MUSIC PLANTS HOPE
I’m thrilled to welcome my dear friend and critique partner Tonnye Fletcher to the blog again. She once shared about her lovely project PB Jamz, but today she’s here as a soon to be published author with a book that is so special, I can’t wait for you to hear more about it.
Illustrated by Natalia Bruno and to be published by Reycraft Books on May 26th, 2026, MUSIC PLANTS HOPE is a beautiful lyrical book that you’ll want to check out.
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A bit about MUSIC PLANTS HOPE:
Music Plants Hope is a lyrical retelling of the concert for plants during the Pandemic at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona Spain. The Uceli String Quartet played Crisantemi (by Puccini) to an audience of 2,292 plants. After the concert, the plants were donated to local healthcare workers at the Barcelona Hospital.
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Now on to our interview:
M. Friend, I’m delighted to have this chat with you today to celebrate you and your beautiful book. I know this story is based on true events. Can you share how did you learn about this concert and what inspired you to write this story?
T. June 25, 2020, Agent Alice Fugate posted on Twitter a video snippet of the concert with this text, “I don’t know how exactly just yet but could there be a picture book story in this quirky delightful scene? #mswl” I was entranced. I watched the concert over and over and by early September, I had drafted three significantly different versions of the concert: an expository NF piece, an anthropomorphized informational fiction piece following one Chrysanthemum from the nursery through the concert and home with one of the nurses, and the one that became (eventually) Music Plants Hope.
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M. That’s such a good story, and it goes to say that inspiration can be found anywhere. Tonnye, why was it important for you to write THIS story?
T. Music has always been very important to me. I was a band geek in school, and music got me through the tumultuous teenage years and lots of struggles since then. I had watched music work its healing magic in many ways during the pandemic. As a music teacher and a firm believer in the power of music to heal and share hope, it seemed like the perfect story for me to write.
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M. I agree, you were the perfect person to write about this unique event. Can you share how you came up with that title? Was it hard?
T. The title was one of the hardest parts, actually. Originally, my working title was A CONCERT FOR PLANTS, but my critique partners felt (rightly so!) that the title didn’t match the lyrical language of the text. Then we called it GREEN MAGIC, but my editor (the amazing Winsome Bingham) said that title wouldn’t work because there was no actual magic in the book. Everyone made suggestions, but none of them were right for one reason or another. Finally, one day, my husband said, “I’m good at helping my students create titles. Let’s brainstorm.” We talked and brainstormed and came up with lots of ideas, but MUSIC PLANTS HOPE rose to the top. When Winsome and I had an editorial meeting in December 2023, I shared it with her and she loved it too. It was a long and winding road, but I’m very happy with it.
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M. That is THE BEST title you could come up with. It’s perfect! This is a great example of how critique partners and even family members can contribute to the writer’s inspiration and how books get made. Now can you tell us about your research process for this book?
T. For the text itself, I watched the concert more times than I can count, read every article I could find about the concert, and visited Eugenio’s website. I also looked up information about string quartets, and the Uceli String Quartet in particular. I also looked up the images of the plants and made sure I was correct in my identification.
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M. I’m sure it must have been such an interesting learning process. Now, regarding the gorgeous illustrations, can you share how it was for you to see the art created by Natalia Bruno? Did you have any input in the illustration process? Did you include art notes in your manuscript?
T. It was actually funny that I had just told my husband that I was grateful that my debut book was nonfiction and that there was so much video and pictures available of the event, because I’ve always been a little worried that I might not like the artist’s version of one of my stories. I anticipated that the illustrations would look like the pictures of the event, but nothing could be farther from the truth. However, it was definitely NOT a problem! I LOVED the illustrations from the beginning. I didn’t have any input at all. I got to see Natalia’s pencil sketches, and later three color spreads. Then, the final art. I wasn’t allowed any feedback or input, but I was thankful to be able to see the art at various stages. I’m thankful not to have had input honestly, because Natalia’s vision for the book was so much better than anything I could have imagined. She did so many amazing things. The color palette is exquisite. It is bright and vibrant and full of whimsy, and. . . magic. That made me so happy that she put the magic into the illustrations. The symbolism in the art is so lovely, and I could not be any happier with what Natalia did to bring this book to life. And, to top it off, she is a lovely person, too! I am really thankful that we have a wonderful friendship now. I know it isn’t always the way it happens, but for me, that is one more amazing blessing from this project. Now, we email and chat and share ideas, and I love the friendship that we are building. I hope we get a chance to work together again. I believe our book is a perfect example of how text and art exist completely separately, but each tells a part of the story that makes a more beautiful whole story. Each is beautiful, but incomplete without the other. I think I understand much more fully what they mean when they say, “Leave room for the illustrator.” It’s not just leaving out the details they can show in the art. It’s giving them room to tell the story from an artist’s point of view. It’s a beautiful thing, and the book is stronger for it!
And, PS – the only art note I had was one at the very beginning that just stated it was at the Liceu Theater.
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M. Natalia did an amazing job, the illustrations are beautiful and really magical. I think she was the perfect contributor to the team. Tonnye, I’m really happy for you and I hope you’ll enjoy the coming months of promoting the book as it finds its way to little readers’ hands and their loved ones. All the best!
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TONNYE’S BIO
Tonnye Fletcher is a veteran educator with experience in the 2nd grade classroom, and as a k-2 music teacher. She is also a literacy advocate, a reader, writer, and music-lover. She writes stories of hope, music, and wonder in her antique home in North Carolina, which she shares with her husband, Shane and their kitty furbabies.
SOCIALS:
https://www.instagram.com/tonnyefletcher67
https://www.facebook.com/TWFauthor
https://www.youtube.com/@tonnyefletcher1523
https://bsky.app/profile/tonnyef.bsky.social
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonnye-fletcher-b5512530a
https://www.pinterest.com/tonnyef
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If you want to order MUSIC PLANTS HOPE, please check out Tonnye’s website here.
Thanks for reading!
M
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Cover photo by Raymond Petrik.
