Today I chat to the wonderful Sam Banfield-Keller and Rosemary Banfield who have together written this lovely picture book.
It
is a really great for us to have a writer and illustrator, mom and daughter at that, already working
together as a team. Have you completed many similar projects together?
SK: It was a real privilege for us to work as a team on Are You an Alien? and thanks so much to you and Chapeltown for getting us to this point. Are You An Alien? is the first of three manuscripts I wrote when my children were little and I was still reading bedtime stories to them. My mom and I have already begun outlining the next story, which is about a lonely chameleon looking for someone special to call his own.
RB: Are You an Alien? is our first completed project and first published book together, but we have a couple of other ideas in development that we hope to see through to publication in the future. Sam has written a number of children’s stories, which we intend to collaborate on, and my hope is to complete the illustrations for the next book by the end of this year. Our goal is to keep working together, and by the way, it is a privilege for me to be able to work with Sam on these projects.
Can you tell us a little about how you worked together on this project?
RB: Although we’re originally from South Africa, Sam and I now live in different states in New England, USA —Sam’s in Connecticut and I’m in Massachusetts. There is a two-and-a-half hour drive between us, so most of our work is done by phone, FaceTime, or Zoom, and whenever we can get together in person. I think we are very fortunate, most of the time, to be on the same page. We have the same sense of humour and often come up with similar solutions to any problems that arise. Sam is a competent illustrator herself, however, as a busy writer, novelist, and creative writing teacher, she has little time to take on the work of illustrating her own children’s stories. She generously shares her ideas with me and I do the same with her and we seldom disagree. When we do disagree we manage to sort it out quite amicably.
SK: I wrote the manuscript and laid out the original storyboard for Are You An Alien? and made a couple of attempts to visualize Makhosi and how she would move around her world and on the page. Mom and I then took the storyboard and worked together on bringing the story to life. Once the illustrations begin, it becomes a very collaborative process, as the pictures tell so much of the story, which you don’t need or want to repeat in the script. So the manuscript begins to change and the pictures fill in the gaps, and by then the work is a true collaboration. Mom also brings so much humor and fun to her illustrations, with the inclusion of little, unexpected details. Most fun for me was how she hid the alien in plain sight on each page. I love the way she’s shown him attempting to roll himself up like the pangolin.
What did you enjoy most about producing this book?
RB: Everything! The whole project. From Sam’s initial invitation to take on this project with her and the early months where I spent many hours working on numerous sketches and drawings to establish the illustration style we wanted for our book. Then, working to create the ideal look for little Makhosi. At first she looked too old for our little heroine and then, too young, until eventually—like in the Goldilocks fairytale—she turned out “just right”! I loved having this opportunity to work with my daughter, doing something I’ve always loved. Although I’ve illustrated two other books for children, this was the dream—our first submission as mother and daughter.
Later, when we connected with Gill and Martin at Chapeltown, it became real for us to imagine our work being published. Both Gill and Martin made this journey very easy, their communication was always precise and clear and timeous. Martin’s advice was so useful and his sense of humour kept us entertained! We learned a lot and are grateful for the guidance. Sam and I could not be happier with the final product of Are You an Alien?
SK: It’s hard not to celebrate every aspect of this experience. Thanks to Mom being an artist, creativity was always encouraged in our home. We had baskets of art supplies, paints and paper available, and books in every room. Me wanting to be a writer was always encouraged and so this is sincerely the realization of a lifelong intention for both of us. My mom has illustrated children’s books before and I always wanted to write them and working together to bring Makhosi’s story to life has been a lot of fun.
What if anything has been the most difficult about this project?
SK: The only thing for me was the frustration at my limited digital production skills. Fortunately my son, Thomas, is a media production student and knows a lot about the things I don’t. He was able to help us reformat and clean up the images, even putting together our first dummy book. A true family affair! Apart from that small and solvable annoyance, to be honest we have been fortunate not to come up against any insurmountable difficulties with the production of the book. We often said during the process that it would have been easier if we lived closer to one another. We’d have been able to work more collaboratively on the creation of the illustrations and how they worked with the manuscript, and we did miss not being able to have more in-person time together.
