illustrations | the writer is a lonely hunter

What’s happening? It’s pandemonium!

by gailaldwin

The children’s picture book I’ve been working on with illustrator Fiona Zechmeister is doing its final round. Collaboration means that the illustrations and text for Pan de mo nium circulate between us. Now, Fiona is putting the finishing touches to the illustrations and I’m pleased to share some images that demonstrates the latter stages of the redrafting process.

Pan de mo nium is a story about Peta who doesn’t look like other pandas in the toy department because of her purple coat. This provides camouflage and enables her to get up to mischief. When a shop assistant spots Peta, this puts an end to her tricks. Peta must learn more about herself… but does this stop Peta’s fun? Of course not!

Here is the title page for Pan de mo nium. This image will also feature on the cover although the final layout is not yet agreed.

Thumbnail image

The font was chosen early in the process, the word ‘pandemonium’ presented as if broken into syllables and the place of the title in the centre of the page agreed. The sketch of Peta gives an impression of movement and joy.

Coloured thumbnail

Next we discussed colours. Fiona used watercolours to experiment with different shades of purple.

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sneak preview: pan de mo nium

by gailaldwin

I’ve been working on a children’s picture book for a very long time indeed. The idea for pan de mo nium came when I was teaching a module of writing for children to undergraduates at the University of South Wales in 2015. We were looking at some features of anthropomorphism, where animals have human characteristics, and I shared examples where this technique was used to explore danger vicariously and therefore safely. Students joined the discussion before going slightly off task and started chatting about cute red pandas.

Red pandas are found in the mountains of Nepal, northern Myanmar and central China. These animals spend most of their lives in trees.

I spent a long time wondering what the relationship would be like between a giant panda and a red panda living in central China. I started thinking about what it would be like to be part of the same family but look totally different. (Although in fact red pandas are not related to giant pandas). Could these thoughts be explored through anthropomorphism? Would it be possible for a cute and cuddly character to experience tensions around not fitting in? I began to wonder if the issue of identity could be explored through children’s fiction by creating a purple panda.

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In Pan de mo nium Peta lives in a department store where her purple colour offers camouflage. She gets up to all sorts of mischief but when she’s spotted, the shop assistant puts an end to her tricks. What can Peta do to become a cheeky panda once again?

Here’s a sneak preview of a scene from inside the book. I love the colour palate that Fiona Zechmeister has cleverly used here.

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Collaboration: writing and illustrating

by gailaldwin

I’ve been busy this week working with illustrator Fiona Zechmiester on a children’s picture book which has the working title ‘pan-de-mo-nim’. The main character is a purple panda called Peta. Because of her colouring, Peta is camouflaged and she causes chaos at her home in a department store. When one of the shop assistants notices she’s up to no good, Peta is made to look like all the other pandas which puts an end to her tricks. How can Peta become a cheeky panda again?

Early sketches and exploration of colour

Fiona lives in Austria but studied in the UK and was awarded an MA in publishing from the University of Derby. She works on a freelance basis and has been appointed by Victorina Press to illustrate my book which targets three-to-eight-year-old children. In Fiona’s work, the process of illustrating animals begins with a study of anatomy.

Fiona’s research sketches

She then looks at details of a panda that are relevant to the story. Fiona has experience of using many different mediums for her illustrations but the story behind the picture is the guiding principle of the work.

Fiona’s research sketches

As the illustrations have developed, I’ve redrafted the story and together Fiona and I decided on fonts and sizes for the text on different pages in the book. As much of my time as a writer involves working alone, this opportunity to work in collaboration has been a fantastic experience. I’ll be posting further illustrations as the picture book gets closer to publication with Victorina Press.

I previously worked with Fiona to design the cover of my debut novel The String Games. This cover won a finalist badge in the International Book Awards 2019. Voting is currently open at The People’s Book Prize where The String Games is a finalist in the fiction category 2020. Please pop over to the website and give my novel your support so that The String Games has a chance to receive further recognition in this prestigious competition. (If you voted in the earlier round, thank you, please vote again now the novel is a finalist.)

tsg final cover image for use on_web

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The String Games: words and images

by gailaldwin

Following my earlier posts about the images that illustrate each of the three different parts to my debut novel The String Games, I’ve decided to post them all here to give a sense of the work that has gone into creating them. The novel acts as a coming-of-age story and shares the growing up experiences of the protagonist as she struggles to come to terms with the abduction and murder of her younger brother. Fiona Zeichmeister has cleverly demonstrated the growth of a child through the stages of development in these pictures: from child to teenager and the as an adult.

Together with the cover, I am absolutely delighted with these images.

tsg final cover image for use on_web

My publisher, Victorina Press, has also arranged for The String Games bookmarks to be produced. Here is the image that illustrates them:

bookmark_TSG

I have used to back cover design to create a poster to promote a blog tour which begins on the 20 May and which will offer reviews of The String Games by some notable book bloggers. Indeed, there is already one review posted on Goodreads to give you a taster of the novel.

v2TSG Blog Tour poster

The run up to publication day is an exciting time. If you would like to pre-order a copy of The String Games, you can do so at Victorina Press, Foyles or Waterstones.

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The Worm: why use THAT title?

by gailaldwin

This is the second of three posts sharing information about the title of my novel The String Games and includes information about the three different parts contained within. If you missed the earlier post, you can read it here.

The middle part of The String Games shows the protagonist, Nim, as an only child. She mistakenly shoulders a sense of guilt over the death of her younger brother, Josh, and this makes her vulnerable to manipulation by those she thinks of as friends. Thus, use of the string figure ‘the worm’ came to represent the second part of the novel (which deals with the teenage years). The worm is symbolic of the peer pressure Nim experiences which gnaws away at her sense of self.

This illustration of The Worm by Fiona Zechmeister appears in part two of The String Games

According to Anne Akers Johnson’s String Games from Around the World (1995), this figure is known in Germany as a train and elsewhere as a mouse, but in the fishing villages of Ghana it is called the worm. The figure is created by one player who loops string around the fingers of one hand. When the loose string is pulled the worm disappears. The idea of a worm gobbled as bait used in fishing represents aspects of Nim’s teenage years. It signifies Nim’s recognition that she was manipulated by her friends and order to maintain a sense of self, she changes her name to Imogen which facilitates a move into adulthood.

I’m delighted The String Games is now available for pre-order from Waterstones and Foyles. Why not do as bestselling author, Jacquelyn Mitchard suggests? Treat yourself and read this one.

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