Bella Bella: Interview with author and illustrator
About the author
Born a “Navy brat” in Brooklyn, New York, Jonathan London was raised on Naval stations throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Today he lives with his wife, Maureen, and their two sons, Aaron and Sean, in Northern California.
Jonathan London started writing poetry in his late teens. Although he received a Masters Degree in Social Sciences and never formally studied literature or creative writing, he began to consider himself a “writer” about the time he graduated from college. After college he became a dancer in a modern dance company, traveled around the world and worked at numerous low-paying jobs as a laborer or counselor.
However, during this twenty-year period, London continued to write. He wrote poems and short stories for adults, earning next to nothing despite being published in many literary magazines. “It wasn’t until I had kids of my own that I became a writer for children,” he explains. “It all started with telling them stories when they were very young. Now I am making a living as a writer. A dream come true!”
Interview with Jonathan London
Q. You’ve written two original serials for Breakfast Serials – Desolation Canyon and Bella Bella. Both deal with outdoor water adventures. Is this something you do often in real life?
A. Yes, though not often enough. I’ve just returned from a week of kayaking and canoeing on a lake in Quebec, up in Canada. It’s something I love. We stayed in a cabin and paddled among loons and beavers. I’ve been on many kayak and white-water rafting trips over the last twenty-five years, including a week of white-water rafting on the Green River, through Desolation Canyon, with my son Aaron, and a ten-day kayaking trip off the coast of British Columbia, island hopping and living largely off the fish we caught. I’m always looking forward to my next adventure.
Q. Is it necessary for would-be writers to have adventures?
A. If you want to be a writer of adventure stories, it certainly helps – as Jack London did – to have as many adventures as possible. My trips to Desolation Canyon and British Columbia’s Inland Passage (starting in Bella Bella) were the inspirations for my two serialized novels. Of course, in writing fiction I’m allowed to use my imagination and take a large helping of research. Other kinds of writing might not require so much specific experience. Imagination is the key.
Q. The characters in Bella Bella were also in Desolation Canyon. Do you anticipate more Breakfast Serials adventures with these people?
A. I’d love to write at least one more Breakfast Serials adventure with these same characters. I have one in mind based on a kayak trip I took through Bowrun Lakes – a 100 mile circuit of lakes and rivers in the central British Columbian wilderness. Though I used a lot of poetic license, the characters for the first two stories were inspired by real people (in some cases an amalgam of two people). And although in reality only two of the people from Desolation Canyon were also on the Bella Bella trip, the others were with us in spirit, so it felt right to include them in the story. This is the glory of fiction.
Q. You also write picture books. Is the approach to writing a picture book different than that to writing a novel?
A. Because picture books rely on illustration, are much shorter than novels, and are for a younger audience, my approach to writing them is somewhat different. With a picture book, I have to think visually. I have to keep the text very brief and the storyline captivating for very young readers. My background as a poet and picture-book author has helped me write my serialized novels, but the process differs. In writing serialized novels, I’m allowed to expand my stories and fill out the characters. It is a much more complex process, but one I find very engaging.
Q. You suggested that artist Jon Van Zyle create the illustrations for Bella Bella. From a writer’s point of view, what do you want the artwork to bring to your story?
A. Artist Jon Van Zyle has illustrated several books of mine. The Eyes of Gray Wolf, HoneyPaw and Lightfoot, Baby Whale’s Journey, Gone Again Ptarmigan, and most recently, Sled Dogs Run. From a writer’s point of view, I want the artwork to enhance the story-bring it even more alive and nail it in the reader’s imagination. Jon Van Zyle – who lives in a cabin in Alaska – has a wonderful ability to portray nature, and the people who stop outside of the mainstream and work and play in wild places.
In your capacity as a writer, do you visit schools? What’s you perception of young readers today?
There was a time when I visited many schools all over the country and did presentations. It’s something I still enjoy doing, but I do it less and less. It’s hard for me to leave my home and family and live in a motel. I’d rather be home writing – or on another adventure with my wife and sons and friends. Hopefully young readers will want to enjoy my adventures through the unbound books presented by Breakfast Serials. In my experience, young readers today are as hungry as ever for a good book. Maybe someday some of them will go on their own adventures and have their own stories to tell.
