TALK: Shoo Rayner

Shoo Rayner is an author, illustrator and helluva nice guy whose titles include Olympia, Cat and Dog, Viking Vik and Just so stories. He was kind enough to talk to StoryWorld Magazine about his career and process.

Which do you enjoy most, writing or drawing?

Drawing comes more naturally, I don't think twice about picking up a pencil. I failed English language and literature "O"levels three times. Now I know I display all sorts of dyslexic weirdness, but over the years I've developed my own strategies for getting what is in my head into legible text.

The dyslexic kids in the classes I visit get my method of planning right away, the writers in the class tend not to. I start writing by drawing pictures of the characters. I wonder if I'd been taught these strategies when I was young, whether I'd have had a more sensible career.

I don't fear writing. When I get an idea, I'm pretty confident that I will get it finished on time.

Which writer or artist were you most inspired by?

Colin McNaughton taught me at art college and introduced me to children's books, but it was Maurice Sendak's, Where the Wild Things Are that really knocked me out. I'd never seen it before I found it in the college library. I think I'm over it now and have stopped trying to write my own version.

I really learned to write when illustrating books for Rose Impey and Michael Morpurgo. Dissecting their texts to decide where the pictures would go, I worked out how they constructed their stories. Sometimes I can hear their voice in my earlier books.

What’s your work schedule like? Do you have regular times, places, etc, or can you work anytime, anywhen?

I visit lots of schools and I have my twice weekly drawing video production schedule for YouTube too, so I have to be very disciplined. I'm always reallocating time and schedules in my head and on my wall planner. I get upset if I'm late or I run over. After a three day school trip somewhere I will be pretty pooped when I get back. There's all the email and web stuff to do. Life was so much better in the old days with two postal deliveries a day and a photocopier in the town library!

Are you working on anything at the moment?

I've just finished the final artwork, this afternoon, for a book called Dragon Gold, that I've written for Firefly Press, the soon to be brand new and first children's publisher in Wales. I'm really excited about this because it's the longest book I've ever written, at 20,000 words, and I'm thrilled and honoured to have been asked to be one of Firefly's very first authors. It should be out in May

Then I will be embarking on my new six book series for Orchard, called Roman Brit. Set in the fag end of the Roman Empire, they will be fun stories with lots of animals and incidental roman history hidden in there somewhere.

In the meantime, I'm working on a learn to draw book which I will be publishing myself.

Thanks, Shoo!

Shoo has a website at www.shoorayner.com and an amazing amount of 'how to draw' videos on his YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/shooraynerdrawing