Aaaaand we’re back! Today I’m lucky to share part of my conversation with author/illustrator Parker Milgram. Editing this down to a reasonable length was SO HARD. Parker and I talked about so many great topics: editing, revising, ideas, neurodivergent characters, and more.
Enjoy the post and let me know if you’re interested in hearing more about self publishing (Parker is the resident expert I know!).
Which came first for you, illustrating or writing?
Illustrating. In college, I started in engineering and then I switched into interactive media and game development. My first class was concept art. I was learning about character design, digital painting, and how to draw.
I’d casually written in elementary school, stories and stuff like that. But I think professionally–seriously–definitely, the arts came first. Then the writing side came later toward my senior year. I started having more of an interest in making picture books and I took this narrative illustration class at Mass Art that really got me into the writing part.
You mentioned drawing and digital art, did you start primarily doing digital artwork or did you do a combination of both from the beginning?
It was both. I started right away learning to draw traditionally. I brought a Sketchbook around with me and I would draw mostly in pen whatever I saw–the people around me, the classrooms, the buildings–to learn how to draw. At the same time, I was taking concept art and that was a largely digital class, so there was a lot of Photoshop.
But I was doing a hybrid where I would draw on paper, take a picture, bring it up in Photoshop and draw over that. It kind of laid the foundation because now my process is largely both, I start traditional, then I might go into digital, I might even go back and forth and do different studies in different formats.
With the books, you mentioned taking that narrative class towards the end of your degree. When did you start creating books? Didn’t you create one while you were in school?
Yeah, it was the first one I published. Well, I started it the summer before my senior year of college. I started in the narrative illustration class and I finished it on my own. That was finished editing and published in the winter of like my senior year, 2020 or 2021. It was No Ideas Allowed.
Then, my senior project I was working on in school was Book of Worlds. That was my second book I published and it was published in April or May of 2021.
Where is your ideal place and what is your ideal time to illustrate or write?
I do a lot of my work in my room at my computer or at my table. My desk is where I do a lot of my grunt work digging into things, really doing the bulk of illustrating, to get ideas and be more free.
I’ve gone to the park or a cafe in the past and it helps. The change of setting helps me de-stress and be a little more free to explore characters. But late at night is when I get ideas or I’m working through story problems. And I’m grinding out thumbnails and sketches late into the night. And then that’s a lot of the times when I will work through problems and sometimes get ideas for new concepts
I do keep a notebook with me almost all the time. I would say a lot of my ideas come in the form of a drawing or a piece of art I randomly do without thinking about it. And all of a sudden I’m like, “You know, this would make a good book.” It’s one piece of art that triggers an entire book.
What are some books that you have recently enjoyed?
Recently I read this chapter book by Rebecca WestScott and Libby Scott called Do You Know Me?
It follows an autistic middle schooler, her name’s Tally, it’s a sequel to the first one Can You See Me? It’s really good. I think the representation of autism and specifically in people assigned female at birth is really authentic, super, super authentic. And I saw a lot of myself in in the situations.
When you are writing or illustrating do you have a specific reader in mind or more generally to tell the story at hand?
I create what I crave for myself. I try and create a strong book that I am captivated by and that I am entertained by that I think is strong and then I guess people tend to like what I like–at least some people.
I mean when I write with a character who is neurodivergent or has mental illness, I kind of suspect that people who have similar experiences are going to be drawn to that, but I don’t think about that much when I’m making this stuff.
What keeps you going when you hit an obstacle?
Knowing that in the past I’ve hit obstacles and worked through them helps. Lately it’s just believing in myself and keeping trying things. It’s a sheer psychological belief in myself that I’m believing I am capable if I put in the effort. Seeing the work that I’ve created in the past, knowing that I’ve worked through really tough problems that seemed unsolvable but then coming to a finished book.I just need to keep working out stuff and believe in myself that it’ll work out.
Why do you write and illustrate?
It’s really important to my life. I spend a lot of my time doing it. It keeps me going. It’s sort of become my special interest. I’m neurodivergent on the autism spectrum– I spent a lot of time thinking about it, doing it, talking about it with other people. It brings me a lot of joy.
It’s one of the few things nowadays that I feel like I value and is worth my time. I can do something constructive and help other people, help myself, and make something cool. It also helps me process my life. It’s kind of therapeutic in a way, processing what I’ve been through and also I have the freedom to make what I want.
If you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of advice when you first began your writing/illustrating journey what would it be?
I think that a big thing is just believing in myself and telling myself, “You are capable of more than you realize.” As long as you think of what you want to do and start doing it and be persistent, you can do a lot of things.
I tend to have kind of low self-esteem and a negative self-perception, but just looking at the work that I’ve done–it is solid work. I just need to put in the effort and have the belief in myself that I can do it and then I can do it if I just try.
I can’t do it all the time, but if I can try to believe a fraction of what people tell me–a lot of people say that they’re moved by my art or that they like it–and if I could just believe a fraction of that then it would help.
Tell us about your latest book where it’s available and the best place for readers to connect with you ?
My latest book is I Live for The Sun. It’s a 55-page picture book and it’s about a penguin who loses his best friend, and becomes depressed over time. Eventually, as the depression spirals, a whale comes and helps them out and shows what helps her keep going in life.
I used a mixed media approach to illustrations and you can see the different environments in the Arctic landscape. I started back in 2022 in the winter and then I just published in September of this year. It’s available on Amazon now and this was also the first book that I published under my new independent publishing imprint that I started called Post Meridiem Press.
Naturally, I tend to create books that are maybe not as traditional–a traditional publisher tends to shy away from a picture book about a severely depressed character who experiences suicidal ideation.
That’s not seen a lot in traditional picture books but I think it’s important to show that and to not shy away from those more serious topics that still are important to be consumed by younger age groups because yes, they do happen to younger age groups.
Post Meridiem Press is going to have a lot of cool books coming out–are you going to self publish all the rest of them that you have in the works?
Yes, that’s my plan for now. I haven’t been super satisfied with Amazon’s printing but it’s been adequate for now. In the future, I might consider doing offset printing, still independently publishing or down the line if I gain some interest I might end up going with another publisher. I just don’t want to sacrifice my creative freedom.
Where is the best place for people to find you online to connect?
My Instagram is @parkermilgram and then there’s my website. My main website is parkermilgram.com and then for the independent publishing, that is postmeridiempress.com.
If we want to buy I Live for The Sun or any of your other books, where should we go?
I Live for The Sun is on Amazon. The other ones are available for purchase online at Blurb.
Those are No Ideas Allowed (a picture book) and Book of Worlds, an artistic representation of mental illness.I had so much fun interviewing Parker and as usual could have easily talked for hours rather than the short time we had together. Catch up on Author Spotlights if you missed them and stay tuned!
