Check out this fun new release, out today!

I had a chance to talk with these SoCal authors about their creative and dazzling new project. Authors Elisa Parhad, Amy Duchêne worked with Anne Bentley, a fine artist and illustrator in the Bay Area.

Elisa Parhad and Amy Duchêne are coauthors and friends. Elisa’s books include Los Angeles Is . . . and the forthcoming New York Is . . . , both published by Cameron Kids.

“We have been friends since we were both toddlers. No joke here: we met at swim lessons at a local pool in the Seattle area, where we both grew up. Since then we have swum on a city record-breaking relay team, wrote letters and sent each other mixtapes as penpals, were bridesmaids in each other’s weddings, and now both live in the Los Angeles area.“

What part of this process challenged you the most?

Amy: “The waiting! Seriously, publishing is a slow process! But it’s all worth it to see this physical copy of the book in hand.” 

Elisa: “The waiting for sure. By the time a book comes out, you are practically mentally past it—by then other creative projects have taken precedence!“

Tell me about your fav collaborators-

Elisa: “There is no one else in the world that I’d want to do this again with than Amy! It was a creatively challenging project that was also so much fun.“

Amy: “It was an absolute delight to co-author this book with my longtime friend Elisa. The actual writing process was challenging – each word of our 150-word manuscript was precisely planned. But collaborating with a friend was a treat and joy.“

How did you grow as an artist on this journey?

Amy: “Elisa challenged me to push past obvious rhyme choices and find unique – yet digestible – words. Also it may seem like writing a short picture book is “easy,” but the constraint of a rhyming couplet and less than 200 words was a true creative boundary.“

Elisa: “This project really made me think about how to fulfill the goals of a picture book vs. a board book. What makes something worth the 32 pages? How do you create the arc of a story in so few words? I’m really proud of how we pushed, pulled, built up and tore down our words to make them really work to be a true ode to swim time with friends.“

This book is at the top of my list for the next round of birthday parties. I’m a fan already, open the pools!

Order Now:

• Amazon, 
• Bookstore.org, 
• Barnes & Noble, 
• Indiebound,
• and Powell’s!