Oisín McGann's Blog
Wondering Aloud

One of our roving Weird-Wide News reporters wandered into a big toyshop last week (you would think they had better things to do). But while pushing themselves around in a trolley, they  spotted a whole wall of Armouron toys. I was amazed to hear they were finally out (nobody told me), but happy to see them on the shelves.

These suits of armour have special joints that mean you can switch parts and make your own combinations – a bit like Lego you can wear.

The first two books have been out a few months now; ‘The Armoured Ghost’ and ‘Lying Eyes’. But it normally works the other way around – toys and TV or other merchandise come out first. I didn’t come up with the idea for the armour, I was just brought in to write four books to help set up the world, the characters and the first few stories. The next two books out are by Richard Dungworth, who has also done a few Dr Who books. After that, my third and fourth one should come along.

Apart from the money (obviously), I got into the project for the experience of working on something that offered opportunties in other areas. I was into loads of these kinds of franchises  when I was a kid – Star Wars, Action Force, Transformers – and it was a kick to be involved in helping develop a project this size. Publishing is always a team effort, but normally it’s a writer sitting on their own coming up with the ideas at the start. This was almost more like when I worked in animation, where different disciplines are brought in at different stages.

The principle behind the design of the toys also chimes with an issue I’ve long been concerned about – that of kids dropping their TV remotes, their games controllers (and yes, even their books) and going and playing outside. This armour will not protect your little ones if they choose to run about kicking the crap out of each other, but it should fuel a few fertile young imaginations in a way that gets them physically active, and that can only be a good thing.

Last week, I joined a bunch of writers and illustrators to have a lunch with Children’s Laureate, Siobhan Parkinson. The location was Airfield in Dundrum, which has nothing to do with airplanes, but is in fact a farm in the suburbs of Dublin which has a small cafe/restaurant, a farm shop and a vintage car collection, among other things.

An eclectic mix of locations that was well suited to this gathering of diverse (but all very good-natured and entertaining) personalities. Siobhan wanted to talk about what she intended to do during her two years as Laureate, and to get our input. In the photo, left to right, is: Niamh Sharkey, Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick, Michael Emberley, the Honourable Siobhan, some eejit at the back who didn’t smile at the right time, Marita Conlon-McKenna, Jane Mitchell, Sarah Webb and Aubrey Flegg. Mags Walsh from CBI was there too, but somebody had to hold the camera.

You may notice that I’m wearing a shirt in the photo. Despite the occasion, this was not an attempt on my part to look respectable – it was just what I had on that day. The fact that I almost always wear t-shirts to all but the most solemn occasions was brought home to me the last time I put on a shirt, and my stepson asked what I was ‘all dressed up for’.

Apart from eating a lovely lunch and talking shop (writers and illustrators are as bad as any other profession when you group them together), we discussed strategy. Siobhan intends to focus on two things that she hopes will promote the reading of books and the creation of them

First, she wants to push the idea of school libraries. This is not something we do very well in Ireland. Having a separate room, just for books (along with computers, audio books, comics and magazines etc) is still a bit more than many in the education system seem able to conceive. And actually putting a librarian in there too? Preposterous!

Where you do find decent libraries in schools, it tends to be down to the initiative of a few individuals, rather than some policy (and funding) delivered from on high. We’re supposed to be a country that takes literature seriously. We can do a lot better.

The second focus of her campaign is to bring quality books from other countries and other languages to Ireland. We’re not great at this either, but this is a problem across the English-speaking world. Lots of other countries translate our books into their languages; we’re slow to return the favour.

If you think books published in foreign languages just may not be relevant to our culture, or may not appeal to young English-speaking readers, try a few of these on for size: ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’ (French), ‘Inkheart’ (German), ‘Sophie’s World’ (Norwegian), ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ (German), ‘The Little Prince’ (French), ‘Pippi Longstocking’ (Swedish) and, of course, the magnificent ‘Asterix’ (French). The collective sales figures and critical acclaim speak for themselves. And do I really need to mention Manga? American, however, does not count as a foreign language (sorry guys, but you see enough action as it is).

Siobhan also wants to get children’s books taken more seriously on the literature stage in Ireland. We have the most passionate readership, the most profound effect on our readership, we have internationally acclaimed and multi-award-winning authors, and we achieve some of the highest sales in the world of literature . . . and we’re still treated like a cottage industry.

Our new Laureate is a charming, resourceful and willfully stubborn woman. Expect progress.

On Sunday, Maedhbh and I drove down to Waterford with our stubbornly independent toddler to attend the launch of ‘Enchanted’, an exhibition of children’s illustrations in the Garter Lane Arts Centre that was taking place the following day. The exhibition is part of the Sprog Children’s Festival, which runs in advance of Spraoi, the main Waterford arts festival.

