Inspirational Spotlight - Celebrating the new release of Patrick S Brook's first novel Deathcat Sally

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone had an enjoyable festive break and are all bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to tackle the new year ahead. My break was quite an eye opener and I have had what can only be described as an awakening. I shall be letting you all in to my new outlook on life soon enough, I am still getting my head around it all, but I can honestly say I have never felt so uplifted and at peace with myself. I feel like I should be living in one of Patrick’s illustrations he he. His latest colour collective piece above is very fitting!

Anyway enough nutty ramblings, I have plenty of time to weird you all out over the course of 2016 ha ha.

Let’s get down to business. I can’t think of a better blog post to kick the new year off than with celebrating the new release of the super talented Patrick S Brooks first book release “Deathcat Sally” released on January the 21st 2016. 

I was lucky enough to read this on my holidays at the beginning of 2015 and I couldn’t put the book down. As soon as I came home I started reading it to my 11 year old son Dylan and he loved it too.  I have a huge soft spot for the main character, Zachary the cat. He has got a wicked sense of humour and I have well and truly fallen in love with the little fur ball. Really hoping it is not the last we see of Zachary.

If I were asked to describe this book in a simple sentence, it would be  “a Clive Barker for the younger reader, thrilling, captivating, funny and a little gruesome”… a winning combo in my eyes.

I have been following Patrick’s work for just over a year now and had a gut feeling that there was more to him than meets the eye. Not only is he a gifted artist but boy can the man write! On top of this he is one of the nicest people I have come across. So I wanted Patrick to tell us all a bit more about his work and his hopes and dreams. So without further ado I give you the genius that is Patrick S Brooks.......

Tell us a little about yourself and your background.

I’ve been drawing and illustrating since I was a child and was creatively inspired by Western and Eastern cartoons and animated films. Early favourites included ‘Kimba the White Lion’, ‘Thundercats’, ‘Battle of the Planets’, ‘The Real Ghostbusters’ and numerous Disney and Warner Bros titles. My Grandfather Brooks was a painter who specialised in oils and acrylics, so I was artistically inspired by his work also.

                             What were your favourite subjects at school?

Art and English were my favourite subjects – from an early age I would draw characters from Disney and Warner Bros shows and films. I studied Art through GCSE, A Level, Diploma and Degree. It was in High School that I began using pastels and found I particularly enjoyed using them. I started using Photoshop in college for my Diploma and have used it ever since.

How would you describe yourself as a child?

I enjoyed escaping into fantasy worlds through animation and films and particularly liked the original Star Wars trilogy and Ghostbusters. I would write and illustrate my own stories about them with my older sister. I was never really into playing sports or following football like many other children, I preferred to watch cartoons and fantasy/sci-fi films and play Sega Master System games such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Wonderboy. The style of early video games also inspired me and introduced me further to anime.

You are an author and illustrator, do you enjoy both equally as much? Did you always want to be both or did it just naturally happen?

I always liked creating characters and writing stories, but primarily focused on illustration for a while. It wasn’t until I suffered from a nerve injury in my neck in 2010 that I fully focused on writing – mainly because I could no longer illustrate as the injury affected my right hand.  

DeathCat Sally is your first book to be released in the big wide world. Can you tell the readers what the book is about and where the concept came from.

Deathcat Sally was inspired by a lucid dream I had on 7^th January 2011. I’d been struggling with the nerve entrapment since the previous September and was on a cocktail of neuropathic medication and painkillers. As I could no longer illustrate, I spent more time at the local RSPCA looking after a large group of cats. This combined with the severe neuralgia down my right side likely led to the dream I had. In the dream, a female teacher who had knocked over a cat later found that half of his talking spirit was fused to her shoulder. When I woke, I immediately started scribbling notes down and then turned on my computer and started typing.

The book follows a 17 year old teaching assistant called Sally Rancher who accidentally knocks over a cat named Zachary with her car while rushing home. Trying to help, she is hit by another vehicle and is comatose. When she wakes, she finds that half of Zachary’s talking spirit is fused to her shoulder. Sally finds she can communicate with other animals and that both Zachary and her keep being pulled into a dark place called ‘No Man’s Land’ – a realm of lost animal spirits. Together they must find a way to separate and uncover the reasons why they are bound together.

How long did it take to complete the book and what has been the most challenging aspect to date?

It’s taken nearly five years to complete the book and it has altered quite a lot during the writing process. Originally, Sally was older and the novel was approx 133,000 words. Based on feedback from editors and proofreaders, I cut 44,000 words to get it to a more streamlined 89,000 words. Several characters and subplots were cut, but I feel this helped with the pacing of the story.

Originally the story was far more adult based – Zachary used excess profanity and there was more violence and gore. Due to feedback from others, I found that aiming the book at a young adult readerbase would suit the story better. Much of the dialogue had to be changed and the violence toned down to a more 12A movie certificate level.

