Mount your brooms and fasten your seatbelts, my friends!

It’s been awhile since we had a post on Wednesday, but today we have a special treat!

Author Gayle C. Krause and illustrator Kate Talbot have come to give us insight into the creation of their fabulous picture book, ZADIE AND THE WITCH’S TEA in an interview filled with tips and inspiration that are sure to help you with your writing and/or illustrating!

Not only do we get to learn from them, we have 2 GIVEAWAYS! One lucky person will win a signed copy of Zadie and the Witch’s Tea and some Zadie swag from Gayle, and another lucky person will win winner’s choice of either a Picture Book Manuscript Critique OR a Picture Book Art Critique for the budding illustrators out there from Kate! All you have to do to qualify is leave a comment below between now and Monday September 11 at 9PM Eastern and you could be randomly selected to win one of these awesome giveaways!

Now, let’s have a look at this charming book!

ZADIE AND THE WITCH’S TEA
written by Gayle C. Krause
illustrated by Kate Talbot
published by Trowbridge Books, July 1, 2023
fiction
ages 4-8

When a little witch’s two older sisters dash her hope of attending the biggest event of the Halloween season because she has no “witchy” magic, her determination and a surprising Fairy Godspider enchantment sends her as a special guest. The adult witches try to outdo each other to become the assistant to the most powerful witch in the land, The Grand Witch. But a kind gesture from the little witch wins the night and the title, and her sisters learn that kindness proves stronger than any magic they possess.

Welcome, Gayle and Kate! We are so delighted to get to hear all about the creation of this fun and beautiful book!

To keep things organized, we’re going to start by hearing from Gayle, and then find out what Kate has to say! 😊

SUSANNA: So, Gayle. Where did the idea for Zadie and the Witch’s Tea come from?

GAYLE: As the oldest of three sisters and the oldest girl in the neighborhood growing up, I always organized fun activities for us to do – circuses, talent shows, and a tea party.

Jump ahead to my adult years and my sisters and I tease each other about our “witchy” powers. (when one calls, the other already has the phone in her hand) So to celebrate our sisterhood and our sibling thought waves, we gather every summer for fun, food, wine, and of course, ‘dress-up.’ We call it our Witchy Weekend.

Add to that my love of fairytales, which I absolutely adored, as a child. My teaching career, training prospective educators for the Pre-K and Elementary classrooms. (I taught Children’s Literature at the secondary and post-secondary levels). And my Fairytale Seminar – BEYOND THE FAIRYTALE – which teaches prospective children’s writers how to reimagine a traditional fairytale and make it their own, and ZADIE AND THE WITCH’S TEA was born.

SUSANNA: Was the idea fully formed from the beginning, or did it evolve? If it evolved, how did it change from inception to completion?

GAYLE: Since it is a reimagining of Cinderella with a little witch, a Hairy Fairy Godspider, and no prince, it was just a question of making it fun, different, and related to my fondness for Halloween witches and my love of fairytales. I will say that it did have many versions (mostly rhyming with two prose versions, as per editors’ request, but in the end, the rhyming kindness version won out, just like Zadie did at the Grand Witch’s Tea Party.

SUSANNA: What is your process for writing and revision? (and does it include a critique partner or group?)

GAYLE: When I get an idea for a picture book, I think about it before I write any words down, until I get the gist of the storyline in my head. Then, when I start to write, the words ALWAYS come in rhyme. Sometimes couplets. Sometimes limericks. Sometimes harder rhyme schemes, but for picture books, I usually go with couplets that have internal rhyme as well as end rhyme and play with multisyllabic rhyme schemes to make the story interesting. 

Once I have the story down, I put it away for a few weeks and work on something else (usually a MG novel), then I go back and critique it as if it were a stranger’s work. The first tweaks take place at this step. The second time, if I’m satisfied with the manuscript, I send it off to my critique partners for their evaluations. And then the third revision takes place, after I receive their feedback.

By the way critique partners are great for contributing splashy theme-centered words. 

(In Zadie’s story I have my critique partner to thank for “spec-dracula tea” and “ghoulish glamour gowns.”

SUSANNA: Can you give an example or two of specific revisions you made to the manuscript? 

GAYLE: Here are the first two couplets in the original version:

Zadie loved boas and glittery hats, 

pumpkins and chocolate, and black furry cats. 

But what she liked most was pretending to be 

an elegant witch at the Grand Witch’s Tea. 

And eventually it morphed into this beginning couplet:

Zadie loved to dress up, pretending to be 

an elegant witch at The Grand Witch’s Tea. 

And Kate filled in all the details with her fanciful illustrations.

Opening page, text copyright Gayle C. Krause 2023, illustration copyright Kate Talbot 2023, Trowbridge Books

SUSANNA: How do you determine when your manuscript is ready for submission?

GAYLE: When I can’t find anything new to make it more exciting, funny, or meet the theme I want to relay.

SUSANNA: Do you have an agent? 

GAYLE: I did have an agent for three years (in the middle of my writing career – 2019- 2021). I met the editor for my first picture book, ROCK STAR SANTA (Scholastic) at the Rutgers One-on-One Conference (2006) and my picture books, DADDY, CAN YOU SEE THE MOON? and ONCE UPON A TWISTED TALE (CLEAR FORK/SPORK) were submitted directly to the publisher in (2018).  ZADIE AND THE WITCH’S TEAis my first picture book with TROWBRIDGE BOOKS.

SUSANNA: What is your favorite thing about this story?

