 | Congratulations on Hogbert, your next author-illustrated picture book with Walker Books. Dare I say Hogbert might just be your cutest picture book protagonist yet… How long has the idea of Hogbert been percolating, and where did it start? Hogbert has been scuffling about in my head for over ten years! After finishing my degree, the day after the New Designers Fair, my friend Beth and I met in Germany to walk the Harz Witches Trail. We slept the whole way to Osterode, and walked 100km through the German Forest. It was the first of many walking holidays I’ve done since then, but this is the home of Hogbert. We didn’t see any wild boar, but I was really curious about the wild and slightly scary animals that were hiding in those trees, but we were really only joined by red squirrels and witches. |
 Sketchbook drawings for Hogbert |  |
You draw on a lot of reference images when creating the art for your picture books, what/where is Hogbert’s world inspired by?
The Harz Witches Trail in the Harz mountains, is home to many well known German Fairy Tales. I wanted to have a little break after finishing my degree, and I searched for the cheapest walking holidays I could at the time! This one really caught my eye. The forests were amazing. In some places the woods grew so densely that the undergrowth was complete blackness after a few meters. Some trails cut straight through a sheer slope where the trees spiked up through mist until they disappeared. We looped around the Bode gorge - some overly enthusiastic hand gesticulating had me accidentally chuck the map down a ravine. Don’t tell my mum - I did climb down and get it!
You draw on a lot of reference images when creating the art for your picture books, what/where is Hogbert’s world inspired by?
The Harz Witches Trail in the Harz mountains, is home to many well known German Fairy Tales. I wanted to have a little break after finishing my degree, and I searched for the cheapest walking holidays I could at the time! This one really caught my eye. The forests were amazing. In some places the woods grew so densely that the undergrowth was complete blackness after a few meters. Some trails cut straight through a sheer slope where the trees spiked up through mist until they disappeared. We looped around the Bode gorge - some overly enthusiastic hand gesticulating had me accidentally chuck the map down a ravine. Don’t tell my mum - I did climb down and get it!
 Harz Witches Trail |  Concept art for 'Hogbert' |
 Harz Witches Trail | Some of the most scenic spots were on the day it rained non stop, the path was a shallow stream of water, we were soaked. A lady in a railway cafe balked as we came in for a warm drink, and lined our seats with bin bags to stop us dripping all over her chairs. That was coming down from Mount Brocken, and there were mossy boulders that looked like the most perfect witch’s caves. And huge waterfalls. And foxgloves and wild strawberries and little ponds with huge shimmery trout. And in my mind, a little stripey piglet.  Wild strawberries on Harz Witches Trail |
Final artwork for 'Hogbert'
 Final artwork for 'Hogbert' |  Rough drawing for 'Hogbert'  Final artwork for 'Hogbert' |
| Readers may recognise a nod to some very familiar fairytale characters in Hogbert, why did you choose to weave them into your story? When I was finally sitting down to write Hogbert his own story, I knew I wanted the setting to be the German Forests that inspired him. I considered having the Grimm’s Fairytale protagonists meet him along his path, but then I remembered the red squirrel dangling from a branch above us on the trek. It occurred to me that she could be red riding hood in animal form, and the rest followed! The two rabbit characters were originally mice, but my parents rescued and reared some baby rabbit during lockdown 2, and my goodness they were too cute not to transform into Hansel and Gretel. |  |
 Progression of rough to final artwork |  |
Do you have a favourite Grimm’s Fairy Tale?
The first one that comes to mind, from all the stories read to us as children, is ‘The Frog Prince.’ I do remember being really drawn to the princess’s golden ball, which as a grown up I’m thinking is because… why were we all so obsessed with bouncy balls? Why are we still? I can’t honestly throw or catch. Even now I see a gum ball machine of marbly spheres and I want one. Give me one. She was usually in a yellow dress too, which I liked. The frog prince does appear somewhere in Hogbert, by the way.
The first one that comes to mind, from all the stories read to us as children, is ‘The Frog Prince.’ I do remember being really drawn to the princess’s golden ball, which as a grown up I’m thinking is because… why were we all so obsessed with bouncy balls? Why are we still? I can’t honestly throw or catch. Even now I see a gum ball machine of marbly spheres and I want one. Give me one. She was usually in a yellow dress too, which I liked. The frog prince does appear somewhere in Hogbert, by the way.
 Progression of rough to final artwork |  |
And which part of the Hogbert-making process did you find the most enjoyable?
I always like the final art stage once I get into the rhythm of it, and so I really enjoyed making the lush green Germanic forest scenes. I had so many photos of foliage and rocks and trees from the walk all those years ago, and so I tried to place the animals directly into those settings.
I always like the final art stage once I get into the rhythm of it, and so I really enjoyed making the lush green Germanic forest scenes. I had so many photos of foliage and rocks and trees from the walk all those years ago, and so I tried to place the animals directly into those settings.
 Luberon Valley |  |  Foxgloves - Harz Witches Trail |
I also took lots of photos of the forest caverns on a walking holiday in the Luberon Valley, mid way through the final artwork, so that helped get the correct foliage for the rainy cave scenes. That was the closest I’ve come to actually seeing a boar. The path was interrupted by fresh boar tracks every 100m or so, I could smell them too. I sang to myself all day long to try and avoid taking one by surprise. One day I heard a huge crashing in the undergrowth that I was certain was a boar barrelling down the valley, and I was halfway up a tree when I realised it was a guy cycling past on his mountain bike. ‘Bonjour!’
I think in general, I really enjoyed working with Hogbert as a main character. He was lots of fun to draw. I think they might be one of the cutest baby animals to me. Even if I would climb a tree to avoid an encounter with one.
I think in general, I really enjoyed working with Hogbert as a main character. He was lots of fun to draw. I think they might be one of the cutest baby animals to me. Even if I would climb a tree to avoid an encounter with one.
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| Do you have any promotional events planned and are there any foreign editions of Hogbert in the pipeline? I’m painting five local windows with little Hogberts throughout August. Come say hi: 2nd August: Winstone’s Bookshop, Sidmouth 3rd August: Waterstones, Exeter 9th August: Lyme Regis Bookshop, Lyme Regis 16th August: Archway Bookshop, Axminster 23rd August: The Bookshop, Bridport I’m very excited to say that Hogbert will be publishing very soon in the UK and Ireland, the USA and Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Denmark, China, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands and Romania. I’ve loved finding out Hogbert’s names in these co-editions, especially Denmark. My little nephew Wilfred was born in April this year, and the Danish hoglet is called Vilfred! |  Hogbert (Walker Books) publishes on 31st July in the UK. |