Ask the Author - Larry Daley
Welcome back to Ask the Author! Today we’re joined by author/illustrator Larry Daley to talk about Float, his brand new picture book that releases tomorrow. Float is a story that has it all: a plucky heroine, a riotous adventure, a beautiful message, and even a real-life treasure hunt! Because I know you can’t wait to find out more, we’ll get straight to it—here’s Larry!
Hi Larry! Thanks for joining us on the blog today! Can you start by telling us a little about yourself and your background?
I grew up in a very small town in New Hampshire with a strong desire to work in the movies someday. I wasn’t sure how to get there, but I knew it was the place for me. Creatively, my hero was Jim Henson, a man who brought to life the funniest and quirkiest characters I’d ever seen, along with a gift for building worlds that drew all my interests of writing and illustrating into one mission—getting to Hollywood and joining his team.
But when I got to college, I made a friend who introduced me to comic books—something I had never read as a kid. I knew about superheroes from toys and watching TV, but I had no idea that these characters had long, interesting backstories full of “world-building” that spanned 70+ years. I got so interested, I decided to apply for a summer job at Marvel Comics, where I learned the business and discovered that there were lots of creative people who didn’t necessarily draw or write. Their role was to work with artists as editors and art directors, as proofreaders and designers—all these jobs I had never heard of. It was from that experience that I decided to change directions, learn the craft of publishing, and pursue a career path that truly taught me how to become a better writer and artist.
You’ve done a lot of neat things over the course of your career, what brought you to this season of life where you’re writing and illustrating picture books?
After working two decades with hundreds of talented people as an art director at DC Comics, I realized that the best part of the job was the collaboration between the artists and the art director or editor that was making their story come to life. This partnership highlighted the best parts of being a creative person—the ability to work with others to realize that the story you wanted to tell was really a group effort, not an individual working in a vacuum. I enjoyed very much helping others make their vision come true, but I also wanted to experience it myself. At some point in my career, I knew I wanted to work with a team that would help me explore the stories I wanted to tell. And I was lucky to find that when I discovered a new renaissance was occurring in picture books.
Unlike the days of my childhood, when the Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams or Stone Soup by Marcia Brown were the favorites at bedtime, picture book stories of the new millennium had blossomed into something I had not expected. There was suddenly a diversity of voices. There were so many extraordinary visual styles—it was breathtaking. There was a variety of humor, narrative tones, colorful themes, and even clever devices that engaged readers in ways I had not seen. And for the first time, I saw a place for myself. Picture books no longer felt exclusionary. They felt big enough for everyone to have a part.
Float tells the story of Rosie, a plucky first grader on a field trip to the aquarium who refuses to be outwitted by a hungry seagull. I myself have a plucky first grader, so I’m wondering where the inspiration for this story came from. Did any elements from your real life make it into the story or the illustrations?
As a father of three lovely young ladies, I’m partial to the power of plucky little girls. I love characters that are tenacious and find courage in spite of the obstacles they face. First grade is a time when the imagination of young people begins to open up to the possibilities of story, and I enjoy when stories take unexpected turns. Rosie is a wonderful example of fiery determination. She is not afraid to respond to her emotions, whether it’s pure joy at the thought of seeing her favorite animal or the horror that a bird would have the audacity to take her lunchbox. She is present in the moment, and I believe readers can relate to Rosie’s uncertainty about what to do in this situation. Although I’ve never had a seagull steal my food, I have experienced times when life has thrown me a curve ball. Whether you’re six or sixty, no one is prepared for the unexpected when it happens to you. We are lucky that Rosie shows us all what not to do when it happens.
Rosie learns an important lesson at the aquarium: “When the water gets rough, just float.” Does this motto have special meaning to you? Why is that an important message to pass along to children?
