Today, super talented illustrator of over 60 books, Kevin Burgemeestre,
visits to tell us about his debut YA novel Kate.
Kate is struggling to deal with her best friend leaving, a school bully and with the death of her mother. She believes that life is hard. Then a chance encounter with a battered, heroic hound she rescues from the streets, and Mal, a troubled young man with a dark past, leads Kate into more danger and excitement than she could have wished for.
She wonders about her unusual friendship with this damaged young man, but when things go really wrong, they’ll need each other … and they’ll have to run!
Many people say that your first novel is often very autobiographical. So, I decided to ask Kevin straight out.
Does the life of your main character parallel with yours in any way?
Her arc resembles mine only in that things change profoundly for her in a school year and she meets an unexpected ally. That describes me at around year 10. I found Steve who became an excellent mate. He was also a little more inclined towards adventure than I was. That was a good thing for me at the time.
Kate taking off with Mal is not a good thing, but she has the ride of her life and discovers that she is actually quite accomplished at making decisions and being able to get herself out of sticky scrapes. It’s kind of like my year 10.
Kate is also artistic. My skills as an artist have been a comfort and passport to me throughout my life. It shocks me how much pressure some parents will place on children with an artistic inclination not to study art. I understand that they are concerned about employability, but the truth is, not doing what you are deeply suited to can create many more troubles in what will probably be a long life. The quality of friendships in my chosen field are also second to none.
Did you have the manuscript professionally edited before it went to the publisher?
Helen Chamberlin, Ninja editor and editor for Sean Tan went through it for me, and Pam Horsey formerly of Harper Collins hit it with a bit of an editing stick. It didn’t get all the bugs out of it though. Thanks to Elaine Ouston for pouring some kero over it and burning off the dead bits.
Did you submit your manuscript to many publishers before you had an offer to publish?
Three others. Feedback was quite good, but I couldn’t wait till I was 85 to find out if they would move on it. Life is kind of short.
Sometimes publishing does seem a super slooowww industry, except when there’s a flurry of activity. I hope your novel is a huge success, Kevin.
If you want to win a copy of Kate, simply comment on this post and send an email of your comment to submissions@morrispublishingaustralia.com with the subject “Kate competition”.
Find out more about Kev at these blogs.
Tuesday 3rd December http://deescribewriting.wordpress.com
Wednesday 4th December http://www.buzzwordsmagazine.com
Thursday 5th December http://www.alisonreynolds.com.au
Friday 6th December http://sherylgwyther.wordpress.com
Saturday 7th December http://bookmusterdownunder.blogspot.com.au
Sunday 8th December www.jackiehoskingpio.wordpress.com
Monday 9th December http://www.kidsbookreview.com
Monday 9th December http://UncommonYA.com
Tuesday 10th December http://www.melissawray.blogspot.com.au
Wednesday 11th December www.karentyrrell.com
Thursday 12th December http://aussiereviews.com/reviews/blog/
Friday 13th December http://lorrainemarwoodwordsintowriting.blogspot.com
Saturday 14th December http://clancytucker.blogspot.com.au
Sunday 15th December http://www.morrispublishingaustralia.com/news-update-blog.html
Monday 16th December http://diannedibates.blogspot.com.au
Tuesday 17th December http://elaineoustonauthor.com.au
Hey Ali, Just revisiting-really enjoyed this chat. So much to think about with each of these projects, and of course each reader adds another facet to a story that is already multi-layered.
All the best with your work, and hope Christmas becomes a great story for you and your lot.
Kev
Excellent comments Sheryl and Judith. Helen rocks, and the arts bring us together. Thanks so much for the involvement. Cheers, keep those fingers moving! K
Hey Alison, I missed your comment about whether we can teach everybody to draw or not.
The short answer is that we really can teach almost everyone to draw. It is much like playing an instrument-everyone can do it to an enjoyable level.
I’ve conducted many workshops with people who haven’t or don’t draw, and the most surefire technique is to get them to relax and give them permission to make mistakes and use their imagination and sense of fun. The motor skills used for drawing are much the same as writing, so most of us have the basics.
