Wendy Wahman, Author/Ilustrator
WENDY WAHMAN
Funny story. I ordered some print samples from an online company while seeking a worthy printer for our blog business cards. The package arrived and as I sifted through the materials, a cheerful bookmark caught my eye. Considering the content on the bookmark, a picture book, I put everything else down, lassoed my computer and reeled myself in on my rolling chair to make a trip to Wendy Wahman’s website. And before I knew it, I was on the phone with Wendy discussing her children’s books. As soon as I had a copy of her book, A Cat Like That, in my hands, my mind conjured up images of the lifestyle that must be Wendy’s. I imagine her with the easy life of a house cat. And with that, I devised my interview.
(Julie) Your picture book, A Cat Like That, is a fabulous teaching guide for very young children on how to treat cats, narrated by a cat. Clearly, you are good friends with a cat and have concisely expressed his preferences. I imagine that you were lounging comfortably with a cup of tea and an eye on your cat when you said to yourself, “I’ve got it!” and immediately picked up pen and paper, conveniently nearby, to jot down your observations that resulted in this book (Is that a run-on sentence?). Is that how it went?
(Wendy) No, no…(laughing). The first manuscript went back and forth with my editor for over a year. The story got so lost, I asked if I could start over from scratch –so to speak. This time, I wrote the story in a couple hours, put it into page breaks and emailed it to my editor. Late that night I got an email back from my editor that read, “Genius freaking manuscript! I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” This seemed way too easy, so I wrote back, “Does this mean I can go to art?” With her approval, I went to work on the illustrations. They are done in Photoshop using the lasso tool.
(Julie) The story in my mind continues. With text finalized and with re-heated tea standing by (as if you will break your concentration to drink it), the sketches for the accompanying artwork follow as you keep a watchful eye on your cat. Is that what happened next?
(Wendy) No…(more chuckles). We do have a cat but we are a pretty poodle-centric house. My dog Andy who is pictured with me on the bio of Don’t Lick the Dog, is wary of children, and my cat Pony, a rescue, had her tail broken by the kids in her first home. She needed to go to a home with no children. So my first two books sprung from a desire to make life safer and easier for dogs and cats and children.
(Julie) You and your husband, author Joe Wahman, share the same love of writing and animals. I’m glad to see your collaborative project, Snowboy 1, 2, 3 coming next winter. How was working together vs. writing and illustrating yourself?
(Wendy) It’s fun to work together if our styles match. Joe is working on other stories, but they may not be ones I illustrate.
(Julie) Any other projects in the lineup?
(Wendy) I’m working on a few stories, and would also like to illustrate other writer’s books. I’m hoping Joe will come up with another Snowboy 1,2,3. We had a lot of fun working on that.
(Julie) Please keep me posted on anything new. Thanks for the picture of you in your favorite work space and the other pictures, too. Andy has such good posture!
(Wendy) Thank you, Julie. Great talking with you.
Wendy was a pleasure to interview and I look forward to her future works. Follow Wendy and Joe on Facebook.
Wendy and Joe’s pets. What a couple of loungers!
