How do you get the ideas for your books?
When I finish a book, I usually don't know exactly what I am going to work on next, but I do know that I have lots of different ways of getting ideas. Sometimes there is something in the book I have just finished that I want to keep working on (for example, Night City led to Squeaking of Art in this way). Sometimes I do a book about something I know alot about (Mr Cookie Baker). At other times I have done books about subjects I wanted to learn more about (Firefighter Frank). I constantly jot down words and thoughts, and collect photos and pictures. I have a big box where I put a lot of these kinds of things, and that is a good place to go looking for ideas.

Which comes first, the pictures or the words?
I usually start a book visually, with an idea of pictures I want to paint. I usually start making sketches before I even write any words at all. Both the pictures and words go through many revisions, and I am often still working on the final words after I finish the pictures.

How long does it take you to make a book?
It is different for every book. Sometimes it has taken me as long as 1 1/2 years and the shortest has been 4 months. From start to finish, it takes me, on average, almost a year to make a book that I both write and illustrate.

Do you use a computer when you make your pictures?
I have a computer but I don't do artwork on it at all. I make my pictures on paper with paints and brushes. I often use gouache, a kind of paint that is sort of a grown-up version of poster paint. Sometimes I also do collage, with cut-outs of different papers that I paint or collect, using sissors and glue.