A chat with Barbara

Q – ‘The Journey to Dragonsneer’ is the second book in the Prince and the Dragon trilogy. Was it any easier to write and illustrate than the first book?

A – It was easier in that I had a plan. Last time I wrote scenes without a thought for how to illustrate them. This time I had the words written, edited, re-written, edited and put aside till all the illustrations were done. If I couldn’t illustrate the scene – I changed the story slightly!

Q – How do you approach creating a story. Do you have the plot in your head?

A – ‘The Prince and the Dragon’ just stumbled along as I created the oddly assorted characters with their funny names. I enjoyed the play on the meaning of words and thought the surname ‘Less’ in juxtaposition to their characters would be funny, e.g Prince Luck Less who, until he found the dragon, was very unlucky; and Defence Less, who made all the medieval weapons in his forge.

Q – Was the plotting easier in ‘The Journey to Dragonsneer’?

A – Yes and no. I had all sorts of ideas but I had to try and continue the silliness and humour of their names. Also I had to duplicate the drama and funny situations as in the first book. The characters took more definite roles in this book. I loved how Rest Less, the old lady, was in fact the instigator of the dramatic finale.

Q – Your third and final book, ’The Spell-ing Witches’, must have benefitted from your challenges of the first two.

A – Definitely. I got into my story much more quickly as I knew my characters well and had definite ideas about what they would say and how they would behave. I had a vision for the final scene. A happy ending of course. I’m planning to have it all ready to publish later in 2024.