On the way down there on the Sunday, we stopped in at the Rathwood Centre outside Tullow. It’s a huge garden centre where you can buy all sorts of (expensive) designer clothes, homeware stuff and souvenirs, but it also has a lovely restaurant where we had a delicious lunch. There are walks through the woods, or you can take a ride on the little train that goes around the estate. It’s like the Avoca centre in Wicklow – not quite as picturesque, but much bigger.

Apart from the few animals we could see in one of the paddocks, there’s a falconry on the grounds, and we happened to show up at the right time to catch the falcon display, watching the hawk swooping low over our heads to snatch ‘prey’ thrown into the air. If you’re ever down that way, particularly if you’re taking a break from a long drive, Rathwood’s well worth checking out.

On Monday, we made our way over to Garter Lane for the launch. Broken into two parts of the centre, the show features work by Niamh Sharkey, Annie West, Adrienne Geoghan and Bruce Ingman, as well as a few of mine. Adrienne ran a couple of workshops in the morning, leaving a room full of books and drawing materials that became a hive of creative and messy activity.

Then there was much mayhem as the kids ran around fuelled by orange and biscuits, marshmallows and buns. Some local VIP’s did their meeting and greeting and some of the gang from CBI ‘facilitated’ (which I think means they stood around chatting, having a good time and being influential – like God, they move in mysterious ways). In the midst of this, Bruce, Adrienne and I did some readings and a bit of drawing for a very mixed audience, while Maedhbh tried to stop our little girl either eating the crayons, or drawing on everything that wasn’t paper.

Thanks to Kathleen and everyone at Garter Lane for setting up the exhibition, I hope both festivals go well for them. And thanks to Jenny in CBI for the two photos of the launch. The show will be up until the end of August, when it moves to Galway for the Babaro Festival.

Well . . .  no, not quite.

But I was recently interviewed by Olive O’Brien for her new children’s book blog, Lilliput Library, on the Hello Magazine’s website.

One question that came up during the interview with Jackie Hayden in the Riverbank Arts Centre on Saturday was how one goes about getting interviews in the media. There is no easy answer to that: sometimes you can get attention on radio or in the newspapers (hardly ever television) because you’re a new writer breaking in; sometimes you can be asked your opinion if you have an informed view on a particular issue, and then once you’ve become established enough as an author or illustrator – and you’ve shown any kind of ability to formulate coherent sentences – interviews come up pretty regularly.

The interview on Saturday was the first time I was able to answer questions without being rushed. On radio, you’ve got to keep your answers short and snappy, and television’s even worse. There’s a real skill to that, and I’m only starting to get my head around it. It does help if, like many questions authors get asked, you’ve been asked it a hundred times before.

One good thing about being interviewed for a blog or website is you can have time to answer properly – the kinds of answers people actually want to hear or read.

On Saturday the 24th, I’m being interviewed by Jackie Hayden, of Hot Press, in the Riverbank Arts Centre in Newbridge, Co. Kildare. It’ll be about an hour and a half long, including time for questions from the audience.

It’s happening at 3pm, as part of the centre’s new In Conversation With … series. Jackie will also be interviewing Hugo Hamilton at 8pm on the same day. This’ll be the first time I’ve done a session in this format; I’ve been interviewed as part of a panel numerous times, done plenty of media interviews – which are necessarily pretty short – and loads of kids’ sessions and workshops, but this’ll be my first really in-depth interview, and I’m looking forward to it. It should be an interesting experience (for me, at least – hopefully for the audience too).

Please do come along – the more the merrier!

I was down in Kilkenny on Monday, for a session in Stone House Books in the MacDonagh Junction shopping centre. It’s a lovely bookshop, independently owned, and I had a really good time chatting to the kids there. The shop is running a book club over the summer – with discounts on the books they discuss – and their first featured book was ‘Wired Teeth’.

Since I was visiting the home of the Cats, on a whim, I decided to check out where the connection between cats and Kilkenny came from (for those who don’t know, it’s the nickname for Kilkenny’s indomitable hurling team). The possible background stories are actually pretty gruesome . . . but interesting. I particularly like the limerick:

There once were two cats of Kilkenny

Each thought there was one cat too many

So they fought and they fit

And they scratched and they bit

‘Til (excepting their nails

And the tips of their tails)

Instead of two cats there weren’t any!

During the session, a new news site called 32.ie dropped in to check things out. You can check out their report and (a somewhat abbreviated) interview on their website.

From today, until the 28th of August, you can see some of my original artwork at the Garter Lane Arts Centre on O’Connell Street in Waterford. I’m taking part in a children’s book illustration exhibition, entitled ‘Enchanted’, along with Niamh Sharkey, Adrienne Geoghan, Annie West and Bruce Ingman. Adrienne is also doing a couple of workshops there on the 26th of July, the day of the official launch, and a couple of us will be doing readings on the day as well.

