David R. Davis is a writer of many talents. He has written three humorous books that will have you bent over in laughter.

An Interview with David R. Davis
Author of Jazz Cats
Conducted by Richelle Putnam


I recently had the privilege to interview David R. Davis, author of the award-winning picture book Jazz Cats. Readers may find this delightful book at most bookstores, and online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million and Borders.

David is also the author of Redneck Night Before Christmas and Trucker's Night Before Christmas.

David grew up in beautiful San Antonio, Texas and at an early age began drawing in school (during lesson time). By copying Herblock political cartoons, he learned the art of cartooning. The person who influenced him the most was his grandfather, Raymond Lacy. Since childhood, David has loved to read and draw.

Over the years, David's short stories, drawings, satires, political cartoons, and movie reviews have been published. In 1996, Mississippi Press Association presented him with an award for his political cartoons. His publisher, Pelican, has sold over 75,000 copies of his humorous children's books.

Richelle: Tell me, if you will, which love came first: drawing or writing (another chicken/egg analogy)?

David: It is hard to say which came first. I guess it would be drawing since I started drawing before I could even write. The writing started because of Mad magazine. I loved that satire magazine during its golden age in the fifties. I started to write scripts for homemade comics I created with a friend in elementary school. After a while, I realized that I liked humor writing. Later in life, when I started doing political cartoons, the writing carried the illustrations. The idea is always the thing. Good
writing will carry average art, but great art won't carry average writing.

Richelle: How did you break into the cartooning world and could you give our readers some basic tips and advice.

David: I don't know how far I actually broke into it. Maybe I just skimmed the surface. I made some money but never was syndicated. I didn't try to sell cartoons until my late thirties. Cartoonists usually start going at it much earlier. I had always done cartoons, but I didn't try selling them until mid-life. When I was thirty-eight, I quit my job at the bank and dived in. I did lots of work for Celebration: A Creative Worship Service. My panel cartoons went into their publications.

I got a break from Mr. Tom Pendergast. He is the editor of a small paper in Winnsboro, Texas. I did my first political cartoons for him. I started writing satire articles for Comics Buyers Guide, and I illustrated each one with a cartoon. I did lots of other art for assorted markets. A penned a cover here and a panel cartoon there. I did lots of cartoons for the Madison County Journal in Mississippi. I experimented with many pursuits to make money.

The only tip I can offer is this: Keep drawing and sending the work out. It is a tough market with all the newspapers going under and being purchased by the conglomerates. I would tell a young political cartoonist to draw cartoons about local issues. You have a better chance of making it into the papers that way. Syndicates sell cartoons about national issues on the cheap. It is hard to compete with that - at least at first. All politics are local and political cartoons are always needed on local issues by small papers.

Richelle: Did you become involved in political cartooning because of your
interest in politics?

David: Yes. There is an old saying in Texas where I grew up:
"We have honest politicians here - when you buy them, they stay bought."

I grew up watching colorful races and "inventive" political practices. I certainly don't think all pols are crooked. I DO think they need to have their feet held to the fire. My Daddy told me not to believe anything you hear - and only half of what you see. That sums up my outlook as far as politicians go. All of us need to remember that we don't elect them to be kings. My great regret is that I will never be the cartoonist Herblock was.

Richelle: Are you active in politics?

David: I vote. I express my opinions. I don't do any organized party work. You don't want to become an ideologue when you do political cartoons. You have to be independent. You have to be free to gig all comers because both parties have warts. If you become a shill for either one, you end up just ranting like Rush Limbaugh or his mirrors on the left. If you are doing your job, everyone will be mad at you.

Richelle: I'm sure our readers would love to hear about the Mississippi Press
Association Award in 1996. Give us a little background on that award and
your response to winning it.

David: That award is something I am proud of. It was a second place in the state for nominated cartoons. I was working for the Madison County Journal. The paper was a weekly, and I was competing with dailies. That means that they each had about four cartoons to my one each week. Coming in second in the state was quite a coup. I remember my response. I was happy, but upset too. Only the first place winners got a free ticket to the dinner.

