Ariel Bernstein’s new chapter book series WARREN & DRAGON is a modern-day Calvin and Hobbes-esque tale about a dreamy boy and his vain dragon companion. The first two books in the series—100 Friends and Weekend with Chewy—just published last month. So, I am thrilled to interview Ariel, who I had the pleasure of meeting recently at an unworkshop at Highlights.

First of all congratulations, Ariel, on the publication of the first two books in your WARREN & DRAGON series, and thank you for joining us on the Winged Pen! I love how you were able to go from writing picture books to chapter books. Other than the obvious word count, how is writing a chapter book different from writing a picture book?

Thank you, Karin! With a picture book, I can take an idea I’m excited about and start writing right away. Sometimes I’ll figure out the story as I go or it’ll evolve during revisions. For the chapter books, I have to plan a bit more before I start writing. I don’t usually have detailed outlines, but I do need to figure out the direction of the story first and some ideas of what I want to include.

How did you come up with the original idea? Did you have a 700-year-old pet dragon as a child?

Ha! My only pet friends were cats named Whiskia, Guppy, and Tango, but they did not talk to me. The story actually started as a picture book that wasn’t quite working out. I changed the boy’s grade from kindergarten to second grade, and focused on him and the dragon character. I also changed the concept of a boy figuring out that kindergarten isn’t scary, to a boy figuring out how to make friends.

Do you have other books planned, and when are they coming out?

I do! There will be a second Owl and Monkey picture book called WHERE IS MY BALLOON?, also illustrated by the wonderful Scott Magoon, out on January 22, 2019 (Paula Wiseman Books/Simon and Schuster), and another picture book called WE LOVE FISHING, illustrated by Marc Rosenthal, out in Fall 2020 (Paula Wiseman Books/Simon and Schuster). There are also two more WARREN & DRAGON books coming out! VOLCANO DELUXE will be published April 2, 2019, and SCARY SLEEPOVER will be out sometime in Summer 2019.

Wow, these sound great! You’ve certainly been busy. Is there an overall arc for the WARREN & DRAGON series, or do you write book by book?

I don’t have any overall arc for the series. There is some growth and learning for Warren in each book, while Dragon remains very much the same id-driven character!

The illustrations in WARREN & DRAGON are wonderful. Can you tell us a little about your illustrator Mike Malbrough, and what it was like working with a chapter book illustrator verses a picture book illustrator?

I also love Mike’s illustrations! This is his first chapter book series too, but he also writes and illustrates picture books, including MARIGOLD BAKES A CAKE (Philomel/Penguin Random House), and the sequel, MARIGOLD FINDS THE MAGIC WORDS: A PLEASE AND THANK YOU STORY! out March 2019. Usually the process of working with picture book and chapter book illustrators is similar for an author. An author works on the manuscript with the editor, while the editor and art director work separately with the illustrator. Both Mike and Scott Magoon brought their own visions to the picture and chapter books, although the BALLOON picture books give more room for illustrations as they are on every page. When I write picture books, I’m always thinking about how my text is only half of the story as the illustrations provide the other. If you look at Scott’s art in I HAVE A BALLOON, you’ll see that there are many details not taken from the text. When I write a chapter book, I never know what images will end up as illustrations, so I don’t focus on leaving room for them. But Mike still brought such a strong style that I ended up changing some text to better compliment the illustrations!

What’s your writing process like? Are you pantser or a plotter?

I’m definitely a pantser. But as I mentioned before, I do try to plot a bit more with the chapter books. I usually work in the mornings and early afternoons, when my kids are in school (or camp). I like to sit with my laptop on the comfy loveseat in my living room. I leave my cellphone in the kitchen so I don’t get too easily distracted.

Ah, yes, good idea to leave the cell phone in kitchen! I should try that, too! Are there any craft books that have inspired and helped you in your writing journey?

I read Anne Lamott’s BIRD BY BIRD and Stephen King’s ON WRITING which were both very interesting and inspiring in general. But I haven’t yet read book specifically on writing picture books or chapter books. I’ve learned a lot from conferences, online posts, and critiques.

Do you have a favorite writing quote?

“Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.” By Mark Twain. It makes me laugh to read it, because of course writing is not easy, but you definitely have to spend a lot of time crossing out the wrong words!

Ah, wise words indeed from Mr. Twain! And as a final question, do you have any tips for writers who want to write chapter books?

Pick a concept you enjoy writing about, as chapter books usually require multiple books!

Thank you, Ariel, for joining us today! We wish you, and Warren, and Dragon, the best of luck on your many adventures!

You can order Ariel’s first two books in the WARREN AND DRAGON series and her picture book I HAVE A BALLOON from your favorite bookstore today.

Ariel Bernstein is the author of the picture book I HAVE A BALLOON (Paula Wiseman Books/Simon and Schuster, 2017) and WARREN & DRAGON chapter books (Viking Children’s, 2018). To find out more about Ariel, check out her website and follow her on Twitter.

KARIN LEFRANC grew up in Sweden, Lebanon, South Africa and the UK but now lives in the US in a small Connecticut town which boasts the largest tree in the state. She’s an admitted tree hugger, who has on occasion even been spotted kissing a tree or two.  Her debut picture book I WANT TO EAT YOUR BOOKS was published in 2015 by Sky Pony Press. When she’s not writing picture books, she’s time traveling to the 6th century in her middle-grade novel. You can find her on Twitter.