I think that “taking a moment to breath before making a big decision” is a lesson that sometimes takes a lifetime to learn. I want to believe that we come to understand this truth as adults, but we don’t. We react. We make bad decisions. We let our emotions decide for us, just like Rosie. It feels so important as a writer to remind all readers, children and their parents alike, that the best decisions come from remaining calm and choosing a path forward with kindness in mind. For Rosie to be reprimanded for her actions would be to ignore that life happens. And without an adult in the story that understands this, I don’t have a way to highlight that kindness makes for a better outcome in the end. As a parent, it was so important to me to have an adult in the book that was willing to let all the chaos happen and still make Rosie feel safe. Despite our need to protect our children, we still need conversations in the mix about failures and mistakes being a healthy way to learn. I am confident that Rosie walks away knowing she made a big mistake but empowered by the fact that she was given permission to make it in order to learn.
You’ve added some cool interactive elements to the illustrations of Float—some seek and finds and a hidden treasure! Can you tell us more about these extras and also why you wanted to include them in the book?
I’ve had two experiences of note that inspired me to include some interactive elements in Float. The first was a wonderful picture book I used to read to my kids called Snowmen At Night by Carolyn Buehner and Mark Buehner. The beauty of the book was that tiny painted snowmen were hidden in the illustrations. It was always exciting to find them while flipping through the story, and it made repeat bedtime readings (over the course of months) a fun activity when the story started to get too familiar. In FLOAT, I added tiny turtles for readers to find, along with an octopus that’s trying to escape from the building. In both cases, I encourage readers to use a magnifying glass!
The other experience was a memorable book from my childhood called Masquerade by author/illustrator Kit Williams. This book was so popular, it was often difficult to find at the library, and to this day, it’s a book that my generation still talks about. The reason—artist Kit Williams buried clues in his illustrations that foretold of a real treasure that readers could win. If you found the answer, you could find a gold rabbit buried in the English countryside worth $50 thousand dollars. Sadly, the true story about this contest has a unfortunate outcome, but for the kids who remember searching for clues, it was the coolest book that ever existed. I wanted to do something similar and decided to hide a riddle in the pictures for kids to find. Those lucky enough to discover the secret question can then submit their answer to www.larrydaley.com/riddle and be entered to win a treasure box with a 1 oz. pure silver coin inside. I thought a real treasure was fitting for an underwater picture book adventure.
Walk us through the process of illustrating a picture book. How do you take the images from your head to the printed page?
Although all picture books start with an idea, I think the place it really begins is with the writer’s intentions. For me, I first put down some goals and sent them to my editor with a note explaining what I hoped to achieve. At the time, I was concerned that I couldn’t write something that was sentimental, and I wanted her to help me find ways to bring “heart” to my story. We were also in agreement that we didn’t want the story to be didactic and had many conversations about “showing versus telling” so readers could draw their own conclusions.
The writing itself happens in stages: first a one-line description of the story, then a one-page treatment, then a full description of each scene as the story progresses to the end. Once the story is outlined, I go back-and-forth between creating stick-figure storyboards and writing the script. The two sides eventually align to create a complete visual “book map” that tells me that the story flows with every page-turn and fits within the total page count of the book. Because picture books, generally speaking, are 500 words or less, the process of writing is a constant game of “word elimination,” so every word counts and every word removed allows more space for the artwork.
Creating the artwork also falls into stages. It begins with discovering who the main character is and how she expresses her emotions. It took me three months of drawing Rosie before I found the version of her that felt right. Although I knew she would be a fiery first-grader, I did not know the clothes she would be wearing, the color of her hair, the expressions on her face or the body language that would indicate her many transitions from exuberant to devastated. There were also a few aspects I had never drawn before. For example, drawing wet hair. But the identity of Rosie came out of what I needed from her in the story, and I was happy with what she was able to deliver.
Aside from the other main character, Mr. Gilley, the majority of the work came from building a world of ocean animals that were both friendly and representative of what marine life truly looked like. This required months of research to find all the animals I wished to introduce, while making decisions about what fish were not right for the story. I spent a considerable amount of time debating whether or not to include sharks in the mix, for fear of scaring young readers with the notion that Rosie would be eaten if she jumped in the tanks. In the end, I aimed to deliver a fun universe of creatures that either didn’t seem bothered by Rosie’s intrusion or adapted to the chaos in a way that wasn’t distracting to the story.
