Meet the Creators: Jane De Suza’ and Richa Bhembre

How would you describe Flyaway Boy in one sentence? Or, what three words would you use to describe Flyaway Boy?

Jane: A story that can’t follow the norms – much like the boy in the story.

Richa: Heartwarming, adventurous and inspiring

What inspired you to create Flyaway Boy? 

Jane: One sunny morning, I’d opened the newspaper in Bangalore, and yet another full-page ad touted the grade toppers in some national exam. It hit a sore spot. Doesn’t every child have something special, interesting, worth listening to? And yet society only shines on a few ‘stars’. I’d been wanting to write about a non-typical ‘non-star’ child, and tell the story from their point of view. The story would be non-linear, not stick to rules, break into rhyme or doodles or flights of fancy, follow stray thoughts, adopt many voices. Flyaway Boy is that story. 

Do you have a favourite scene or line from Flyaway Boy? What makes it especially meaningful to you?

Jane: Almost all the scenes from Flyaway Boy are close to my heart. An example would be the moon story from the chapter ‘Why can’t you be’. Kabir, sitting alone at the dining table, accidentally spills some egg curry on the table cloth. Intrigued by the pattern it makes, he slops more over and uses the patches of curry to create a story about the moon. His mother walks in and is soon in tears over the stained tablecloth. Kabir can’t understand her sadness even though he tells her that his moon story has a happy ending. This scene of misunderstandings in a family is about how there are reasons why children do the things they do, if only adults would listen. 

Richa:  I had so much fun creating this artwork! As a child, I used to look up at the clouds or watch the shadows of trees on the road and imagine shapes and characters in them. So, creating this artwork felt very close to my heart—I could completely understand and connect with Kabir’s imagination. I also love how it shows that you don’t need much to create art; sometimes, the most ordinary things can spark the most wonderful ideas

What was your process for creating the characters in Flyaway Boy? How did you make them feel authentic and relatable to children? 

Jane: I usually take my characters for a walk. On a long road by the sea or into a market. They shape up slowly from shadowy ideas into actual people, begin to talk to me in lisps or giggles, unveil their doubts, their brags. Only when I can see and hear them, do they feel real enough to put into the story. 

Kabir in Flyaway Boy was easy because there’s so much of me in him. The dreaming, the inability to fit into a box… And then other observed scenes filled in the blanks. A tantrum here, a squabble there. It was important that the children in the book did not behave like perfect little cut-outs but use playground language, for example. They needed to be imperfect.

Richa:  I had so much fun creating this artwork! As a child, I used to look up at the clouds or watch the shadows of trees on the road and imagine shapes and characters in them. So, creating this artwork felt very close to my heart—I could completely understand and connect with Kabir’s imagination. I also love how it shows that you don’t need much to create art; sometimes, the most ordinary things can spark the most wonderful ideas

Where do you usually write, and are there any essentials in your workspace or in your routine that you couldn’t do without?

Jane: My old wooden writing desk is near a window. In Bangalore, my window overlooked a sun-baked terrace. In Singapore, it overlooks the blue-green sea. A window overlooking a street or other houses – I need a window. The window lets the world outside with all its mad ideas and strange happenings come in, right onto the page sometimes. 

Jane: I don’t start writing until I’ve got the story and the characters living in my head, people talking, things happening. That may take months. And then, when they’re ready, I begin to write and the story starts writing itself. 

Richa:  I don’t have a specific workstation or a particular place where I draw. Sometimes an idea clicks when I’m somewhere completely unexpected, and I like to sketch it right then and there before I forget it. I prefer working early in the mornings because I find that time incredibly peaceful. And, of course, a cup of filter coffee helps too. :)

What are your top three pieces of advice for aspiring children’s authors?

Jane:

1. Write the way you think and talk, not the way that some other author writes. Finding your own voice is what will keep you unique.

2. Note ideas in a book or phone or laptop. Some old ideas could suddenly sprout wings years later. 

3. Write, write, write. Then keep it aside for a few days. Come back and edit, edit, edit. Writing and editing use different parts of the brain and don’t work as well if they’re done in the same session.

What do you hope readers feel, or take away when they read Flyaway Boy?

Jane: I hope that once the last page of Flyaway Boy is turned, a few ‘think-abouts’ and ‘what-ifs’ linger. More empathy, for example. I hope that every time you encounter someone different, you take a moment to step into their side of the world and look at it from there. You may not understand their opinion, but I hope you accept it with empathy and wonder.

Richa:  I hope readers—children, parents, teachers, and elders—come away with a little more empathy for the people around them. As the world gets tougher every day, even a small moment of empathy and compassion can go a long way. Not everyone is born to take the same path in life, and I hope we can learn to accept and celebrate these differences with understanding, admiration, and warmth.

What is one activity that you recommend readers do after they read the book? 

Jane: Start a story with “If I were not me …”