You used to be an editorial assistant at RH and worked with Frances Foster, your current editor. Could you please describe for us how you made the transition from helping others to publish books to becoming an author yourself.
I always wanted to write children’s books and I think from an early age I was unknowingly gravitating towards that. My work with Frances at AAK was really more of an apprenticeship than an assistantship in which I was given the opportunity to observe and participate in the entire process of bookmaking. Back in those days it was more of an artisan endeavor, with each piece meted out to a craftsman. Both Frances and Dinah (Stevenson whom I worked for as well) were generous in allowing me responsibility and the privilege of making mistakes (of which I made plenty, one of the worst being to send a scathing reader’s report back to a published writer along with the rejection notice!).
I relish these memories because they are such a shining example of working together towards a common goal– good preparation not only for writing books but for living life. My first book, ALPHABET SOUP, came to me in a dream after I’d been working with Frances for several years. The entire story unfolded one night in a series of colorful images. But there were no words. I suppose if I’d been given the text as well, it would have been too easy. I mustered up the courage to construct a small wordless dummy to show Frances who gently encouraged me to put some words to it—which I did. Meanwhile, Peter Sis had recently arrived in NY and was seeking work as an illustrator so Frances paired us up. It was a perfect example of synchronicity, a coming together or aligning of events in a way that makes you know it’s right. I think it was this more than anything else that encouraged me to continue writing.
You write mostly picture books but also have published a few novels. What are the most rewarding and challenging aspects for you in these forms.
When I began my career the most challenge part of writing was having the patience to remain in a state of receptivity long enough for an idea to materialize—sometimes weeks or months—and take root. But as I matured both professionally and personally the shift from being an initiator to being a witness became one of the most enjoyable aspects of the process. To watch an idea blossom into consciousness and feel it take hold is nothing short of exhilarating.
The most challenging part of writing a picture book for me is to fit a big idea into a small format in a way to which small children can relate. Whether a picture book or a novel I tend to be spare with prose so every word counts. With a picture book I strive to string the words together, somewhat like beads, so that they create a harmony, a rhythm, and a whole. Of course in picture books there is a fine line between telling too much and allowing the artist to fill in the blanks. And there has to be an ongoing process of give and take as the story unfolds both in words and pictures.
Novels present a different challenge—fitting smaller ideas into a larger format. Organization is key and because there are no pictures, the words must be precise enough to convey and create a world for the reader.
Whether through a picture book or a novel, the chance to revisit childhood, recapture its innocence, and view things as though for the first time is a privilege for me and a reminder of how amazing life is.
I believe your picture books are so appealing because they express so precisely the observations, thought and emotions of your young audience. How do you achieve this authenticity?
An astrologist in Piazza Navona in Rome once read my horoscope and told me that I was someone who would be eternally young. Then she quickly cautioned that I ran the risk of not acting my age. So perhaps I should credit the stars. Apart from that, I loved my own childhood and can still remember in vivid details the unveiling of the world around me. I have always loved children and been a keen observer of them. It comes very naturally to me and for whatever reason I have never lost the ability to see the world through a child’s eyes.
You have worked on several books with the illustrator Georg Hallensleben. How did this collaboration develop and what is your working relationship like?
Georg and I met through a mutual friend when we were both living in Rome. He was a studio artist at the time and I’d been doing picture books for some years. I saw an exhibition of his and was drawn to his work so I asked him if he’d like to collaborate on a project—BABOON. That was our first book together. I admire Georg’s ability to depict color and mood and I think his illustrations reflect a sensitivity to place and feeling that complement my writing. From our first collaboration, we have sought to construct a thoughtful back and forth dialogue which begins with the text and continues to the completion of final art, often changing words or pictures as we progress. This is lucky because that doesn’t happen often. But I think it can make a difference in the final vision of a book.
In the early days in Rome Georg would drive over in his van which he’d equipped as a studio and he’d park under my apartment and paint. Then he’d come up for lunch and we’d spend the afternoon reviewing what he’d done. Often we would make our own dummies for submission.
We both ended up in France—synchronicity again—but Georg went to Paris and I went south. With the growth of technology and families we began to do more of our work through correspondence. But we’ve still kept a dialogue running for each book from beginning to end.
Can you describe your creative process? How do you nurture and develop your ideas?
