Barbara Henderson celebrating Book Week Scotland
Day three of our Book Week Scotland series brings a touching contribution from Barbara Henderson. The author of To War With Wallace, and many other books for both children and adults, explores the collaboration between writers and illustrators.
Collaborations between writers and illustrators can take all sorts of forms. Some are one and the same person while others never meet or communicate directly at all.
As I write predominantly for children, most of my books contain at least an element of visual art – for Middle Grade fiction (the category used to describe books for 8-12 year-old readers) this is often confined to chapter headings. My medieval story needed pictures.
At Luath Press, covers are mostly designed in-house, and I have been lucky enough to work with the illustrator Deborah Spence for the internal artwork in my previous book, The Boy, the Witch and the Queen of Scots. Deborah is a good fit for my historical adventures – her degree included history and history of art as well as practical illustration, and she is a self-confessed Middle Ages geek. Just what I needed for my Scottish Wars of Independence story set in 1297, the year of the Battle of Stirling Bridge, titled To War with Wallace.
But what to include? In other words, what should the pictures be of? I sent Deborah a summary of the story.
Often illustrators ask how, exactly, I visualise the characters in a story. Then the artist could reflect my vision in the drawings and BOOM – we’re off to a good start. I, however, tend to err on the vague side of character descriptions. I like room for a young reader to imagine themselves in the story, superimpose themselves if you like - and overly detailed appearance descriptions can get in the way of that.
So, what is the solution? For To War with Wallace, I sent Deborah an extensive list of suggestions of possible motifs. Andrew de Moray, William Wallace’s co-commander at the iconic Battle of Stirling Bridge, is a prominent character in the book. His heraldry should feature, I suggested. Deborah set to work and sent drawings of the de Moray stars on a shield, as well as a mounted knight, clad in heraldic battle armour. She even echoed the slightly stylised representation so often found in medieval tapestries – that took me by surprise as it differed from her usual, more naturalistic work. But the more I considered it, the more I loved it.
We needed more illustrations. A black cat called Gilbert appears at several points in the story. Deborah had no trouble with him at all, and I was amazed how sleek and shiny his coat looked in her drawing – just what I had hoped for. Further sketches followed: a candle to suggest secrecy, a Scottish harp to reflect the music theme throughout, weapons, the tools for making and repairing chainmail, a Saltire flag - all specific enough to fit the story and generic enough to be used in more than one chapter. There is even an elaborate jewelled cross and a sealed letter and quill, reflecting the fact that To War with Wallace is not only a story of war, but also one of adventure, of friendship, of secrecy, of loyalty, identity and belonging. We awaited the publisher’s approval before she finalised the images. My WhatsApp storage was running low.
For me, the process of working with an illustrator was highly communicative throughout, a three-way conversation between publisher, illustrator and me as the writer, in intense bursts. It fell to me to finally allocate each drawing to a chapter, ensuring that the motifs were spread out evenly, and that they connected with the content of the chapter they introduced.
Following a blur of book launch events, it was a joy and honour to meet with Deborah and personally hand her a copy of the book. To War with Wallace belongs to both of us, as well as to the wonderful team at Luath Press who have worked so hard to bring it into the world.
Does this mean that Deborah’s and my WhatsApp chat has gone quiet now?
Not a bit of it. It is already bursting with drafts and ideas for the next project, out from Luath Press in April 26. Watch this space, and you’ll be first to know!
Ping.
Please excuse me. That may be another notification!
https://www.instagram.com/spenceillustrations/
https://www.barbarahenderson.co.uk/