Another challenging part was incorporating the changes from the publisher’s external proofreader and keeping track of everything through Track Changes in Word. Perhaps strangely for a writer, I have a form of visual dyslexia called Irlen’s Syndrome, which means I struggle to read large blocks of text in certain fonts due to severe migraines and visual disturbances. For me to be able to read extensive amounts of text, I require a pink coloured overlay and have to convert type into a handwritten font and increase the line spacing. Any time I get an email for example, I have to copy/paste into Word and convert the font/line spacing. There are some instances where this cannot always be done (for example scanned documents with proofreader notes).

I think overall finding how the publishing process works and having some things be very different to preconceptions was also challenging and a steep learning curve.

The options of getting a book out there is so vast these days. What route did you decide to take with Death Cat Sally and why?

I didn’t feel confident enough to self publish on Kindle for example – as Deathcat Sally is my first full novel, I knew I had to get more external feedback on the story and see how others were responding to it. Although it can’t be considered a mainstream release, I feel as though due to the external comments from editors, proofreaders, writers’ groups and associates I have become a better writer and know what things to watch out for when writing and submitting my next novel. My second book is called ‘Cyborg Critters’ – a young adult sci-fi/horror following an escaped bionic guinea pig, rabbit and ferret. I’ll be approaching agents and publishers this year when it’s ready and hope to make it into the mainstream. There’s potential for a Cyborg Critters trilogy, but the first book will also work as a self-contained novel.   

The publishing industry seems to be a bottomless pit of things to learn, I feel like I have only just scratched the surface with it all. Do you have any top tips or has there been incidents that have opened your eyes to the whole publishing industry?   

It is a minefield out there and you just have to learn from experience. I would recommend to fully research agents and publishers who specialise in the genre your novel is in. I’ve had a few horror stories with the industry - projects being cancelled, publishers going into administration etc, and unfortunately sometimes there are some things you can’t prepare for. Unless you get very lucky, getting a major bestseller with your first novel is going to be tricky, but although it is an incredibly steep learning curve, you will learn. If you persevere and believe you can accomplish something worthwhile that resonates with readers, then don’t let anyone dissuade you. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t be open to constructive criticism and comments that will help you improve your characters and story. If you want to be a writer, then dealing with and taking on board the feedback from others is essential – it’s not always easy to hear, but it might just help you improve in the long run.

How will you be marketing the book?

I designed and printed my own marketing and promotional materials. In my marketing packs are bookmarks, badges, postcards, toy cats etc. I’ve had banner stands printed and bought a cat puppet for any potential book signings/events. I’ve also hired an external marketing company to assist with contacting reviewers/bloggers to try to get the book more exposure. I need all the help I can get with the book really! I have no idea how successful the book will be, but as far as the marketing aspect goes, this is my test run to see what works and what doesn’t. Wish me luck! I hope those that read Deathcat Sally will pass the book on and recommend it to others as I think this is how the book will find its readerbase. I’m also intending to send copies to animal welfare and conservation charities/groups, libraries and schools/colleges.

What’s your views on social media for marketing and which social network worked best for you?

I’ve found Twitter incredibly helpful since I started using it just over a year ago. Primarily it’s helped me connect with other illustrators and writers and through the illustration group Colour Collective has allowed me to improve as an illustrator, gain exposure and secure representation by Advocate Art. I prefer Twitter to Facebook, which I’ve only just started using, but also see the potential to gain exposure through the Artist, Illustrator and Writers’ groups. 

One of the things I love about you is that you are a compassionate soul and like most creatives want to make the world a better place somehow. Can you tell us what your dream / purpose is with the book and future creations of yours.

Thanks! For Deathcat Sally I’d like to think it could raise awareness in young adults and older readers about animal welfare and conservation. I didn’t set out to write a lecture or have a preachy agenda, but aimed to create non human characters that the reader could empathise with. It also deals with mental health issues and is partly an allegory about Bipolar Disorder. I think it’s a very long road ahead with Deathcat Sally, but I’d love to see it as an animated or live action film one day. For my children’s illustration work I’m aiming to get picture books published and hope that my work brightens up the reader/viewer’s day. 

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Don’t give up! No matter how bad or hopeless things get, never quit. Have faith and hold onto the hope that things will get better.

Now going into what drew me to you originally.. your illustrations. As we know, big fan here he he. You create a whole new world with your illustrations, an ethereal world which both animals and humans would forever be at peace. Can you tell us where you get your inspiration from. Have you always created these worlds or is it something that evolved over time?