About the illustrator
Jon Van Zyle lives near Eagle River, Alaska, with his wife, Jona, also an artist, and a number of Siberian Huskies, which they raise and train. Dogs play a large part in their lives.
Art is Jon’s life, and Alaska has been his inspiration. Having twice completed the 1,049 miles of Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race between Anchorage and Nome (’76 and ’79), Jon Van Zyle has seen more of Alaska than most could even hope to. From this experience he has created the yearly Iditarod poster series commemorating the race. In 1979 he was made official Iditarod artist, a title he still holds today. In 2004 Jon was inducted into the Iditarod Hall of Fame.
Jon’s acrylic paintings go beyond the race, however, and encompass much of Alaska’s beauty. Dog teams, landscapes, wildlife, and Alaskan faces from native to newcomer portray an intimacy with the land and its people. Jon even touches on history, with studies of Alaskan pioneers and native traditions and lore, all of which record the Alaskan spirit. In addition he has gained a reputation, through his art, as a storyteller.
Jon’s art career has spanned more than three decades. Extremely prolific, he produces between seventy and eighty paintings a year for one-man exhibitions in the United States as well as Europe. Illustrating at least two children’s books (and general audience books) a year since 1993 has earned him a multigenerational reputation as well as many awards. His limited edition prints, lithographs, and posters sell out regularly, with more than 300 editions in the last twenty-five years. Annually, at least thirty paintings are created for children’s books and forty to fifty are requested by galleries and museum exhibitions.
A book of Jon’s art and life, The Best of Alaska: The Art of Jon Van Zyle, was published in 1990 and reprinted through 1995. In 1998 Jon Van Zyle’s Alaskan Sketchbook was published.
Iditarod Memories, a book celebrating his twenty-five years of official Iditarod posters, was published in 2001.
To learn more about Jon, you can visit his website at www.JonVanZyle.com.
An interview with the illustrator
Q. You’ve twice completed the 1,049 miles of Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race between Anchorage and Nome (’76 and ’79). How has the race changed, and what does it mean to you?
A. The Iditarod race was first run in 1973. I ran it in 1976 and ’79. For the first five years, it was truly a long trip. The average time was about twenty-three days of mushing. Today they run it in nine or ten days. Today’s trail is well marked, and fairly well-groomed. We spent a lot of the early years breaking our own trails with snowshoes; the dog teams would follow. We had to build fires to cook our dogs’ food. And we had to spend time cutting wood. Today we use methyl alcohol cookers – instant heat! Also, our dogs used to have to rest on the snow, or occasionally on spruce boughs when available. Today the Iditarod supplies bales of fresh straw at every checkpoint. In addition, vets were in very low supply in the old days. Today a whole cadre of expert veterinarians from around the world are at all checkpoints. Superior dog foods have been developed, which benefits all dogs, from our huskies to the poodles of the cities. And back in the old days we had different dogs than the majority of mushers who run today. For speed, the old-fashioned Eskimo Husky or Indian dog or Siberian Husky has generally now been crossbred with hounds. These dogs are much faster, but require more rest, dog coats, more booties, and usually more food. As times change, generally for the better – I still remember fire pits with friends and dog teams circling around them – there is still camaraderie today… . But ask any old-timer who run with us, and you can be sure that he or she will say it’s not quite the same as it used to be.
Q. Please tell us about your participation and continued association.
A. I came back from the ’76 race and painted twenty original paintings about the race-about the hardships, about the good times. One of those paintings stood out in my mind as a symbol of what the race was all about. I convinced the race committee to let me create a poster from that painting to help advertise the race and to help tell the world about it (there were very few people who knew what it was back then). That is how, in 1977, I came to produce the first Iditarod poster-and I have continued producing them ever since. These thirty years of posters, along with lots of other artwork that I’ve given to the Iditarod, has helped raise money and promote the race, not only in the U.S., but in Europe as well. In 1979 I ran the race again, and was honored also in 1979 as being named the official Iditarod artist. In 2004 I was induced into the Iditarod Hall of Fame.
Q. Subject matter aside, how does the world of Alaska affect your art?
A. Alaska fits my personality – my way of life. I only paint what I have personally experienced over time. My years of mushing dogs, fishing, hunting, camping, and generally living in Alaska lend credence to my work. I try not only to do a good painting… . I try to tell the viewer a story (my story) within the painting.