Creator Corner: Author and Illustrator Dave Whamond

Welcome to Creator Corner, a blog series where we interview the creators of our recent books. For this post, we interviewed Hugo’s Haunted Handbook author and illustrator Dave Whamond, whose book is publishing March 15, 2024!

Owlkids Books: How did you begin writing and illustrating children’s books?

Dave Whamond: I really started thinking about writing and illustrating children’s books when I had my own kids and would read to them at night. It helped me visualize it becoming a reality, and made me think about what I might do with my own book.

OKB: What was the inspiration for this book?

DW: I have always been fascinated with ghosts and the paranormal, and aliens, and Bigfoot, especially when I was a kid. My wife is very interested in ghosts as well and has been known to drag the family on ghost tours in different cities that we visit.

OKB: What was the most enjoyable part of writing this book? What was the most challenging part of the process?

DW: I really enjoyed the writing process of this book. It seemed to flow off the page, which is usually a good sign it is working. The most challenging part was trying to match the illustration style to the writing. I’m happy with how it turned out eventually.

OKB: Which spread did you enjoy illustrating the most, and why? Which was the most challenging to illustrate, and why?

DW: I like the full page scenes. I love to have all that space to play with illustratively. I find the pages where there is a lot of dialogue and numerous frames aren’t nearly as fun to draw, mostly because you are trying to tell the story effectively and fit everything into the space, which can be challenging. A full page is like a blank canvas that can become anything you want.

OKB: What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

DW: I hope people will laugh all the way through it. If you are afraid of ghosts, this might help you see the humorous side of things. In fact, humor can get you through a lot of things in life, not just ghosts!

OKB: What’s a fun fact people may not know about you?

DW: I can’t snap my fingers. There, I admit it! It feels so good to finally say it. Also, I’m not afraid of ghosts. Or aliens. Or Bigfoot. But I’d love to see one someday. I do, however, have a fear of chipmunks.