I think the human/animal scenes have evolved over time. As mentioned, I watched a lot of animated shows and films when I was young (still do!) and many have anthropomorphic animals. Most animated creatures from shows and films have human personalities, so you have more empathy for them. I think most of my illustrations have a dreamlike feel to them, I suppose some could be considered idyllic – where humans and animals co-exist peacefully, but I think this is part of the ethereal nature of much of my work. As a child, I was shielded from the harsh reality and raw brutality of nature, as perhaps many children are. Maybe some of my illustration work is in a way, capturing a glimpse of that innocent state of being. Deathcat Sally presents a reality where animals communicate with one another and have unique personalities and talk as people would. Cyborg Critters is set in a world where, aside from the cybernetically enhanced mammals, animals do not have human-like personalities and do not communicate with one another beyond basic natural instincts. Growing up and in popular culture, it’s clear that the natural world is so inspiring in the creation of captivating non-human characters.

I think another reason your work stands out to me is the story telling within. Illustrators are good at telling stories with their work, that’s what we are here to do after all, but your illustrations to me seem to have something extra, like a hidden meaning. Are there any hidden meanings lurking about in the background or am I just being weird ha ha

I’m very glad you think so! I always like to try to include a narrative in my illustration work and sometimes leave it open to the viewer’s interpretation. I try to convey a sense of fun in some of my illustration, while in others I try to convey a sense of wonder and discovery. I think some of my illustrations focus on being in awe of the natural world and the concept of the spiritual. Light, and the Sun/stars are often in my scenes – I like including these as to me they represent the beauty of life and the vastness of creation. Many times I try to have a sense of warmth from the Sun in my illustrations. I think having celestial elements prominent is about searching for meaning and answers too, whether that is through faith and the belief in a higher power, meditation, or learning about the natural order of the world and why the universe is as it is.    

Can you give us a brief step by step outline of the process behind your illustrations. Do you still use traditional methods with your work now?

I primarily work in Photoshop now and use custom pastel and paint brushes. I still use scanned traditional paint and pastel textures too though. I use a Wacom tablet for all my work. For most of my children’s illustrations I create the sky/background elements first. I usually start throwing down different colours and textures into Photoshop and experiment with the layer opacity and layer properties to get the colour tones that I want to use. When I have a good idea of the environment, I start planning the composition of where the characters need to be. Sometimes where they begin is not where they end up, other times I might start with one creature, then decide another would work better in the scene. The images are built up gradually in many layers in Photoshop and I use the custom pastel, paint and canvas brushes to create texture, giving the images a more traditional media feel.

For budding illustrators out there, what methods have you found to be the best way of marketing your artwork and getting people to notice you?

I think Twitter has helped me enormously to get feedback from other illustrators and writers. It’s also helped a great deal as I’ve become inspired by so many talented illustrators on Twitter. Becoming a regular contributor to illustrator groups is also an excellent way of getting more exposure. Initially, I started with Daily Doodles and Sketch Dailies, but then focused completely on Colour Collective. I like to try to support other illustrators by Retweeting and Liking their work and it’s important to regularly upload your illustrations onto social media. It’s incredibly competitive out there and you have to persevere and maintain a strong online presence with increasing and improving your portfolio.

Where would you like to see yourself in say five years time?

I’d like to have picture books and at least one novel in mainstream publication. My dream is to have Deathcat Sally or Cyborg Critters (or both!) made into good animated or live action films one day. 

Now the most important question, where can we get our hands on a copy of DeathCat Sally?

Deathcat Sally is available to buy from 21^st January – please have a look!

It’s probably going to be a very long time before I make any kind of personal profits from book royalties, but if I do I’d like to donate percentages to animal welfare and conservation charities. In the meantime, I’ve become a sponsor for Cats Protection and hope to increase awareness of their work.

Thanks very much for the questions and all the best for 2016!

Patrick

Thank you so much Patrick, I really enjoyed learning more about you and your work and I absolutely cannot wait to get a copy.

If you would like to follow Patrick's work then here are all the appropriate links:

Website

Further information about Deathcat Sally

Online store for prints

Facebook

Twitter: @P_S_Brooks

I would like to end the post with one of Patrick's prints that I cherish. He included my little Pip and Squeak from Animania. One of my highlights from 2015....

Inspirational Spotlight – Interview With Sondra Rymer, Founder of Fairy Tales Imagery

For my 2^nd inspirational spotlight feature I would like to introduce you all to the multi talented and all round super woman Sondra Rymer aka Fairy Tales Imagery. I have known Sondra for about  a year now and we met through the wonderful twitter hub. I refer to Sondra as twinny as she is the complete mirror image of me, but I am the more lazier one ha ha. We have had many chats and rants about our creative journey and one thing that always amazes me is how much this lovely lady is capable of! I have no idea how Sondra fits everything in, at times I have wondered if she is super human because the amount of work that she puts in is ridiculous. Not only for her own creative pursuits but also in helping and supporting others in the creative community. On top of being a working Mum Sondra is also a photographer, graphic designer, blogger and active on pretty much every social media platform out there.

