Tell us about Sparkle Puss: The Search for the Jaguar Bean

Set in Cornwall & South America it has a low key environmental message. In this second story of the ‘Sparkle Puss’ series, we see Sparkle Puss, Myrrh the Abbey cat, the local fisherman and the Jewellery Maker, set sail to Bolivia in search of a new and rare bean for the chocolate maker Mr Side-Whiskers. On their journey through the Bolivian rainforest, they meet and are helped by Onca and Ara, two beautiful, yet endangered species in the rainforest…

What genre is it?
Illustrated book.

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
Young readers 7-11 to adults.

Tell us a bit about Sparkle Puss.
Sparkle Puss is about a cat and a chocolate shop, set in Cornwall, and
further afield. The ‘Chocolate Apothecary’ is run by Mr Side-Whiskers.
Sparkle Puss receives auspicious messages to travel and explore continued ways to supply the shop with new, organic cocoa beans. She does this with the help of her local friends and the Jewellery Maker with whom she lives.

I have always enjoyed writing about my daily observations especially when travelling.  In 2006 I acquired a kitten. I always wanted two kittens that I could call either Galaxy & Mars or Frankincense & Myrrh. I named the kitten Frankincense and abbreviated it to Insie. Insie is a striking cat and with her amusing and intelligent nature, I was soon inspired to draw and write about her.  I initially started e-mailing one of my sisters, Susie, keeping her updated with ‘the Insie antics’.  With the drawings developing and the Insie antics growing, it seemed to be a natural progression to put it into a story. I make jewellery using glitter and rhinestones and became aware that Insie started to sparkle with the glitter that she inadvertently picked up in her fur.

In 2007 the story of ‘Sparkle Puss’ began. My illustrations feature many well know local landmarks and the reader is taken on a journey
around the towns, and in the second book Sparkle Puss and her friends travel to South America.

In the ‘Sparkle Puss’ series I have wanted to keep a low key environmental message running through them. She is a magical cat, with a conscience!

How long did the book take to write and illustrate?
My first book took about 4 years to write and edit; this second story was a quicker process and took about a year.

What was the most challenging part of your creative process?
Launching into a blank page is always the most daunting or challenging, and then the editing.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’ve worked on many animated films, including most recently ‘The Snowman & The Snowdog’, a charming sequel to ‘The Snowman‘ scheduled for screening Christmas 2012 on Channel 4.

In 2003 I returned to college, first Horticulture, followed by Complementary Health Therapies. The Horticulture course incorporated my other passions outside of art including; organic production, ethnobotany and rainforests. I also make jewellery using glitter and rhinestones.

The Snowman has been on TV every Christmas for the past 30 years. How does it feel that people might be watching your work in 2042?
It has been wonderful to work on the new Snowman sequel and I hope people will enjoy watching it for another 30 years or more just like the first Snowman film.

Have you got a blog where readers can keep up with your work?
Not as yet although Sparkle Puss has a Facebook, Twitter page, and website www.sparklepuss.co.uk.

Where can we buy your book?
From all good book shops, and direct from me via Amazon ( US , UK ) .

What’s next?
I’ve started working on book 3, and have a few other projects in the pipeline that I hope to be working on next year.

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Enjoyed this interview? Then check out our conversation with Angela Muse.