Today, my guest is the extremely gifted and award-winning author and illustrator Angela Cater.  Her talent in capturing an animal’s soul is what drew me to her work a few years ago when I was looking for an illustrator for my picture book.

The moment I saw her portfolio online, and beheld the delightful and charming pets she featured on her page, I was simply enchanted. Her magic is immeasurable and every time I see one of her cute illustrations, I smile and wish I could cuddle one of those adorable critters.

She is a gem to work with and I am honored she’s my partner in our Rickie the Raccoon series. She has quite a few great picture books she has written as well, which you can find at: http://www.tabbycatpress.com/

You can also check out her website and pet portraits, and see for yourself how much talent she really has.

http://www.angelacater.com/

Doing What I Know, And What I Love

By Angela Cater

I’ve long since forgotten who it was that said you should draw and write what you know, but I seemed to take these words to heart.  Not for me, fantastical dragons, fairies or princesses – I looked for working class heroes, and cats.

I was given my first cat when I was just two years old and cats quickly became the main subject in my art, although like all young girls, I had a few years flirtation with horses.

In my late twenties, I had a freak accident which shattered the cartilage in my right knee.  I found myself on crutches for several months, and housebound after surgery.  I took this opportunity to start taking my art more seriously and again turned to my cats for inspiration.  I had relocated to Manchester a few years before and was living in an area that I felt unsafe in.  Creating my “Character Cats” (anthropomorphic cats in a variety of costumes and situations) gave me a source of escapism, and they became popular greeting cards on a number of sites.

In 2004, I was approached through my website by a Canadian writer, Giovanna Lagana, who asked me if I would be interested in working with her on a children’s picture book, “Rickie the Raccoon Learns about Recycling”.  It was a dream come true and the story featured a cat, – but the main character was a raccoon.  This created a problem for me.  I telephoned every zoo for miles around in the hope of finding a raccoon to photograph, and in the end had to resort to Google and to illustrations in other books.

Just days after I had finished the last illustration, I caught the end of a news item about a local animal sanctuary, and blow me – there was a raccoon just 22 miles up the road!  I paid him a visit, one very inclement day but that’s another story.

Having now got a taste for book illustration, I set about writing my own and again turned to my cats for inspiration.  One of my earlier most popular Character Cats was called ‘Sailor Sam’ and I could easily imagine my handsome tabby as having a girl in every port and living the wild life on the high seas.  I drafted in cousins and their children to play the human characters, making it a very personal book for me. “The Adventures of Sailor Sam” has so far proved to be the best selling of my books (personally I’m happy if I just break even), and there are even a few tabby kittens in far flung corners of the world named after him.  Samson died, aged 18, a few years later and for a while, I was too depressed to work and without him, felt unable to publish any more Sailor Sam stories.

I turned next to my workplace, an independent girls’ school, which is next door to a park with a large lake.  I begin most mornings with a walk round the lake and if you do this on a daily basis, you soon get to know individual bird characters.  I was also charmed by the tale of the annual nesting of mallard ducks under our school’s magnolia tree.  This has occurred every year for the past 16 years and when the ducklings hatch, the caretaker provides them with a safe escort across the car-park and to their home on the lake.  This event provided the basis for “A Perfect Nest for Mrs Mallard”.  I loved the challenge of depicting individual birds from the park in a way that regular visitors would be able to recognise them.

Now I am about to start work on a fifth book, inspired by the many stray cats that have turned up half-dead on my doorstep and been nursed back to health.  These cats frequently turn out to be the most special and loving pets, grateful for being given a second chance.  “Brogan’s Good Turns” (unless someone can come up with a better title!) will tell the story of one such cat, keen to repay his young mistresses’ kindness. But a cat and a human’s idea of a good turn may not coincide, and Brogan unwittingly causes chaos and trouble for his family.  I had no shortage of feline models to choose from but had to advertise for a child to play the young girl in the story.  I was concerned that if I made up a child, I would not be able to get it looking like the same child throughout the book.

I’m at my happiest when I am creating, and hope to carry on illustrating both my own stories and those of others, in the hope of both entertaining and educating young minds.  That I am providing a lasting tribute to the cats, birds, and sometimes people, that share my life is an added bonus.

1-When did you know you were born to be an artist?

It was my first Christmas at school, aged 4, when my teacher excitedly took me to see the Head Master with a picture of a reindeer that I had painted.  It may have been blue with three legs, but it was most clearly a reindeer.

