Author Interview with Bethany Clark
We’re thrilled to feature Bethany Clark as our March author! Bethany is a South Australian writer and editor who made the leap from working behind the scenes in publishing to creating her own heartwarming picture books. Her debut, You've Got Yoghurt in Your Nostrils, is a joyful celebration of messy mealtimes, while her second book, Little Love List, captures the simple, everyday moments that make childhood so special.
In this Q&A, Bethany shares the inspiration behind her stories, her creative process, and why she believes kids should be encouraged to make a mess! Read on to learn more about her work and what’s next.
Your debut picture book, You’ve Got Yoghurt in Your Nostrils, is such a fun and
playful title! What inspired this story, and how did it feel to publish your first
book?
I was inspired to write Yoghurt while watching my son learn to eat solid foods. We did baby-led weaning, which is essentially giving babies whole foods to play with and explore. I would tell him a little story each mealtime about the food he was eating and where it was ending up on his body to make him laugh. The title was absolutely based on a true story! He had so much fun squishing his food and flinging it around.
One day my husband suggested I write it down so I would remember it, and Yoghurt was born. I really wanted Yogurt to be a fun story to read aloud with children to help them learn the names of foods and body parts. But I also really wanted to write something that normalised the glorious mess that babies make when learning to eat as I knew how important it was for brain development and how society pushes new parents to keep their children neat and tidy rather than let them play. Let them get messy I say!
Somehow along the way it also became my feminist manifesto disguised as a picture book, and I will be eternally grateful to my publisher for letting me be so subversive.
Your second book, Little Love List, beautifully captures the magic of everyday
moments. How did the idea for this story come about, and was the process
different from your debut?
When my son was very small, I spent a year or more solo parenting while my husband worked remotely in Central Australia. While we were surrounded by a wonderful village of family and friends, it was still a really tricky time navigating lots of big feelings – both his and mine!
During this time we would snuggle in bed together each night and I would tell him a list of all the ways we loved each other, even if our day hadn’t quite gone to plan. It felt important to hold space for both the joyful feelings we had each day alongside the tricky and big feelings in a way that helped normalise the whole daily rollercoaster that is life with small children.
Spending lots of time with small folk also helped me to see the joy and wonder in the world again through their eyes. Small everyday activities that we grown-ups often take for granted, such as going to the park, or playing in mud, or even having a bath, become huge, fun-filled adventures through the eyes of a child. Savouring this joyfulness also inspired our bedtime love lists and eventually helped form part of the scaffolding in Little Love List.
In a way the process of writing Little Love List was very similar to Yoghurt in that it started as a spoken-aloud story that would change and transform every night. It was only after I wrote it down and my son started asking for ‘the love one’ each night I started to think it might be a story that other families could share too.
As a picture book author, how do you approach finding the right balance between humour and heartfelt moments?
I think that my stories make people laugh because they reflect those everyday experiences with small children that can be both tricky but also hilarious. Yoghurt covered babies, food in uncouth areas, children who refuse to wear pants – these are the real, everyday challenges that small children create that also have the power to make us laugh and bring us immense joy (eventually).
If you weren’t writing picture books, what other creative outlet do you think you’d
pursue?
Books, writing, and words have always been my thing, but I’ve also dabbled in radio,
furniture upholstery and sewing. If I could start over I think I’d be a professional
photographer or a painter. I’m constantly thinking about scenes I’d like to paint, but I just spend way too much money on buying art instead.
When you're not writing or reading, how do you like to unwind? Any hobbies or
favourite spots in Adelaide or SA?
My favourite place to unwind and write is in Stansbury, Yorke Peninsula. We have been very lucky to spend a lot of our time in this lovely little seaside town and it has quicklym grown to be my favourite place in SA. It is such a peaceful place full of lovely locals, great shops, fab beaches, a gin bar and an excellent pub and café. What more could you want? The only thing missing was a great bookshop - thank you Peninsula Records and Books for fixing that!
I’m looking forward to getting back there very soon to finish writing a new project. In fact. I’m hoping to start some writing retreats at our house here later this year. Stay tuned.
