Nicola Colton

About Author

Nicola Colton introduces her new series, Bertha and Blink, about a bear inventor and an excitable Robo-bird!

Nicola is an Irish illustrator living in Bristol and is the creator of the popular 'People of Bristol'. Her work has featured in editorials, print and in various exhibitions. She illustrates picture books and writes and illustrates young fiction, including the Jasper and Scruff series and her new book, Bertha and Blink: Rumble in the Jungle.

Nicola is happiest at her desk drawing and writing and can often be found in a coffee shop sketching passers-by. She loves animals and nature; going on a llama walk in Dartmoor was one of her best days ever!

www.nicolacolton.com

Interview

Bertha and Blink: Rumble in the Jungle (Little Tiger)

July 2024

Bertha is an inventor who loves making things, high in her treetop house, in the middle of the jungle. But when there are strange sounds in the jungle, Bertha invents Blink, a mechanical bird with a heart of gold, to help her solve the mystery.

Bertha and Blink: Rumble in the Jungle is the first in a new series of early readers that explores friendship as well as inspiring young inventors and designers in creating their own new inventions. The detailed illustrations are full of things to explore while the mystery will keep young readers turning the pages.

Review: 'The story is fast-paced and full of fun, and will definitely inspire a new wave of inventors.' - Lauren, ReadingZone

Nicola Colton, author and illustrator, introduces Bertha and Blink: Rumble in the Jungle

Nicola Colton tells ReadingZone about the creation of Bertha and Blink: Rumble in the Jungle

"As Bertha is an inventor, there are lots of her creations featured throughout the book. I loved illustrating her
inventions and coming up with names for them."

1. Hello Nicola, can you start by telling us a little about yourself, your loves and loathings, and the kinds of stories you enjoy creating?

I grew up in rural Ireland. My childhood was steeped in superstitions and stories, where fairies were as real as the cows in the field next door.

My Dad is a natural storyteller. When I was young, he used to take my brother and I to the field next door on Fridays. Friday was Sweet Tree Day. My Dad would regale us as we walked to tree, explaining how the sweets grew on the tree and how he had discovered it. When we reached the Sweet Tree he would point up at the branches of glinting, shiny wrappers and grab a handful. It was magical. That memory has always stayed with me and taught me the power of a good story. It is an experience that can be shared. Those are the kinds of stories that I aim to create, something to share together.

I now live in Bristol with my partner and a black and white cat called Odysseus, Ody for short. I also work part time in a bookshop which I love. I also love drawing, writing, cups of tea, cosy evenings with my partner and cat, crisp Autumn days,watching the world go by from a coffee shop window, working in a shared studio space with illustrator friends and seeing their processes and sharing ideas.

I loathe spreadsheets and filling in complicated forms. And this sounds strange but I don't like hot weather. Perhaps because I grew up in a rainy, grey place, I'm simply not built for basking in the sun! However if I'm prepared, I do enjoy a sunny holiday. I just need lots of breaks in the shade. I much prefer Autumn and Winter, an unpopular opinion I know!

2. What is your new Bertha and Blink series about, and what do you have planned for the it?

At the beginning of Bertha and Blink we meet a bear called Bertha. She is a super star inventor with a bit of a back story. She used to live a glitzy life in the city and was much more confident. However, her trust is broken when her best friend steals one of her invention ideas and becomes rich and famous.

Shocked and sad, she moves far, far away. She relocates to the jungle and builds a workshop high up in the trees, where no one can steal her ideas or let her down. The workshop has everything she needs and she has created devices to take the post, answer the phone and even make her breakfast. She has decided that she is happy on her own.

But when her treehouse starts to shake and strange noises echo through the jungle, she discovers she may need a friend and to leave her cosy hideaway after all. And so, she builds Blink, an excitable Robo-bird to help her. Together they set off into the jungle and step by step Bertha's confidence grows and so does their friendship.

3. Why did you decide to set this book in the jungle?

I liked the contrast of Bertha moving from the big city to somewhere more remote. I also loved the idea of her workshop being set in a treehouse and designing all her secret entrances and exits. Jungles are beautiful and I enjoyed creating the lush foliage and colourful animal characters that inhabit it.

For now the series will stay in the jungle. At the end of the story we discover that this peaceful idyl is being threatened and Bertha and Blink have to work together to stop it.

4. Why did you want Bertha to be an inventor? Does she invent the kinds of machines you'd like to have at home? Any favourites?

I have always enjoyed films like Wallace and Gromit, Ghostbusters and cartoons like Inspector Gadget with their fantastic world building and all the exciting devices and gadgets! There is something very exciting about the act and process of inventing. My Dad is a plumber, so we were always surrounded by nuts, bolts, bits of pipe and tools at home.