2-What is your favourite medium to work with?

I like gouache as you can work light on dark as well as dark on light, making it perfect for painting animal fur.  I also use coloured pencils a lot and am a member of the UK Coloured Pencil Society which aims to promote them as a fine-art medium, rather an a children’s toy.

3-Tell us a bit about the awards you’ve gotten for your work?

Awards have tended to elude me, but I was five times a finalist in the “Paint a Wildlife Subject” competition run by the famous artist, Roy Chaffin.  I was also one of the first ten artists to achieve signature status of the UK Coloured Pencil Society.

4-Were you a daydreamer as a child? If yes, are you still?

Absolutely, I used to see pictures in the clouds, the fire, cracks in the ceiling, and at night the patterns on the 1960s wallpaper and curtains would frighten me to death as monstrous faces emerged.  Many of my paintings have come out of daydreams and trying to escape the reality of living in a city where you constantly hear the sound of police sirens and the police helicopter whirring overhead.

5-I know you told me about the hauntings in your home when you were young, but can you tell us more about them and your reaction to them?

It happened mostly during my teenage years and those of my siblings.  Things would often just fly around the house (mostly vegetables in the kitchen but once, a knife).  We’d get up to the smell of smoked kippers, and my brother’s room would fill with pipe smoke.  We think the ghost was that of an old man, but don’t know who he was.  He could be very mischievous, moving the pieces on my brother’s chess set around, turning bedroom posters upside down.  One of the strangest things was when we were once listening to a tape of the Dubliners singing “The Leaving of Liverpool” and realised an extra voice was singing along!  We weren’t scared, we realised it wasn’t malicious and in fact we just got used to it.  Things stopped happening once my brother got rid of the chess set.

6-Who is your favourite artist and why?

There’s quite a few I like, but no particular favourite.  I like surrealism, and admire Magritte and Dali.  I wish I was a great draughtsman like Durer, and I love the realism and character depiction of Rockwell.

7-If you could go back in time and be an iconic figure in history, who would you be and why?

Probably Johann Strauss, I love his uplifting music and think he probably lived a quite glamorous life.

8-What’s your fondest memory as a child?

I guess the times spent with my grandmother.  My mother couldn’t cope with my handful of a brother, and my sister who was usually very sick (she has Cystic Fibrosis), so I spent most weekends and holidays with my gran.  We’d spend Saturday evenings playing Beetle or Scrabble, watching Starsky and Hutch, and sharing a can of Guinness.

9-If you weren’t an artist, what would you want to be instead?

Well, I don’t make a living as an artist unfortunately.  I still have to hold down a day-job to ‘earn cat food’ as I tell the cats.  I would love to be a full-time illustrator.  I’m only truly happy when I am creating.  Most of my working day, I’m on auto-pilot whilst my head is longing to get home and get back to my true work.

10-Name the most memorable comment you got for your picture books from a reader.

The best thing was a story my brother told me about one of his friends who finally gave in to pressure to buy his son a kitten.  They went to an animal shelter, but instead of picking a kitten, the lad chose a three year old tabby cat and named it ‘Sam’ after my character, ‘Sailor Sam’.  It’s great to know that my beloved Samson still lives on in this way.

11-Can you tell us a bit about the project you’re working on now?

Briefly, it is the story of a cat who tries to repay his young mistress for saving his life by doing lots of good turns, but things don’t turn out the way he intends.  I am experimenting with a new illustration style (simpler than my usual style, a little bit Studio Ghibli inspired, and in ink and coloured pencil.  The most recent feline addition to my household, Pablo, has been recruited as a model.

12-Who is your favourite children’s author? Illustrator?

As a child, I adored Enid Blyton, but now find her stories quite superficial and dull.  I tend to buy books more for the illustrations than for the story.  I like the illustrations of Ann Mortimer and Jan Brett.  I do however like “Alice in Wonderland” and have a number of copies by different illustrators.

My guest this week is author and relationship advice columnist (and my dear friend) Lauren N. Sharman. When Lauren accepted my invite to be my guest, I was jumping for joy. A few years ago when I read her first book Growing Up Little, I said to myself, “Wow, can this lady write.”