GAYLE: The whimsical character Zadie, her determination to go to the tea, and her kindness.

SUSANNA: What do you hope readers will take away from this story?

GAYLE: To see how kindness is stronger than magic and those who show kindness will be rewarded and will help make a kinder society.  

SUSANNA:Did you have any communication with Kate during the process of making the book?

GAYLE: Yes. We emailed back and forth frequently.

SUSANNA: What was your reaction when you first saw Kate’s art?

GAYLE: LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! She portrayed Zadie perfectly.

SUSANNA: What is your favorite part of the art?

GAYLE: I specifically loved the boo-fae table spread and the illustration where the Hairy Fairy Spider changes Zadie’s dress to a fancy gown. It exudes MAGIC!!!

SUSANNA: Any advice for up-and-coming writers?

GAYLE: Never give up. And don’t think that you MUST have an agent to be published. Study the market and peruse open submission requirements. You might be surprised.

Now let’s hear Kate’s side of the story 😊

SUSANNA: Welcome, Kate!

SUSANNA: What drew you to Gayle’s manuscript and made you want to illustrate it? 

KATE: I just loved the sense of magic and humour in Gayle’s writing. There were also so many possibilities for the illustrations and I really felt like she’d left enough room for my own creativity. There is nothing more boring as an illustrator that text that is so prescriptive that there’s no room to let your imagination run wild. And then there’s Gayle’s writing. Who can resist a playful and well-executed rhyming story? 

SUSANNA: How do you go about the process of taking a writer’s words and creating art to enhance them?

KATE: I always start with the character sketches. I like to get to know a character, how they look and move, before I start to build their world. An important aspect of this is considering the colour scheme, ensuring that it’s portraying the right vibe for the character and that it’s going to work well in the intended environment/any secondary characters. I then move onto thumbnail sketches where I like to explore composition, before finally moving onto more detailed sketches and then final colouring. (attached photo)

SUSANNA: What medium was this book created in?

KATE: I always work digitally using a program called Procreate. I’ve tried illustrating traditionally using inks and water colours and frankly, it was a hot mess!

SUSANNA: How long did it take you to do the art for this book?

KATE: I work part time in a kindergarten and have a young family, so I don’t illustrate nearly as quickly as I’d like. I think Gayle first approached me in August and by end of September we were underway. Final delivery was then in May, so with a rather long break over Christmas (I live in New Zealand and we break for about six weeks over summer), I guess the whole project took around seven months. Gosh, that seems like an awfully long time, but it flew by. 

SUSANNA: Did you communicate with Gayle directly, or only through the art editor?

KATE: Gayle was very communitive and we chatted directly either via email or zoom. She left me to work alone for the most part, and came in at certain stages (character sketches, thumbnails, final sketches, final art and cover) to offer feedback and suggestions.

SUSANNA: What did you enjoy most about illustrating this book?

KATE: I loved all the witchiness (is that a word). The food and the costumes were particularly fun and allowed a lot of space for creativity. 

SUSANNA: What was the hardest part of illustrating this book?

KATE: Formatting lol. Publishing with your own company requires the writer to wear A LOT of hats and TROWBRIDGE BOOKS is a small, traditional publisher. We had a few bumps trying to produce both a soft cover and hard cover version, made partially challenging by our printer changing their specifications midway. But we got there and I couldn’t be happier with the result. 

SUSANNA: What is your favorite part of the story?

KATE: My favorite scene is definitely the High Witch’s Tea, specifically the table of food. I just want to dive on in and try them all myself. Where was my invite?!

SUSANNA: Any advice for writers, from an illustrator’s POV, in terms of how they present their manuscripts?

KATE: Leave room for your illustrator. We hear this all the time and it’s so, so important. Gayle certainly had a vision, but she was also very open to my ideas and gave me plenty of space to bring my own vision to the table. It’s honestly the best way to make sure an illustrator is able to create something authentic. 

SUSANNA: Any advice for up-and-coming illustrators?

KATE: Keep going! This industry is hard. REALLY hard. There were many times I gave up, convinced that I just didn’t have the chops to make it. But each time I came back (after a break and many tears) and bit-by-bit I developed my craft and finally, my first offer of publication came in. Four books in and two more under contract, I’m by no means an expert and I continue learning and improving every day and with every book. But I keep on keeping on 😊

SUSANNA: Gayle and Kate, thank you both so much! It is always so informative and helpful to get an inside look at the creation of a picture book, especially when you get to hear from both author and illustrator! We all really appreciate your time and wish you good luck with the launch of this cute book!

Readers, if you have questions for Gayle and/or Kate, please post them in the comments below and if they has time I’m sure they’ll respond! Remember, your comment puts you in the running to be randomly selected to win a signed copy of Zadie and the Witch’s Tea and some Zadie swag from Gayle, and winner’s choice of either a Picture Book Manuscript Critique OR a Picture Book Art Critique for the up-and-coming illustrators out there from Kate!

You may purchase Gayle & Kate’s book at:
(all links below are book-specific)

Indiebound
Amazon
Barnes&Noble

We can help our fellow authors so much by:

– purchasing their books

– recommending their books to friends and family

– recommending their books to our children’s teachers and librarians

– recommending their books to our local libraries and bookstores

– suggesting them as visiting authors at our children’s schools and our local libraries

– sharing their books on social media

– reviewing their books on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other sites where people go to learn about books.

Thank you all for stopping by to read today!  Have a wonderful Wednesday! 😊