Interview: Elaine Bickell talks about Keith Goes Glam

Elaine Bickell grew up in the UK and studied English Literature at Bristol University. She moved to New Zealand in 2005 and worked in advertising. Her debut with Scholastic, The Little Ghost Who Lost Her Boo!, won the 2018 Storylines Joy Cowley Award and went on to become a New York Times best-seller. Elaine lives in Wellington with her partner, children and dog, and enjoys football, art, and the outdoors. Elaine talks to NZ Booklovers.

Tell us a little about Keith Goes Glam.

Keith Goes Glam is book 2 in the Keith vs Queenie picture book series. It sees the return of rival dog and cat siblings who are hell-bent on getting one over on each other. Queenie appears to have the upper hand, then Keith comes up with a cunning plan for revenge, but as you’ll know from book one, things don’t tend to go Keith’s way. It has been especially great to have the opportunity to write a series. Picture books are, of course, constrained by word count, but having a series to play with, I found I could indulge more in character development. 

What inspired you to write this book?

The whole series draws on my own experiences as a sibling. I have a younger sister Katie, we are less than a year apart (poor Mum) and this small age gap meant we were together a lot, even in the same class at school at times. We fought like cats and dogs (haha) when we were little but not anymore. She has given me enough material for about 50 books – thank you sis.

For Glam specifically, the idea came to me while I was in New York. I went over for a holiday and to do some promotion events for The Little Witch who Lost her Broom! Everywhere we went, there were tiny teacup Chihuahuas in glitzy little bags. At the time, I was only ruminating on, or as Joy Cowley would say, gestating, the idea for the Keith vs Queenie series, but I knew Keith was definitely going to find himself in an ostentatious bag he didn’t want to be in at some point.

What research was involved?

For Glam, I needed to have a good look at pet accessories. I have two dogs but they are grubby little terriers, and I would never consider adorning them with anything other than a functional collar and a splash of flea treatment. Who knew there were so many pet accessories out there?! Minky did most of the heavy lifting when it came to the details, but I went down a few rabbit holes and got a lot of unwanted pet bling spam for a while. Also, there are a lot of chihuahuas on social media with huge followings, and I mean huge. I got a bit addicted to checking the accounts of a few of them. I drove the kids mad showing them reels of Chihuahua content.

What was your routine or process when writing this book?

I always do a little bit towards my writing every day, even if it’s only ten minutes. With this series, once I knew the characters and what it was about, I couldn’t stop writing. Even when I passed the finish line and had a series nailed, I kept going. I think I wrote enough material for eight books in the end but of course they won’t all make it to the shelves.

An important part of my process is always knowing the complete story before I start writing. If you write in rhyme, which I love doing, knowing your exact story upfront is critical as it stops the story getting derailed by some lovely perfect shiny rhyming couplet that isn’t what you wanted or intended to say. I plot out the whole book first then I write many, many lines for each bit of action covering all the different ways of delivering it and then my favourite bit is cutting and consolidating. I always have to delete some really great lines which is a painful but necessary part of the process.

How did you work with the illustrator?

I don’t get involved in Minky’s process at all. She’s brilliant and adds so much humour and depth to the story. I wouldn’t want to meddle and risk impacting or losing the unique visual storytelling she brings to the project. I used some of her illustration ideas/details in the text for later books in the series and it felt like having a bit of a cheat code.

If a soundtrack were made to accompany this book, name a song or two you would include.

Made you look – Meghan Trainor.

Stuck in the Middle with you – Stealers Wheel.

Dog days are over – Florence and the Machine.

What did you enjoy the most about writing this children's book?

I love developing characters and I love writing funny snarky stuff, so this project was a dream come true. There is nothing like being in flow with a story and forgetting about all the bad things in the world. While I was writing it I even forgot I had children a couple of times and had to make a mad late dash to the school gate.

What did you do to celebrate finishing this book?

I wrote another few!

What is the favourite book you have read so far this year and why?

Children’s books it would have to be The Terrible Trio series by Swapna Haddow and Minky, I just finished the third book, and the humour appeals to me so much. For adults, I’m picking The Vanishing Place by Zoe Rankin. I found it so compelling and loved the tension and I can’t wait to see what Zoe writes next. I also have to mention John of John by one of my faves Douglas Stuart which I have just finished. I relish his work especially how human warmth and emotion contrasts with the bleakness of place or situation. 

What’s next on the agenda for you?

I have two more books coming out before the end of the year, both also with the wonderful Scholastic NZ. The Little Vampire who lost a Tooth releases in August and is a lovely companion book to The Little Ghost who lost her Boo! and The Little Witch who lost her Broom! Raymond McGrath is my teammate on that series, which has grown way beyond our expectations. I’ve also teamed up with Minky again and we have A Happy Cappy Christmas coming out in time for the festive season. It’s about a band of naughty but lovable Capybaras and is a real giggle. Then we have Keith vs Queenie book 3 to look forward to next year, I’m not sure what I can say about the rest of the series but there’s a lot of injustice still to come! It’s been a very busy time, and it is not lost on me how fortunate I have been.

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