Please welcome ANNA BATTESE! She is a bookworm, baker … and children's book maker! Anna is the author of the PD McPem's Agency for Mysterious Mysteries chapter book series, published by Riveted Press/Yellow Brick Books! 1. Anna, your debut chapter book was PD McPem: The Recorder Racket. How did the idea originate and what was the process like of writing the first book? PD arrived on a weekend away with my writing group, when I was right in the middle of a very serious middle grade I’d been working on. As she absolutely would not be ignored, the first draft of her story was written in a couple of hours over lunch. There was of course much editing to come, but it was probably the fastest I’ve ever come up with a first draft. I guess there’s just no holding Penelope Delores McPem back! With PD (and her best friend Theodora) I really wanted to celebrate all types of families - especially single parents, grandparents, foster parents and aunties. My own experience of being a single parent had been really isolating – I grappled with a sense of failure and shame - and it took me a long time to see how incredibly beautiful the life I have with my daughter is. I realised I want every family to see themselves in my stories and to realise how magic they are – especially when they’re a little different to what they thought they’d be. 2. Humour, animals, grandparents, sharks!, and of course detection is a big part of the PD McPem series. Were you an aspiring detective growing up? What prompted making PD a detective in the series? I wasn’t so much an aspiring detective as I was a child that just had to explore! Mischief was probably a word that was associated with me – which is probably why I loved characters like Ramona Quimby so much. PD became a detective quite organically through the process of writing her – she’s curious and brave, eager to help and empathetic – which I think all lends itself to a good detective! 3. The wonderful Riveted Press published your series under the Yellow Brick Books imprint. How did the first PD McPem book find a home with Riveted Press? What was the publishing experience like for you, to bring PD to life? I was lucky enough to meet Rowena, Riveted Press’ Managing Editor, at the CYA Conference in Queensland and very luckily for me she loved PD and offered me a contract shortly afterwards. The publishing experience is exciting and wonderful and nerve-wracking – all of the feelings, all at once! Being able to hold what was once a small spark of an idea in your actual hands after publication is truly brilliant and I’m so grateful for the support that Rowena and Riveted Press gave me throughout this whole series. 4. After The Recorder Racket, three more titles followed. Was it always planned as a series of 4 books? Did you outline ideas for the series at the beginning, or how did you plot out what each book would be about? It has felt like a natural story arc for PD to have four stories – but the world is full of mystery, so who can say what will come next for PD?! It’s funny how series work out sometimes – I actually wrote book 2 in the series first, and then book 1 to explain PD’s origin story to myself, but it worked so well and was so much fun that I wanted that be a part of the series too. Writing PD is like solving a mystery in itself! Luckily for me, PD’s very clear rules about mystery solving (inspect the scene, question the witnesses, follow the clues and EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED!) also work for writing a story. I generally have a clear scene in mind and the ending, but then I apply PD’s rules to the writing process – it works surprisingly well! I’m generally more of a 'pantser' than a plotter, though I’m trying to mend my ways and get a little better at an organised process. Wish me luck. 5. Do you have a typical writing process? Can you tell us what your writing space is like? For someone who can’t draw (AT ALL), I’m a very visual person. I like to surround myself with pictures that inspire me, stories I grew up with (hello, Ramona Quimby) and letters or pictures I’ve received from kids I met at school visits (they bring me such joy!). If I’m gearing up for a writing day, I like to go for a big walk listening to my favourite soundtracks (as everyone knows, How to Train Your Dragon is the most perfect score ever in the history of the world) or whatever song is inspiring the story I’m working on (each idea I have has a different theme song – “Woo Hoo” by The 5,6,7,8’s is PD’s!). Then I like to sit down with a coffee in my favourite mug and get to work. I am VERY easily distracted, so a small stash of sour lolly treats is essential for motivation! 6. How did it feel when you saw Ruth-Mary Smith's terrific illustrations? How did they add to the characters and story that had been in your head? I am so lucky to have Ruth-Mary illustrating PD! Since we started working together on the series, one of my favourite parts of the process has been getting the manuscript back for edits and seeing what Ruth-Mary has imagined for the characters and mysteries. It’s so fun opening that email! The first time I saw PD and Scooter I cried – without me saying anything, Ruth-Mary has drawn them exactly as I’d seen them in my imagination – it was like a little piece of my heart had come dancing into life. And it’s incredible to see the similarities between Scooter and my own pup, Scout! She has brought such charm and whimsy to the characters, which in turn inspires me to build on the mischief and joy in each story because I want to see what she’ll do next! 7. Can you share what is next for you? I’m so excited to say that I’ll be releasing the first book in a new middle grade series with Affirm Press in 2026. I can’t share much just yet – but I just can’t wait to see this one come to life and I really hope everyone enjoys it! Keep up to date with Anna on Facebook, Instagram and her website - annabattese.com
0 Comments
|
RSS Feed