It is also good for the mind and tremendous fun as well. Just don’t be too critical, don’t rub out, and try and finish whatever it is that you are trying to make.
Cheers Ali, thanks for the interest, Kev (Is that a pencil I see in your hand?)
Kevin, I hope we get to meet one day! Congratulations on jumping into a new artform – you picked a tricky one, for sure!! But I bet it was the best ever feeling to write YA, and especially a story around a strong female character.
Brilliant to get Helen Chamberlin as one of your editors – she published my first novel, and I’d walk across water to do another one with her, she was great! 🙂
Thanks Alison and Kevin for great blog tour of ‘Kate’. Sounds intriguing and a good page-turner. As a teenager I was discouraged from choosing Commercial Art as a career, and have often wondered how different life might have been!! Art can be such a healthy and productive form of human expression and should be encouraged. JJ
Thank you, Alison and enjoyed today’s Kevinspeak.
Thanks for visiting Kaye. You sound the perfect mother encouraging your daughter with her art.
It is a special gift!
Alison
Dee, Having seen your work I can vouch for there being an artist buried within you.
Such a shame that you didn’t study when you were at school. Hopefully, things have changed now and art as a subject is valued more than it once was.
Kevin, were you one of those boys that did cartoons all the time at school? Do you think everybody has the talent to be able to draw if they develop it?
Alison
Thanks Kaye, shaking up the art-bucket as we speak! So much to do. K
Hey readers, just heard that Kate has been released on Smashwords as an e-book! It’s cheep, cheep, cheep. So if you are a little afraid of that nasty old paper, get a nice clean virtual version today! So much e-sier to store! Cheers KB
Thanks, Kevin. I will be hunting ‘Kate’ down. All the very best with your next artistic endeavor. Kaye
Hey Dee, thanks for joining in! Leonardo is such a magnificent character to attach to, I can imagine how a young person would be inspired by his towering spirit. He is also low-born which should have been a fatal restriction to him gaining skills and patronage.
I think most of us who have wanted to pursue the arts have had some opposition, it is what generally hardens us on our resolve. However a love of art in our community creates viewers, patrons, and a public. We have a large public for the arts in Australia who generally don’t come up on the radar.
Thanks for your thoughts on editing as well, the thing is as an illustrator and not a trained writer I may use language more informally and with many more mistakes that a writer would. I know how efficient editors are and how they enhance the readability of a manuscript. Thanks Helen, Pam, and Elaine in that order.
All the best with projects Dee, K
OMG Kaye, that was totally me with the bangles- a bit of Kaye bling never hurt. Excellent of you to support your creative kin, I think in a time of uncertainty, when all is changing, the arts offer flexible training, and a rich conceptual base to allow us to take up new and unexpected opportunities. Will will all miss the Lit Lunch and each others company. Wish your girl all the best and get her a copy of Kate for Chrissy-she will see how Kate wrangles her creative urges while on the run.
All the best Kaye and happy reading whatever your literary fix. K
Lovely post, Kevin and Alison. I think, Kevin, that you always wore Kaye Keck’s bracelets at Dromkeen, am I right? Shall miss those lunches. But your comments today are terrific to hear and I love being reminded that if a piece of writing is excellent, that there are people who will help polish it. ‘Kate’ sounds like a great read. Also, I have encouraged my artistic daughter for years, that when she gets to Uni she must study art.
Thanks Alison and Kevin for a great interview. Love the sound of your book, Kevin and I like the way you have incorporated your own artistic talents into Kate. Writing Letters to Leonardo rekindled my artistic spark – my main character’s is an artist and Leonardo da Vinci is his mentor figure. it wasn’t till my editor asked if I was an artist that I realised that deep down there was an artist buried in me and she was busting to come out. I was one of those kids who was actively discouraged from studying art at school because it wasn’t considered a proper profession. Have to say I have never used the economics, legal studies etc I learned in high school, but I’m pretty sure I would have used my art. Love the thought of encouraging artistic kids through strong characters like Kate.
I was also very interested to learn that you had your book professionally edited before you submitted it. Thanks for your great insights. Kate sounds like a fabulous book.
Dee