Renée Kurilla Interview
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Where do you get your ideas for your books?
When I was little, I watched an animated show called “David the Gnome” on Nickelodeon. It was about a Gnome who lived underground and had magical powers. I think that cartoon had a huge influence on me! That cartoon is what made me want to be an artist/animator.
For this book, I had been creating sketches of a garden gnome and it bloomed from there. For my first picture book, One Springy, Singy Day, I was inspired by the perfect day with my daughter, Zoey. 
What is your writing/illustration process like?
I consider myself an illustrator first so I will draw what I would like to happen and then the words come from the illustrations.
What advice do you have for budding writers/illustrators?
You must love the craft! It is daunting and competitive and you will go through different stages: wanting to be published, getting published, then worrying about your audience and changing who you are reaching. The most important thing to remember is to never give up!
If you could tell your younger self anything, what would it be?
Be more patient and stop working so hard! Do other things- get a coffee and trust what you’re doing will work out. I read some advice in a book called The Practice of Groundedness (written by Brad Stulberg) to stop working 10 minutes before you think you should or normally would. This prevents burnout and exhaustion. Also, you don’t need to show every person each thing you do! Think of your work as a journal!
What was one of the most surprising things you learned while creating your books?
I use art as therapy and thought the sketching would be the easiest part but it turns out to be the most difficult. If you spend more time upfront on the bones of the books, adding in details and finalizing pages is quicker and more fun!
What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
The blank page. You never know where it’ll go!
How did publishing your first book change your process?
I love to rhyme, but for years I heard the advice, “Don’t write a rhyming book!” I now have three rhyming books that will be published in the next few years, so that changed my process because I listened to myself and started rhyming again.
What is your favorite childhood book?
The What a Mess series by Frank Muir and illustrated by Joseph Wright! It is about an Afghan Hound that comes from royalty. He was adopted by a family and was such a mess that a duck nested in the tangles of his hair. My favorite is Super What a Mess where he attempts to be a superhero. Wright also included tiny people in the illustrations with side stories that you can follow along with the main plot.
What do you like to do when you aren’t writing/drawing?
Yoga! I enjoy being still and quiet but have trouble finding a time or space to practice yoga without Zoey crawling under me or Timmy, the cat, scratching at the door. He practices his upward cat while I do my downward dog.
And to wrap up our interview, we asked a few fun This or That questions.
Coffee or Tea
Sweet or Salty then sweet
Comedy or Horror
Physical book or E-reader
Podcast or Radio depends on the day
Dog or Cat even though she loves her cat, Timmy
Phone call or Text
Purchase her latest book, The Flower Garden, from a local bookstore here:
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