Sondra’s work has always made me smile, she creates worlds of happy ever afters and you just wish you could transport yourself into one of her images. Sondra manages to capture  unique worlds by digitally manipulating images using her own photos, occasional stock photos and props. Her children also feature in some pieces and are so soooo adorable!

Sondra does many interviews with other creatives and I was honoured to be featured on her Artist Spotlight Interview recently. So I thought it was about time we knew more about this super woman. So with further ado  I bring to you Sondra Rymer aka Twinny….

Tell us a little bit about you and what you do

Howdy! I am a conceptual photographer and digital illustration artist specializing in children's and YA fantasy and fairy tale art.  In college my time was spent primarily in photojournalism, theatre arts, graphic design and English literature. As life goes my career has taken many different turns from managing a photography department of a large curriculum and book publisher to freelancing photography from my home studio. I have ALWAYS wanted to be a creative visual storyteller. When I worked on newspaper feature stories, I adored telling a story through my photography and I think this has always stayed as a core value and desire in my work through the years.  Making art personable, engaging, and unique has always been key components in my profession. I have a desire to want to engage an audience with photography and art that tells a story. 

What inspired you as a child? Did you ever know that you wanted to pursue a career in the creative field?

Yes, I do believe I always knew I would pursue a career in the arts. From early grade school days I distinctly remember always leaning heavily on my favorite courses such as art, photography, reading, literature, language and music. Unfortunately, courses like math and science held little interest for me. I have always had a rather wild, vivid imagination and can easily get lost in a good book or day dream for hours, days and weeks. haha. As a child, I was always attracted to fantasy and fairy tales story books and theater. I loved the costumes, the lighting, the music, the story.... much like I still do today.  

Did you have any further training when you left school to hone your creative skills?

Since graduating from college, I have taken several courses over the years to brush up on skills and learn new ones. But honestly, nothing really replaces just getting in there and submersing yourself in a creative project where you have to learn on the spot. I think that is what I favor the most as I have never been a "read the directions first" kind of gal. New camera? Just take it out and start shooting. I rarely read instruction manuals on anything, haha. I just want to DO (said in my best YODA voice, lol) and get going already with it all! So nothing to me beats being able to constructively and in a positive moving forward type manner learn, figure out, and grow in various capacities necessary in creating whatever project I am currently involved in... for now this is conceptual fairy tale photography and digital art. 

Did you always know which area you wanted to work in or did you discover that as you went along your artistic journey?

I discovered it in the VERY beginning. I adored photography, storytelling, fantasy and theater. And then I lost it completely for a good 15 years. How wild is that. Different career  moves, what jobs I thought I had to be involved in, and personal choices led me away from the very things that I so loved to do creatively. It was not until I had children that I had a significant wake up call and complete turn around heading back to my first love. I just needed to figure out how to combine my love for visual storytelling, fantasy, photography and theatre arts. It was all there in the beginning, I just was too young and immature to fully grasp what direction I could take and be capable of career wise. But hey, all roads lead to where we are suppose to be. I could not be more happier then where I am creatively at this point in my life and the direction I hope to continue to explore, learn and take with my art career. I hope for this journey to keep going strong as it will be so amazing to see where I am at say 10 years from now. 

Can you run through your creative process with us.

My creative process always starts with storyboards.. well, actually, in my head. I saw the funniest profile blurb on someone's twitter last week something along the lines of "I think it in my head and draw it. Yep, that's about it." haha. how great is that.  

Either way, if I am working for a client or just doing something for fun and my portfolio, I always start with storyboard sketches. I am not by any means skilled at hand drawing (one of my goals is to take lessons as I believe this would greatly enhance my skill level in all my other art work,) so the storyboards are rough but important to set the start of the project and concept in place. 

From there I pick up my camera and plan, organize and execute the necessary photo shoots with models, costumes, specialized props, and / or on location or in my studio. This is one of my favorite parts of course of the whole process. I adore taking the pictures that I will be using in my art. I also enjoy finding or having created original costumes, specialty props and finding the models. 

After the photo shoot, I spend quite a bit of time editing all the images to select out my top ones that will be used in the feature art piece. 

Next, I go to my computer and the digital art process begins. I first arrange and place out all the main images, taking a look at which of those I will be utilizing and if there is anything that I will need to digitally paint or illustrate myself to complete the art. I spend quite a bit of time cutting out my models from backgrounds, or cutting out scenics, props or animals to use in the art piece. I am SUPER picky about how my imagery is cut out and applied, nothing is worse then seeing a bad Photoshop cut out job. ugh. So I probably spend more time then necessary in this step alone to insure that my art is going to blend WELL and consistently throughout the whole art piece. 

