A Q&A with Author-Illustrator Timothy Basil Ering

Which came first: the art or the story? The art came first. Snook Alone had just been released, which led to an invitation to the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. There, I was involved in PHOTO BY JENNIFER ERING an illustrators workshop. I was giving short painting demonstrations, creating random images to show my process. During one of the sessions, when my editor Karen Lotz was present, I painted a frog. She later commented that she liked my frog and hinted that it would be a fun character for a book. That was enough inspiration for me! That very day, I decided that I would somehow use that frog in my next book. Alas, I needed a story. When the story finally came a year later, it was in bits and pieces. I needed to create more art to help me write, and my writing helped me illustrate. What was your inspiration for the story? I stewed and I searched for months to come up with a story for that little frog. One day I realized that the inspiration was right beneath my nose, thanks to the amazing imaginations of my two sons. Wielding wooden toy swords I made with them in my studio, they fearlessly battled all sorts of inanimate objectslamps, chairs, trees, stumps, even flowers and tomato plants. To my boys in battle, these objects were fierce creatures of some sort. When their bedrooms turned dark, however, this fearlessness ebbed. My two warriors would scramble from their beds to their safe spot, and many times, due to lack of space from small knees in my back and hands in my face, I slept with one arm braced on the floor to keep from falling out of my bed. It was clearly time to share a secret I developed as a young boy to make my scary dreams fun. The trick that helped me stay in my own bed throughout the night was to make friends with the monsters in my dreams, somehow converting them into nicer creatures. A year after painting that frog at the National Book Festival, I finally had a story. I decided that the frog would be the main character, a metaphor for my boys and any other children who are almost fearless. How did you create the illustrations? Can you walk us through your creative process? My writing inspires my art, just as my art inspires my writing. When Im first creating my illustrations, I begin by soaking my paper with color. Then, hopefully fearlessly, I scribble and sketch into the paper and the paint, sometimes while they are still wet. My scribbling is very loose. Im always looking into the paper, watching for characters and their environments to emerge. I search and stumble over layers, continuously experimenting with facial expressions, gestures, shapes, lighting, color, and so on. This helps my writing because painting and drawing can create wonderful moods, sometimes moods that my writing is lacking. My writing in the beginning is long and descriptive. When Im staring into fields of color, descriptive writing helps me imagine what Id like my illustrations to look like. Eventually it gets edited down as the art alone begins to tell the story. I constantly go back and forth with writing, painting, and drawing and sooner or later, after lots of hard work and editing, the book falls into place.

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How did you begin to visualize young Hamilton Squidlegger? Does he remind you of anyone in particular? Hamilton took on many frog shapes, attitudes, and colors in my drawings and paintings. I knew all along that he couldnt be just any frog, but rather a unique species of frog. I began to draw him with long spindly legs, and he soon became Hamilton Squidlegger. Hamilton Squidlegger reminds me of my two boys. I was also thrilled to hear that from the very beginning, Hamiltons personality reminded Maryellen Hanley, the designer of this book, of her almost fearless dog! Are you almost fearless? What is something that you are scared of? Im far from fearless. If Im atop super-high places, I have awfully scary thoughts of falling. I also am scared of high speeds and being trapped in tiny spaces. Im a huge believer in facing fears, but I dont mind avoiding these particular ones. Unless, for example, I had to rappel down a

ten-thousand-foot cliff to avoid a raging forest fire. Then Id face the fear. I love the ocean, and Im always on it or in it, but for years I used to wonder what I would do if I encountered a large shark while snorkeling, diving, or surfing. One day, while snorkeling near a remote island in the Bahamas, it happened. A big bull shark swam up to within ten feet of me. I wish I could say that my bedtime trick of making friends with the monster worked, but in this case I thought it would be best not to try. I slowly swam back to my boat and tried to stay calm, even as I looked under me and saw not just one, but three sharks! When I made it to the boat, I was thrilled. Public speaking is a different kind of fear that I battled for years. I had to tackle that fear head-on because I wanted so badly to accept invitations to schools, libraries, and bookstores and share stories with all of the wonderful people in the book world. Overcoming fears is without a doubt one of the most rewarding experiences in life!

Illustration copyright 2014 by Timothy Basil Ering

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Also written and illustrated by TIMOTHY BASIL ERING

The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone
HC: 978-0-7636-6661-3 PB: 978-0-7636-2611-2

Necks Out for Adventure!

HC: 978-0-7636-2355-5

Jaw-dropping illustrations. . . . Erings moody, dramatically layered acrylics plunge us into a surreal otherworld about to flower. FamilyFun Magazine The art and the design are extraordinary. Booklist

The olive and aquamarine seas and sun-washed beaches are the work of a born landscape artist. The Washington Post Ering invents an odd hero who will . . . charm coastal kids and those with an off-kilter sense of humor. Publishers Weekly

Also illustrated by TIMOTHY BASIL ERING

The Tale of Despereaux
by Kate DiCamillo
HC: 978-0-7636-1722-6 PB: 978-0-7636-2529-0 E-book: 978-0-7636-4943-2

Snook Alone

by Marilyn Nelson
HC: 978-0-7636-2667-9 PB: 978-0-7636-6120-5

Winner of the Newbery Medal A New York Times Bestseller H Publishers Weekly H Kirkus Reviews H School Library Journal H Booklist

The final image is one of such pure bliss, such unmeasured joy, that it requires no words to explain. The Washington Post H Publishers Weekly H Bulletin of the Center for Childrens Books H School Library Journal H The Horn Book H Kirkus Reviews H Booklist

Finn Throws a Fit!

by David Elliott
HC: 978-0-7636-2356-2 PB: 978-0-7636-5604-1

H Droll text and exuberant illustrations render a toddlers tantrum in all its magnificence. Publishers Weekly (starred review) Ering, always atmospheric, goes happily nuts with the premise, his mixed-mediacharcoals, oils, and grease pencilillustrations almost palpably three-dimensional in their wind-blown vigor. Kirkus Reviews

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