Title: Zealy’s Very First Swim: The Adventures of Zealy and Whubba Book 2,Series 1
Author: Roe De Pinto
Publisher: Outskirts Press
ISBN: 978-1-4787-7114-2
Pages: 40
Genre: Children’s Book
Author Interview Series: Roe De Pinto
Interviewed by: Beth Adams
Today we are talking with author Roe De Pinto of “Zealy’s Very First Swim: The Adventures of Zealy and Whubba.”
PBR: Today we have the privilege to be with author Roe De Pinto, talking about Zealy’s Very First Swim, Book Two Series 1 of The Adventures of Zealy and Whubba. Thank you for joining us.
RDP: So happy to be here with you. Many thanks for your time and this opportunity.
PBR: Your character Zealy is an adorable white baby seal, how did you come up with her, and her friend Whubba the baby Orca?
RDP:The origin came to me while doing my courses for The Institute for Children’s Lit (3 years). I had researched seals and whales and with global warming, and animal abuse on the rise, I thought the marine animals were more unique. I love fluffy animals and was toying with the ideas of marine animals and thought for a girl seal, she needed to be lovable and fluffy as opposed to sleek like the orca. My research actually showed me in different parts of the world, there actually were seals that were fluffy and white as sealpups so I went with it and my illustrator and I took nine months to get to where Zealy and Whubba are today. Whubba was my first inspiration and I always loved cartoons (my favorite form of TV) so I decided to create a baby orca (little killer of kindness) that was so precious he would melt anyone’s heart! So, Zealy and Whubba gave birth after nine months of collaborating! They are my passionate little ambassadors of innocence and love.
PBR: In going about creating this book, how much guidance and control did you have with your illustrator?
RDP: I was the visionary directing her envisioning. Detailing constantly until she got what I was seeing. She illustrates mostly naturalism in animals so I had to switch her over to a cartoonist’s characterization until she finally got it. She did an awesome job on these books!
PBR: What other books within this genre would you say had an influence on you?
RDP:Cartoon characters like Bubble Guppies and Umi-zoomi which I watch for countless hours with my grandbabies are inspirational to me. Their Little Golden Books also gave me incentive to create the series.
PBR: With this book, being the second of a series, and your series, what plans do you have for future releases?
RDP: The third book in the series, Zealy and Whubba Go Fishing, will be available in stores and online in July 2016, actually in two weeks. There will be 12 in this series of which I have drafted manuscripts for 9 in total. My ultimate goal for the series is a cartoon series and a feature film- this is my dream come true.
PBR: What have you found to be more difficult than originally thought once you started publishing your books?
RDP: My writing and the self-publishing is the less difficult part. The marketing and discoverability of your books is very discouraging at times, because you are a needle in a haystack of thousands of books. Getting your product noticed is quite difficult.
PBR: Do you have any advice you can give other authors embarking on creating classic children’s books?
RDP: Be passionate about your content or self-satisfaction will never be achieved. Be confident, and diligent in your portrayals. Most of all, try rigorously to see through the eyes of a child and always keep it simplistic depending on the age genre you are pitching for. Words set examples in books, especially the minds of the young who are very impressionable. Always teach kindness, love, sharing and caring through your illustration and text and spark their imagination with real and happy visions, not frightful fantasy. We want our children to learn integrity and self-esteem, family unity and friendship even with the unlikeliest of friends.
PBR: This has all been very interesting, and we wish you the best of success! Thank you again.
RDP: Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to share my inner visions with you and I hope some day every child’s library will have Zealy and Whubba lighting up their world with innocent smiles and happiness. Thanks and God Bless all!
To learn more about “Zealy’s Very First Swim” please visit Pacific Book Review.
