Rachel Bright
About Author
Rachel Bright is a writer, illustrator, printmaker and eternal optimist. She is the creator of the award-winning stationery and homewares range, The Bright Side, which has sold over 2 million cards worldwide.
Rachel has written and illustrated several books for children, including Love Monster, What Does Daddy Do? and My Sister is an Alien.
She lives on a farm near the seaside with her partner and new baby daughter.
Author link
https://www.rachelbrightbooks.co.uk/
Interview
Slug in Love (Simon & Schuster Children's Books)
January 2021
Slug in Love by author Rachel Bright and illustrator Nadia Shireen - ReadingZone's Picture Book of the Month - takes a gentle look at not judging creatures by how they look, and finding true love....
Lonesome Doug, the slug, really wants a hug, but the other mini-beasts aren't keen, so when the gorgeous Gail, a snail, comes along - well, the problem should be sorted, shouldn't it?
A funny and warm picture book with an important message at it's heart. We asked author RACHEL BRIGHT to tell us more:
1. What for you makes a great picture book?
Rachel: Oh! Great Question! I think there are so many ingredients that go into the special alchemy of a magical picture book, but the biggest one for me is the space between the words and the pictures. This is one of the things that makes the picture book so special...that there is something happening for the reader between where the words stop and the pictures start (or vice versa) and you are making connections all of your own whilst you read it. One example is the spread in Slug in Love where Doug and Gail's eyes meet for the first time. There are no words on this spread and the readers make all the connections themselves and then flow back into the words beginning on the next page. This is picture book magic in action!
There is also an opportunity in a picture book to have layers of story within the central one being told. I think well written stories inspire this in an illustrator and masterful illustrators (like Nadia) do it with such deftness of touch - she has created all kinds of stories within Slug in Love for all the characters which appears in this book! I want to write new stories for them all! ...
Picture books have to work on two levels - they need to be enjoyed by the little person and the big person who is sharing it with them. As a parent, I know that often a book is read many times and it needs to be fun for everyone. Nadia and I hope this will raise a smile every time it's chosen!
Nadia: Characters that you care about, pictures and words that complement each other but not necessarily repeat each other. Being surprised by twists and turns in the story. And being made to laugh out loud.
2. Why did you decide to write about a slug who needs a hug?
Rachel: Haha. Well, why not?! Doug asked to be written about. I mean the idea just came to me in a flash, rather spontaneously, and as every writer will tell you - it's not always like that - so when it is - you know there's a bit of magic happening.
The idea popped into my head on a long journey and I had to grab a pen and paper and there the story was (I wasn't driving btw!). It didn't change much from that first writing - and again - that's quite unusual too. I just had so much fun writing it.
Part of the reason I love writing so much is my obsession with rhythm (and rhyme, but rhythm foremost) and this story just tripped off my tongue when I read it to myself (which I always do when I am writing something). I always say - if it feels good in your mouth to say it - it will feel good on your hear to hear it.
Also...whilst this book is about a slug needing a hug...it's also about how there is someone out there for everyone and it's not always the someone you think it's going to be. I love writing about big ideas in small packages.
3. Nadia, what drew you to the text as an illustrator?
Nadia: Rachel is so good at what she does, and it was a funny and off-beat story. I like to root for the underdog. Or underslug, I suppose.
4. How are you both with bugs, and slugs?
Rachel: I live on a forest small holding and wellness retreat, growing organic fruit and veg. Bugs and slugs are part of life! (without bugs..there wouldn't be any life!). I suppose I occasionally declare I'd rather the bugs and slugs had left, after the Dougs have paid a visit.
Nadia: I like most of them, because I suspect they are quite involved in keeping our entire ecosystem alive and you've got to respect that. It's a top skill. Unfortunately, when I was a student I lived in a house in Sheffield which had a damp passageway I had to walk through that was often carpeted by particularly massive slugs. They'd burst and pop underfoot and there wasn't anything you could do about it apart from scream. Eventually they started to wander into the house. So actually, slugs have always been one of my worst things. I had to confront my demons to create Doug, so it was quite therapeutic in the end.
5. So how challenging was it to make a slug look huggable?
Nadia: It was quite tricky because I couldn't make Doug furry, which is the quickest path to cuteness. The lack of limbs was also a challenge. It was all in the eyes! I'm still not sure I'd hug him. Maybe just a pat on the head.
6. Why did you decide that Doug the slug would eventually find true love?
Rachel: I'm a hopeless romantic and professional eternal optimist. It couldn't be any other way.
7. What are your favourite spreads in the story?
Rachel: I don't really want to pick, but if you made me, I'd say the moment Doug and Gail meet...there's so much anticipation in that page! I also love the spreads where we are first introduced to Doug and Gail - Doug with his chocolatey grin and Gail with her...well...with her Gailness! Just so brilliant.
Nadia: I love the spread where we meet Gail, because I enjoyed drawing her so much. I also quite like the spread of Doug sobbing on the log, because it's so melodramatic.
8. What would you like young readers to take from the story?
Rachel: That there will ALWAYS be someone how wants to love and hug them, even if there are times when it doesn't feel like that. I'd also like them to find it really funny ...
Nadia: A warm fuzzy feeling and hopefully a few giggles before bedtime.
9. Where and when do you do your best writing / illustrating?
Rachel: When I'm illustrating I'm most happy in the printmaking studio - with ink and mess everywhere ... When I'm writing - gosh - usually anywhere that isn't my desk! Though that's often where I do the legwork...initial inspiration usually strikes when I'm doing something else entirely...in the car (Slug in Love), asleep in bed at 5am (Love Monster), out for a run (The Lion Inside)...I mean the list goes on ...
Nadia: After a long walk, listening to music. Wearing very warm socks and maybe with a smelly candle burning.
10. Describe your ideal writer's shed or studio?
Rachel: I am just about to move into it! I have had many writing / illustrating spaces in my time...a corner of my (very small) bedroom when I first started out...graduating to various shared studio spaces in 'up and coming' parts of town (in Bristol where I lived for a long time), moving to a converted caravan in a forest smallholding by the sea where I live now (with a wood burner and everything - dream come true!) and now...into a purpose built, brand new printmaking studio - with etching presses and huge windows and beautiful views...
We just built it here at the retreat we are opening this year - with the aim to share it with other local artists and it's everything I ever dreamt of! I can't wait to see what it inspires.
I also think though, having moved through many spaces, that the true ideal shed or studio, actually resides within one's mind...and that is the space you want to cultivate and look after the most...since that is where we all spend so very much of our time. I never thought I'd be sharing mine with a slug and a snail, called Doug and Gail, but then that's what's so magical about life..you never know what's just around the corner ...
Nadia: I'm quite happy with my work room, but in an ideal world it might be nice to have one with a little wood burning stove and a dog. Also a kettle and sink for constant tea drinking.
Slug in Love: The perfect hug this Valentine's Day!
