Debbie Ridpath Ohi is a writer and illustrator based in Toronto, Canada.
Her debut picture book, WHERE ARE MY BOOKS?, will be published by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers in Spring 2015. Her illustrations appear in I’M BORED (NYTimes Notable Book) and NAKED! (2014), both written by Michael Ian Black and published by Simon & Schuster BFYR.
She also has upcoming book illustration projects with HarperCollins Children’s (RUBY ROSE books by Rob Sanders) and Random House Children’s (MITZI TULANE books by Lauren McLaughlin).
Debbie is represented by Ginger Knowlton of Curtis Brown Ltd. For more info, visit DebbieOhi.com or @inkyelbows on Twitter.
Q: You are so dedicated to inspiring other author/illustrators with your blog, Inkygirl.com, which has become a hub for some of the most useful information in publishing (for that we are all thankful). What made you decide to start your blog?
Debbie’s office in Toronto! |
I go for walks. I usually never listen to anything during these walks, to give my subconscious a chance to turn things over. Almost always, I’ll come up with an idea for a new creative project, or a way of getting past some challenge in a work-in-progress.
Heh, not sure my husband would agree about the “always smiling” part, but thanks.
Answer #1: Chocolate helps. 🙂
Debbie with art director Laurent Linn and editor/publisher Justin Chanda at Simon & Schuster Children’s. |
I have a magnet on my refrigerator (a place I frequent!) with a quote from Winston Churchill that reads: “Never, never, never give up.” As small as that sounds, it’s the best reminder to keep pursuing my goals.
A real life story of perseverance is a little long to paste on a refrigerator. However, after reading Debbie’s story, it will definitely stay in my memory bank and resurface every time I read that quote.
It’s hard work, but if you love what you do, persevere, and you embrace your peers (*kidlit artists and writers are the FRIENDLIEST folks in all the land*) – you could find yourself as lucky as Debbie and be really, really, really…Bored…and NAKED!