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‘Is your publisher pigeonholing you?’ asked a writer friend during one of our Zoom meetings.
‘What?’ I said. ‘No. Erm, I don’t think so. That’s a no.’
What he meant was, are you being restricted to the short, illustrated books you’ve been producing because they suit your publisher – when you’re a perfectly capable novelist? He didn’t add that last bit, but he didn’t have to. I answered ‘no’ because there’s been no pressure at all from my lovely publisher. If there’s any ‘pigeonholing’ going on, I’m doing it myself.
Still, it was a reasonable question, and I gave it some thought. I have a partly-written novel I could be getting on with. I also have several ideas for further short, illustrated books – a completed one is already with the publisher.
There’s no doubt these short books don’t give me the space to explore characters in the way a novel does – of course not – and I miss that depth of investigation quite a lot. On the other hand, I’m very much enjoying exploring the possibilities of illustration. I haven’t done this seriously since the 1980s and there are all sorts of things I could try, particularly in the company of a publisher who looks kindly on illustrated books. In the end, that is just too good an opportunity to miss. I’m also aware that my steadiness of hand and clarity of eye is likely to put a stop to the artwork long before it puts a stop to my writing. So, first things first.
For the time being, then, the short, illustrated books are likely to continue, pigeonholed or not. To begin, I’m looking at a set of stories I wrote during the spring lockdown. They will lend themselves to simple illustration, and the stories need only minimal editing work, so I can complete it fairly quickly. If my publisher doesn’t care for them, I’ll enjoy myself hand-binding a few copies. And what’s more, after two years of working with black-and-white illustrations, I’m experimenting with colour for this one – a whole new aspect, if I can get it right. Just as soon as the gouache paints I’ve ordered turn up, I’ll get cracking. Exciting times, eh?
My illustrated magical stories The Herbarium and The Chesil Apothecary are now available in paperback and can be ordered through Waterstones or direct from veneficiapublications.com
Kathy Sharp 