You’ve illustrated books for other authors. How do you strike a good balance between your creative vision as the illustrator and their creative vision as an author?
In children’s publishing, the large publishing houses work with the writer and illustrator separately, so there is no creative collaboration between the two. Any thoughts the writer may have about the art may be passed along to the editor, but it’s the publisher that decides how to proceed. The illustrator in turn takes direction from the editor and art director and never converses with the writer.
However, when working with a small company or new venture, those lines are blurred, and there are instances when the writer(s) and artists come together. In my experience, it is a balancing act between knowing what you can offer the story and understanding the needs of the individual(s) who created it. Being open to their vision must be paired with your own interest. If the ideas aren’t buzzing with excitement in your own head, it’s ok to suggest that there might be others better suited for the project.
What advice would you give to someone who wanted to start illustrating books?
First, draw the things you like drawing the most and get good at it. Do not waste your time drawing things you believe others want to see. The reason being is that your best work will come from your passions, not the expectations of others. The second principle to remember is that a creative professional must be reliable more than any other trait. You do not need to be the best artist in the business, but you should be the most trustworthy to deliver what you promised. Make your deadlines, answer requests on time, and prove to others that you can be counted upon. Set your sights of getting your work published, regardless of the format or the prestige of the publication. The company does not matter. What matters is that you showed somebody you could make a deadline. The last piece of advice is to build a network of artists who want to do exactly what you want to do. With good connections, you will find work through recommendations from your friends and colleagues. The larger your group, the more likely one of you will be hired. And from there, you will rise to the top of the recommendations list from others these companies already trust.
Float is being published by Bookling Media, which is a relatively new publishing company. How did you connect with Bookling?
I met the publisher, Becky Gehrisch, at a SCBWI conference (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) in New York City and continued to follow her work after the event. As fellow illustrators, we had both become painfully aware of how difficult it was to share work with the large publishers. The business was now filled with agents and book doctors and literary lawyers, all offering their services but getting in the way of building relationships with the creative teams that actually made the books. And with so many of the publishers merging into larger conglomerates, it was becoming obvious that there were fewer options for the larger pool of talent to find a place to tell stories.
Years later, I received a submission request from Becky’s new company Bookling Media, seeking picture book proposals for her new publishing venture. Becky had decided that starting her own imprint might offer an alternative for writers and artists who felt lost between the two choices of self-publishing or forever submitting to agents. Although there are many small publishing houses, Bookling Media offered a clever twist on the business model that was very attractive to me. They gave artists the ownership of their work, something that most publishing houses kept for themselves.
Another aspect of Bookling Media that was so appealing was that their finished product was incredibly high quality. For aspiring writers and illustrators looking to self-publish, the options to produce a quality book are so limited that most artists settle for inferior books and try their best to market something no one really wants. Bookling Media, however, produces books that compete with any product on the market, making their artists highly attractive to potential buyers.
Lastly, it takes a good leader to run a business, but it also takes a leader who understands the struggles of the book market from the perspective of artists. Becky’s background as a professional writer and illustrator gave her the chance to see the holes that are only getting bigger in the children’s publishing industry. Becky is so entrepreneurial and service-driven that Booking Media is quickly becoming a name the industry recognizes. It is so exciting to be a part of anything from the beginning, but it is more impressive to see someone build something that doesn’t exist in the market but starts to get attention.
What’s next for you? Any other projects in the works?
It’s too early yet to announce my next project, but I am hoping Booking Media will be a part of it. I can hint that my next story will again be a playful blend of chaos and kindness, mixed with a few surprises in the illustrations. Stay tuned!
Finally, where can readers connect with you online?
Readers can find my work at www.larrydaley.com and follow me on Instagram @larrydaleyart.
Thanks, Larry, for joining us today! I hope everyone checks out Float when it releases tomorrow. You won’t be disappointed! And come back Wednesday to learn more about Larry’s publisher, Bookling Media. I’ll see you then!