It’s a JOY (see what I did there?!) to welcome Karin Celestine into The Reading Realm to talk about their new book, the enchantingly beautiful THE JOY BRINGERS!
Before we settle down in The Reading Realm to talk about your new book, what’s your drink and snack of choice?
I love an oat milk latte but when writing I make a flask of black chai tea so I always have a hot drink. Snacks are roast nuts tossed in soy sauce, anything savoury like crisps. I adore biscuits but have zero will power with them and will eat a whole packet in one go, so they tend to be banned from the house!
Without giving too much away, what can you tell us about The Joy Bringers?
The Joy Bringers is book three in a four part series based around the seasons. It is a reflection of The Lightbringers (Winter) and centred around Midsummer. It is written for all ages, adults as well as children. The theme is one of joy, fun bonfires and summer evenings, joy and laughter and finding small beauties in our days. That feather that stops us in our tracks, or when we hear a wood pigeon that sparks a memory of a summer’s evening as a child. Sometimes we get a spark of inspiration, we solve a problem and I wonder why some things stop us in our tracks and others don’t. It is the story of small sparks of joy and inspiration and their hiding and finding. A reminder that we can bring joy to others too.
Can you remember where you were when you had the initial idea for this book and what it felt like?
When I first discussed the four book series with the publisher, I had ideas for Winter, Spring and Autumn, but not Summer. I was worrying if I’d find any idea at all and because of the order of the series, I had to do it before Spring, which I did have the story for! I have a good friend Cecila, who helps edit the books. She knows me so well that she knows what I am trying to say and that is worth its weight in gold. Working on the autumn book, The Wish Gatherers she commented that they all linked to the four elements as well as seasons. The next day sitting in my shed studio where I work, it was, just like in the book, a sudden spark of inspiration! The summer book had to be fire as the element and I thought of foxes with sooty paws gathering up sparks from summer bonfires, filled with joy. It took a while to realise it needed a host of characters and not just one, and the sparks became more generic sparks of joy than just from fires. Partly as at the time there were fires raging on the moors and hills from people lighting fires and it seemed a bit irresponsible to be encouraging people to light more! So yes, I can remember that real spark of joyful YES! A huge grin and I wanted to put that feeling into the book!
The photographs in this book are wonderful! How does the whole process of bringing this story to life work?
I sometimes wonder why I did choose to illustrate the books in the most difficult way possible! I tend to work back and forth with text and illustration which I am so fortunate to do, being both writer and illustrator. I start by working out the outline of the story and then working through what pictures would work for it. I am influenced by the illustrations and knowing what animals would work well and what is possible. Sometimes I have to tweak the text as the logistics of animals swimming in a river or such just aren’t possible. I then take the photos and then go back and work on the text.
It is a bit nerve-racking with this current series to get the illustrations just right. The Celestine and the Hare series was easier as some were set indoors or not at a particular time of year. The tales of the turning year series is set around each season, so for The Joy Bringers, I had to be ready for when the foxgloves came out. I have a short window of time to take the photos.
I get the animals ready and then take them out on my walks with the dog in the woods and hope for the right conditions. I spend my days watching for what grows where and noting where’s a good spot for bluebells or foxgloves or such for when the time comes.
The summer I took those pictures, it rained a lot when the foxgloves were flowering and it was touch and go if I was going to manage to get the right pictures. They were nearly over and one day the sun finally came out, so I legged it up the hill to take all the pictures!
Some of the illustrations were taken while visiting my family in Sweden. The landscape there is beautiful and was perfect for sea side picnics and such but again there were storms that year. The sunset ones you can’t guarantee so I have to take hundreds of photos in different settings and hope that in amongst them there are some that work for the story. I was lucky in a stormy summer to have that one night when the sunset and lighting was just perfect.
When I went to photograph the badger, I had a place in mind, but when I arrived, there was a group of archaeologists there doing a dig! I was despairing of where to photo her, but as I turned the corner, there was a huge stag standing by an old gnarled tree stump as if showing me the way. It was a perfect spot.
One thing that made me laugh with this book was that it seemed to be working in my life too. I made little sparks for the photos and every time I came home, they were gone! The tricksy creatures seemed to be hiding them! I got through so many sparks. I’d carefully pick them up, put them in a box in my bag and then when I got home, there would be maybe one there.
There is a lot of back and forth with text and illustration and I also consult Pam Thom-Rowe who writes the folk customs in the back. We make sure they match what is in the book and then I work with Cecilia to work on the text to make the words are just right. That takes a lot of drafts and then it goes to the publishers who then edit as well. This book has Grandmother Badger walking through the book leaving her detritus across the pages so that was another lot of work to sort all those little illustrations out. The designer at Graffeg is wonderful for being so calm and helpful, endlessly moving things on pages till it looks right. So many drafts and so many people helping to shape it. I love the collaborative aspect of it. This book even had a ‘day before it went to print phone call in a layby discussion’ – there was one word that neither of us felt quite right but we got there in the end!
