Our friend Meghan P. Browne has a new book coming out and was kind enough to sit down and answer a few of our questions about the inspiration and process that helped make it a reality!
Pre-Order Indelible Ann: The Larger-Than-Life Story
of Governor Ann Richards now!
First, tell us about your new book!
Indelible Ann: The Larger-Than-Life Story of Governor Ann Richards is my debut picture book with the incredibly talented native Texan illustrator, Carlynn Whitt. Our book is a biography of the 45th Governor of Texas who has been one of my heroes since she won that office when I was a young girl.
Where did the seeds of the story come from?
I have just about always been fascinated by politics. I started my undergraduate years at the University of Arizona on a pre-med track and changed my path when I was three-quarters of the way finished with that degree. One day I called my folks back in Austin to tell them that I’d just changed my major to Political Science, and my Daddy said, “What in the world are you going to do with that kind of degree?” Without a moment’s hesitation, I said, “Be the next female governor of Texas, of course!”
Well, that hasn’t happened, but I do believe that Ann’s legacy gave me the idea and audacity to make that kind of a claim. The book is truly a tribute to the importance of women like Ann: our foremothers who have gone before and done the work to open doors for all.
What’s your connection to The Writing Barn and Bethany Hegedus, Author/Founder of TWB?
After a picture book intensive that I attended at The Writing Barn in the fall of 2018, literary agent Alyssa Eisner Henkin expressed interest in another biography that I had drafted. Bethany recommended that I brainstorm a list of potential story ideas to pitch to her during our representation call, and one of them was an Ann Richards biography. I had done some preliminary research and realized that there wasn’t anything on the market yet, and it seemed like a story that I was equipped to write, as a native Austinite who grew up while Ann was at the helm of Texas politics.
I was having trouble figuring out when to pause research and start the drafting process, so I signed up to take Bethany’s inaugural Social Justice, Kindness, and Inclusion class as a kick in the pants to put pen to paper. I wrote my first draft of the book for that class, and it was workshopped by Bethany and that incredible group of writers.
When and how did you see the cover? Did you see initial sketches or designs, or just the final version?
My editor Annie Kelley at Random House Studio sent me the final version of the cover last July. I had been at Dell Children’s hospital with my son Harlon all day trying to get answers about a mysterious illness he was suffering. It was the perfect gift on an otherwise stressful day, and I loved sharing it first with my son. It has been hard to keep such beautiful art close to the vest, but I’m overjoyed to finally share Carlynn’s amazing work with the world.
Time for props to the team behind the cover!
Yes! Carlynn Whitt is a native Texan currently based in LA. She has degrees from UT-Austin and the illustrious RISD, and Annie Kelley really hit a home run in securing her for the illustration job. It was important to both of us to find a Texan to do the art for the book.
Carlynn’s style is beautiful, edgy, and honest which I think are all traits of Ann Richards herself. I mean – the bluebonnets, Ann’s suffragette white, her iconic hair – It’s almost too good to be believed!
Rachel Cole did an absolutely perfect job on the design work for the jacket. The cover is breathtaking, but y’all, the interior is to die for. I cannot wait for you to see.
Where and when can readers find your book?
Indelible Ann will drop on June 22, 2021, but you can preorder it now anywhere you buy books. There will be an e-book version and an audiobook for this title as well. I would love for you to preorder our book, but I would love it even more if you would preorder from your favorite indie bookstore or mine: BookPeople
Where and how can we follow you and the Indelible Ann illustrator Carlynn Whitt?
You can follow me @meghanpbrowne on all social media platforms or at my website www.meghanpbrowne.com.
Check out more mind-blowingly good stuff from illustrator Carlynn Whitt @carlynnwhitt on Instagram or her website www.carlynnwhitt.com.
About Author Meghan P. Browne:
Meghan P. Browne was born and raised in Austin, Texas. She left her beloved Lone Star State to attend the University of Arizona in Tucson, the land of saguaro cacti, the loveliest winters, and the gorgeous Santa Catalina Mountains. There, she was a four-time Foundation Scholarship recipient and varsity letter winner for the Wildcat swim team. She graduated from the Honors College with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.
Meghan returned home to Austin and the bluebonnets and blue skies of her childhood where she lives and writes these days on the south side of town with her husband, Greg, their three children, and a menagerie of honeybees, goats, chickens, a barn kitty, and their beloved dog. She will graduate in July 2021 from Vermont College of Fine Arts with a Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults.