Kris Waldherr is an American author, illustrator and designer. She lives and writes in Brooklyn, New York. In this interview, Kris talks about her books, her love for art, reading and writing.
Voicu Mihnea Simandan: You have been a story writer and artist for most of your life. How has your work evolved over time?
Kris Waldherr: My books have become more ambitious, more wide-spanning of subject matter, I think. I’ve also branched into writing fiction. Perhaps it’s a process of aging, but I’ve become more humorous and satirical in my take on things. I think it’s just the other side of being the beauty-obsessed romantic that I am.
VMS: What changes do you see in the art you create?
KW: After illustrating so many books over the years, I’m more interested in making three-dimensional things these days. For example, I painted a violin to look like a Renaissance-era palazzo ceiling with the myth of Cupid and Psyche. I’m also eager to paint furniture after visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum last year and seeing their decorated furniture collection and the William Morris tea room. I want to make things that are beautiful and useful.
VMS: Who came first? Kris the Writer or Kris the Artist?
KW: Well, I learned to draw before I learned to read and write. So I’d have to say the Artist. But from a creative standpoint, both were equally important growing up. It was the luck of the draw which direction I’d go: after I received a full scholarship to the School of Visual Arts my path was decided. Later, I gravitated back to writing. Now I enjoy writing more than making art, but that will no doubt eventually shift again in time.
VMS: Where did the ideas for Doomed Queens (2008) come from?
KW: To stretch myself as an author, I wanted to do something completely different from my previous books, which were much more romantic and inspirational—THE LOVER’S PATH, THE BOOK OF GODDESSES. I’ve always been fascinated with women’s history, especially Tudor-era queens. From there, I began to notice how other women in power over the ages have been undermined—Cleopatra, Marie Antoinette. Sometimes it’s their own fault (as in the example of Olympias, the monstrous mother of Alexander the Great); other times, biology really is destiny (such as for Anne Boleyn). I love Victorian-era graphics, so I designed and illustrated the book to look like a cautionary pennydreadful of that era.
VMS: You have started as a children’s books author but have moved on to make tarot cards! How did you find the transition?
KW: Very organic. I’ve read tarot for many years now and had wanted to create a tarot deck. The art for my first tarot deck, THE GODDESS TAROT, was adapted from my book THE BOOK OF GODDESSES. I consider the tarot another way to tell a story, albeit with many more images than a picture book.
VMS: You have written books for a wide range of ages. Do you employ similar skills when writing books targeted for an older readership?
KW: As much as I love children’s books, I’ve long come to the conclusion that I’m more comfortable writing for an older audience. My personal literary aesthetic is more gothic of taste, tending toward Sarah Waters, Audrey Niffenegger. That written, now that I have a small child, I’m far more aware of what makes a truly wonderful picture book. I think that Mo Willems is genius, especially the Piggy and Elephant series. We also love Kevin Henkes.
VMS: Some people believe that children no longer read and, with the availability of affordable e-readers, many believe that, sooner or later, children will no longer want to hold books in their hands. Please comment.
KW: Oh, they read. They read more than ever. There are so many more new possibilities for reading. And I’m convinced e-mail has opened a new sort of literacy for kids. More and more people are relying on text to communicate rather than the spoken word. My daughter likes to read books on her computer, on my iPad as well as in printed form. I believe there’s room for all.
VMS: You are very active online and maintain an excellent website and blog. How important is it for writers these days to be “out there” on the Internet, interacting with their fans?
KW: It’s part of the equation of being a published author to make yourself accessible. I’m so grateful to all those who buy and like my books! That written, the trick is to find balance. I find it very hard to keep up with social media when I’m on book deadline.
VMS: Do you still read children’s books and young adult fiction?
KW: Absolutely! I have a six-year-old daughter and we read every night. She also reads to herself as well. We’re big fans of the WIMPY KIDS books, which are hysterically funny, and are now about to embark on reading HARRY POTTER. She’s a big Hermione Granger fan. For a while, it was all Laura Ingalls Wilder.
VMS: What book are you working on right now?
KW: A literary historical novel called THE LILY MAID. It’s my most ambitious written project to date—over 400 pages long—plus my first full length work of fiction. And, also for the first time for one of my books, it doesn’t have any illustrations or design by me. THE LILY MAID is set in 1888 England and is about an impoverished young woman who models as the Lady of Shalott (after the Tennyson poem) for a charismatic artist and his wife. In the process, life imitates art when she uncovers a mysterious tragedy from the artist’s past. I’ve been describing it as GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING meets the early tightly-plotted novels of Sarah Waters. I’m going to England next month to do my last round of research for it and am supposed to turn in a draft to my agent soon after.
VMS: What is your writing routine?
KW: To write as often and as long as possible. Seriously. I work extremely hard on my books—they’re an all encompassing process. Fortunately, my family is very, very tolerant. When I’m writing a book, my creative synopses fire best when I can work with as little interruption as possible. Clearly, this is difficult in everyday “real life”. So about every four months I go away for writing retreats where all I do is focus on the book of the moment. Otherwise, on a “normal” day (whatever that means), I drop off my daughter at school, go to the studio and work uninterrupted for six to eight hours. Then, after she goes to bed, I’ll reread what I wrote for the day to clarify my thinking. Often I’ll edit and write notes for the next days’s writing session. I also always carry a notebook with me for writing my thoughts down. You never know when the muses will strike!
VMS: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
KW: To jump in and not be afraid. To allow yourself to write badly and often—what author Anne Lamott calls a “shitty first draft.” She also advises that “perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people.” It’s so true! I’m convinced that writers who become successful (which I define here as published by an established publishing house, though there are many definitions of what constitutes creative success) are those who allow themselves to do just this. The craft of writing is in the fearlessness of beginning and the tenacious bravery of revising and rewriting. It’s also in the willingness to allow yourself to be criticized and rejected, though of course acceptances and accolades are far more pleasant. Finally, for those who want to write fiction, I’m a big fan of National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, which encourages people to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. That’s what spurred me to stop making excuses for not writing a novel; I created my extremely rough first draft of THE LILY MAID during NaNoWriMo 2009.
VMS: Thank you for your time.
KW: You’re welcome!
Watch a TV programme about Kris Waldherr:
Voicu Mihnea Simandan
Bangkok, Thailand
December 8, 2011