She kept me captivated right from page one. I read the entire novel (100 000+ words) in one day without sleeping that night because I wanted to find out what happened to Nikki Braedon, the young, sympathetic heroine. Believe me, the next day was a struggle to stay awake, but I didn’t regret forsaking sleep for one bit. The story was phenomenal. I became a fan of hers instantly from then on.

Then of course, I had to read all her books in the McCassey Brothers series after that. Simply amazing.

For her guest blog, we did a question and answer session, which I posted below. I think you will enjoy it because you get to see a bit of why she is such a charming and gifted lady.

She was kind enough to offer a free PDF copy of No Worries, the first book in the McCassey Brothers series this week. So I’ll be choosing one winner April 1st from all of those who add a comment for Lauren on my blog.

Here is a little something about the prize e-book:

Witnessing her mother’s murder put a label on Gypsy Lance that few people overlooked.  Raised in foster homes, she spent her childhood yearning for love and acceptance.  Nearly penniless, she arrives in Hagerstown, Maryland looking to put down roots and outrun a past she fears is about to catch up with her.

Blue collar bad boy Rebel McCassey knows what it’s like to try and escape your past.  No longer the hellion he once was, he’s never been able to shake his family’s bad reputation.  When he finds Gypsy lost in the woods, her unconditional trust and refusal to judge him by his infamous last name touch Rebel in a place he didn’t know existed…his heart.

When the demons chasing Gypsy are caught lurking in the shadows, Rebel vows to keep her safe; even if it means slipping back into his old ways…

And last but not least, her website:  http://www.laurensharman.com

1-What is the most memorable question one of your readers asked you on your column?

There have been several memorable questions, but the one that sticks in my mind most recently is one I received a couple of weeks ago. An overprotective mother refusing to allow her daughter to tryout for American Idol asked for advice. She was afraid to let her tryout because she didn’t want the girl to be disappointed. I’m really big on teaching your kids to be independent, and am a firm believer that sheltering them too much is extremely detrimental. For anyone interested, they can read the article here: http://www.examiner.com/x-3240-Relationship-Advice-Examiner~y2010m1d15-Overprotective-mom-afraid-to-let-daughter-follow-her-dreams

2-What is your all time favorite movie and why?

There are several movies that I enjoy. “Almost Famous” is one. As a writer who loves music, I can only imagine how much fun it would be to travel on a bus with a band, documenting their every move. The concerts, groupies, parties, and interaction with other rock stars would make an incredible story!!

3-Which authors have influenced you the most in your writing?

Hmm…a lot of the writers who influenced me are actually the historical romance writers of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s; Rosanne Bittner, Rebecca Brandywine, and Laurie McBain are just a few. Although I write contemporary, historicals are my favorite.

4-If you could change one thing in history that would cause a domino effect on modern day life, what would it be?

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln. He could’ve done this country a lot of good had he lived. I’ve always believed things would’ve been different if he’d been allowed to carry out his reconstruction plan. Can I have two? Because I’d also change the deaths of Janice Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. Just imagine what music would be like today if their influence hadn’t been cut short.

5-Who is your hero?

My husband Joey is my hero. He’s the hardest working, most supportive person I have in my life. Joey has never judged me, and has always loved me for who I am…warts and all. He’s the kind of person who thinks outside the box, and in turn, has taught me to do the same…which opened up a whole new world for me. He’s amazing!!

6-What did you wish for as a kid that came true later in life?

I wasn’t into the princessy stuff, and never wished for a prince or a castle or anything like that. Growing up, what I wanted was a muscle car. About five years after we got married, my husband went to West Virginia bought an old, beat up 1969 Chevy Chevelle for $2800. Although it did run, it was rusty, stinky, had torn and dry-rotted upholstery, and was almost the ugliest thing either one of us had ever seen. We took it apart piece by piece, labeled everything, and stored it all in bags in our basement. He spent a total of 700 hours restoring that car for me. He did a complete frame-off restoration…bought original parts off eBay, and drove all over the state picking them up. He also taught himself to weld so he could do all the work, and even painted it himself. I’ve never been a materialistic person, but that black SS Chevelle with the gunmetal metallic racing stripes is my most prized material possession.

7-How has motherhood changed you?

Honestly, the biggest change in me has been the realization that someone else depends on me. My daughter is almost 10 now, and although she doesn’t need me the way she did when she was a baby, she still needs my advice, guidance, and support. She depends on Joey for help with her math homework, though!

8-What is the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you?