I want to say it’s very much like gardening, except that I don’t have much of a green thumb. A seed it planted, and there is a period of gestation when I become receptive, waiting for the infinite invisible to unfold. I’m not very methodical or systematic in the way I work, at least in the initial stages of a project. When I feel I have enough pieces, I start putting them together until I have a story line. Then I become more organized in my thinking and attentive to detail and choice of words, the way they sound by themselves and together, and within the context of the whole. I love words and I always want to get them just right.
Then I sit back and watch what happens. Again it’s a process of give and take, but this time with the universe. It took me a while to acquire the faith that I would “write another book”—and I think that only happened when I was able to admit to myself that maybe I wouldn’t. I did spend a few years looking at blank pages trying to muster something from nothing much like a magician but soon it became clear that wasn’t how it worked.
I am often asked where I get ideas for my stories. I used to think that inspiration was a product of my experiences, big and small. And while I still believe that to be true to some extent, my own journey has taught me that there is a larger force at work, and I am but the vehicle of an expression that belongs to something collective as well as individual.
Do you have a writing routine? Do you work at the same place for a certain amount of time every day? What do you do when you get stuck?
I have a loose routine in that I write for a few hours every morning. Afternoons are devoted to my work as a healer. I am a nomad and move from room to room in my house. Sometimes I’ll go out and work at a coffee bar. I always have notebooks in my bag and am ready to take down an idea or a thought wherever I am. Oftentimes this happens at night and I’ll wake up and flick on the light just long enough to take a few notes. My husband has long grown accustomed to this. I write wherever I go—in airports, while on holiday. New places and movement seem to keep the flow going. I usually have several projects in the works at any one time. I like to wake up and know that I don’t have to return to the same thing that I was doing the day or days before. I tend to get bored laboring over a single story week after week, month after month. So I jump around a lot. That enables me to distance myself from each project and go back to it again and again with a fresh eye. And if I’m stuck on one project I put it aside and move on to something else. If nothing works, then I play the piano, or try a new recipe. I’m always planning future books and I have many ideas in the cupboard. Some I put aside for months, even years. Some may never be realized but that’s okay. It’s all part of what I do.
Do you see a common theme that all your books share?
Connectedness is a theme which runs through all of my books—our connectedness to our outer worlds, inner world, and to one another. Oftentimes in my books this notion is expressed through relationships, early ones especially, and it reflects my belief that healthy relationships form the foundation for healthy beings. We are all connected and wholeness is how we work best.
The Magician’s Apprentice is an unusual novel with a spiritual message for young readers. What prompted you to write this story?
The story came to me in a series of visions in a period of my life, nearly ten years ago, when I was very ill. I had caught a hospital infection and despite all efforts was not recovering from the infection or the debilitating pain. It was a deeply transformational time for me as it changed the way I looked and experienced the world and I guess you could say I had an epiphany of sorts as I realized I might not survive. Over a period of three years I experienced a series of mystical and synchronistic events that led to my recovery and my work as a healer. Part of these happenings was having THE MAGICIAN’S APPRENTICE channeled to me . I was told that two more books would follow. THE KEY TO THE KINGDOM came to me two years later and a third, WARRIORS OF LIGHT which I have yet to write. Day after day I sat down and became a scribe to a higher voice. In retrospect, I see that period as one of inner expansion in which I journeyed deep within my soul and was initiated into a space of grace, learning that that is from where my work and life unfolds.
You are also working on Energy Medicine. Could you explain what it is and if and how it relates to your books?
Energy medicine, broadly speaking, encompasses techniques that recognize the body as information and energy. They are based on the premise that disturbances in the energetic field of the body cause distress (emotional, physical, and mental), and they strive to correct these imbalances by influencing energy flow in a number of ways. Tapping, acupuncture, homeopathy, and hands on healing are all examples. I have trained in Rieki, Pranic Healing, EFT, TAT and Reconnective Healing. I am also a hypnotist and regression therapist and I use both of these therapies in my healing work. I love the idea that our histories both personal and collective are transmitted through story and both hypnosis and regression are modalities whereby healing happens by accessing the subconscious mind and the vehicle is through storytelling (on the part of the client) and script (on the part of the therapist). In recent days the common denominator of my healing and writing has been my dear editor Frances Foster who suffered a stroke on the eve of Thanksgiving. As heartbreaking as this as been, I cherish the opportunity to help her in whatever manner is appropriate and to return in some way all that she has given to me. I suppose this is the give and take which is what life, and not just writing, is all about. And it’s come full circle.
Thank you.