In all honesty, I do not care much for sitting long hours at my computer, but I can get totally lost in creating a new art piece! This can take a few days or a long week as my pieces usually involve MANY layers and details by adding textures, light, color enhancements, DOF, and all the other little tweaks here and there. It's all about the light, color, textures, details, more details, and making sure the piece just looks completely polished and put together. I check my lighting to make sure it is consistent all through the piece (nothing is a dead giveaway that a piece has been "pasted together" then 1. bad cut outs as I mentioned above of the models and other picture elements and 2. when the lighting is NOT consistent... yes this is fantasy and fairy tales, but the image STILL has to have some things "real" and consistent in order for it to BLEND WELL together. I am a little obsessed about blending, can you tell. I can look back at some of my earlier pieces and pick out immediately parts that I feel were not blended well with my incorrect cut outs, lighting or color balance. Makes me crazy. haha. Even on art pieces that I recently finish, I will go back with a critical eye and see things I should have done better. All part of the learning and growing process as an artist. 

     Do you use all of your own photos to create your imaginary worlds?

I would say I use 95%.. I really make a HUGE effort to use my own imagery and I am constantly taking pictures where ever I travel to build up my personal stock library. Even so, I might stumble upon something that I need as a main component in a fantasy art piece that I can not myself photography or digitally draw. A prime example of this is my recent Jurassic park children's art with a little explorer. He is surrounded by dinosaurs and looking at a fossil egg he holds in his hands. The fossil egg was designed and created by my good friend Robert de la Pena, dlpStudios who creates all my speciality props. His work is amazing! As for the dinosaur art that is featured in the piece, I can not draw or photograph dinosaurs! haha  I knew the style and look that I wanted for the dinosaurs, so I went to one of my favorite online stock agencies and legally purchased the dinosaur art. I am always SUPER careful about copyright laws, due to my journalism background. If I think I am going to sell my art, I purchase the correct applicable rights and licensing of any stock imagery. If I am not going to sell the art or I am not working for a client, then I seek out basic royalty free images that can be used on personal work. I have a number of stock agencies I have purchased art from over the years as well as other favorite sites such as deviantart.com from which I obtain images that I can not create or photograph myself. Again, I am always super careful on deviantart.com to make sure I am using someone's else art or image with the correct rights and legal permissions.  

You are diverse with your subjects, which images and worlds do you like creating the most?

I hope when I look back on my portfolio that I will see a evolving style and experience level as well as a diverse imagery gallery.  I get restless easily so I hope I am always moving forward and that my gallery will one day reflect this in terms of subjects and stories. My favorite worlds to create right now are the children's fantasy storybook and fairy tale imagery. I also have a growing to do list of more realistic imagery that I hope to find time to tackle one day. 

 Where do you get your inspiration from?

My children. Books. Music. Art. :) 

My children as their whole world of storybooks and games are so entirely and passionately driven by fantasy, stories, light and color, love it! 

Fantasy books I have read as both a child and as an adult ~ I have always been an avid book reader.  I dream about the stories and form images in my mind that are ever changing and evolving about the characters and the story line. For example, I will read a favorite fantasy book and for months afterwards day dream about the characters and evolve their storylines further in my mind while thinking of imagery to go along with each scene. 

Music. I love music. Soundtracks. Lots and lots of soundtracks. 80's. some classical. even some opera. Unless I am doing something super difficult and challenging in Photoshop where I have to really concentrate,  I have to have music. It is just the gel to my soul while I am working creatively. Art comes together in response to what music I am playing as it sets the tone and mood in my mind so to speak when I have my favorite music playing that "matches" the direction, energy and feel I want my work to take.

Art. Specifically, as this may surprise you because it is not current fantasy or fairy tales per say, haha, the Renaissance Art sculptures and painters ... those deep beautiful realistic rich oil paintings by the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Sandro Botticelli.. basically all the Italian Renaissance painters as well as Dutch "Golden Age"and Flemish, French, and Spanish Baroque. I can stare all day long. :)  Jump to modern day and I find so many exceptional talents via the creative fantasy / fairy tale communities on Flickr and Deviantart. Too many to name... but the talent is jaw dropping inspiring and overwhelming. I will be doing a good job if I can create something even with half the creativity and talent of those whose work I admire in these communities. 

I am constantly amazed at how much you do in the background. Not only do you create these amazing pieces of art you are also an active blogger and do a lot of online marketing. On top of this you are a busy mum who also has a day job lurking in the background… how on earth do you fit this all in? 