This is an excellent chance to see illustration work in the flesh (so to speak), and even buy one or two, if the urge takes you (and I hope it does). Once it finishes in Waterford, the exhibition will then move on to Galway, for the Babaro Festival.

The Wildenstern Saga is being published in France by Mango Jeunesse, translated by Patrick Imbert. They’ve just sent me the cover for ‘Ancient Appetites’, or ‘Voraces’, and I have to say, it’s pretty cool. I saw an earlier version last week and asked for a minor change to the back cover and they actually took that on board, which is unusual. Often, an author doesn’t get any say in the covers of foreign editions.

This is because when you sell the rights into a foreign country, you’re selling a finished product, rather than working closely with a publisher to create a book, as you would do in your own market. The foreign publisher’s task (in this case, Mango), is not just to translate the words that you’ve already edited in your own language. They must also tweak the style of the narrative, the dialogue and the overall look of the book for their, often very different, market.

All that clever wordplay in ‘Asterix’ would not have worked if it was translated slavishly from the French. That took some serious writing ability.

This cover is also an excellent example of how a different publisher, working in a different market can produce a different vision of a book, while still staying true to the essential nature of the thing. As I’ve mentioned on the blog before, I’m a big fan of the films of Jeunet et Caro (‘Delicatessen’, ‘Amelie,’ ‘The City of Lost Children’) and the front cover definitely has a similar feel about it. Although the velocycle on the back looks more like something you’d see in one of David Cronenberg’s ‘body horror’ films like ‘eXistenZ’ (another director I like).

I’d have very firm views on covers – I’ve had worse arguments with publishers over the designs of my books than I’ve ever had over the text. It goes without saying that the cover’s one of the most important elements in selling a book – it’s often listed as the second most common reason for choosing a book (a recommendation from a friend normally being the first). And I have a very clear idea of how I want my books to look. But I also have to recognize that a style that works in my market, might not work in another country, so there comes a time when you just have to let it go. Even so, I’d hate to see a badly executed design on the cover of one of my books, and so far I’ve been pretty lucky in the designers who’ve plied their trade on my titles. The cover of ‘Voraces’ is no exception.

Mango have already published ‘Small-Minded Giants’ as ‘Liberté Surveillée’. You can check out the cover of that and other foreign editions (there are more in the works) at my Cover Gallery.

When I was a kid, I used to make sound effects while I drew pictures. I don’t know if all budding artists do this, or if it’s a wannabe-illustrator thing or what. But I know some of my friends did it then, and other illustrators have told me they did it too, when they were young. The thing is, I still do it sometimes, when nobody’s around.

When I’m writing, I also practise lines of dialogue out loud on occasion too – but that’s a practical thing. It can often be the only way to see if it works. It’s important that one is never caught doing this kind of thing. Particularly if one is putting on a funny voice or a dodgy accent at the time.

Anyway, now I have a baby, and looking after her needs is a varied and challenging job  (probably the most grown-up thing a guy can do).  And I’m starting to make sound effects again. Everything seems to have a sound effect now; from changing a nappy to putting on her little shoes; from tickling her to washing her face and hands. I didn’t really start this on purpose, it just sort of happened along the way (the sound effects that is – the baby was deliberate).

I can see her years from now, having to walk around with earphones permanently plugged into her head, with sound effects accompanying her every move. Or maybe she’ll just make them herself. Her brother already accompanies his footballing with an ongoing commentary, but I think that’s pretty normal for a boy his age, dreaming of playing alongside his heroes.

Every now and then, I’ll catch myself sounding like a cartoon soundtrack, and I’ll think back to those days of drawing pictures while I made the sounds of jets or explosions or cars or monsters. Art held a joy for me then that I struggle to recapture, when drawing was as much a way of giving substance to what was going on in my imagination, as it was about making a good picture. Back then, just as I try to apply it now, the whole point was to be involved in the making of the thing. The picture at the end was the equivalent of the photos you take while you’re on holiday. When I look at my pictures, I recall the experience of creating them. And sometimes I hear the sound effects too.

For anyone who’s wondering what the process of creating ‘The Vile Desire to Scream’ was like, I’ve written an article on it for the Irish Publishing News blog. There’s been some great feedback on the book, and I’d like to give a big thanks to the hundreds of people who’ve downloaded it so far. Please feel free to hand it on – that’s what it’s for! I’m on the home stretch on the third novel in the trilogy, ‘Merciless Reason’ and I’m really enjoying it. Can’t say yet when it’ll be released, what with the way the publishing world seems to have slowed down to a crawl, but I’ll keep yiz informed.