This one’s easy. Picture it: A crowded high school cafeteria, and a would-rather-not-be-noticed girl walking along the wall in her brand new white leather boots with wooden heels (give me a break, it was 1988 ) . Just as she approaches a heating unit, she steps heel first on the slippery floor, slips, and her arms go flailing everywhere. In the process of trying to catch her balance, she hits the metal dustpan lying on the unit and sends it crashing to the floor. The noise echoes throughout the large room, and every bit of action and conversation comes to a screeching halt. All eyes turn to the source of the distraction, and the girl turns red from the roots of her hair to the tips of those white boots. I was completely mortified.

9-Anything you’re really bad at that you’d wish you could be great?

As embarrassing as it is to admit—as someone who writes for a living—I’m a horrible speller. Sometimes I come up with words that the spell-checker on my computer doesn’t even recognize! My 8th grade English teacher created, ‘The Lauren Dictionary’ as an end-of-the-year gag gift. She’d been keeping a list of words I spelled wrong all year, and presented it to me on the last day of school. I still have it…24 years later.

10- What is the best novel you ever read and why?

Wow, that’s a tough one…I’ve read so many. I’m going to have to go with “Outlaw Hearts” by Roseanne Bittner. I read it back in college and completely fell in love with the book’s hero. It combined three of my favorite things…romance, history, and a bad boy with a good heart. I still have my copy, and reread it every so often when I’m in search of inspiration for something I’m writing.

11-How do you feel about being a Relationship Advice Examiner and knowing your advice is helping your readers in some way?

I LOVE being a Relationship Advice Examiner!! I am a self-described Tell-It-Like-It-Is person, which I have always made clear to my readers. I don’t sugarcoat my answers or pacify people…they know that when they ask me a question, they’re going to get my honest opinion. People seem to enjoy my articles…and I’ve received several thank-yous from readers who have submitted questions. It’s awesome to know that my advice is helpful. If anyone would like to submit a question to me for relationship advice, you can email me at AskLaurenAdvice@gmail.com

It’s my turn to blog. I’ve got a little news to post and then tomorrow author and relationship advice columnist, Lauren N. Sharman, will be my guest. I had a blast working with her on that post, so I hope you’ll get a chance to check it out then. She’ll also be offering readers a chance to win a PDF copy of one of her superb books.

It’s been loads of fun having guest bloggers. They may be my friends, but I am getting to see a whole new side to them I never knew, as are the readers, which is so cool.

Anyway, onto my news. First off, we’ve been working diligently to revamp my site. I believe the creators of Dreamweaver made this program for the sole purpose of boggling our minds. I have never worked with a more complicated program ever. But trial and error being our one and only crutch for a whole month, we finally figured our way through and managed to create a website we liked that didn’t give visitors eye strain.

If any author or artist would like us to post a banner or link back to his/her website or blog, just e-mail the info to: jjgiovanna@yahoo.ca . Please put ‘Banner’ or ‘Link’ in the subject line so I’ll see it, since that e-mail account gets a lot of mail.

And the other bit of news is that I’ve posted a couple of my works on my site if anyone is interested in reading them. One is my dark poem “Frankenstein, My Father”, which was originally featured in my chapbook “Tribulations of Existence”. The other is my horror story “United We Fall”, which I wrote last year. It’s a wild and whacky story about two brothers, a banshee, her big, scary pet, and a camp trip that makes a trip through Hell look like a walk in a park.

I got the idea for that story after seeing a doll’s head sitting in a tree while I walked in the park with my kids. The doll’s eyes seemed to follow our every move. And that night, thanks to the spicy tacos I made for dinner, acid reflux played a number on my brain and a nightmare about that eerie doll’s head fermented in my mind. Thus the idea of this weird story began.

The link to check out the story and poem is: http://www.giovannalagana.com/Others.html

So that’s it for tonight’s post.

Sweet dreams about banshees and creepy dolls' heads, everyone.

Ciao-ciao,

Gio

Today I’m happy to be posting a blog by my dear friend and colleague, cover artist Jinger Heaston. She is a multi-award winner and probably one of the best cover artists out there, because not only does she have an extraordinary eye for imagery, and an inborn creativeness like no other, but she has a very rare knack of being able to envision what the author wants as a cover.

I’ve worked with her on several covers for anthologies and my novel and she has captured our vision dead on each time. I swear she has uncanny psychic abilities because it’s as if she can read our minds, but she denies this of course.

