Author Interviews

Today, John Coy and Wing Young Huie, the author and photographer team behind Their Great Gift: Courage, Sacrifice, and Hope in a New Land, take over the blog again! Their Great Gift has received three starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. In this post, Wing interviews John. To read John’s interview of Wing from last week, click here.


Wing: What was it like for you to work with a photographer rather than an illustrator?

John: This was the first time I’d ever worked directly with the artist. Normally that’s kept completely separate in picture books and I see the art at the end. For this book, we collaborated together each step of the way. It was a completely new process for me and your ideas and insights on the text made the book so much better. I had your photographs in mind when I was writing and that was really exciting because I knew this book was going to be different from anything I’d done.

Wing: What are the challenges of writing a story that will accompany photos of real people?

John: In the beginning, I focused on my family stories. I’d heard and read so much about what it was like to leave family and country behind and I wanted to get those strong emotions into spare and simple sentences. I knew how powerful your photographs are and from the beginning I wanted the text to be concise so readers would be drawn to the people pictured. As you made suggestions on text and I revised it, I felt the book was opening up to include more and more people.

Wing: How is this different from your other books: subject-wise and process-wise?

John: It’s a very different process. Usually I send a story to a publisher and if they say they want to publish it, they pick the illustrator. This is somebody I’ve never met who lives far away and we don’t talk or communicate while they create pictures. I was so excited to be included in all the meetings with Lerner editors and designers to discuss design, layout, colors, and covers because I’ve never been part of that.

A spread from Their Great Gift

Wing: Where do your ideas for a book start?

John: They usually start with something personal, something I’ve been thinking about for a long time that won’t let go. In writing about it and rewriting and revising it and talking with others, I begin to feel and understand it differently.

Wing: How much do the books differ from the original idea?

John: Normally, the book looks totally different because I don’t know what the illustrator will create. It often looks better than I imagined, but it’s always totally different. With Their Great Gift, however, I always imagined it looking like a Wing Young Huie book. I wasn’t exactly sure what that would be, but now that we have finished books, I feel it looks just like that, better even than I could have imagined.

Wing: What’s your favorite part of making a book?

Gilberto and Their Great Gift in the early stages of printing

John: Because it takes so long to make a book, I’ve learned how important it is to appreciate and celebrate each step of the process as we get closer to having a book. If I had to pick one part, though, I’d choose the day that the text is accepted and I hear we’re going to make a book. So much is possible at that point. We know we’ll have a book, but we don’t know what it will look like. And the day the box of finished books arrive at my house is pretty great, too.

Today, John Coy and Wing Young Huie, the author and photographer team behind Their Great Gift: Courage, Sacrifice, and Hope in a New Land, take over the blog! Their Great Gift has received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. In this post, John interviews Wing, and in next week’s post Wing will interview John.

Wing: It evoked a lot of emotions for me, as everyone in my family, my five siblings and both parents, emigrated from China while I, the youngest, was born in Duluth. 

John and Wing

Wing: I was aiming for a balance of the two but not a specific ratio. Most of my early and middle work is b&w so it ended up about a third of the book is in color.

Hot off the presses!

One of Graphic Universe’s most acclaimed writers—Trina Robbins—author of the popular Chicagoland Detective Agency series and the highly praised single title Lily Renée, Escape Artist—was recently interviewed by the esteemed comic book website CBR (Comic Book Resources). Interview. CBR, a pillar in the comic book community, has numerous awards to their credit, including a 2011 Eisner Award for “Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism” and an Eagle Award in the UK for “Favourite Comics-Related Website”, also in 2011.

The noteworthy and informative interview covers Ms. Robbins fascinating career—spanning over 40 years—as both an author/illustrator as well as a consummate historian. Ms. Robbins is as well-versed in the Golden Age of comics of the 1940s as she is in the underground movement of the 1960s and early 70s, of which she helped pioneer.

In the interview Ms. Robbins touches on such varied topics as her nostalgia for Golden Age publishers like Fiction House to her recent collaboration with illustrator Anne Timmons for the Lily Renée book.

When it comes to all things comic book there are few with as much knowledge and passion as Ms. Robbins and this interview is a must read for anyone with even a hint of interest in the colorful and ever captivating field.

Following up on last Friday’s post about My Favorite Horses (cover pictured, left), I interviewed the series’ author, Elaine Landau, about her experience in working on the books. Here’s the interview!

What was your favorite part about working on My Favorite Horses?
I really loved working on this series, so it’s hard to pick just one favorite part. But if I have to choose, I’d say my favorite part was working on the sections about horse history. Learning how the various breeds got their start was fascinating, and it was fun to see the different roles these horses played throughout history. I loved sharing what I learned with young readers!

Were you horse crazy as a kid?
I was definitely a horse-crazy kid, and I know that I had lots of company in this area. As a child, my family lived within walking distance of a stable. My parents were good friends with the owners, and my sister and I were allowed to visit and ride the horses often. On those days, we felt like the luckiest kids in the world!

Do you have a favorite breed after researching so many for My Favorite Horses?
I must admit that as I worked on the different books, I fell hopelessly in love with all these fabulous animals. However, I think my favorite horse is the Morgan horse. Besides being beautiful, this horse played an important role in our nation’s history and growth. When the early settlers headed West, the Morgan horse was often used in wagon trains. Morgan horses also carried miners West during the 1848 Gold Rush.

What advice would you give to a horse-crazy kid who can’t get a horse of his or her own?
The best advice I can offer a young horse lover is to not give up on your passion for horses. Know that you’re not alone. In most families, it’s easier to get a hamster than a horse. Though beautiful and lots of fun, horses are costly and need a great deal of care. If possible, try to take riding lessons and ride as often as you can. Also, read up on horses and check out the many horse flicks available. Try to learn more about horses from people who own them as well. Horses are terrific. It’s easy to be drawn to these amazing animals.

An alien, a sea monster, and a bigfoot walked into a bar . . . and then they interviewed GU author Colleen Af Venable. Except for the part about the bar. No joke, you can read the whole thing on Bigfoot Reads. This hilarious interview sheds new light on Colleen’s relationship with the mystery genre, puns, and Kit Kat bars (SPOILER: she likes all three!).

Bigfoot has a passion for photography, but his photos always come out blurry.