Every once in a while, I get to interview both the author and the illustrator of the same book.  But what do you do when both the author and illustrator are best friends?  You do a combination interview!

Kaz Windness has visited my blog several times. She is a children’s book author whose first friends were books. Some of her favorites are hidden in these pages. One of her best human friends illustrated this book. When Kaz isn’t chewing on a good novel, she can be found chewing on homemade waffles or teaching illustration at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. Kaz is the author and illustrator of several books, including Swim, Jim! and Bitsy Bat, School Star. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her family and an overly friendly Boston terrier named Remy.  You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Instagram.

Heather Brockman Lee was a kid who loved to draw stories and read books, and is now a grown up who loves to draw stories and read books. She has illustrated other books like A Poem Grows Inside You and She is Mama, but this is her first time using old library cards and text in her pictures. She lives in the shadow of the Colorado foothills with her family, dog, and many many book friends. You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Instagram.

WHEN YOU LOVE A BOOK is a stunning combination of both Kaz’ and Heather’s talents.  This time Kaz has written a rhyming text that flows effortlessly along.  It tellss all about how books can become friends and incorporates children’s classics all throughout.  It became a bit of a game to try and identify all of the books referenced (and I couldn’t!).  The illustrations by Heather Brockman Lee are delightful.  They are full of texture, playfulness, and adoration that suit this book to a T.  I read it several times and loved it so much!  I can’t wait to share it with all of you.

Welcome back Kaz!  And welcome Heather!

Me: I adore this book.  It’s almost all of my book loves under one cover.  So let’s talk about the genesis of the idea.  From the dedications, it sounds like Kaz had the idea first?  Where did the idea come from?  Did you two talk about the idea before Kaz wrote it?

Kaz: When Gary Paulsen, author of the Hatchet books, passed away on my birthday in 2021, his quote, “Reading for me, is spending time with a friend. A book is a friend. You can never have too many,” kept running through my mind. I started to write this book soon after. 

As I was writing, I was thinking about my dear friend and brilliant illustrator, Heather Brockman-Lee. Her illustration style is sweeter than mine, and the way she sometimes incorporates book page collage into her illustrations would be the perfect pairing for the text.

When I finished the first draft, I asked Heather if she would consider illustrating it, and the rest is history!  

Heather: Yes the idea started with Kaz. We have both talked about how important books were to us throughout our childhood and adult life, and how some characters live on inside us like lifelong friends. I was always doodling and painting images of children reading. When she came to me asking if I would consider illustrating it, I was blown away! The manuscript is so impactful- it’s about a lot of books many of us have read and loved as children, but it’s also just about the power of books and reading and all the different things that can mean to a reader! I think it hits on so many levels that this will really be a book that is shared and loved among all ages. 

Me: I know you’ve both been friends for a while and this isn’t the first book for either of you.  Kaz, you’ve written and illustrated picture books.  Heather, you’ve illustrated several picture books.  How long have you been friends?  How did this story evolve into a joint project?

Kaz: When did we become friends, Heather? It was through our children’s book writing and illustration critique group, The Squibby Bookcrafters. I remember I was particularly tough on Heather, and I guess she liked that? Lol. For me, it was always Heather’s book to illustrate. 

Heather:  Haha yes Kaz was hard on me when we started working together in the critique group! I was just starting my journey to becoming a children’s book illustrator and really valued her experience and honesty. So we have been friends for about 6 years now I think. Kaz tells me she had me in mind while writing the story, and it took me less than a second to agree to it. So it was less an evolution into a joint project and more of a spontaneous generation! (aside from the months of writing, illustrating and revising of course)

Me: What was it like working as a team on this picture book?  I know that Kaz is mainly known for her writing AND illustrating projects and Heather is known for her illustrations (so far), but did you stay within those roles, or was this a true team effort where you worked on pieces side-by-side (or email by email)?

Kaz: Before we even had a contract, Heather and I discussed how we would handle the exchange of feedback. I wanted the project to operate exactly like a normal book project, where the illustrator worked with the art director, and the writer was kept at a distance. The only tricky part is, we are in the same critique group. When Heather would ask for art notes, I would do my best to participate like a critique partner rather than a writer who had illustration expectations. This wasn’t hard to do because I know what it’s like to be on the other end of being told what to do by a writer. I never wanted Heather to feel like I was holding her back creatively. How did I do, Heather?

