Jill Esbaum Interview and Book Giveaway!

Happy summer! I'm glad to be back for one more visit to share an interview with our dear friend Jill Esbaum, who is a brilliant writer, a former Teaching Author, and a genuinely nice person. Jill lives on a family farm in eastern Iowa and is the author of nearly 50 fiction and nonfiction books for kids. Please visit her website for more information or follow her group blog, Picture Book Builders.

Jill Esbaum

We're giving away a copy of the first book in Jill's delightful new graphic early reader series, Thunder and Cluck. You can enter below, but first, find out more about Jill and her books.

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Who or what inspired the characters Thunder and Cluck?

The opening scene sort of fell into my head one morning in that fuzzy period just before you wake. When these two kooky prehistoric characters started talking, I thought the best thing to do was take notes and hope they kept it up.

Friends Do Not Eat Friends is the first book
in Jill Esbaum's new graphic early reader series.

How is planning and writing a series different from writing a stand-alone book? Can you give us any hints about other books in the series?

This is the first time I've done any kind of fiction series, and it wasn't planned, so an expert, I am not. I first wrote Thunder & Cluck as a picture book, a funny story of how they became unlikely friends. That was rejected a few times. My agent suggested I use these characters to write a 3,000 word young chapter book. That manuscript had a nibble, but was ultimately rejected, as well. My agent then suggested I try the duo in an early reader--a pair of manuscripts she could submit together. 

Too invested in these characters to throw in the towel, I cut and cut and cut until nothing was left but a 500-word, all-dialogue story. My stubbornness paid off when we got the call that Simon & Schuster wanted Thunder & Cluck - Friends Do Not Eat Friends as one of the lead titles in their new graphic early readers line. A happy dance moment, for sure!

They wanted to release three books quickly, so then came the frantic planning of book #3. Fortunately, I had that chapter book to pull scenes from. Guess it's true that nothing you write ever goes to waste. Book #2, Thunder & Cluck - The Brave Friend Leads the Way, will release in late August. In that story, the duo clashes over which of them is braver. Next spring comes Book #3, Thunder & Cluck - Smart vs Strong.

Did you have to learn any new techniques to write in the graphic format? Did you have to modify your usual writing process? If so, how? 

No, I wasn't even aware it would be a graphic format until the manuscripts sold. After the first book's art was in, I learned my series would be a Level One, which meant I had to eliminate all contractions. That, I learned, was easier said than done -- tough to keep characters sounding natural when every can't becomes cannot, etc. But I'm a word nerd, so revision is my idea of fun.

Inside the first book: Thunder meets Cluck.

You’ve written a number of funny books. Does humor come naturally to you, or do you have to work at it?

Both. Lines that make me laugh out loud the first three or four times I read a manuscript quickly lose that element of surprise. By the 50th read, those funny bits are stale, stale, stale--or maybe I've tweaked the story structure so they no longer even work. But the revision process, when I'm honing the voice and really knowing, finally, what I want the story to sound like, often leads to serendipitous moments, when lines pop up I never would have thought of the first 50 times through. 

Many early readers have strict requirements, such as using specific vocabulary, avoiding contractions, and defining new words in the text, all of which could add more words. It seems to me that the graphic format would require a writer to be very brief. How do you balance those requirements?

Parameters are imperative, of course, but I don't have any in mind while creating. I've perused K-2 word lists, so those are likely stuck in my head. Or it could be that my writing spills out at a 1st-grade level because of the many books I've written for National Geographic over the years. 

Or maybe I just think/talk like a 6 year old. 

All I know when I begin is that I have about 500 words and 64 pages to play with. One of the most enjoyable things about writing these is that I get to add very detailed art notes that include body language, attitude, facial expressions...that's a blast and an ENTIRELY different mindset from writing picture books. Once I saw the kind of magic brilliant illustrator Miles Thompson was capable of, the writing/cutting process became a lot more fun. 

Here's another sneak peek.

Do you have a favorite piece of advice for writers? 

Learn to critique your own work as an editor would. You can develop your critical eye by 1) endless reading and writing, and 2) critiquing other people's manuscripts in a crit group or some kind of manuscript exchange. There's nothing like critiquing other people's writing to help you zero in on your own problem areas. 

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Thank you so much, Jill! We're all looking forward to reading more of your work, and we wish you the best of luck with this series!

And now for the giveaway! To enter our drawing, use the Rafflecopter widget below. You may enter via 1, 2, or all 3 options. (Note: if the widget doesn't appear, click on the link at the end of this post that says "a Rafflecopter giveaway" to enter.)

If you choose option 2, you MUST leave a comment on TODAY'S blog post or on our TeachingAuthors Facebook page. If you haven't already "liked" our Facebook page, please do so today!

If you prefer, you may submit your comment via email to: teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com.

Note: if you submit your comments via email or Facebook, YOU MUST STILL ENTER THE DRAWING VIA RAFFLECOPTER BELOW. The giveaway ends July 9, 2021 and is open to U.S. residents only.

If you've never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, here's info on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway and the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address.

Good luck!

Posted by JoAnn Early Macken

a Rafflecopter giveaway