Hahaha. I sat at home and just continued writing and drawing. I thought that
I might get a raise, or an offer from a larger paper. It was not in the cards. I shrugged my shoulders and went on to the next project. I still have the plaque on my wall though. I enjoyed going head to head with the big boys.

Richelle: You are a published poet and short story writer? Tell us something
about your work and where you have been published.

David: Lots of small venues. Vermont Ink, Comics Buyer's Guide, Jackson
Home and Health, Edge, Southern Owned and Operated, Planet Weekly, Back
Porch Magazine etc. I have done a couple of things for internet venues.

My chance to do the children's humor books came because of Back Porch
Magazine. Redneck Night Before Christmas first appeared there. My pay was
small but paid big dividends. After it came out, I got a call from Pelican
Publishing Company saying that they wanted to publish Redneck Night Before
Christmas. I allowed it. That was news to me because they had rejected it
earlier. The magazine appearance changed their minds, I guess. You never
know where a small step will lead.

Richelle: Your "Night Before Christmas" books are very funny and lighthearted. Did the idea for these books just pop up?

David: I am not being coy, but yes, and no. I had a copy of Cajun Night
Before Christmas. I knew Pelican had a line of Night Before Christmas
books. I decided that I would try my hand at creating one. I figured I had
the background to do a redneck book. I come from a farming family with roots
in East Texas. My neck may not be red, but it is certainly a little pink in
places! I hoped I could do something that would make people laugh. I was
lucky. I wrote Redneck Night Before Christmas on a holiday eve in about
twenty minutes. I always say it took thirty years and twenty minutes to
write. Thirty years of practice - and twenty minutes to write. There were
changes to be made to please Pelican, but the basic story was there. So,
yes, the idea popped up, but I had drawn on thirty years of humor and satire
writing.

Richelle: When and why did you become a children's book author? Has writing for children always interested you or is that a fairly new adventure?

David: Actually, I never sat out to become one kind of writer or another. I just wrote for myself and let the chips fall where they may. It turns out that some of my writing appeals to children. I am happy that it does. Serendipity has played a large part in finding my way into the children's genre. The Redneck article in Back Porch started it all. I didn't plan it. I guess even a blind hog finds an acorn once in a while.

It is much more fun writing children's books than doing political cartoons. I feel really great when I see a child enjoy my efforts. Contrast that with political cartoons. When I did them, I got obscene calls in the middle of the night telling me to get out of town!

Richelle: I'm a member of the Southern Breeze SCBWI, so I am quite familiar with Chuck Galey and have spoken to him on occasion at regional conferences. He's a wonderful artist and person as well. Were you able to speak to him since the book was published? Share a little bit about author/illustrator relationships, what they are and what they're not.

David: I consider it an honor to call Chuck a friend. He is a great artist!

I was a member of his SCBWI critique group in Jackson, Mississippi. He was one of the first to hear Jazz Cats. I read it aloud at one of our critique meetings.

Pelican asked me if I had an illustrator in mind and I immediately mentioned Chuck. (You don't usually get any say in that as a writer, but I am glad I did in this case.) All they had to do was see his work and I knew they would want to hire him. This is only the first of many great books from him. I hope to work with him again on a future project.

I don't know much about author/illustrator relationships in general. I can only speak about those I have had. In both cases, I was lucky. Jim Rice has over a 1,000,000 books in print. He just ran with the manuscript - with art that was just right for the genre. You don't tell someone with that sort of track record how to do his job - you just feel lucky to have him.

It was the same with Chuck. He took the manuscript and added his magic. Since I draw myself, I had an advantage. I knew that my art style didn't suit itself to children's books. I needed an artist who was a great designer. Chuck was just the man. The roughs were great. He nailed it the first time. Chuck did a great job.

