton (14/04/23)
  85. Emma Whitehall (28/01/22)
  86. Tony Williams (21/10/23)
  87. Lorraine Wilson (03/02/23)
  88. Susan C Wilson (08/06/23)
  89. Kirsti Wishart (07/10/22)
  90. Nicole M. Wolverton (29/10/24)
  91. David Wragg (28/04/23)

Handcrafted CSS

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Dan Cederholm, Ethan Marcotte. Pearson Education. (240p) ISBN 9780321643384
Handcrafted CSS

Handcrafted CSS

I bought this when it was first published and though it is a great book, it is still just static information describing an ever-changing and fluid landscape though and I’ve always thought that learning information like this should be learned online where it can be updated frequently.

Even after all that though this book was informative, clear and well written, the sections lead you through various examples of CSS to help the reader develop rich and flexible designs.

Whilst it lasted this was one of my go-to books for CSS and design, but I no longer get books on anything to do with Internet languages and design as there are more than enough resources online to help, and these resources aren’t static in the way of a print book.

The Living Mountain

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Nan Shepherd. Canongate Books. (176p) ISBN: 9781786897350. Nature Writing, read 18/06/18, Paperback ★★★★☆

The Living Mountain

The Living Mountain

I’ve had The Living Mountain sitting on my shelf for about five years now and for some reason just never got around to reading it, but now that I read a lot of children’s books I always like to read a more serious book as a sort of ‘palette cleanser’.

On starting I was astounded that the introduction for the special edition was almost as long as the book itself, but what a wonderful introduction.

Once I got into the book proper, Nan Shepherd’s writing was so mesmerising I didn’t want to put it down, she transported me into the mountains as no other book about the mountains has done previously.

The strength of her imagery and her obvious passion for the mountains made the whole of her world come alive for me.

Though Nan Shepherd is placed firmly in her time, the timeless nature of the Cairngorms are exemplified by her prose and imagery.

This is a classic of travel, nature and mountaineering and deservedly so and I am glad that I finally got around to reading it and not just having it on the shelf as some sort of trophy book.

Wrestliana

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Toby Litt. Galley Beggar Press. (260p) ISBN: 9781910296899. Memoir, read 18/06/18, Paperback ★★★★☆

Wrestliana

Wrestliana

Wrestliana is a complicated book, on the surface it is a biography of Toby Litt’s great-great-grandfather William Litt, but it is also an exploration of his relationship with his own father, his sons, and representations of masculinity.

I was lucky enough to receive this from Galley Beggar Press to read and I really appreciate the chance as Toby’s writing is clear and impelling.

William Litt was a champion Cumberland and Westmoreland Wrestling athlete and writer and this book follows his life around the wrestling circuit and further abroad.

It is the joining of these two modern day extremes, ‘Jock’ and ‘Nerd’ that Toby explores, both in William’s life and his own.

Positing that William’s era was possibly the beginning of separation of body and mind as distinct social personas, body and mind was commonly combined. But with the rise of educational specialism and professional sports they became irrevocably sundered.

A really great read written with understanding and passion.

Murder Most Unladylike

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Robin Stevens. Penguin. (352p) ISBN: 9780141369761. Middle Grade, read 21/02/18, Paperback ★★★★☆

Murder Most Unladylike

Murder Most Unladylike

Just before Christmas (a couple of years back) we found out that Robin Stevens was coming to one of our local schools to talk to the pupils about her books and writing mysteries, have to say I jumped at the chance to organise something to support the schools librarian and the school (but also to meet Robin 😉 ).

Robin was kind enough to give me a few of her lovely US editions of the series, Murder is Bad Manners being the US name for Murder Most Unladylike, and they are such beautiful editions too, strikingly different art from the UK editions, reminiscent of the 30s John Buchan/Agatha Christie covers.

In this first book, Daisy and Hazel seem to be ironing out the kinks in their relationship whilst trying to discover who murdered their teacher, Miss Bell.

This involves following various clues, red herrings and threads to their conclusion, and in the tradition of all good murder mysteries the reveal is surprising but follows from the clues sprinkled throughout the book.

The pace was well-judged, moving along quickly enough to keep a reader interested but not so quick as to lose the thread of the plot, Hazel is a wonderful narrator in the style of a Watsonesque sidekick, but with a bit more personality than that much maligned assistant.

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