WILL WRITE FOR COOKIES

INSIGHT – INFORMATION – INSPIRATION

FOR WRITERS

TODAY’S GUEST

JULIE ROWAN-ZOCH

 

Most of my Will Write for Cookies’ guests – in fact, most of the people I’ve connected with in this incredible kid lit community – are ‘just’ internet friends. But a very special few I have met in person – and Julie is one of those!

A few weeks before my departure from Colorado, there was an author event at the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver. I actually got to listen to Peter Brown read Mr. Tiger Goes Wild. And while that was an honor, the biggest thrill for me was going to lunch with several Colorado writers including: Julie Hedlund, Stacy Jensen, Sheri McCrimmon, and our featured author/illustrator, Julie Rowan-Zoch.

Julie grew up chasing hermit crabs on Long Island, New York and spent years slicing rich, dark breads in northern Germany before she found joy in blue Colorado skies. She makes her own if she wants decent bread now. She studied Advertising/Graphic Design at FIT in New York City, and the Hochschule fuer Bildende Kuenste in Braunschweig. Julie still loves design, but recently found her passion for writing, reading and illustrating picture books. She’s an active SCBWI member and 12×12 participant (3 years!), belongs to an online and a local PB critique group, and recently illustrated three board books for Bailiwick Press, released in October 2014.

 

I’m so happy to have her here to share her thoughts with us.

Welcome, Julie!

ME: Who were your favorite authors/illustrators when you were a child?

 

Julie:

Russell Hoban’s  FRANCES books; anything by Else Holmelund Minarik or Joan Walsh Anglund; and still close to my heart, CAPS FOR SALE by Esphyr Slobodkina.

 

ME: What do you know now that you wish you had known when you first started writing for children?

Julie:

Actually, I am glad I was naive. I thought I could whip up a story in one go, and drawing would be a snap, so how hard could it be? Luckily it took a while for it to sink in – the awareness came in doses. If I had known how much hard work and patience was necessary from the get-go, my passion would not have been able to blossom. No turning back now!

 

 

 

ME: Where do you like to write/draw – inside, outside, a special area in your home, on the computer, in a notebook?

 

Julie:

As you know, the Colorado sun is pretty intense, so drawing outside isn’t easy for detailed work, and impossible on my tablet (Samsung Galaxy Note, 10.1), which is my sketchpad of choice now, but my first love is pencil and paper, any scrap will do.

ME: When during the day (or night) are you most productive? Do you set a schedule for working or do you write/draw when the muse speaks?

Julie:

Any time of day really, but I like to use the quiet morning hours for drawing. 

 

ME: Why do you write for children?

 

Julie:

I have a secret. I don’t write for kids. I don’t think of children reading my stories as I am writing them, nor my drawings. Of course I hope they enjoy them, and nothing thrills me more than parents telling me their child likes a character sketch of mine. BUT…I just have that much fun crafting them. It’s the joy I get while creating them that fuels my passion. I love being with and working with kids, but maybe because I love playing and being silly too!

 

ME: Please feel free to share any tips that will help aspiring authors.

Julie:

For writing: READ. If you don’t like to read a lot of picture books, don’t bother writing them. For illustrating: DRAW. Yes, but EVERY day! One tip I got from Will Terry that cracked my brain open, was to think of your characters in silhouette and ask what can be read from the outline, what information can you impart with just that outline? I watch a lot of old movies (especially fond of British films from the 40’s and 50’s), but I find it easy to learn from actors. Telling story through their bodies and tone is their passion, right?

 

 

Oh my goodness, Julie! I knew it would be awesome to have an author/illustrator in the spotlight. Artists do see things from a different perspective and I love that you shared about watching old British movies and that you study how their body language conveys what they are trying to say – in the same way as illustrations in a picture book convey what the text or main character or story is trying to say.

I know everyone joins me in thanking you so very much for the peek inside your writing and illustrating process, Julie.

To contact Julie or learn more about her books and her

Blog: https://julierowanzoch.wordpress.com/

Portfolio (page on my blog): https://julierowanzoch.wordpress.com/portfolio/

‘Illustrator Showcase’ on my agency’s website: http://www.wernickpratt.com/illustrator-showcase/nggallery/illustrator-showcase/julie-rowan-zoch

Facebook artist page: https://www.facebook.com/ArtistJulieRowanZoch

I hope you will all head over and look at her brilliant work – but first check out the yummy recipe she shared with us!

Rote Grutze – ‘Red Grits’:

a sweet fruit dessert from Germany and Denmark

3x one pound bags of frozen mixed berries, any combo will do, but I like lots of raspberries, some cherries or blueberries, and strawberries. You can easily use fresh, but I usually eat them before I can get 3 lbs together!

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of apple cider or juice

3 tablespoons of corn starch

Directions: Mix the berries with the sugar in a pot and bring it to a boil, for just 5 minutes, or till the larger fruit have thawed. Mix the cornstarch into the cold juice, add it to the berries and bring it to a boil again, then remove it from the heat source and let it cool. Best served with vanilla sauce or melted vanilla ice cream. Vanilla sauce can be made from scratch, but mixing a packet of instant vanilla pudding with 3 cups of cold milk (no cooking) is tasty too. 

Ooooh…raspberries are my favorite! And with vanilla ice cream? I wish I had some right now.

Happy Reading and Writing, Everyone! Have a wonderful weekend!

And please don’t forget about the Show Me How Library Initiative Giveaway in honor of National Library Week. Sign up for my newsletter and your local library might win a copy of Show Me How for their shelves – just click here.