Q. Have children in your life ever inspired characters or ideas in your stories?A. I actually came up with my first book while driving my daughter to school, or I should say, we came up with it. During our drives to school, my daughter would ask me to make up stories on the way. She would often add her own ideas to the stories I would create. She has always loved silly random stories and one morning we came up with what would eventually turn into This Book Is Ridiculous.
When I got my first proof copy of the book, she read it and started drawing in it. One part in particular she drew a face on a sandwich and I loved it so much, I added a couple of pages to the book where the sandwich came to life. That sandwich eventually became a recurring character in the series. I even named him Kevin.
So to answer your question… absolutely!
Q. Do you do your own illustrations? If so, in what mediums?
A. I do my own illustrations for the books I’ve published so far. It was originally out of necessity, but now I can’t imagine having someone else do the illustrations. I didn’t have a budget to hire an illustrator and I didn’t love the idea of using AI illustrations for a children’s book. So I bought an inexpensive drawing pad and started practicing.
I intentionally kept my illustrations very simple, I mean, my main character is a stick figure, because I just couldn’t draw anything too complicated.
Q. Do you like adding hidden details or small surprises for readers to discover?
A. I love when a TV series rewards its viewers by having running jokes or callbacks to previous episodes, and I try to incorporate that same idea into my books. If you’ve read the first book, you’ll catch references in the second book, and I’m doing the same thing in my third book, which I’m currently working on.
I think it’s fun to include subtle references that make readers feel like they’re part of an inside joke if they’ve read the previous books.
Q. What feedback from readers has meant the most to you?
A. Hearing from parents that their child has wanted to read my book every night since they got it, has meant so much to me. Kids are incredibly honest and if something doesn’t interest them, they won’t sugar coat it. So hearing that my book has become their child’s favorite is an incredible feeling.
Knowing that my book is becoming part of their childhood, and that maybe, years from now, they’ll have a happy memory associated with my work, is really special to me.
Q. What are you currently working on?
A. I’m currently finishing the illustrations for the third book in the series. My first book is This Book Is Ridiculous. My second book is This Book Is Even More Ridiculous. Any guesses what the third book will be called?
Q. What is the strangest compliment you’ve ever received about your writing?
A. I’m not sure if this is necessarily strange, but it’s definitely a compliment that stood out. A parent once told me they had to put my book in “time out” because their kids were fighting over whose turn it was to read it.
While I wasn’t thrilled that I caused a sibling battle, I loved the compliment so much that I actually put the quote on my website as a review.
Q. What messages or lessons do you hope young readers take away from your stories?
A. I think a lot of children’s books today focus on teaching lessons in a very direct and obvious way, and while there’s certainly value in that, I also think books can simply be fun. Sometimes it’s enough to make kids laugh, spark their imagination, and give them something silly to enjoy.
That said, I do think there are subtle messages woven into my stories, things like kindness, sharing, and helping others, but they’re never the main focus. More than anything, I hope my books encourage kids to embrace the ridiculousness of life and find joy in the unexpected.
Visit Eric’s page at https://nhauthors.com/eric-belmonte/