How old are you?

Steve was born in 1946 & Marion in 1955.

Are the Tasmanian Devil & the Tasmanian Tiger real animals?

Yes, although the Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacine) is thought to be extinct as there has been no reliable evidence that it is still alive.  Real Tasmanian Devils are not much like the cartoon character "Taz".

What differences have you noticed between US & Australia?

In Australia we speak Australian English and we sometimes have different names for things. We drive on the left side of the road.  Much of Australia looks more like California than other parts of the USA.

Are you rich?

No. We started publishing our books from scratch. We are able to live from our books and we love the free and creative lifestyle that gives us, but we do not have a big marketing budget to help us sell to a mass audience. The publishers who do are the ones getting rich. Riches do not always come from simply offering top quality books.

Why do you put riddles in your books?

Its great fun to play with words & ideas. We also like making words interact with pictures. Then too, we love the astonishingly creative riddles students have come up with in our workshops.  Check them out!
Riddles

Why did you bury an expensive jewel in the ground in 1995?

We thought it would make a more exciting treasure hunt if the treasure was something precious.  Of course it helped us to sell more books.  And it was a lot of fun.  The Tasmanian Tiger jewel was in the ground for almost 4 years before Craig Cooper of Hobart unraveled the clues and a party trudged off one weekend to the remote George III Monument to dig it up. The new treasure, a sword, associated with Tasmanian Quest will not be buried. You have to discover its name.

Treasure hunt

Do you need any ideas for books?

We’d like to hear suggestions from young people & children around the world.

Do you draw real people in your books?

Yes, we photograph our children, our friends, neighbours & other people & draw from the photographs.

How can I become an illustrator or a writer?

You need a lot of determination.  Draw a lot (it helps to go to life drawing classes), read lots of books & write a lot. Pay attention to what you read and observe and incorporate your observations into the stories and pictures you create.  What you really know about will give life to your work.

Why did you begin writing & illustrating?

We have a house full of books & 3 children who have been read to since they were born. That made us want to make books ourselves. We have loved these sort of books since we were children.

Why do you make books for children & not adults?

A children's picture book is the best way to have words & pictures working together. As Barbara Cooney (a famous illustrator) says a picture book is like a string of beads with the illustrations being the jewels but the text is the string that holds them all together. Words and pictures working together is the kind of art that we like to produce. We hope everyone, adults included, will enjoy them.

How long have you been writing & illustrating?

We’ve both been writing, drawing & painting since childhood. The interest in these activities goes back a long way.

Why do you put Tasmanian Tigers in your books?

Since we came to live in Tasmania we have been fascinated by the Tiger. There is mystery surrounding it & there are people who hold out hope that it still exists. It was a very beautiful animal. Now there is talk about cloning a tiger and bringing them back that way.

Have you seen a Tasmanian Tiger?

No, unfortunately not, but we have talked to many older people in Tasmania who saw them many years ago.

Why do you make books about Tasmania?

We chose to come & live here because its a beautiful island -- a kind of undiscovered place & we found there were lots of stories here to put into books. But of course there are stories everywhere.

How often do you revise & edit your stories?

Many, many times . . . until the story is ‘just right’, but we still wonder sometimes if the stories could have been improved after we have been reading them to school students. We hope we are getting better with each book.

How do you research the animals in your books?

We go to the library, look on the internet & collect lots of photographs. Sometimes we go to the animal park & sometimes we even photograph roadkill!  Its not unusual to go outside our back door and find a wallaby, potoroo, possum or bandicoot.

Are you working on other books?

Yes,  we are currently working on more than one book and they are at various stages of completion. There is also a long list of ideas we are considering.  Each of our books represents an idea that has been brewing for a long time.

Titles

Which one does the pictures & which one writes?

We both do both. Mostly Marion draws & Steve paints. Steve usually writes the text & Marion edits it. Two of the books we’re published have been written by other people.

How long do your books take to make?

Bo Bandicoot at the Market took 3 years if you count from the time we began our research. We are getting faster. The idea for a book comes quickly; research, drawing & painting take a long time -- a few months.

Where do you get your ideas?

From reading & from talking to people. We borrow & adapt from many sources. We use Tasmania as a stepping off place for universal themes.

What materials do you use?

We used to use watercolors, inks & colored pencils. Acrylics were ideal for the painting of Tasmanian Quest because of the rich possibilities with glazing and textures. We will be doing more with acrylics. We would like to experiment with modifying our images electronically.

Original art

What ages are your books for?

We try to design our books for all ages. We’d like to think they contain something for everyone, including adults. Some of the books with more difficult riddles will have greater appeal for 8 year olds and older.  We love reading to and discussing our books with people of all ages.

Who are your favorite illustrators?

Maxfield Parrish, Arthur Rackham, Dulac, Mitsumasa Anno, Peter Spier, Irene Haas, P.J.Lynch, Margaret Power, Noela Young, Patricia Mullins, Armin Greder, Jerry Pinkney, Richard Jesse Watson, Lane Smith & many more.