I don't. I am constantly dropping all the balls I seem to try to juggle in the air ~ like hot air balloons I will feel for a moment like I have everything together and then slips a handful as they vanish off into the sky. haha

As a mother, my children and family always comes first. As an artist and professional creative I have to "balance" (I say that almost jokingly bc I never feel like I have anything balanced) the time for creative art and the time for marketing, social media and the blogs I love running which feature interviews with other creative colleagues.  I adore doing the interviews partly because of my journalism background, but also partly because I spent a lot of time inside my home office or busy with my children. Honestly, gone are the days when I would have time to get out and socialize at venues or events with other like minded creatives. So doing the interviews feeds the part of myself that still wants to connect with other artists on a regular basis. I feel like I also grow in my work in one way or another by these connections. They help motivate, support and provide enormous inspiration and goals for my own work just by taking a peek into their creative world.  I have learned the value and wonderful importance of being involved in a creative community. 

Unless an artist has an agent or money to throw at resources to help with marketing and social media strategy and content management on a weekly if not daily basis, everything has to be done ourselves.  I feel often as much as I try to organize this properly, I am running sloppy at the end of the day and exhausted. So, I constantly have to sit back, prioritize, accept what I will get to do and what I will not and just be ok with it all. 

I have put time and energy this year into taking specific social media marketing courses with the intend to run things all around better and more professionally  (which is actually not like me.. but see, that is not my favorite thing to do, so therefore, I just want to learn the quickest and easiest way possible rather then how I usually am about figuring things out and experimenting myself in photography and digital art)  So that time in doing all that marking and social media work took precious time away from what time I have for my art. I see a huge dip in my portfolio when I am throwing a great deal of my time at the marketing management but you can't have one without the other these days. Sooooo at the end of the day, I am not much help in detailing out how this balancing act can be done more successfully.  Spread too thin... that is what I always feel like in this regard. One aspect of this whole way of life for now that I find difficult is my desire to be able to sit down a JUST work solidly on a creative piece until it is done. Now I have to go in spurts either in an established time frame set by a client to meet a deadline or if it is just personal, starting something that I know I may not even get a chance to finish a year later it seems. I am sure this is the case for many creatives that balance many different jobs and or freelance work. I have to work in time slots throughout the day, get done what has to be done, and let go of the craziness of all the rest. Tomorrow is always another day! 

Can you give us a brief outline of what your typical day comprises of

oh my, this is difficult because every day seems to go at a different pace and all... I kinda like it though to be honest. I have always struggled with too much organized same ol same ol days... don't fence me in!! haha  Having children has forced me to be much more organized that is my go with the flow nature.

I try to get up a little early before the children are up... nice to have a little quite time to just get emails done and social media started. Mornings are a mix of taking kiddos to school, checking in with my mom to see if she needs help with anything, and more time spent on social media and looking for work. Even if I am in the middle of freelance work I am always thinking ahead to the next months and trying to set something up work wise. One of my goals this year was to try to manage a bit more exercise for a healthier lifestyle so I try to fit in that several times a week about mid morning. Then there are errands and household management. Afternoons are spent working in some capacity either on one of my "day" jobs, freelance or other client work. After kiddos are done with school I am focusing on personal family time. After they are in bed I go back to work. Again, more social media time or mostly work on freelance and my art.  Of course all that I just said gets flipped around like pancakes and every which way as life happens. I never have a "set schedule" but I enjoy that as it fits more my personality and nature. I just have to be free! 

As a working mother, I do everything revolving around my children and family, finding the spaces for work as I can and working at night. Just writing this is confusing, isn't it? lol On one hand I have to be scheduled and organized (yikes!) and on the other hand I have to be very "go with the flow" (yah!)  Honestly, no one will understand this unless they themselves are "in" it similar themselves. I know I sure never imagined all that I would be doing as a working full time artist and mother!

What would you say are your top tips out there for other creatives just starting out?

You know I often ask this similar question to other creatives I interview, just wondering if others are working smarter and on a better path to finding how to make a livable and working career as an artist. And what I find for both myself and with others is that NO ONE seems to have any good tips or suggestions that is per say hugely applicable to where I am at because everyone's goals, life circumstances are different! Keep at it. Learn as much as you can and work as hard as you can to find your creative "voice" and style, what you are passionate about expressing whether it is children's literature art, painting street art murals or sculpting! Yes, we all know this. Being a successful artist is all about having a huge desire for creating and getting better at what you create, hard work and determination, and ... good fortune. I have seen some amazingly talented artists get passed over and ignored and some others that I consider to be a little less experienced or professional get picked up for amazing jobs. go figure... we all have seen these things happen. In a professional art world where connections are just as important if not more as talent, I would say to other creatives just starting out that getting into a community of talented artists that you can learn from and also gain creative and technical support is crucial to paving the road to having a decent art career.  

