It’s a classic kid’s game turned into a picture book!
Evelyn grew up in the wild and windy west of Ireland. She spent her time playing in the trees with her siblings, making up games, and getting up to plenty of mischief. Evelyn has always loved to read. Her favorite part of the week was when the school bus stopped at the library on the way home. Everyone flocked in, as if they had never seen a book before in their lives, and dove for their favorites before it was too late!. And with only two TV channels at the time, and no internet, she played JINX… a lot! She was eventually released from a particularly long JINX, so that she could study English at university and later became a teacher. Evelyn loves adventures of all kinds, nature, animals, and laughing a lot with her husband and son. . Evelyn now lives in Spain and her favorite place to be is in the sea, dreaming up silly stuff. You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or BlueSky.
JINX! is exactly what it sounds like: a game turned into a book which is also a game! The main character talks directly to the reader and jinxes them. Then they spend the rest of the book trying to trick the reader into losing the game. This is a recipe for tons of laughs that’s sure to have young readers desperately struggling to fight giggles. And the illustrations by Anna Süssbauer are delightfully fun and brightly colored to match the mood.
Welcome Evelyn!
Me: Can you tell us a little bit about your writing journey? How has that brought you to writing this picture book?
Evelyn: Well JINX! was most definitely born out of my childhood. I grew up in Ireland and back in the 1980’s we had three TV channels and, of course, no Internet. I have three siblings, and playing jinx was one of the many ways we liked to torture, I mean play, with each other. I may have spent a good 42% of my childhood trapped in a jinx and that gave me plenty of time to think up stories.
As well as having a hoot with my siblings, I liked to read. So much so, that I went on to study English literature at university and later, after a short career as a computer programmer, I trained to be an elementary teacher. I LOVED story time as much as my pupils and it exposed me to children’s books all over again. I started writing for children about seven years ago, and it feels like I have come full circle back to silliness (and books).
Me: This isn’t your debut book, as you’ve had a couple of books published previously. Can you tell us about them?
Evelyn: Growing up on a farm, I have always felt connected to nature and animals, and I was inspired to write my first picture book, CAPTAIN GREEN AND THE PLASTIC SCENE (Marshall Cavendish, 2018), while on holiday in Indonesia. I was saddened to see so much plastic waste washed up on the sand. I wanted to raise awareness of the issue in a way that would both
inspire and entertain little ones and their families. Later came a second book in the series, CAPTAIN GREEN AND THE TREE MACHINE (Marshall Cavendish, 2021). It won the national ‘Best Picture Book Award’ in Singapore, where I used to live. Both books are beautifully illustrated by Danny Deeptown.
Me: JINX! is based on a popular game I played as a child (and I assume children today still play). What gave you the idea for this story?
Evelyn: I am glad to hear that you played jinx too. It seems not everyone knows it from their childhood, but most do. And I am delighted to say that children are still jinxing away today. I love that such a simple game, that starts with just one word, still captures imaginations and causes laughter and frustration in equal measures.
I was keen to try to write a story based on a childhood game after being inspired by THE LEGEND OF ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS (Dewalt, Rex) so I brainstormed a few ideas. Jinx was the clear winner for me due to its simplicity and the fun I had playing it.
Me: The text is deceptively short and simple. How long did it take you to get the manuscript to this state? Did it undergo a lot of revisions?
Evelyn: JINX! has been one of the easiest stories I have written. It almost wrote itself. I really enjoyed drafting and revising it, and it seemed to fall into place in no time. Thanks to my amazing critique partners, I was able to quickly smooth the rough edges to get it into shape. I was surprised when there were no edits made on acquisition. I did say it almost wrote itself. 🙂
Note to fellow writers: Most of my stories do not behave so nicely.
Me: What does your writing process look like?
Evelyn: That is a good question. I don’t think about it too much and just throw myself into the writing and see what happens. I often get ideas for catchy titles or concepts and then the stories form around them. My stories tend to develop further as I revise, when layers of subtler meaning make themselves known.
I don’t usually plot out my stories too much. I tend to come up with my best ideas as I write. I enjoy the freedom of writing first drafts and the devil-may-care attitude that just isn’t the same with revisions.
I tend to go forth with great enthusiasm and lots of hope.
I write a lot of humor but I also have some quieter, lyrical pieces in the works that are very different.
Me: The illustrations by Anna Süssbauer are so fun! I love how she illustrated the main character. Any illustration surprises for you? Any favorites?
Evelyn: Anna did an amazing job bringing JINX! to life and I am beyond thrilled with the illustrations. I hadn’t indicated what sort of creature the main character was, or if it was indeed even a creature. I left it completely open to interpretation. So, when I saw her adorable, pink character for the first time, I was blown away. She has managed to portray piles of fun and mischief on every page.
I was surprised by lots of her creative ideas… roller-skates, cowboy hats, polka dotted underpants to name a few. She has brought so much life and joy to what is essentially one character talking to the reader for the entire book.
One of my favorites, and it is so hard to choose, is when the main character (spoiler alert) has just tricked the reader into a jinx and they are so pleased with themselves. Anna has shown the character talking into one of those cute toy telephones from the 1980’s. It looks so sweet and joyful.
Me: Any advice for other picture book writers?
Evelyn: Oh gosh! Don’t get trapped in a jinx if you can avoid it! HaHa!
I think the only advice that matters, and one we hear all the time, is to simply write what you love. That can be funny or not. But most of all, make sure it comes from the heart. Then you have already done what matters most.
That is great advice Evelyn. Thank you for stopping by my blog today.
Dear readers, this book publishes May 6th. This meta picture book turned game is sure to be a popular read aloud at story time (who will be the first child to break?) and the colorful pictures make it lively and entertaining. You won’t want to miss it.