Behind the Book: A Voice in the Storm

We were thrilled to chat with the incredible Karl James Mountford who’s second author-illustrated book A Voice in the Storm is out now. This gorgeous and hopeful story highlights the isolation that comes from grappling alone with overwhelming feelings–and the relief that may come after asking a trusted friend for help. Published by Walker Books.

Read on to learn more behind the book.

In your own words, what is A Voice in the Storm about?

A Voice in the Storm, (in a nut shell) is about the value of talking when we feel awful, whether that’s depression, anxiety etc. and the importance of how our voices can let go of what we may feel.

Where did the inspiration for A Voice in the Storm come from?

It came about from a few things. As this was my second picture book I wanted this one to feel like it was apart of the same universe as the first one (Circles in the Sky) but not a sequel. So I was trying to find my ‘pattern’ or ‘rhythm ’ with this one, which took a little while as the story started out really different in the first drafts and it wasn’t working and felt forced. It was only when I used my experience of depression and mental health did it start to work.

This story was written out of order. The character Rat has a monologue about the ‘storm inside’ about half way through the book, this was my starting point and the first bit of text that landed well and I wrote around it.

Tell us about your author/illo process, how did approach world-building for this story?

My process isn’t very organised, I tend to write a bit then leave it alone for weeks, coming back to it with fresh eyes. I maybe draw a character idea or sketch a scene. I seem to go through a ‘gathering ‘ period and then start trying to frame it all.

With the world building, it helped that this book was living in the same universe as the first book. It meant the foundations of the art work were there but the details could change. Mushrooms are a decorative choice in this book, because fungi kind of fits the ideas of depression. In my head they do anyway.

Did you draw inspiration from any real-world environments?

There is a walk I take my dog on. I used for direction of scenes - rotting trees and over grown foliage, littered parts of nature (although there is no litter drawn in the book) but I’m not stuck in sticking to reference it. It always comes back to ‘does this work in the page design?’.

What was your favourite part of creating this book?

I think the writing. It’s hard and not simple experience but it’s a real high when something ‘clicks’ into place or the story starts taking shape. But that said, I do enjoy the part of storyboarding the pages and figuring out the marriage between image and text.

Your art is loved for its distinctive geometric style and selective colour palettes, how did you develop this style and what draws you to it?

It’s hard to put into words how style develops, it’s sort of just a reflection on interest and exploration that amounts over time and you are never really done adding to it or exploring it. Limited colour palettes are just cool and I like the challenge of them. I’m not a massive fan of colouring things as they are. Limited palettes can do so much and it pushes you to rely and push on textures and light. And if I make stuff these days in traditional colourways I get this gut feeling that it’s not right, it doesn’t sit well with me. As for geometric shapes, I just really like triangles.

Why is A Voice in the Storm important to you?

A Voice in the Storm is important to me because it was a challenge to write, it was cathartic to write and it also cemented how I want to write. What I mean by that is, I don’t want to be sat at my desk overthinking ‘will children like this, will parents buy this, will publishes get this, will marketing find a genre box for this?’ (even though I will at times) and actually just get the story on the paper before worrying about formula and intended use.

Is there anything specific you hope readers take away from reading A Voice in the Storm?

I’m not sure. It might be nice if readers come away with a feeling of reassurance, that feeling big things isn’t singular and actually we are all in the same boat at times. Or maybe just that really nice quiet feeling you get with a bit of hope. But when it’s out in the wild it’s really up to the reader what they take from it.

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A Voice in the Storm is out now. Get your copy here.

To work with Karl, get in contact with Nicky Lander here.