I think as artists, a lot of us start out very independent and working solely "in" our art. I knew the importance of connecting with other artists but it took me a long time to truly "get it", make time for it, and realize how vital this was to moving forward in my career. See, there it revolves back to all those hours in social media and networking. And of course not just networking to make connections that are based on quantity over quality. I am talking make real quality connections ... establishing a sound group of supportive and networking artists that you actually DO get to know well and that care in return about you as an artist and your work. I had no idea of the importance of this when I was younger, or if I had an inkling I didn't actually "get it" until much later when I realized that 500+ connections on LINKEDIN do not matter in the least unless you actually really KNOW and connect with them. So if you are anything like me when I first started out, you will read this and go, oh, ok, totally get it (but don't really) and go right back to what you were doing which is creating your art and in a hurry, trying to make the "important key" connections of Art Directors and Publishers in the industry, but sadly ending up with a bunch of empty followers and quite a bit less work then desired.  Yes, been there, done that. :()

What is the best resource / tool you have found for gaining more exposure with your work?

Again, goes back to the connections. Getting involved in mastermind and like minded community groups on FB, IG, Flickr, and Twitter that help support and pass around art. It's all about making those quality connections with other artists that are not competitive but genuinely wanting to be involved with colleagues in their group in a supportive way. Just look at this... I became friends with you on Twitter and FB. We now have a friendship based on similar interest, life experience and work endeavors. You asked me to do this cool interview which in turn gets passed around YOUR group of colleagues and artist creative friends. How amazing is that and THAT is exactly how it works. It does not come from having a 1,000 followers on Twitter that have no idea who I am and what I do. It comes from making those real friendships and connections, so that if say something DOES come up that you hear about fitting for my work you pass my name along and vice versa.

What is your dream, where would you like to see yourself in say five years time?

ahhhh. this is a hard question for me right now. I am at a turning point ... Do I get a "day" job in photography / graphic design and work for a publisher, putting my fairy tales and storybook children's book art dreams on the back burner as more of a hobby for now (but still enjoying my day job) ... doing it only when I find the time but not as a main career? Or do I continue to try to make my photography and digital art my career while juggling all kinds of crazy part time freelance work? I am all over the place. There are certainly pros and cons to each scenario. Ask me again in about a year's time and I will see what happened. :) 

Wowsers! Thank you Sondra…Well I thoroughly enjoyed reading that and it was so nice to learn more about you. I thank the lucky stars that our paths crossed and I look forward to seeing where our odd little paths take us and being part of your creative journey. Thank you for everything you do Sondra and for giving us such an insightful interview.

To connect with Sondra you can find her on any of the following social media platforms:

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Well that’s me done for 2015. Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and may all of you have much love, luck and happiness in 2016. What a year!

A school visit to remember - Tips on how to have a successful school author visit

A month ago I had my first school visit for Animania at my children’s school. We had a whirlwind afternoon of visiting all of the key stage 1 children in the space of 2 hours. For my American friends that covers all years within the 4 to 8 age range, which is the perfect age for learning the alphabet

The visit was a huge success and I owe a lot of that to Critterish Alllsorts who Animania sponsors. You can read more about the organization in my earlier post Animania Sponsors Critterish Alsorts Dale from Critterish Allsorts kindly offered to come down for my first school visit so that we could read the book and introduce the children to some of the critters. I didn’t tell the children about Dales visit, it was all kept hush hush. So a couple of weeks before, I gave the school a load of posters and leaflets to pop into the kids school bags to tell them about the author visit. I mentioned Critterish Allsorts and said that all percentage of the sales will go to them. I said that it would be an author visit with a twist, but that was as much as I gave away.... I do like a tease.

We only had 20 minutes in each classroom which was a bit tight, so I decided the best thing to do was for me to go in and read some of the book to the children. After this I mentioned that Animania was sponsoring Critterish Allsorts and that I had a surprise for them. That’s when Dale came in with one of his critters. We had Stoosh the skunk, Connie the boa constrictor and Shiver the Blue Skink. Well, you can imagine the excitement that caused! The looks on their little faces was absolutely priceless!  Dale was amazing with the kids and told them all about what the organization is about and then gave a little talk about the animal he had bought in. The children then had a chance to handle the animals briefly before we rushed off to the next room.

The whole experience was so much fun! The children’s excitement was infectious and I felt like a big kid again. It was so rewarding to finally share my work with children and I was blown away with their enthusiasm and interest. Sadly due to distance issues this combined author visit will be the only one of it’s kind as we live quite a distance away from each other. Such a shame as we made such a good double act and the interest was definitely there for both the book and the organisation.

My plan with future visits is to use my artistic abilities to add the extra factor. Animania is about completely made up animals so I thought at the end of the session the children can help me create their very own Animania character which I can draw out for them. We could have a lot of fun creating a new character and discussing what their characteristics would be, what we should call them, what they will look like etc…hey you never know, it could well trigger a new book concept he he.

