Chomp . . . snuffle . . . chomp-- OH, hello! You've caught me taste-testing my freshly baked sugar cookies. They're ready just in time for my special guest, Stephanie Shaw, author of A COOKIE FOR SANTA. She's at my door now. . . .
Welcome, Stephanie!
Wow! The Cottage is so nice and cozy. What’s that I smell? Cookies? Well, thanks, don’t mind if I do!
I
brought you some of my Scottish grandmother’s shortbread cookies. These
are a big Christmas tradition for my family. They are so coveted that
as an adult my mother would hide the ones baked and sent to her by her
sister! Apparently, that ‘sharing’ spirit of Christmas did not extend to
the shortbread.
Oh, and I also brought along a copy of my new picture book, A
COOKIE FOR SANTA and a SIGNED copy to GIVEAWAY to your readers!
Thanks, Stephanie! Let’s me just the dab the crumbs from my snout, so I can ask you about your adorable book. How did you get the idea for A Cookie for Santa?
It was a warm spring day. . . . No, seriously. I was talking with the illustrator of my first book, Laura Watkins. She was inextricably drawing gingerbread men in the middle of spring. Her agent contacted her and said that Sleeping Bear Press was looking for a Christmas story. Her agent suggested that Laura Skype with me (Laura lives in England) and that we come up with some text and sample art. Then the agent pitched it at BEA.
So, it was an idea that actually came to me via Laura. The publisher eventually went with a different illustrator, and Laura was quite gracious about that.
Did you know from the initial spark of the idea that you wanted to write the piece as an adaptation of the Clement Clarke Moore poem?
Oh no! I wrote two different stories that were in prose. But, they didn’t quite have the spark that I wanted. Then I glanced over at my bookshelf and saw a very old copy of THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. I read it thinking I might get all ‘Christmassy’ and WHAM! The first stanza came to me: ‘Twas the night before Christmas// And there on a plate// Was a ginger bread cookie// Awaiting his fate.
After that, everything really came together nicely. You know? It’s like you open the cupboard and waaaaaay in the back is that special canister of cocoa you forget about! Wouldn’t brownies be great?
 |
| From A COOKIE FOR SANTA by Stephanie Shaw. Illustration copyright 2014 by Bruno Robert. |
Most of your books are written in rhyme. Conventional advice for new writers is always, "Don't submit rhyming manuscripts!" I hear this confounds authors who see rhyming picture books on each new list. What's your take?
I know! “Don’t write rhyme” and “Don’t write holiday books!” Here’s my take on it: Don’t. I mean it. Plot out a really good story first. Because really, that is what the publisher is after. If you have that and if you are confident you can do rhyme well, then go for it. So, my process is to know where the story is going first.
Of course, there are those doggone rhymes that get a foot in the door and will not go away until you give them a whole story of their own --- I’ve had that happen, too. Rhyming words can be really persistent when they want a story!
 |
| From A COOKIE FOR SANTA by Stephanie Shaw. Illustration copyright 2014 by Bruno Robert. |
Bruno Robert's illustrations for A Cookie For Santa are lots of fun. Did you have any input into that part of the process after a different illustrator was chosen?
Sleeping Bear Press is an absolute joy to work with. They sent complete sketches to me and asked me about them all the way through. So, even though I didn’t select Bruno (who lives in Normandy, by the way) I felt very included. And, I love so many of the details he added --- like the little gingerbread boy clinging to the tablecloth as the dogs upset the room.
What was your favorite Christmas book to read as a child?
Oh, I’m pretty sure as a child it was a Little Golden Book copy of THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. And, then there was also going to church on Christmas Eve and hearing the Bible story. When I was little, we would go to midnight services. And then (if you as a parent can imagine this) we would hang our stockings, leave out cookies and go to bed. There was not a single other decoration in the house. By morning, Santa had arrived and left a fully decorated tree with gifts! Talk about your Christmas magic!
