Thank you so much to Heath for the interview!

Interview

What was your inspiration for Zoo Christmas?

Having already made zoo House followed by Zoo School, I felt like it could wrap up as a nice little trilogy! I have no clear memory of why ’Christmas’ popped into my head as the next logical step in the story, but when it did, I knew it was a bit of a no-brainer! Plus it gave me the opportunity to go back to the house of book one. Then I could channel my own memories and traditions of the big, traditional Christmas day lunch into this zoo scenario. Christmas Day is always a bit hectic and wild – so including wild animals in the mix felt natural!

What drew you to illustrating and writing?

I always loved to draw, for as long as I can remember – and would dabble in writing stories and comics too! So, I guess, I never really let go of that love…it just took me a little while to realise I should pursue it as a career when I was an adult! Initially – I was considering getting into animation but ultimately I was drawn back to books and i’m glad I was.

What was your process for writing and illustrating Zoo Christmas?

Well, given i’d already done two books in the series, I was familiar with the structure and characters, as well as the way the stories unfold and the rhythm and rhyme of the text – so really, it was a bit like slipping back into familiar old shoes! I blocked out a broad scenario first – that being Christmas day and particularly the big Christmas lunch, then started working out the rhymes and scenes from there. With each book beginning with Oscar waking up and getting out of bed – I could once again start with a variation on that – a Christmas day variation logically being getting up and out of bed nice and early to see if Santa’s been! And I built on it from there.

As for the illustrations, once again, it was great to revisits numerous characters and faces from previous books and then work in new faces. IN the first two books I did use real people, but in this one, I threw in a few fictitious ones as well! It was also a fun opportunity to sneak in little details or decorations from my actual Christmases!

What is your approach to world and character building?

My approach to world and character building is fairly organic! Normally i’ll have a pretty clear idea form in my head – and then from there it’s a matter of getting it out onto the page as intact as possible! There will always be little unexpected things that pop up that I quite like, so i’ll work it into the designs or stories. With writing, it can be particularly all-over-the-place initially! Just getting ideas down, no matter how disconnected they may seem, then going back over those ideas and gradually either working them into something more structured, or abandoning them altogether.

How would you describe Zoo Christmas in five words?

Chaotic, festive, funny, colourful, heart-warming!

Did you have a favourite moment in the book to write?

Each book presents its own favourite moment – or rather, favourite idea or scene that I want to work into the story. And that can be anywhere in the narrative. However, I do like to nail the ending, which I see sometimes as the overall pay-off to a gag. To get that right is always satisfying!

What was your favourite book growing up?

There were a whole bunch, but three that always spring to mind are ‘Bottersnikes and Gumbles’, ‘My Cat Likes To Hide In Boxes’ and ’The Magic Pudding’.

Do you have a favourite genre to read?

I’m a big movie and pop culture fan, so I love reading about movies, how they were made, behind the scenes stories and stuff like that. Or how a particular pop culture phenomenon came to be, the history behind all that. I also enjoy a good autobiography!