| 1.
Is Princess Smartypants still being made into a film? If so, how's
it going? |
Yes, and you might be interested to hear that Animations Française
has bought the film rights to Dr. Dog. |
| 2.
Of the many complaints about your sex and puberty titles, what
has been the most amusing? |
 A
lady from Grimsby wrote to me saying that her daughter thought
babies came from kissing and she wanted it to stay that way. I
wanted to know what the child thought would happen when Mummy
and Daddy kissed her. |
| 3.
As well as being a picture book illustrator/author, you run a
stud farm and are a keen side-saddle rider. How do you divide
your time between them? |
With
the help of a fantastic girl, Tatty Barwick, who works with the
horses in the yard. I've got 7 horses at the moment with a foal
due on 14 March - if it's a girl it'll be called Princess Beatrice. |
| 4.
As a supporter of traditional rural values, have you ever been
approached to write/illustrate a country-life polemic? |
|
No,
what a nice idea.
|
| 5.
Were you good at drawing as a schoolgirl, and if so how did you
exhibit your talent? |
| Yes
I was very good, so good that the nuns at the convent I attended
wouldn't let me do anything else but draw. I had to retouch religious
paintings, I practically was the Art department at the convent. |
| 6.
In a Guardian interview last year you revealed that each of your
horses has a personal collection of CDs. Do you listen to music
while you work on your illustrations - if so, what? |
| Yes,
a camp Mexican singer called 'Elveth' - the horses haven't heard
him yet as I've only just discovered him on London Live. |
| 7.
Which contemporary children's fiction author would you most like
to illustrate? |
| 8.
Your new book, Truelove, is one of your most charming and least
rude? Do you find that there is an expectation that you will include
bare bottoms or risque subject-matter in all of your books? |
| Not
necessarily, I've only really done a few risque books out of the
70 I've done in all, but I'm more well known for the risque ones. |
 9.
My favourite spread in this new title is the one that shows
Truelove up at the newly-arrived baby's crib, offering a mouse,
the baby with hands out above the sheets ready to grab it but
the father rushing in from stage right screaming, "Truelove,
no!" When you come to compose a scene such as this, have you
already storyboarded the whole book, or do such illustrations
come to you on the fly? |
| It's
a rat, not a mouse. I can see the whole book in my head, it's
like a film running through my head and I have to put it all
down. |
| 10.
What materials and what brands do you use for your illustrations? |
| Fabric
dyes, pastels which I smudge with Qtips, Dr Martins concentrated
water colour which is a permanent dye, if I make a mistake
using it I have to start all over again. I also use Caran
D'ache. |
| 11.
If I was standing in front of your studio working surface,
what would be on it? |
| Total
Chaos! A toilet roll, various empty bottles and mugs, perhaps
an old saddle and bridle, and there might be a dog or two
beside the table. My work area's a cross between a ...room
and a studio. |
| 12.
What is the best thing about being a children's book illustrator? |
| Being
able to earn my living doing something I really enjoy. |
| 13.
What is the worst thing about being a children's book illustrator? |
| Being
underrated creatively as a writer. |
| 14.
If the editor of an author/illustrator directory was compiling
your entry, but only had room to mention three of your books
by name, which three would you like them to be? |
|
Beware
of the Vet
Princess
Smartypants
Mummy
Laid an Egg
|
| 15.
Do you have time to use the internet. If so, what are your
favourite sites? |
|
Amazon
www.cheapflights.com
and
the search engine, 'askjeeves.com'
|
| 16.
What type of prize or award gives you most pleasure - one
for a horse or horse-riding, or one for a book? Is there
a prize you covet? |
| For
a horse - I'd love to win Lady's Hunter of the Year. |
|