And you've brought something a bit magical, too! Would you mind giving the Cottagers and our friends at home the recipe for your delicious shortbread cookies?
Of course, Mr. Pig! Thanks for having me. I’d like to wish everyone a very, very Happy Christmas and wildly successful New Year!
[A note from Stephanie: My mother’s family came from Scotland to Canada and then to America. Another Scottish family sponsored them, the Grays who operated a bakery.]
 |
| Click on Stephanie's recipe to enlarge it. |
.....................................
About A COOKIE FOR SANTA
by Stephanie Shaw
Illustrated by Bruno Robert
Sleeping Bear Press, 2014
ISBN 978-1585368839
“The rhyming verses are pitch-perfect in their cadence. . . . A successful mixture
of two classic ingredients yields a sweet Christmas treat." ---Kirkus
"A gingerbread cookie is baked especially for Santa’s visit
in this spin on The Night before Christmas. . . . Youngsters will anxiously listen to learn the cookie’s fate." ---Booklist
About Stephanie Shaw
Stephanie Shaw is the author of Bedtime in the Meadow, illustrated by Laura Watkins, and the forthcoming picture books Under the Sleepy Stars (Tiger Tales) and The Legend of the Beaver's Tail (Sleeping Bear Press).
In addition to her books, She is also a contributor to Highlights for Children, High Five, and Old Farmer's Almanac for Kids, and is a member of SCBWI.
Stephanie lives in McMinnville, Oregon, an area that provides her with lots of weather-related excuses to stay inside reading or writing.
To learn more about Stephanie, visit her website.
From
an early age, I had it in mind to draw and play with colours, so much
so that I naturally went to the National School of Fine Arts in Caen,
France, whith I attended from 1991 to 1995 (option: Visual
Communication).
Right after a short stay in the multimedia market, I
illustrated my first album for the young Qui tire la langue? published
by Magnard, in 2002. Some more commissions followed and I have had books
published by du Ricochet, Les Editions Hemma, Fleurus, Larousse, Atlas,
Hachette Children’s Books, Child’s Play, Wayland, Milan Jeunesse,
Magnard Scolaire, Editions Sed…
Moreover, I work for the young children's press: Wakou
(Milan Presse), Mille et une Histoires and Arc en Ciel (Fleurus Presse).
I also work for publishing agencies and administrations.
While I am illustrating a story, I think up a funny and
coloured world with a hint of tenderness. I work with acrylic paint and
sometimes on a computer.
I live and work in Normandy (France) where I was born.
- See more at: http://www.childs-play.com/illustrator/robert_bruno.html#sthash.zMfp7N4Q.dpuf
From
an early age, I had it in mind to draw and play with colours, so much
so that I naturally went to the National School of Fine Arts in Caen,
France, whith I attended from 1991 to 1995 (option: Visual
Communication).
Right after a short stay in the multimedia market, I
illustrated my first album for the young Qui tire la langue? published
by Magnard, in 2002. Some more commissions followed and I have had books
published by du Ricochet, Les Editions Hemma, Fleurus, Larousse, Atlas,
Hachette Children’s Books, Child’s Play, Wayland, Milan Jeunesse,
Magnard Scolaire, Editions Sed…
Moreover, I work for the young children's press: Wakou
(Milan Presse), Mille et une Histoires and Arc en Ciel (Fleurus Presse).
I also work for publishing agencies and administrations.
While I am illustrating a story, I think up a funny and
coloured world with a hint of tenderness. I work with acrylic paint and
sometimes on a computer.
I live and work in Normandy (France) where I was born.
- See more at: http://www.childs-play.com/illustrator/robert_bruno.html#sthash.NqazNbki.dpuf
FOR A COPY OF A COOKIE FOR SANTA SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR PLEASE TELL US YOUR FAVORITE COOKIE IN THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW!
* ONE LUCKY WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON DECEMBER 17th! *