RB: However, this is a complaint we have in real life anyway. Always wishing we lived close enough to meet for a cup of coffee every day!
Can you both tell us about your work routines?
RB: As I work from home, my work routine in normal circumstances is to be at my desk by 9.00am and work until about 3.00pm. The time spent drawing and painting and researching the habits, habitats, and quirks of the creatures I’m drawing, is interspersed with several coffee breaks, chats with my husband Mike—who also works from home—and taking moments to cuddle with our reluctant cat, Oliver, who shares my space but does not like to be disturbed. I’m also fortunate to be able to work on weekends if there’s nothing else going on.
SK: I also work from home—unless I’m teaching—and meet with my editing clients via Zoom, and with writing colleagues at the local library. (I’d like to offer a quick shout out in support of the amazing work libraries do in our communities!) Creative work is often deprioritized when there is paid work to do, so I try to be disciplined about keeping my mornings for my writing. I meet editing clients and work on any paid projects, marketing, website maintenance, etc. in the afternoons. I find if I don’t prioritize the creative work, it gets absorbed into the other demands of life, so this time has become a non-negotiable for me.
RB: I have a dedicated space, working at a table which I find is never big enough. I wonder if there is an artist alive who ever has enough space? I often use part of the kitchen counter when I’m working on large pieces of paper and I need enough room to accommodate my paints, brushes, pencils, etc. It can often be hazardous working like this, as the sink is rather too close for comfort and the risk of getting water splashes on my paintings are almost inevitable.
I need a DO NOT DISTURB sign more than Oliver thinks he does.
On top of the immediate work surfaces, I have different portfolios for each project I’m working on, drawers and shelves for copious quantities of art supplies, tools and paint palettes and the never ending, growing numbers of books. All absolutely essential of course!
SK: I have a dedicated office, where I work when I’m at home and on Zoom calls. We recently moved house so I don’t feel completely organized or settled in the room yet and, no matter where I work, I always seem to need more space for my ever-expanding book collection. My desk looks out onto a row of Linden trees, which are currently in their full spring greenery, and the house is very quiet as both my children are away at university now. I do have to share my space with Pickle, our cat, who insists on perching on the back of my chair or settling on my lap while I work. I have a dog too, called Puzzle, who has a dedicated cushion in the room. His gentle snoring is the soundtrack to my work days.
Do you have any events planned? We’re happy to advertise them here.
SK: We don’t have anything planned yet, apart from some family and friend events to celebrate the book’s publication. We have been reaching out to local libraries and bookstores and are hopeful we can arrange something soon.
RB: I have sent emails out to groups of people, family, friends, colleagues, and fellow artists, and am planning a Mother’s Day promotion with Sam on Instagram. We have approached the local libraries in our respective states and also bookshops, introducing Are You an Alien?, and have received a few offers of discussions towards arranging events, soon to be confirmed.
Do you have any more collaboration planned?
RB: Yes, I’m happy to say, Sam and I have other collaborations planned for the near future and the next one is currently in the wings. It is another wonderful Sam Banfield-Keller children’s story, illustrated by her mum! It’s about a lonely little chameleon looking for a friend, and along similar lines to Are You an Alien?, includes a cast of colorful creatures.
SK: Apart from the chameleon story, which is titled Tongue-Tied, we are working on the manuscript for a longer piece called Sweet & Sour. This will be aimed at early readers and is about a grumpy, friendless cobbler who is brought out of his shell by a kind baker, who opens a sweet shop next door to the cobbler’s shoe shop. We’re inspired to get back to the literal drawing board and work on expressing the characters for both stories.
Or indeed any individual projects?
RB: I have a good friend who has recently finished writing a children's story. It’s her debut effort and she has approached me to illustrate her story, which is an exciting prospect for us both.
SK: I have a literary fiction novel, called The Light Remains being published in South Africa and North America later this year. I’m currently working on my second novel, which I’m hoping to finish in the next few months, and have a third, which was written in collaboration with two other writers, out for submission at the moment.
Thank you so much for answering these questions. This has been a really interesting interview.
You can find find a copy of Are You an Alien? here.
See how the project developed here:
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