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This is a space for updates, musings, and chats with writers and others in the publishing community.

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Now grab a cup of something yummy, get comfy…and let’s dig in!

Today we’re talking to author Cynthia Mackey about her new book, Butterfly Sea, illustrated by Marie-Laure Couët and published by Tielmour Press. If you’ve been following the blog, you might remember an interview with Cindy last year around this time, for her debut book, If A Bumblebee Lands On Your Toe! (It was also my debut blog post!) I’m so excited to have Cindy back on the blog.

In addition to learning about Butterfly Sea—which is lyrical and beautiful, gentle and joyful—I also wanted to ask Cindy specifically about her pathway to publication. There are many ways to get our books out into the world, and I enjoyed hearing about Cindy’s experience. I hope you do, too!

SR: Welcome back, Cindy! Could you talk to us about the inspiration for Butterfly Sea, and the book's message for children?

CM: Thank you, Stacey. It’s great to be back!

The inspiration for BUTTERFLY SEA came from my experience documenting and photographing butterflies for citizen science. It is NOT an easy task and sometimes involves me chasing butterflies and looking a bit crazy to onlookers who have no idea what I’m doing. I hope the book leaves children with a feeling of awe and a sense of hopefulness. There’s a lot of potential take aways so it depends on what resonates. Maybe the sibling relationship is something they’ll connect with or the sheer fun of pretend play. Maybe they’ll connect with butterflies, photography, moments exploring outside, or gardening. Maybe the book will offer some solace with memories captured (ex. the grandma, who appears in the story in subtle ways) as it opens up conversations about lost loved ones.

Butterfly Sea. Illustration ©Marie-Laure Couëter

SR: You've said that kids can and should use cameras (which you know from first hand experience as a nature educator of young children). Tell us more!

CM: I think children can use cameras AND the things they choose to photograph can give us a window into their world if we pay attention. To give you an example, a brother/sister duo who attended my preschool had such satisfaction and joy from taking a photograph of their Dad who was just dropping them off. They were so proud! The experiences children gain from doing something ‘adult’ that has not yet been offered to them is confidence building. Besides that, the cameras are another way for children to focus on what’s around them, to appreciate, to notice, to connect, and to wonder. If we want to raise caring human beings, this kind of slowing down and noticing is what we need as a society. (YES!)

Butterfly Sea. Text ©Cynthia Mackey Illustration ©Marie-Laure Couët

SR: I love that your language is beautifully lyrical, and also beautifully economical. As a picture book writer, I have had to work hard to learn how to use language more efficiently. Does this come naturally to you? Or did you work to pare down your language for Butterfly Sea?

CM: I’ve always had a desire to say something beautiful in only a few words. It is natural for me to use few words - yes! In fact, I am writing a chapter book that started as a 50 word story and have been slowly fleshing it out until it has become around 4,000 words. That being said, most of my stories naturally fall somewhere between 350 - 500 words at first draft and I do need to cut words. The process of cutting down is usually easy for me. I find it quite satisfying to find the right words. I love beauty in language and art and the way it comes together to make a picture book.

“I love beauty in language and art and the way it comes together to make a picture book.”

— Cynthia Mackey

SR: I have read where you said that you added the younger sibling in Butterfly Sea in revision. Were there elements that you decided to take out to make room for this adorable character?

CM: Yes, the younger sibling was added in revision and the text was already quite sparse so actually, it worked the opposite way for the new character. I had the line about the mermaid asking for ice cream and then I needed to show some other ways she might interrupt her sister. Going with the sea theme, I was pretty sure a young child would try other sea- type costumes and roles. And based on my experience as an educator, I know that pirates and sharks are popular choices for pretend play so it made sense to add those and the older sibling’s reactions to each moment of pretend. How might she appease the young child and still go on with her photography mission? Answering that question helped me write the revision.

SR: The illustrations for both of your books are gorgeous - and they are so different! How does it feel to see the illustrator's vision of your words? In the case of Butterfly Sea, what was that process like?

CM: Yes, both books feature gorgeous art in completely different styles. To me, that’s the magic of the collaboration and I love the surprise of how the illustrator interprets my words and brings their own creative expression to the book. With Butterfly Sea, I did not get to talk with Marie-Laure about the art directly; however, we did communicate through social media while she was in process of making the art. I didn’t want to influence her too much as I would rather she bring her own creativity so I was careful not to say too much about the book. She kindly invited me to send her some reference images and I did but I think she probably found many of her own. One fun thing that happened was, she posted the image of the sibling in the newspaper pirate hat and it just so happened that an old photo of one of my brother’s birthday parties has us all wearing pirate hats, just like the one in her image! Without seeing my past, she created something that made me remember my childhood. Such serendipity! But maybe newspaper pirate hats are part of everyone’s childhood. I do love how Marie-Laure chose to make the dress-up costumes. I did not give any specific art notes about how the child should look. Marie-Laure gave the young sibling a blanket and that blanket transformed into each costume in such creative ways. Almost like the play silks that you can buy for children. Have you seen those?

(I have, indeed —we used to have them when my kids were little, and they are so great!)

From Cindy’s debut picture book, If A Bumblebee Lands On Your Toe. Text ©Cynthia Mackey Illustration ©Vicky Zhang

From Butterfly Sea. Text ©Cynthia Mackey Illustration ©Marie-Laure Couët

SR: Getting a picture book published can be an arduous process; however, there are many different pathways to publication. You have now published your second book, and you did it both times by submitting directly to publishers, without an agent. Could you talk about this a little, and is there any advice you can give hopeful authors about this path?

CM: I’ve learned that for Canadians, like me, it is currently easier to submit directly to publishers, especially since we have Groundwood, Orca, Kids Can Press, Tielmour Press and more that choose to either solely accept submissions from Canadians or to prioritize submissions from Canadians. I think for writers from any country, the direct submissions can work. It’s a matter of searching for the publishers who will accept submissions from unagented writers. The smaller presses usually do, and I’ve enjoyed the experience of being published by smaller presses.

For myself, I wouldn’t rule out working with an agent, but I think it would need to be the right match.

Cindy, thank you so much for sharing all of this with us!

And now, for a LIGHTNING ROUND:

1) Favorite meal: Vegetarian chilli because it’s so tasty and there’s always leftovers.

2) Favorite thing to do in your free time (other than writing): Tough to choose one - anything music related (sing, dance, or play an instrument).

3) What you're reading right now (could be a book for kids or adults, or both!): Bear Town (all about a small hockey community).

4) What you're watching right now (if you watch movies or TV): The Pitt!

Where you can find Cynthia Mackey:

Website: booksbycindy.com

Social media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/books.by.cindy/ AND

‍ ‍https://www.instagram.com/mackey_cynthia/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/booksbycindy.bsky.social

Things you can do to help support Cindy and Butterfly Sea:

🦋 Buy the book for a yourself, friend or family member.

🦋 Review the book on Goodreads, Amazon, Indigo, Bookshop.org, etc.

🦋 Tell your local library about Butterfly Sea and ask them to purchase it.