Children’s author/illustrator Paola Van Turennout was unable to be my guest on Book Bites for Kids during the day, so I recently interviewed her via email.

Suzanne: Tell us a little bit about your background and how you because a children’s book writer.

Paola: I initially got published because of my illustrations, not my writing.

I had some illustrations of cute little bugs in an art show, and a publisher (Simply Read Books) happened to be there, and asked me if I wanted to do a book based on these. Of course I said yes, but by no means was the deal sealed at that point. In this case, the publisher wanted me to create the entire book: both writing and illustrating. I sent the publisher draft after draft of story ideas, and finally after a year of sending these to him did he like one of them enough to actually give me a contract and publish it.

S: Tell us about some of your books - what is your latest book? When was it released? Give a short summary of the book. Tell us about some of your other books.

P: The 2 books I’ve had published so far are One Little Bug, and Saffy.

One Little Bug is a rhyming verse in which bugs stack on top of each other (counting as they go) and then topple over, and then each one goes back to his respective home. My favorite thing about this book is its silliness. This book was published under my legal name “Paola van Turennout” and won an Alcuin Society award.

Saffy is a board book about a stubborn little giraffe who is determined to reach a leaf all by herself, without her mommy’s help. My favorite thing about this book is Saffy’s independent attitude, and that she doesn’t give up. This one was published under my pen name “Paola Opal” and was written with the help of Kallie George.

S: What is a typical writing day like for you - especially since you work a regular full time job? How do you find the time to write?

P: Evenings and weekends are when I work on my books. When I’m at my day job I leave the books behind so I can be fully focussed on my job. Working on the books is a labour of love so getting home from my day job then working on a book concept doesn’t really feel like work to me. It’s fun.

S: What do you enjoy most about being a children’s book author?

P: The pleasure I get from doing the cute illustrations and knowing that they are out there for others to enjoy is what keeps me going.

S: What is the most difficult part of being a children’s book author?

P: One of the most difficult things is making everyone in the book “food chain” happy while still trying to come up with something that you (and the kids) will genuinely like. There are so many people to please before a child ever sees the book: the publisher, the sales person, the bookstore, the reviewer, then finally the parent, teacher, or librarian! At the end of the day, I just try to do what I like and hope the rest will sort itself out.

S: In today’s world, most of the marketing falls to the author instead of the publisher. What do you do to market your books?

P: So far I haven’t done all that much to market the books. I find that working full time to actually pay the bills, then creating books in my spare time doesn’t leave time for much else at the end of the day.

S: Do you have an agent? Why or why not?

P: No, I don’t have an agent. I got into book illustrating and writing rather randomly through having my illustrations seen at an art show, as mentioned above. I’ve never really thought about an agent. I’ve just focused on the work itself and building a good relationship with my current publisher.

S: Are you able to make school visits? If so, describe a typical school visit. If not, do you have a website with downloadable materials for teachers? What is the URL for your site? What will we find there?

P: I’ve never done a school visit. I don’t create my books with the explicit purpose of being a teacher’s resource: I create them for fun, and I figure that making the experience of reading fun has educational merits in itself by promoting the desire to read more.

I do, however, have a web site at http://www.everytales.com, where everyone, including teachers, can go to share and discover illustrated stories.

S: What are you working on right now?

P: I am working on new books to continue the Simply Small board book series that started with Saffy.

I am also working on promoting Everytales.com, a story-sharing portal that I have created out of a passion for illustration and a desire to build a platform for artists to share their stories with the world: Everytales asks nothing for your tale (you keep the rights) - only that you share it! In exchange, Everytales offers worldwide exposure to readers and publishers, a community for picture book creators, and a greener solution to publishing as a free, virtually no risk testing ground for new stories.

S: What is your best tip for aspiring children’s book authors?

P: Do what you love and make sure to take any opportunity to expose your work to the world. You never know who might see it or where it may lead!