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MEET LISZE BECHTOLD
by Bonnie O'Brian

What did you most like to do when you were a child?

I spent most of my free time drawing. I would tell myself stories about what I was drawing, apparently out loud because one afternoon one of my brothers slipped into my room to find out who I was talking to. I glanced up to see his shadow on the wall, squealed and nearly fell out of my chair. After that, it was a little harder to enter the world I was drawing.

Lisze Bechtold

Did you write stories when you were growing up? at school? Or at home as a hobby? As a young child, or as a teenager, or both?

I wrote my first children’s book in the sixth grade. I also wrote plays that I cajoled all the younger kids in the neighborhood to perform. In high school I wrote a lot of poetry and songs.

Was your first book accepted immediately? or did you experience a number of rejections?

I was a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators for nine years before even submitting a manuscript to a publisher. Winning one of their contests convinced me I might be ready. Then it was another two years of submissions before my first book sold… the first time. Before I could sign the contract, the entire staff of the imprint was laid off. During the 1990’s publishers were busy buying one another and laying off staff when they did so. It was two more years and two more sales before I finally got to sign a contract. I spent a year rewriting Buster the Very Shy Dog as an early reader, instead of a picture book. Shortly after starting the illustrations, we moved to Paris for my husband’s work. It was not as romantic as one might imagine. We had three young children in tow and I had managed to leave all my preliminary colors roughs for the book at home. I set up a work area in the “chambre de bonne” (maid’s quarters in the attic of the apartment building). It was two flights up the back stairs and down a dark, grimy hallway. At first, it was hard to get myself to go up there, but once I got used to it, I loved it. I think it’s really important to have your own space to work, no matter how small or dingy it might be.

Have any of your books earned special recognition?

BUSTER THE VERY SHY DOG and BUSTER AND PHOEBE: the Great Bone Game each received the Oppenheimer Gold Award. BUSTER AND PHOEBE also won a Maryland Blue Crab honor award for early readers.

Have any of your fiction stories been about real people or events?

The Buster early readers are about two real dogs I had, Buster and Phoebe. I did not need to exaggerate their characters because Buster was so shy that people thought we only had one dog, Phoebe, who was a total party animal. All the stories about them were inspired by some real event (like being sprayed by a skunk or having a patio laid over their stash of bones) but the books are about their relationship with each other as siblings. EDNA’S TALE was inspired by a very strange cat I had whose exceedingly fluffy tale was always festooned with leaves.

Do you work on more than one book at a time?

Since writing and illustrating books is such a long process, and most of my books are short, I work on several at once. They each have a shelf in my studio where all the sketches, dummies, and drafts are available to work on when inspiration strikes. Sometimes I go into my studio planning to work on one particular book, but another catches my eye and I end up working on that one instead. When that happens, I often resolve a problem with the story. The two exceptions to this way of working are when I’m writing a novel or under a deadline to paint the finished art for a book. Then my head needs to stay completely in the world of that one book.

Do you write every day and do you have set hours that you work?

I’ve made hundreds of schedules but have never been able to follow one for even a day. I don’t know if it’s natural rebelliousness or just the chaos of being a parent. Thanks to the dog, I finally figured out that rather than a schedule, I have a sequence of events: make coffee, reheat coffee, go to studio. Every time the microwave dinged and I took out a mug, he would run to the back door.

When is your next book going to be in book stores?

My newest book just came out and received a starred review in Kirkus.SALLY AND THE PURPLE SOCKS is a picture book about a resourceful, unflappable duck and a pair of socks that keep growing.

What do you most want the students to get out of your school visits?

The biggest thrill for me is when teachers tell me that the students couldn’t wait to get back to the classroom to work on their own stories! When students feel inspired to write and draw, even after hearing about how much work goes into making a book, I know they’ve understood that the fun outweighs the challenges of writing and illustrating.

Has anyone ever written you a fan letter that you’d like to share?

My favorite fan letter is from a woman with a 20 year old learning impaired son who was so glad to find an easy to read book with subject matter that was interesting for any age reader.

What other jobs you had before you became a writer/illustrator?

I was an animator for 17 years before becoming a full time children’s book author and illustrator. I worked on commercials, short films (including Disney’s THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER), and one feature: FERNGULLY.