{"id":1733,"date":"2019-01-11T07:41:52","date_gmt":"2019-01-11T11:41:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/storymamas.com\/wp\/?p=1733"},"modified":"2019-01-11T11:02:51","modified_gmt":"2019-01-11T15:02:51","slug":"q-ray-creators-author-illustrator-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/storymamas.com\/wp\/2019\/01\/11\/q-ray-creators-author-illustrator-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Q & Ray Creators: Author\/Illustrator Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Have you gotten a chance to check out Q & Ray? It is a wonderful beginning reader, graphic novel series written and illustrated by husband and wife team, Stephen and Trisha Shaskan. So far there are three Q and Ray series. Q and Ray Case #1 The Missing Mola Lisa, Case #2 Metorite or Meteor-Wrong? and Case #3 Foul Play At Elm Tree Park. They are written in graphic novel style in which friends Q and Ray end up using their observational skills to solve a mystery. These are great books for students who enjoy reading mysteries and can be used by teachers to help teach the mystery elements. Using a creative spin, Trisha has based the storylines off of real facts from art, science and history. This latest book, gives facts at the end about The All American Girls Professional Baseball League, while the other books talk about art, the Mona Lisa and meteors. They are filled with knowledge, humor, fun expressions (Leaping Limburger), friendship and mystery! Be sure to check them out! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trisha and Stephen stopped by the blog to answer 3 questions about the series and three questions about them! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three Questions about Q & Ray series<\/u><\/strong>
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Stephen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trisha
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We love how curious and willing to learn Q and Ray are, where did the inspiration come from for creating these 2 characters? <\/strong>
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After we both graduated college, Stephen and I met while working at an elementary school. For the first time, I was an educational assistant in a second-grade classroom, but also taught storytelling and creative writing after school for kindergarten through fifth-grade students. I found creative ways to engage students through stories, songs, humor, and imagination. Like our characters Q and Ray, the students were curious, eager, and able to learn. I have kept that teaching experience in my heart and I channel it, often subconsciously, while writing books. I am also a very curious person. Each of the Q & Ray graphic novels has a theme I wanted to learn about and one I know kids might be curious about\u2014for example magic, Leonardo da Vinci, how meteors become meteorites, or the AAGPBL (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.) The characters names Q & Ray are a riff on Q & A, questions and answers, which is at the heart of a mystery. As far as mysteries go, I was heavily influenced by Sherlock Holmes while writing this series. I am a huge fan. As my sister Nicole Speed says, Holmes\u2019 mysteries are \u201ca brain massage.\u201d
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It is not uncommon for writers and illustrators to never meet, as a husband and wife team, how does the process for creating this book work?<\/strong>
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All the books that we work on together are ideas that we have worked on together from the start.
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Both of us read each other\u2019s work and critique all of it\u2014and help each other. For example, you\u2019ll find phrases I contributed in Stephen\u2019s picture books and the phrases Stephen contributed in my picture books. But the big difference in our books that we\u2019ve created together is that we\u2019re both involved in the whole process from the beginning brainstorm, to outlining the plot, to critiquing. But when it\u2019s time to write, I go off on my own. And when it\u2019s time to illustrate, Stephen works individually as well. We don\u2019t interfere with each other during that part, which is fun because we usually surprise each other.
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Which Q and Ray have been your favorite to work on and why? (We know it\u2019s like picking a favorite kid \ud83d\ude42 ) <\/strong>
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The first Q & RAY was so great to work on because it was my first time ever creating a fully colored finished 48 page graphic novel. I grew up reading comics and dabbled in creating them in my late twenties. When I was finished with the first book it felt like a huge accomplishment. As the series progressed, I continued to learn about creating graphic novels and really trying to push the form more.
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For me, Q & RAY #3: Foul Play at Elm Tree Park was my favorite to write because I had learned enough about the graphic novel format to utilize it more fully. Plus: Doris Sams and the AAPGBL (All-American Pro Girls Baseball League) make appearances, which is so important to me. When I was a young athlete, I was often the only girl or one of a few girls surrounded by boys on the field, rink, or court. I didn\u2019t know women once had a pro baseball league. I would\u2019ve loved to have known that. Now I get to share that information with young people everywhere who also often don\u2019t know about it.
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Three Questions about You…<\/strong>
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If you weren\u2019t writing books for children, what would you be and why? <\/strong>
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For twelve years, I was a preschool teacher. If I wasn\u2019t creating books, I would probably be involved in early childhood education in some way as well as creating art. I\u2019m always creating art. Even when I\u2019m working on children\u2019s books, I make time to do different art projects on the side: I\u2019ve done political posters, made magic wands, installed a submarine room in our basement, and always have some little thing I\u2019d like to try or something I find in an old sketch book that sparks some creativity.
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I have worked in education and the roles I loved doing most would lead me to being a reading specialist, media specialist, or teaching ELL (English Language Learners).
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What is one book you\u2019ve read that has stuck with you since you\u2019ve read it?<\/strong>
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There are so many, this is a difficult question for an author\/illustrator. Our bookshelves are lined with books that have stuck with me. I think Harold and the Purple Crayon<\/em> is a great example of a book that has stuck with me. It\u2019s so well crafted, simple, and elegant. It\u2019s a book that works as a reader and as a read aloud.
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The Wind in the Willows <\/em>by Kenneth Grahame captures the heart of my childhood: friendship and the river. I grew up in a Mississippi River valley town, Winona, MN, like Ratty who lives on The River that grips \u201cthings with a gurgle.\u201d The River flows through the story and connects Mole and Ratty as does nature and its cycles. Grahame\u2019s springtime has \u201cbirds building, flowers budding, leaves thrusting\u2014everything happy, and progressive, and occupied.\u201d  Grahame\u2019s lyrical language sings on every page. But the heart of this story is the friendship of the shy Mole and good-natured Ratty, the impetuous Mr. Toad, and worldly Badger who doesn\u2019t like society. Despite their differences and shortcomings, the characters are wonderful friends to each other. No matter what happens in the Wild Wood or world beyond they help each other get out of trials and tribulations. In friendship, there is hope and refuge like the sparkle of sunlight reflected on the ripple of a wave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is one item in your refrigerator that tells us about you?  <\/strong>
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Two bottles of cat medicine for our 19-year-old cat Eartha, who is my studio buddy and always so helpful.
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A bottle of kombucha, which is for a house guest. I love welcoming friends and family into our home, so I always have something special in the fridge for an upcoming visitor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you so much Stephen and Trisha for stopping by our blog. We loved meeting both of you this past summer at NerdCamp and look forward to seeing you again in July! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are links to their websites if you’d like to learn more about them and their work: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephen : Stephen’s Website <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trisha: Trisha’s website<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Have you gotten a chance to check out Q & Ray? It is a wonderful beginning reader, graphic novel series written and illustrated by husband and wife team, Stephen and Trisha Shaskan. So far there are three Q and Ray series. 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