A little bit about Anna...
I live in a big old house in Vermont with two scruffy dogs, and I spend a lot of time on the road, mostly visiting my two daughters (who attend boarding school and college!), as well as schools and libraries. I talk at conferences, and I go visit my publisher in New York. But mostly, I spend my time at home, sketching, writing, and painting. I spend at least an hour a day in the woods, running and walking with my dogs, and I love to putter around outside, planning gardens and cutting down trees. My boyfriend, Reed, comes to visit when he has a free moment, but mostly I am by myself, making pictures and writing stories. It’s a pretty good life, and it took me a long time to get here.
This is a picture of me and Alice, playing dress-up.
I’ve had a lot of paying jobs over the years: waitress, furniture salesperson, daycare provider, teacher (I also drove the school bus), mail carrier (that was probably my favorite “real” job...), but through it all, I drew pictures, sometimes for money, and wrote...although no one bought my stories until a few years ago.
I come from a family of five -- mom, dad, and three girls, Tanya, Anna, and Alice.
My mom is a really cool mom. She is also a writer. You may have read her book, Only Brave Tomorrows, by Winifred Luhrmann. I am lucky that I still get to spend time with my parents because they live nearby.
My Dad is a doctor. He reads a lot, and likes to collect books. When my sisters and I were little, he used to read to us from A. A. Milne's POOH books. Now, whenever I read them to my own children or to myself, I hear his voice.
My older sister Tanya went away to school when I was only seven years old, so I didn't spend too much time with her when I was little. She was always reading serious books and using big words. I guess that's what she likes to do, because now she writes serious books and uses lots of big words when she teaches at the Stanford University. She still gets silly, sometimes, though, and we have a lot of fun when we get together. Tanya's latest book is Of Two Minds; the Growing Disorder in American Psychiatry.
The most important thing to know about me, really, is that I’m a mom.
Finally they are available! Whoo hoo! They’re nice, too. The stuffed Llama Llamas are made by Merry Makers, and you can get them from my sister’s store, Dragonfly Drygoods, or Merry Makers. You can also get autographed books from my sister (and I do a little picture in each one).
Frequently asked questions:
Q: What’s up with the llama? How and why did you come up with that?
Q: How do you get your ideas? Do you get your ideas from your kids?
Q: Do you have any more Llama Llama books coming out?
Q: Where can I buy a plush Llama Llama?
Q: Are you ever going to do a Daddy book?
I am one of those weird, annoying people who, when they pass cows in a field, go, “MOO!” And as I had two little kids, and I live in a state with lots of cows and sheep, I often said, “MOO” and “BAAAAH!” But whenever we passed a field that had llamas, I didn’t know what llamas “said”, so I said, “Llama llama!”, and that’s how it started. Now I know that llamas don’t “say” anything, actually. Unless they are in my books!
Well, I would have to say that I get my ideas from my experiences with my children, certainly....but fundamentally from my own experiences as a person. I’m a very hyper-sensitive person, and I was an anxious child. I like to say that all my books are true stories. The only difference is that I am not a llama (although sometimes I look like one...).
Yes, I do! LLAMA LLAMA HOLIDAY DRAMA is coming out in Fall 2010, and I’m very proud of it! I love the holidays, but I find them a little “stressful”, and this book is about that. Then there will be two more LLAMA LLAMA books. Possibly more after that, but the stories haven’t presented themselves to me, yet. I will only do more if I feel that I can do justice to him.
Why yes, I am! I am working on it, and I have high hopes for it. That’s all I can say right now. : )
Do you have a question that isn’t answered here? Email me, and I’ll try to answer it.
Q: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors and illustrators?
Yes, I do: don’t give up your day job. It took me twenty years of very hard work to convince a publisher to publish my writing. But I never gave up, because writing and illustrating children’s books was the only thing (besides being a mom) that I ever really wanted to do. So, persistence is key. Write every chance you get, draw everything you see or imagine, and don’t give up if it is something you truly feel called to do. And, in the meanwhile, join the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators...they have all the good info.
