Hello friends and welcome to my third blog post. Today we have the incredibly talented author-illustrator Isabella Kung! I reached out to Isabella for an interview because my girls and I were totally smitten with her picture book, NO FUZZBALL!. Trust me when I say this story will make you laugh!
But before we dive into the interview, I want to share something with all the cat owners out there. The next time you book a vacation and want to bring your feline, check out this post about pet friendly hotel chains that welcome cats. If you have a cat like Fuzzball, I’m sure you’ll appreciate this life saving tip.
Okay, back to the good stuff.
Where do you currently live and what is one of your favorite things about it?
I currently live in San Francisco. I love the diverse choices of food, culture and things to explore here – museums, wild parrots, Golden Gate Park, Ocean Beach… just to name a few! While the pandemic did change a lot of things, it remains a truly unique city with lots of wonderful people residing here.
You had me at food, Isabella. Thank you for giving us a glimpse into San Francisco living. It sounds absolutely dreamy. Can you tell us what inspired NO FUZZBALL!?
When I finally took my writing seriously and was taking a couple writing classes, a common advice is to write what you know, and I know cats. I had two cats then, Bubo and Bella. They were the ultimate muses and loves of my life, and I absolutely treat them like royalty. My main character, Queen No Fuzzball’s, personality is really just a combination of both of them. Bella was the one with the smarts and attitude, she only does things on her terms and Bubo was the one who wanted attention from everyone and was the silliest goofball. Everything Fuzzball does in the book, I have observed my cats do in real life (with the exception of putting dirt on the dog bed because I do not have a dog).
Cats are hilarious and your Bubo and Bella are adorable! I’m praying you didn’t witness them tear apart the house as much as Fuzzball did when her family left for vacation. I’m curious though, did the idea for NO FUZZBALL! come to you in words or illustrations? Can you tell us how long you worked on the story until you thought it was perfect?
Fuzzball came to me as a character first! She actually started as designs for a set of emojis. Designing emojis is actually very similar to doing a character sheet, I got to really know her personality by drawing her expressions and body language. Despite knowing this character’s personality well, I didn’t have a clue what her story should be. I started by trying to figure out her motives, desires, preferences, and reactions to different scenarios. It took probably 2 months to come up with the main plot of the story, and as cliche as it sounds, I thought of it in a shower! Once I had a plot, I refined the manuscript and developed the dummy simultaneously.
Fourteen drafts and 4 years later, it finally got picked up by Scholastic. NO FUZZBALL! was maybe the 3rd picture book story I ever wrote, so there was definitely a learning curve. I was also teaching and working on other illustration projects at the time and my stories often had to be set aside on my back burners. At one point, I didn’t touch it for almost a year! I’m so glad I didn’t give up on this story.
Honestly, I don’t think I ever thought my story was perfect until it was sent to the printers, there was always some detail to tweak. I did, however, think it was ready to submit many times, only to receive professional critiques that made me realize it needs to be revised some more.
Wow! Thank you for sharing all of these details. Getting to know your character’s personality is so important. I also love that you worked on this over the course of 4 years. That proves how much hard work and determination it can take to produce a remarkable picture book. Can you tell us what your critique group thought of the story?
They liked it and were very supportive from the start! When we first started meeting, everyone in my group were illustrators who aspired to write as well. I’m really glad to have found a group of creators with the same goals and interests that we could work towards together and grow together. They have been with me since the early stages of NO FUZZBALL!, each offering me their honest opinions, rooting for me to keep putting my story out there and celebrating each other’s wins. I’m so grateful for all of them!
Wonderful! I’m not surprised they liked it from the start. Cats make awesome main characters, especially when you nail their personality as well as you did. So tell us, is there anything we can look forward to on the horizon? Exciting news, stories brewing, anything else?
Thank you and YES!!! The sequel to NO FUZZBALL! is coming out this Fall on 11/01/2022! Titled NO SNOWBALL! published by Orchard Books, Scholastic. I’m introducing a new character to the Queendom and I’m so excited for everyone to meet her! Stay tuned on Instagram and Twitter for the cover reveal soon! And of course, read how my Queen No Fuzzball reacts to it all! I’m also working on a twin Koala picture book, dipping my toes in a very ambitious and personal story and also starting to write the third Fuzzball manuscript (this time, the words are coming first!).
Okay, so much to process! I just marked 11/1/2022 in my calendar and cannot WAIT to read NO SNOWBALL!. I’m also intrigued and looking forward to your personal and ambitious story. Hopefully that hits the shelves in the very near future. You definitely seem immersed in all things kid lit! Do you have any tips or words of wisdom for your fellow authors and author-illustrators?
Try not to compare yourself to anyone else and just do your best. While it is always fascinating to learn about different artists’ journeys, processes and productivity hacks, remember that everyone is different. Also, remember to take time off. I’ve always been somewhat of a workaholic, constantly burning myself out – feeling drained and unable to find joy in my work. Taking regular breaks will help keep burn out at bay. Self care is very important in this profession and in life!
I love this. Thank you, Isabella, for reminding us to never compare ourselves to anyone else and to always remember to take time off. That is so important. Thank you so much for spending this time with us today.
Isabella Kung is the author and illustrator of NO FUZZBALL! (Scholastic, 2020) & NO SNOWBALL! (Scholastic, 2022). She also illustrated over 120 cats for the board books 123 CATS and ABC CATS by Lesléa Newman (Candlewick, 2021). Her illustrations have received accolades from institutions such as the Society of Illustrators, Spectrum Fantasy Art, 3×3, Creative Quarterly, and SCBWI. Outside the world of publishing, Isabella teaches illustration and watercolor classes at Storyteller Academy and Etchr Lab. Isabella resides in San Francisco with her husband and two adorable – you guessed it – cats! She is represented by Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary.
Don’t forget to follow Isabella to stay tuned on her upcoming picture book, NO SNOWBALL!.
https://www.instagram.com/isabellakungill
GIVEAWAY!
Isabella is giving away one free copy of NO FUZZBALL!. All you have to do is read the post, retweet, and tag a friend. Winner will be chosen Monday, March 14th.
That’s it. Thank you all so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I did.
Lindsey is the creator of two imaginative little girls, the wife of an extreme sport enthusiast, and a member of many picture book critique groups. In her spare time, she enjoys watching webinars, attending conferences, and borrowing outrageous amounts of picture books from her local library.
lindseyaduskevich.com 
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