Interview With Author Chris Appleby
1. What inspired you to write this book? Initially I was planning on
producing a cartoon series about a chef. I drafted up the comic strip
where the chef makes a giant mud cake and then falls into it… after that there
was no coming back and the comic strip came to a halt or you could say it
became death by chocolate! I remember eating a meal at a restaurant and my wife
went to the bathroom upon returning she commented that the chef left the
bathroom without washing her hands. I mentioned that I had noticed on
many occasions when I was washing my hands guys would walk in and walk out of
the bathroom without washing their hands. One of my heroes the
cartoonist, Gary Larson from Far Side did a comic of a clown walking out of a
bathroom and everyone in the restaurant turned around to look at him because of
the big alarm and lights on the bathroom door had alerted all the patrons that
he didn’t wash his hands. A few years later at the start of the pandemic
we were in ‘staycation’ and I came across my collection of drawings and noticed
my sketches of chefs … it developed into a passion to produce a children’s
book.
2. What exactly is it
about and who is it written for? It is about two chefs. Chef Burt Oast’s friend Henri Feta
forgets to wash his hands. Chef Burt and the wash force team show how to
wash our hands correctly! Readers are encouraged to follow the eyeful
butterfly and help remind Henri by saying, “Whoa Wash Your Hands” every time he
forgets! There is a simple card game at the back of the printed book for
children to play to reinforce the learning. The book was written for children
around 7 years of age. My grand daughter, Tilly was this age when I wrote
and sent the initial draft for her and my daughter to read.
3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? I
hope that parents who read the story to their children and children who read
the book will remember when and how to wash their hands correctly.
Hopefully it will instill a culture of hand washing in years to come.
Washing hands will reduce infection and disease.
4. How did you decide
on your book’s title and cover design? Deciding on the book’s title took a lot of pondering, I tried
different titles … Stop Wash Your Hands, wasn’t working for me … but when I
came up with Whoa ! I thought it was more powerful and it gave me the idea that
I could use it to write several titles of ‘Whoa… books. The cover was intended
to be my take on the ‘famous Uncle Sam’ poster …. We want you for the armed
services.
5. What advice or
words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!? Haha .. yes run crossed my mind! or ‘Become a
hermit for awhile!’ Lock yourself away and enjoy writing/illustrating without
distractions. On a more serious note; read and listen to advice of
others, be patient, persist, have confidence in what you write but at the same
time be a little critical, question how you can do it better (I still think
that I would change things even though this book is published) Dedicate time
after writing the book to follow up and connect with stores and social media…
(I know I need to dedicate a lot more time to these things!) It also really
helps to have a partner/wife who is understanding that you need to
‘hermit-a-fy’ yourself to get working on your book/s or keeping your website up
to date. Additionally, I am really fortunate that my wife is my best
resource for proof reading and talking about crazy ideas! Find an
audience, for my children’s books I test my ideas out on my grand-children.
They are the best critics. Sometimes you find yourself surprised or
inspired. I received a photo of a young boy from Geneva Switzerland
reading my book and it looked like he was enjoying it…and having others
connecting with you about your book in a positive way this gives me a ‘buzz and
encourages me to want to pursue my ideas for other books.
6. What trends in the
book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is
heading? To be honest, I could
be better informed or research the trends on where the book publishing industry
is heading. What I have noticed which drives my passion for physical books is,
that children’s books are trending towards physical and away from device reading.
The hands-on approach to books, that have multiple messages and some
interaction to promote imagination and critical thought, seems to be trending
in the book and early educational world. Knowing what interests my
readers or potential readers are interested in would be a benefit. There
is lots of competition and I think from observation lots more books for
children available than when I was child. I am glad that more bookstores
are starting to appear again. There was a time when many bookstores had
closed down due to the popularity of online books. I remember my wife and
I really enjoyed walking to the local book store in the city, and enjoying a
very large book store with a cafe and it was great to get a coffee and browse
the shelves, particularly on wet afternoons. We look forward to our trips
to the bookstore again.
7. Were there
experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing
this book? I teach a smorgasbord
of subjects over the years and still do.. ranging from Food Studies, Graphic,
Industrial, Architecture Design, Photography, Art and Digital Literacy. I
think some of the skills I have acquired have helped. I had a friend many
years ago who wanted me to write an art book but I created and produced a board
game instead This gave me some idea of the effort required in the
production of a book.
8. How would you
describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to?
I think my writing
style is light hearted with a message! When writing I have a tendency to
have a series of flow charts in my mind… questioning myself about my characters
and the events that take place… e.g. if this happens, then the story could go
down this way or on another path. I tend to think ahead a whoa series. …
Whoa What’s Going On Your Plate, looking at what is healthy to eat, Whoa That’s
Not Safe, encouraging safe play, Whoa That’s Very Good, about being a good
friend and a kind person. I have always been a fan of Dr Seuss - an oldie
but a goodie. However, there are many great children’s books out there…the
author Giles Andreae - Giraffe’s can’t dance. Is a favorite.
9. What challenges did
you overcome in the writing of this book? Finding a publisher. We have a saying down this way ..
‘Don’t give up your day job! It is normally used in sarcasm e.g. when you hear
someone singing and they aren’t that good! So, a challenge was to have
faith in what I had written and illustrated to move forward and find a
publisher.
10. If people can buy
or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? I would like to hope that people want to read
their children or have their children read a book with a message.
Hopefully parents will appreciate the importance of washing hands and see my
book as a bit of fun, maybe one day, Whoa Wash Your Hands! Will be a catch
phrase like Homer Simpson’s ‘d’Oh!”
About The Author : Chris Appleby lives on beautiful Phillip
Island in Victoria, Australia. He has been a Graphic Design and Food Studies teacher
for many years. He is currently working on several books for children. Chris is
a practicing artist and designer. Several years ago, he produced a board game
called ‘Forgery’. He can say that he sold forgeries to art galleries. In his
spare time, he enjoys travelling, cooking and riding motorcycles and hopes that
his adventures can soon be the imaginative adventures of the children he hopes
to entertain. For more info, please see: Https://chrisappleby.ampbk.com/#author
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