How did the two of you come to work together?
India lived next door to us, she my son’s best friend, I’ve
known her since she was around five years old and remember her sitting at our
kitchen table drawing, always drawing, I’ve long been a fan of her work.
Pam, what is the inspiration for the story?
Sitting on a clifftop overlooking the Solway
and watching the moon rise, the stars were out, the sea was in my ears… it was
a moment.
India, tell us a little about how
you came to be a book illustrator.
I’ve always loved drawing, I used to
spend most of my time drawing as a child. I remember being very young and
always trying to ‘perfect’ the skill of drawing a certain thing from memory…a
horse, shoulders, a car, things like
that. As an adult, continuing to make
art has just been a natural progression. I do a lot of commissions and sell
paintings and drawings, and then opportunities for illustrating stories come up
and I take them. I also write and illustrate my own short stories.
Tell us about your other work
I also do a fair bit of painting. I
like watercolour and oil painting. I like to do big, illustrative, surreal
paintings. I paint my dreams. I have an
online shop and take commissions, too. Recently, I’ve been painting botanical
stuff onto T Shirts with bleach, and that’s been really popular.
I also write and illustrate my own
short stories. They’re usually a bit dark, a bit surreal and humorous.
Pam, what other sort of material do you write?
I love flash
fiction, the kind that delivers a bit of a punch, the angle you didn’t see
coming. I’m also a big YA enthusiast and am on the last leg of completing a
novel about a homeless girl, a watch that doesn’t tell the time, and a mysterious
stranger who tries to help her get home again.
Pam, tell us how you became a writer?
I was a reader first,
at primary school I’d read all the books in school library by the time I was
nine. After this the headmaster used to take me weekly to the town library,
where I could choose up to six books. Heaven. But I’ve always written as well.
English lessons were my favourite subject and the only one I came top in.
Both of you, what would you say are the essential messages
of the book?
Pam – I love back stories, not the what you see, but what
led up to it and what next. Watching the moon leave the sky, wondering how it
changes the mood of the sea… seemed to lead naturally into thinking, so what if they could speak? What
would they say to each other. Always look underneath, behind, to the side, see
the bigger picture.
India - I feel like it’s a message
of consistency. No matter where the moon goes and what happens, there’s a
consistent connection between the sea and the moon. I think that kind of
message can be really important to children in terms of emotional permanence. I
also feel like there’s a theme in there of being able to see the otherworldly
and magic in our own, real life world, which is something children are very
good at.
Why are picture books important?
Children don’t need to be
able to read to enjoy a picture book, they can make up their own stories and in
my view, stories are what make life go round, they empower and nurture, they
create safe, loving spaces where parents can meet their children and share
precious time together.
Have you run or do you plan any events to do with the
book?
I have read my book to children in
group settings, and used it with a junior drama group to encourage them to make
up their own stories and play out the results.
Will you be working together on another project?
We have a
story/song book, about a horse and a polar bear, in the planning that would be
ideal for use in infant singing groups, indeed has already been sung in public,
with the audience joining enthusiastically into the chorus!
What's up next for both of you?
Pam – sending my YA novel out there!
India - continuing to paint and
draw. I’m selling my art online, on Etsy, and also have a few exhibitions
coming up. I’m currently working on two more books with authors and I’d like to
get some of my short stories published too!
