Words From the Wise #8 -- Olivia

Today's feature was quite a surprise for me.  I happened to just run into Olivia, from the book, Annie and Me.  I hadn't seen if her a while, and invited her for vanilla ice cream and an interview.  She jumped at the opportunity to meet with me.  We sat down at the park and had a chat.  Enjoy!

1.  Olivia, it is so good to see you again!  What have you been doing since the release of your book, Annie and Me at the beginning of February?


It is good to see you too.  My life has been so busy since the release of the book.  I have been visiting schools all over the country.  Some of them have been right there in the classroom, and one was even over the computer with this fancy computer program called Skype.  I have shared my story with children and answered their questions.  Many of their questions are about what it is like to have a friend move away, and many of their questions have been about how to make a book, especially an ebook like Sandi and Barb did on uTales.








2.  Your story is written about Annie's move 5 years ago.  How has your friendship with Annie changed since her move?


Annie and I are still great friends.  We talk on the phone, send emails, and visit each other occasionally.  It is hard when you don't see someone everyday, but that gives us more to talk about when we do see each other.  Things are not as easy as just going to each others' houses.  We have to rely upon our parents to get us together, and parents have very busy schedules.  When we do see each other, we like to play some of the games that we used to play when we were younger, but we also do new things too. Now we talk about school--we were only in kindergarten before and now that we are in 5th grade, we have a lot more to discuss.






3.  What do you think of illustrator, Barb Dargony's portrayal of you in the book?


Barb did a fantastic job!  We had met a few times before she drew the illustrations, and she watched my facial expressions and how I move.  I think that the pictures look just like me, and she got Annie's hair down perfectly!  I would love to see Barb again to show her how much Annie and I have both changed.  We are a lot taller now, and my hair is much longer than it used to be in kindergarten.  Annie doesn't need her mom to put her hair up in pigtails anymore.  She usually wears it in french braids that she does herself.






4.  What are some of your favorite books to read?


I have started reading historical fiction and mysteries.  I also like to read books about strange facts, like the world records books--they always amaze me.  I mean, who would think up putting a bunch of tennis balls in their mouth and then setting a world record about it?  Is anyone else really trying that?  I have started to read a lot on my Kindle.  Isn't that funny how my story is an ebook too?  But my bookshelf  at home is pretty full with paper books.  I share them a lot with my younger sisters.  I like to recommend to them books that I liked when I was their age.






5.  Now that you have been featured in Words From the Wise, who else might you like to see interviewed here?


I would love to see some of my favorite authors--Eric Carle, Judy Blume, Roald Dahl (I know that he died a long time ago, but it would still be interesting to read about him).  I would also like to see people who are involved with making books like publishers and editors too.  I would like to learn more about he book making process.


Thank you so much for interviewing me today.  I really am glad that we ran into each other.

Words From the Wise #3 -- Barb Dragony

This week in Words From the Wise, I am featuring Barb Dragony, the illustrator for Annie and Me.  Since you have all been learning so much about me, I figured that it was time we all learned some more about Barb.  Enjoy!

1.  How did you get your start as an artist, and particularly as an illustrator?
I've been drawing ever since I can remember. My grandmother always provided me with paper and crayons and I just drew! In kindergarten, I was coloring with wild abandon and the teacher tried to get me to color "in one direction" and the proverbial "inside the lines". I did like she asked, but  as soon as she walked away, I went back to my wildness. Again, she told me to color in one direction. How did she know? She wasn't watching me color? My 5 year old mind didn't grasp that she could see the crayon strokes…I just figured she was all knowing and all seeing. It wasn't until high school that I finally broke free of trying to stay within the lines.
When I went to art school I was thinking of going into Fine Arts or Photography, both of which held great interest for me, but decided on Illustration. I began to like the process of giving life to the characters that lived in my head…and those that lived in the heads of others through their stories.




2.  What types of art to you specialize in?  What is your favorite medium to work with?  Where do you find your inspiration?
I'm not a cartoonist by any means, but my drawings range from quirky little line drawings to children's books. Since the Mac came into my life in the mid 90's I work in Photoshop and Illustrator, casting aside the little tubes of watercolors, inks and brushes. I still keep a box of 64 Crayola Crayons nearby just to remind me of my roots! I scan in my sketches and redraw them on my Mac. I still like the feel of being able to create and put my ideas and layouts down on paper first.
Everything inspires me! That would be hard to pin point. On any given day it could be swatches of colors on fabric, an ad in a magazine, or my dog sleeping with her toys. When I get the story from an author, I first give life to the characters…what do they look like, what would they do…then I do a story board layout and break down the "scenes". 




3.  Can you describe for us the process that you went through in designing the artwork in the uTales format, and specifically for Annie and Me.
I went through the same process as I described, but this time  I had to be conscious of the limitations of web vs printed colors and also that animation and sound could enhance the story. This was my first time designing an ebook. When I received the story of Annie and Me, I really wanted the two girls to come to life! 

4.  Is uTales something that you would recommend to other illustrators, and is it something that you would be interested in working with again?
I really enjoyed the whole uTales process and have been recommending it to my artist and writer friends. To be able to collaborate with writers and other artists all over the world has been wonderful. And, the uTales team is very helpful!!

5.  Where do you envision yourself in 10 years?

Hopefully continuing to create books for kids! I was so blessed to have a grandmother who taught me the love of reading. I want every child to have the opportunity set their imaginations free. You don't have to color inside the lines!

Bio: Barb Dragony resides in Cleveland OH where she has lived all her life. Being close to family and friends, a plethora of museums and theaters, and of course that big, beautiful Lake Erie, give her the inspiration she needs for her creativity. When not at her drawing table giving life to the characters in her head, Barb can be found bringing life to characters on stage where she has performed for over 20 years.

I Am Officially a PUBLISHED Children's Author!

I am thrilled to share the news with all of you that I am now officially a PUBLISHED children's author!

Today I received an email from uTales that my book had been approved. . .  and published.

As an author, it is one thing to think that your story is worth sharing, but to have a panel of editors agree with you is an unbelievable rush.  I have not stopped smiling since that email came in, and I am already excited to work on the next one.

I was very fortunate with work with illustrator, Barb Dragony.  Her beautiful pictures bring the story to life.  Barb did a fantastic job of adding animation and sounds to the story.  Barb, I cannot thank you enough for all of the time and hard work that you put into Annie and Me.

Each day I am more and more amazed about how digital publishing is changing the world of children's literature.  Our children are developing a different style of reading than we did as children.  I am eager to see how this trend continues over the next several years.


I invite you to read Annie and Me .  It is the story of young Olivia, whose best friend, Annie, has moved away.  Olivia and her mother travel to visit Annie in her new home reminiscing about the girls' past adventures.

I hope that the story makes you smile as much as it has made me smile today.

I want to especially thank the 4 girls who inspired this story--  Emma, Allison, Julia, and Ellie.  Without the four of you and your special friendships, this story never would have been written.

Thank you to Rob, my husband, for putting up with my years of agonizing over this story, and for believing in me to get it accomplished.