Another success was introducing the colouring book. At the end of Animania I included a couple of colouring sheets and some blank sheets for kids to create their own Animania character with. So when I finished reading the book, they saw the colouring page and there was alot of excitement over that. So when I heard the “oooo a colouring sheet” response it was the perfect opportunity to show them the colouring book which I had recently published. The colouring book is basically the entire book republished in line art so that the children can colour in their own version of Animania. The colouring book did very well and I took many orders that day so another little tip, colouring sheets go down very very well!

So how can you have a successful author visit?

Find something that stands out from the norm

I can’t thank Dale enough for helping me with the first visit. The combined double act really added a little something special to the visit and made it a more memorable experience for the children. Try and think outside of the box a bit. Have a think about what your book is about, is there anything you could utilise that would be a fun little twist on the visit? There could be organizations or people out there that could help out. So for example, say your book includes a magician… get a magician in to do a couple of tricks. If it’s about an animal and you know someone who owns said animal then ask if they could come in with you. You might want to dress up or have some friends that are happy to dress up for you, you might even have some budding actor friends who would like to act some of the scenes out.  The possibilities really are endless, you can be as crazy and whacky as you like, that’s the beauty of children, you really can’t put a foot wrong. They will enjoy whatever you do but giving them something that leaves a lasting impression will make the occasion more memorable.

Another fellow author Rosie Russell shared with me what she does with her school visits to make them tailor made for her.....

I go and do a reading of my Maggie, Millie, and Merrie's Magical Adventure" book. There is an art project in the back so the art teacher I know invites me to do this with her 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. The students really love this project. I give them each a bookmark and they all enter a chance to win a box of school supplies. (The supplies are in the story.) I also talk to them about how they can become authors and illustrators.

Twitter @RosieRrbjj /  Facebook

Interact with the children

Kids love interacting with you so ask lots of questions throughout the reading and get them involved with the story.  Ask them if they can guess what happens next, or if any of them can relate to a scene in the book. You will find this happens naturally anyway, kids will certainly put their two pennies worth in.

Another indie author AJ Cosmo has recently had a school visit and I wanted to share one of his pictures with you.  I loved how AJ actually sat down on the floor with the kids, making himself at their level so that he in essence was just a big kid there inspiring them.  I thought it was a great idea for AJ to actually get on the floor with the kids, I am going to have to pinch that idea he he.  So  let your inner child out and be one of the kids for the day.

AJ also gave some invaluable advice on self publishing in a past blog post 

To Self Publish or not Self Publish

Twitter:  @AJCosmokids / https://www.facebook.com/ajcosmokids/

Dress to impress

You could go the whole hog and go for the full fancy dress costume, you will certainly get noticed that way and guaranteed to make quite an impact. If like me though you are a little more introverted than that, then choose an outfit that stands out. I am a bit of a girly girl hippy chick anyway so my style is a bit in your face at times. I chose one of my favourite long skirts, a bright purple layered number and the little girls loved it, they made me feel like a princess. I was sitting there reading and these little fingers kept playing with the ruffles on the bottom of my skirt, it was very cute. So go for something bright and cheery and if you are brave enough to go for a costume then go for it, they will love it!

Set some tasks so that the memory of your visit lives on

You want your visit to leave a lasting impression so set some tasks for the children so that they are still talking about the visit days after. For our one Dale came up with the idea that each of the classes were to create an Animania character based on the facts they had learned for each of the animals. They could draw the character or come up with a verse for it and then they could share it on the board outside of the classroom so that other classes could see each others ideas.

This will encourage the children to carry on discussing the book and characters after the visit too. Again be inventive and think of a task that specifically relates to your book.

Everyone loves a Freebie

                    

You can’t go wrong with freebies. I went for colouring sheets with mine, they are the most affordable option and kids love them! I have supplied a few sheets to other authors I have worked with in the past by using the preliminary line drawings as a basis for a colouring sheet . From an illustrators point of view creating colouring sheets are super easy to do. So have a chat with your illustrator and see if they can do some bespoke sheets for you. Or like Rosie Russel did for her recent book launch reach out to people to ask if they are happy to donate some colouring sheets.

There is a fantastic group on face book called Colouring in with Colour. This group is packed full of amazing creatives and are always offering free colouring sheets. I gave Rosie some of mine and so did Karen Emma Hall founder of the colouring group and the fabulous Kid Literature Authors group. I am sure there will be people on there happy to donate some of their colouring sheets, I am more than happy to share mine too.

Other inexpensive ideas are stickers, bookmarks, badges etc.  You could even bake something , again chose something that relates to your book.

Have you any other tips you would like to share with fellow authors on what particularly works well with your school visit? If so then please do leave a comment below.