How long does it take to make one of your stunning felt creatures?
A smaller animal like a mouse I can make in a couple of hours, but someone like Grandmother Badger takes weeks. I put a lot of detail into the animals and illustrations that people probably don’t notice, but I think the care and attention and love I put into the animals shows through in their characters. She was made of the woods, so not only did it take me nearly a week to make her, the accessories took a long time too. Her shawl is woven from nettles I gathered in the woods, processed into cordage and then wove. She is spinning nettle fibre I spun myself. Her copper charms are all plants I gathered in the woods and then cast into copper. I dug the clay for her mug from near the badger sett in the woods and then made and fired it. Her needle is made from an antler found in the woods. The quilt is stitched by my textile artist friend and neighbour Kathy Anderson. I gave her plant dyed pieces of fabric to stitch, some I’d dyed myself from plants gathered in the woods. It took her a month to make and a lot of back and forth with sections of it so I could take photos before she stitched it up. The fox’s baskets I wove from dandelions and daffodils I’d gathered in the spring. I know most won’t notice but for me it feels important that they embody the soul and life I want them to portray.
Your writing is so beautiful and lyrical. Where do you think this style comes from? Have you always written in this way? Are there any other authors or people who you think have contributed to your style of writing?
I am an accidental author! I used to tell my brother stories growing up but was never considered a writer and I didn’t have ambitions to write books. I studied science and was pigeonholed in to that. Our world is so binary, scientist or artist, girl or boy, black and white, I always wanted to be in the middle, to be both, to be a scientist and artist so I studied chemistry and history and art and taught both and crafts, the stories came in my lessons.
When I look back, I realised that I’ve always talked in that way. I used to be a teacher and was often asked to do assemblies. I’d tell them stories that made everyone cry, touched them deeply. I have a longing to help people, to bring them joy and feel seen. In the first series I did, I hid conversation starters in for those who need them, themes of loss, longing, belonging, being small and invisible, they are all there for those that need them.
I feel things deeply and want to touch people on a deeper level. To move them. I started making felted animals to sell but instead of just saying here’s a mouse for sale, I’d make up little stories about them and it kind of grew from there. A lot of the social media I did about the animals was funny and I think people expected me to write funny books but when I sat down to write the first one, Paper Boat for Panda, it came out in a quiet gentle touching way. I think it surprised some people.
I think my style is influenced by the thousands of books I read, especially as a child. I loved Nog in the Noggin the Nog, The Clangers, The Moomins, Winnie the Pooh, and The Wind in the Willows. They all have that same quality of an underlying melancholy that spoke to me.
What do you hope readers take away after experiencing this book?
This current series is aimed at adults as well as children and doesn’t really fit into any current trend or such, but I hope those who stumble across it feel moved in some way. I hope it inspires them to take a moment to stop and look at a beautiful leaf, or the way the sun casts a shadow on the trees. I also wanted to give people a reminder to have some fun and joy. The world is so terrible at the moment and sometimes people feel like they can’t be happy, but there is a difference between ‘I don’t care, people are suffering’ and ‘I’m going to have a good time anyway’, and being joyful as a service to others. You having fun is creating sparks of joy for others to find. I find for example when people are bullying on social media, ignoring them and just celebrating joyful things is so much more effective and spreads to others and keeps them from being dragged down too. A reminder that you can affect someone’s day by smiling at them, or saying ‘I like your hat’. Kindness and joy spread like butterfly wings. We know how infectious it is when we see a little group of children giggling. It makes us smile which then might affect how we interact with someone else which then carries on. So I want people to remember to stop and notice the small joys in their days even, or especially. when times are tough, and to bring some joy to others too.
What brings you joy?
I used to have my head down, rushing and working and not looking up, thinking one day, some day. I got cancer and thought that was it, but it was the best wake up call ever. It stopped me in my tracks and made me look up. I realised that life is happening right here night now and started re-noticing the mist on the hills in the morning, the ladybirds on a leaf, the feel of grass between my toes on a cool summer morning. I recovered and am still here and the small joys are still here too. My joy is found in nature as I live in rural Wales and am quite a hermit, so I walk the woods and hills with my dog and always find something that brings me joy on those walks. I am quite introverted and don’t have a lot of friends, but I have a few golden ones who do things like send me a conker in the post. That brings utter joy. My dog Lupin, and my new baby grandkid are utter joys too. But mostly it is the small things like being all warm and cosy after getting drenched on a walk, clean sheets, or a cup of tea after a long day. I encourage everyone to notice them in their days.
Finally, can you describe The Joy Bringers in three words?
No! Haha! Oh, erm well, let me see, nature-based-seasonal-soulful-joyful summer mischief!