Heather: You were amazing! We did stay within our roles in the critique group, which means Kaz would usually only see art with the rest of our group. She gave great feedback like she always does, but never tried to take ownership of the process. Honestly I don’t know how she did it, because as a fantastic illustrator herself she must have had her own ideas and vision for certain pages. but she kept that secret. Our agents also worked with us before we started submitting to make sure we were on the same page and prepared for different scenarios. Once we were working with Flamingo, it became a very traditional process with the editor and art director leading the way. 

Me: I love the concept of loving books as soon as you’re born and passing them on to your children, generation to generation, as it were.  What drew each of you to this project (besides the fact that you’re both book creators)?

Kaz: When I was a kid, I really struggled with friendships. Looking back, much of that had to do with being autistic. There were many times a book was my only friend. The thing that moved me most about reading was when the author expressed things I thought only I had ever felt. With a book as a friend, I never felt alone. It was my mom who introduced me to a love of books, and passing that book love on to my kids, and now to kids all over the world, is the greatest joy of my life. 

Heather: My answer is really similar. I fortunately come from a family of book lovers, and as a painfully shy kid, books were a refuge and at times my only friend. Not just in early childhood but throughout my life, I have always felt happier with a book in my bag keeping me company. I have also learned so much about the world, humanity, space- books are wonderful friends and wonderful teachers too. 

Me:  I love how many other books you both allude to in this story.  I almost wish there was an answer key in the back matter to identify all of the allusions!  Obviously you couldn’t fit in every book ever, so how did you decide which books to include?  Did you each come with a list?  Did you ask others for their opinions and make decisions based on that too?

Kaz: Great points! We’ve created some activity sheets to accompany our book, and one of them includes a key to all the classic books referenced in WHEN YOU LOVE A BOOK. I hope teachers, parents, and librarians will use our book as an introduction to these and other children’s book classics, and a fun activity for seasoned readers to guess the riddles and then write some of their own. 

I wrote a lot more book riddles than what ended up in the book. I worked with my critique group first, including Heather, to pick the best options, and then I added some new riddles as I worked with Cheryl Eissing and Margaret Anastis, our editor and publisher at Flamingo Penguin Random House. Writing poetry is a lot like solving riddles for me, and it scratches my brain in just the right way. I even wrote a whole second book. If WHEN YOU LOVE A BOOK does well, you’re sure to see more from me and Heather!

Heather: Kaz had so many book references! I love how she and the editors chose and arranged them. 

Me: The text is succinct and rhyming (and does all the things it should)!  The illustrations are glorious with color and collage.  Each component is beautiful and strong on its own.  What is one thing that surprised each of you in writing and/or illustrating this story together?

Kaz: I was delightfully surprised by how Heather illustrated everything. I see pictures clearly in my mind as I’m reading, so I already had a vision of how I would illustrate this book, and everything Heather did is SO MUCH BETTER. 

Heather: I’m not sure if it was super surprising, but I had so much fun thinking of different ways to visually represent Kaz’s riddles, giving just enough clues to help but not give it away. Kaz, our critique group, and the editor and art director had great suggestions for refining those. 

Me: What advice for other aspiring picture book writers and/or illustrators would you each give?  Would you recommend working as a team?

Kaz: Usually, a publisher doesn’t want a joint submission like this one. They prefer to pair a manuscript with an illustrator, but it worked out nicely because both Heather and I are established, and our agents are friends. Also, because the book is about being friends with a book, and we are book friends, it had a nice marketing hook, too. 

My advice for aspiring writers and illustrators is… CuddlefishAcademy.com! The best way to level up and get published is to get guidance and mentorship from people who are achieving the career goals you want to achieve. There are a lot of great places to find that, and Cuddlefish Academy is where both Heather and I teach, along with Jessica Lanan, Stan Yan, and Lily Williams.     

Heather: Working as a team has been fun and meaningful, and it’s going to be a blast doing book events together. Having said that, it’s not typically the way to get started. Kaz and I both came to this project not just with our own publishing history, but with pretty distinct voices and styles. Of course those are always changing and evolving over a creator’s life, but I think it’s good to know who you are as a writer and artist when you start collaborating because that meeting of ideas can elevate a project even more! 

I agree with Kaz, finding the spaces where you can meet with and talk to book creators is a great way to level up and find out more about how the industry works. And there are so many great resources to help creators improve their writing and illustrating skills. Cuddlefish Academy of course, and lots of other information online. Art school is right for some people. And also – BOOKS!

Thank you so much ladies for stopping by my blog today!

Dear readers, this book releases on May 21 and you won’t want to miss it.  It’s a celebration of the love of reading that I know will appeal to every lover of books out there, especially children’s literature.