Today, you’ll be getting a glimpse though her eyes of how she sees an author’s world, which is quite interesting.

How Do They Do It?

By Jinger Heaston

I am not a writer. When I was asked to guest blog, my first instinct was to run from the room screaming and waving my arms, yelling, “Don’t make me do it!!!”

I lack that creative writing ‘thing’ that all Authors have to make the written word spring off the page and paint an instant image in your mind. For example, I have been sitting here looking at a blank Word Doc. for almost half an hour. Already, I’ve had enough coffee to give a Third World country the shakes.

When I receive an Author Information Form, I get a glimpse of an author’s talent. Things like: Character Description: Hair the color of sun kissed wheat and eyes like French coffee with a splash of cream, skin like a creamy Georgia Peach. Emerald green gown flowing like the wind off a cliff at high tide.

My question to the masses is this, how do they do it? ‘Get up in the morning, sit down to write, and it just flows from the brain to the fingers, to the keyboard, to the screen.’ Do Authors see everything in that light? Instead of an ugly brown wall, do they see a mahogany-colored surface with wood grain patterns scarred with age? Is there a narrative voice in their heads at all times?  She awoke with a playful smile, climbing out of bed ready to greet the day before her. Or did she just get up?

Where do these fantastic story ideas come from? Do they all have some bottomless vault in their minds that they dip into when they want to write a new book? Are there stories all around them at all times and they simply grab one from the air and bring it to life on a whim?

I am not sure how Authors do what they do, but I will say I am grateful! What an Author gives us is the chance to sail the high seas, climb impossible mountains, and make a journey with a soul mate that of course we do not discover until about Chapter 30 or so. Suspense, drama, intrigue, scandal, murder, love, humor, these are all gifts that Authors give us on a daily basis.

I always say coming to the end of a good book is bitter sweet. These characters become a part of my everyday life. What will they do today? Will she escape? Will he fall in love? I am always desperate to find the answers, but sad when I close the book for the last time. It is like leaving an old friend behind. I have also been known to talk to a book, things like: “Oh no, she didn’t!” or “Oh, come ON!!!” That is always a tell tale sign of a good book for me!

Authors write in such a way that you almost feel as if you have been to the places in their stories, you can almost smell the air, feel the breeze. If the heroine has her heart broken, you cry with her. If she is going to see what that ‘bump’ in the dark was, you scream, “DON’T GO LOOK!!! RUN, WOMAN!!!”  I envy them their gift and thankful they choose to share that with me.

So thank you, Authors of the world! Thank you for sharing your stories, whisking us away to far off lands and untold adventures. Without you all, I think our lives would be a little less interesting.

While I sit here reading over everything I have just typed, I think to myself an Author would write, “The Golden Labrador ran through the flower-covered meadow.” I would simply write, “The dog ran.” I am not a writer.

1-Describe, the average Jinger Heaston day.

Get up at 6:30am. COFFEE!! Make sure that Kylie and MaKenna are up for school, taking all the verbal abuse they can dish out as I do so. Run the girls to school. We usually have a jam session of some sort on the way, just to kick start things. MORE COFFEE!! Sit down and sort through emails, file away any new cover art assignments, answer others. COFFEE AGAIN!! Change and dash off to the gym for about an hour or so. MOCHA FRAPPE!!! Head home, sit on down, and start working. I pretty much spend the rest of the day working, only looking up long enough to check the time. I love to work in quiet, so I take advantage of it while everyone is gone. Go grab the ladies from school, try to listen to them as they both talk 90 mph all the way home, with the occasional nod so they know I heard them…sorta. Answer more emails, hang out with the girls a bit and argue over homework being done now vs. later when it’s just like 5 mins before bedtime. (wink)

Head off to bed usually around 10 p.m. with a good book or a movie and pass out somewhere in that process. Boring, but it’s me!

2-Any particular resolution you made this year that you plan to keep, no ifs, ands, or buts?

None this year. I actually like myself the way I am. Quirks and all. I’m in a very satisfied place right now.

3-Who has been your biggest inspiration in life? In your artist work?

I take inspiration from all sorts of silly places–music, books. I’m a pretty free spirit and I like to make my own path. I can actually find inspiration in a lot of things. I like that. As for inspiration for my work? Well, I guess I do not really have anyone who inspires me. I appreciate all kinds of art work, mainly classics.