To me, there is something very appealing about bits and bobs and how with a bit of imagination and some tools you can invent and build something completely new. I also, loved designing Bertha's desk where she does all of her inventing and her drawers full of colourful odds and ends.

I think my favourite invention is Bertha's alarm clock with all it's special features. I am not a morning person so I think it would be very helpful. I also have ADHD, so it's much easier for me to concentrate on one thing at a time. I would love to have some gadgets that would take care of admin and housework so that I could just concentrate on drawing and writing!

5. Can you tell us about Blink? What inspired this creature, and what are your favourite things about her? Are you more Bertha or Blink?

I love characters in books and films who are excitable and optimistic. Blink is newly awake and full of wonder and enthusiasm. The world is completely new to her, so she is very excited to discover new things and learn about them. I think Bertha needed a friend to pull her out of the cosy rut she is in and Blink is just what she needs.

I am a combination of Bertha and Blink. I'm not tidy or organised like Bertha but I am fascinated by characters and people who are, because I find it difficult. But like Bertha, I need to retreat from the world sometimes and to have a safe haven to work in my own creative bubble.

I am also easily distracted like Blink and I get excited about little things. I like to think that I am optimistic, too. For me that is an essential trait for creating work and sending it out into the world with a good dollop of hope!

6. Through Bertha's adventures, you explore lots of different challenges that children might experience in life, including feeling lonely, friendship problems and also anxiety. Was it important for you to focus on Bertha's feelings through this story?

It felt important to have an emotional component to the story, when I read books that extra element helps me to connect with characters. I also appreciate humour in a good story, so I strived for both when writing this.

Like Bertha I have had periods of anxiety and have found navigating friendships difficult at various times in my life, especially when you have been hurt. But I think it's necessary to stay open to friendship, to ask for help and to not shut the world out, tempting as it may be. That's what Bertha learns with the help of Blink. Bertha has had the power all along and invents her way out of a rut. The focus shifts a little in book two as Bertha grows in confidence and is surrounded by new friends but that emotional element is still present.

7. Did you have a lot of fun with the images for the story? How do you create them?

Yes, I had so much fun! I really enjoyed designing the characters, locations and all the special gadgets and devices.

As Bertha is an inventor, there are lots of her creations featured throughout the book. I loved illustrating her inventions and coming up with names for them. I also had lots of fun designing Bertha's desk and her treehouse workshop with it's secret entrances and exits. It was important that she had a special place to work. And I loved getting lost in the little details when drawing the foliage in the jungle spreads.

I work in pencil on paper. I love the texture and wobbly lines this creates and find it gives it my illustrations more character and an organic feel. I also like all the little 'mistakes' and quirks that happen when working in traditional media. When drawing digitally, I tighten up and make things too perfect. Once my drawings are scanned in, I colour them on my Ipad.

8. Why did you decide to finish the book on a cliffhanger, something that younger children might not be familiar with?

I wrote a longer story than usual and my editor suggested that it could be split over two books. I was quite excited to try something different. It is unusual to have a cliffhanger ending in this age group but there is some precedent with books like the hilarious Dave Pigeon series. And although it ends on a cliffhanger, there is an emotional resolution which I think is really important.

Bertha is in a completely different place than where we found her in the beginning of the story. She is now surrounded by friends and is growing in confidence. Bertha has everything she needs to face the next hurdle and is ready to tackle it head on with Blink by her side.

9. Is your studio anything like Bertha's inventing room? Can you describe it, and tell us what gets you excited about being in your studio?

My studio space is not as neat as Bertha's, especially when I am in the middle of illustrating a book! I am generally surrounded by cups of tea and stacks of drawings.

I have two studio spaces, one at home and one in Bristol City Centre. I love having the opportunity to mix things up and I feel very lucky that I have two spaces to work in. At home I have my partner and my cat Odysseus for company. My cat loves to sit in his hammock by my desk and I like to think of him as an art director overseeing things. I pay him in cat biscuits and under-the-chin scritches.

I work about two times a week in my shared studio space, with lots of other illustrators and creatives. I moved to Bristol nine years ago and I made most of my friends through this space. Writing and illustrating can be quite solitary activities so I really appreciate having a place to work with some friendly faces. It's very inspiring and a great place to have chats over tea and to bounce some ideas around.

10. What kinds of activities help you get inspiration for new books? And what do you do when you're trying to not think about books?

I find ideas come when I'm out for a walk or doing the washing up, when my brain is a kind of standby mode. I take myself on an artist date when I am feeling low on motivation and that usually helps a lot. It's something fun that you can do on your own to reinvigorate you; a trip to the cinema, museum, a craft shop to buy googly eyes and plasticine. Anything that is playful that can reignite a kind of curiosity, creative spark and to refill the well.

I also love making props for workshops at schools and having fun with paper mache and paint. I enjoy making and young readers seem to enjoy them. I have made an oversized pencil and tools for my Bertha and Blink events.

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