A new star has emerged in the world of children’s literature, where imagination knows no limitations, ready to captivate young hearts and inquisitive minds. Introducing Deborah Myers, the gifted writer of ‘Helping a Friend: The Adventures of Jack and Billy.’ In this delightful new book, Myers takes young readers on a riveting adventure with Jack and Billy, two captivating, yet very different bunnies. Myers crafts a heartwarming story that imparts essential life lessons in a beautiful tale that is about making mistakes, honesty, forgiveness, and love.
Myers is a gifted storyteller, and it is not surprising that ‘Helping a Friend’ made it onto the bestseller list shortly after its release. This book would be an awesome addition to any young reader’s collection.
What challenges have you faced in the process of writing ‘Helping a Friend: The Adventures of Jack and Billy’, your first children’s book? How have you overcome them to create such a brilliant book? Conversely, what was one of your successes?
This book was actually written 31 years ago and has been sitting in a box. Each time I moved or cleaned out the closets I thought I should just throw it away but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. The writing was easy, almost frighteningly so. The challenge I faced was having the courage to bring it each step of the way, from sitting in a box to allowing others to read it – from having it illustrated and edited, to choosing a publisher, overseeing the layout and cover art, to finally seeing it printed. The hard part was to believe in myself and in the book, the message it relays, and the beauty of the characters.
The success is that it’s in print and available to purchase.
The successes? I brought a 31-year-old dream into existence.
How do you balance the need for entertainment and education in your children’s books? What’s your approach to making learning fun for young readers?
I write to share my vision for how the world can be as much as I write to educate or entertain. So it’s always about writing what’s true about that vision in a way that children and parents can understand and love. When one makes something about “education”, especially a moral education, it is often preachy and less likely to be remembered, let alone enjoyed. It is inundated and looks and feels that way. When it’s done in fun and real life scenarios, the “education” is there yet not blunt or in your face as if to say, “I told you so.”
Illustrations play a pivotal role in children’s books. The artwork in ‘Helping a Friend: The Adventures of Jack and Billy’ is beautiful and fun. What was your process like for working with the illustrator?
Thank you – the illustrations are beautiful and fun. The process was interesting. I read the story to Clare Dash via zoom. The next day she sent me a picture through Direct Messaging on FaceBook with two watercolor pictures of Jack and Billy. That sealed the deal for me. She almost magically saw the characters and the setting for the book and brought them to life with very little input from me. It’s her illustrations that made the book a reality for me because I could see how gorgeous it would be in print. It was a wonderful collaboration, so much so that she’s illustrating the next book.
Children’s books often explore imaginative worlds and fantastical adventures. How do you nurture and express your creativity while crafting stories for young minds?
I nurture my creativity every time I am out in nature. Seeing the natural world as a living story that can be told. Once I have captured and written a story, I then read the book into a transcription recorder. I close my eyes and just listen as it is read back to me. From that place, I can see the story unfold in my mind as the words are spoken to me. If the pictures are not clear within my mind’s eye, then I revise the words to be more descriptive.
What’s next for you as a children’s book author? Are you working on any new projects or have future plans to expand your presence in the world of children’s literature?
I’m excited to announce that ‘Furry Tail, The Adventures of Jack and Billy Book 2’ will be coming out in 2024. I would also love to see these stories made into animated films as well as turned into audiobooks.