You can't have a good children's book without a good manuscript AND a good artist. Your job as the writer is to produce a good manuscript. The artist's job is to add the other half of the fantasy.

The way I see it, you turn the manuscript over to an artist and let him run with it. I have seen writers nit pick artwork to death. They need to remember that they are writers - not art directors.

I stay in touch with Chuck by email and telephone. We have conversed several times since the book appeared. I consider him a friend.

Richelle: Congratulations on Jazz Cats being selected a 2002 Children's
Book Council's Choice! Share your excitement about that and what it meant to be chosen.

David: It meant quite a bit to me. I enjoyed doing the other two humor books, but I really pushed for this one. I love music, and I love New Orleans. I have spent half my life writing satire and poking fun at things.

This time I wanted to write a book that showed the love I feel for music and New Orleans. I am hoping that some child will read the book and discover a love for jazz and the creative life.

Richelle: David, because you were a published author, was it easier to
break into children's publishing or did you experience difficulties (the
dreaded rejection letters)?

David: I don't think it was any easier. I get my share of rejections like everyone else.

Richelle: Were you asked to revise any of your works? If so, did that
bother you or did you roll with the punches?

David: The answer is yes. Redneck Night was originally written for adults in satire fashion. I had to revise the book to fit a picture book format. Mostly I rolled with the punches. There were some things I fought to keep in my books. The truth is that the editor is right 99% of the time. You have to decide which things you want to fight for. You walk a fine line between letting the editor write your book and becoming an egomaniac. In the end, the editor is usually right because they are not emotionally
involved. I think an old Texas saying sums up the way you should look at it.

"There never was a horse that couldn't be rode, and there never was a
cowboy who couldn't be throwed."

Richelle: Please, if you don't mind, offer our readers some good, sound
advice on breaking into the publishing world.

David: Never give up. That means you learn all you can from others. Visit
all the good sites on the Internet about writing. Join a good critique group. If you write children's books, join SCBWI. You can save years of struggle by becoming a member. Study the markets. Write every day. Finally, be yourself in your writing. There may be no new thing under the sun, but there IS a new way of expressing it. Your way.

Final note: Every good writer I have ever known has been a great reader. They read all kinds of books - not just the genre they targeted. Some of my favorites are John Steinbeck, Marjorie K. Rawlings, Mark Twain, Willie Morris, Jesse Stuart, Jules Verne, and many more.

For more information about David, log onto the following websites:

David Davis: Writer and Cartoonist
webpage:
http://www.angelfire.lycos.com/folk/write

Books to Date:
JAZZ CATS isbn 1-56554-859-0
REDNECK NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS isbn 1-56554-176-6
TRUCKERS NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS isbn 1-56554-656-3

UPATE: David just received word that Jazz Cats was voted to the final
top 100 list for Children's Choice 2002. He was ecstatic about it because children are
the voters on the book across the USA. Here is a link to the list. Congratulations, David!! http://www.cbcbooks.org/html/childrenschoices.html

Here is the clip from Jazz Cats.

"Down in New Orleans where the sounds are sweet,
In a back-alley corner off of Bourbon Street,
There's some hipster kitties (they don't chase no rats).
They make swinging music--'cause they're Jazz Cat!

Jazz Cats!
Swingin' Jazz Cats!"


quote from Redneck Night Before Christmas":

"His face-how leathery! It commanded respect.
His nose was as red as the back of his neck.
The chew in his mouth drew it up like a bow,
And the white beard of his chin caught the small overflow."

quote from Trucker's Night Before Christmas:

"The glow of the sign that said 'Stop, Fuel, and Eat,'
Flashed on and off on the wet asphalt street.
A red, speeding Mack truck sure looked like cop bait,
With that many presents--his load's overweight!
With the little old driver, I hoped we had luck,
It must be St. Nick and his swank Christmas truck.
His headlights were blazin', his runnin' lights seen,
All different bright shades of red, white, and green."