Childrens Book Event: Day 4- Interview & giveaway with childrens author & illustrator Tatyana Feeney

 

It's day 4 of the Children's Book Event and today I bring you an interview with author & illustrator Tatyana Feeney who published her first picture book this year, Small Bunny's Blue Blanket! Enjoy the interview and check out the giveaway where two winners will recieve a copy of Small Bunny's Blue Blanket!

Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you got into writing and illustrating?

I am from North Carolina in the US but now live in Ireland. I was read to a lot when I was very small and always loved picture books, even when I was old enough to read by myself.

I studied Art History in college and then logically worked in a pre-school for a few years. I think the combination of an interest in art and an interest in books for that age group is what started me thinking about children's books. After that I went to college in Wales to study Illustration.

Can you tell us about your first picture book that you wrote and illustrated, Small Bunny's Blue Blanket?

Small Bunny's Blue Blanket started from some drawings I did in college for my "corporate identity". The bunny was supposed to be my logo -anyway I drew him a lot and as I did his personality started to develop. I imagined him as being a little bit cheeky but still a very young bunny . After a while the blanket came into the drawings as well…

What was the inspiration for Small bunny's blue blanket?

Once I finished art college and was thinking about stories to send to publishers I remembered a story about my husband as a child- basically his story is very similar to Small Bunny's, although he used to hold onto his blue blanket while it was still wet on the line! I thought that could make a cute story and could work well with the bunny.

As a creative person fo you prefer writing or illustrating or both?

I really think of myself as an illustrator more than a writer. I still start a story with a drawing of a character and then think about who the animal or child is and what they might do. I definitely prefer illustrating.

What are your plans for furture books? Are you working on anything at the moment?

I have just finished a second book with Oxford University Press called, Little Owl's Orange Scarf, you can see a bit of a theme here!- Actually the owl and his scarf have a very different relationship….
Little Owl will be available next April.

Small bunny carries a blue blanket round with him/her what do you always carry around with you?

At the moment my kids are pretty small, so I try to always carry baby wipes! But I also do try to have a pen and small notebook with me too because I often see things that might go into a story that I want to write down or draw a quick picture of.

Giveaway time. Oxford university Press has kindly donated two hardcopies of the book for a giveaway!  The book is suitable for children aged 1-3 years :) The giveaway is open internationally! Fill in the Rafflecopter to enter!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway


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