I’m delighted to kick off the author interviews for 2026 by welcoming my dear friend and Kids Book Crew teammate Cindy Mackey to the blog once more* along with talented illustrator Marie-Laure Couët, to celebrate the release of their recently published picture book BUTTERFLY SEA.
Published by Tielmour Press on January 30th, 2026, this beautiful book is one that you’ll want to check out.
* Cindy has been a guest on the blog before. Check out her interview here.
A bit about BUTTERFLY SEA:
A girl sets out to photograph butterflies while trailed by her younger sibling who loves to pretend. Through a gentle blend of belonging, joy, and connection, this beautifully illustrated story explores how intergenerational bonds can endure through moments shared in nature. Perfect for family reading, classrooms, or anyone who cherishes stories about love, memory, and the magic of growing up together. BUTTERFLY SEA reminds us that even the smallest wings can carry the biggest memories.
***
Now on to our interview:
M. Cindy and Marie-Laure, how exciting to have you both here to chat about your beautiful book. Congratulations! I love having this chance to get your perspective on this book’s journey as an author AND an illustrator. To start, Marie-Laure can you share how did you become an illustrator and what do you like the most about it?
ML. Illustration and graphic design are my second career. I built and ran a cheesemaking company first, after going to school for government and environmental studies because those were “serious” fields. Clearly, I was never mean to be in a “serious” field. Whether it’s cheesemaking, illustrating a picture book, or strategizing a brand design, I’ve always needed to create. And in all cases, the story behind the work is what’s most important to me and to the audience. Creating a narrative that moves people is what I love most about what I do, because fundamentally our decision making is based in emotion. Illustration is the most clear representation of visual storytelling and its power.
***
M. That’s such a great story! It’s clear you were meant to be a creator and I’m glad you’ve found illustration is your way of impacting the world. Now, Cindy, as the author of this book, can you share what inspired you to write this story?
C. The story began as a poem when I was doing the poem-a-day poetry challenge in April of 2022. I was swapping poems each day with an accountability partner. One of the poems was about my new volunteer role helping to document butterflies for citizen science. I wanted to help the scientists gather information but there were a lot of challenges. I needed to figure out what time of day, weather, and location would make it more likely to find the butterflies and I needed to practice my photography skills.
Another part of the inspiration came from my childhood. When I was a child, you could order a camera with only a little money and a proof of purchase from a cereal box. My mom helped me cut out a portion of the box and send it in with money to get my first camera. It wasn’t a great camera, as the light leaked in at the sides of the photos, but it actually took REAL photos and I was hooked! We had to take the film into the pharmacy to be developed into printed photos. I haven’t seen a lot of picture books that feature a main character with a camera and truly believe children ought to have opportunities to try taking photos – not with a phone but with a camera because the experience of focusing and taking the photos is so different. Using the lens to focus is part of the art of photography. Children learn by doing, so let them try! Last of all, I always enjoy writing about things that are small but powerful – things like the bumblebee, and the butterfly. I think children and families can benefit from seeing how being small doesn’t need to mean you have no agency. I like offering the world stories that help children feel empowered.
***
M. Cindy, I love that story about you and your camera! How cool that you could get one with a proof of purchase of a cereal box. I can only imagine your excitement back then and you’re right, I don’t think there are many picture books in which the main characters are photographers.
Now, Marie-Laure, can you tell us, what did you like most about Cindy’s manuscript that made you want to be part of the team?
ML. When I read Cynthia’s manuscript I found two passages that piqued my interest. Her language there was dark and heavy in a story that was light and lyrical and I latched on. I occasionally edit poetry so I know the power of word choice, especially when the text is sparse. Cynthia’s words inspired a whole third level of story telling that I weaved into her two tales. She tells the story of two siblings who want different things, wrapped in the context of citizen science and photographing butterflies. I took her words and weaved in a silent story of loss and memory. In doing research for this book, I found that for the Mi’kmaq of Québec and the Maritimes, butterflies can be considered messengers and bearers of prayers, and a connection between the physical and spiritual world. You’ll notice that the background colors in the photograph found in the older sibling’s pocket are seen in the sky on the final end page spread.
***
M. Thanks for sharing, Marie-Laure. It’s interesting for me to learn how an illustrator decides to take on a project, and I can totally see that it needs to resonate with you inside. Now, regarding the process of creating this book, Cindy, can you tell us what was your favorite scene to write in the story and which one was the most challenging?
C. My favorite scene was the one with the mermaid – I had the line, ‘if you meet a mermaid asking for ice cream, give her some’ in my first draft. It was based on an imaginary play experience I observed at the beach with my nature preschool class. The challenging part was figuring out how to make the book whimsical, but not for whimsy’s sake only. I was given this feedback by an editor I worked with. She suggested adding the sibling who causes trouble and that’s when I did the work to make the book come together. I had to figure out how the older sister, who really wanted to take photos could be kind and yet find ways to occupy her tag-along sibling, showing empathy, and still remaining true to her goal. Those scenes were challenging, but also satisfying to write.
***
M. I’m so glad that you added the little sibling. I think the interaction between the sisters made the story very special and also many takeaways of your book come out of those interactions, in my opinion. How about you Marie-Laure, can you share about your illustration process?
ML. When I start a new project I begin with a lot of pencil on paper sketching and research. In parallel I storyboard on post-it notes, before moving into digital final images. For Butterfly Sea I knew Cynthia’s butterflies can be found in Canada and the location had to be by the sea or ocean. So I looked at photography of the east and west coasts of Canada, as well as all of the butterflies she listed. I chose Newfoundland as location, specifically, because of the grassy, rocky coasts that would make for good, windswept open spaces for the scenes I wanted to create. In the early design process I happened to be taking a trip to the Maine coast, which has some similarities to the Maritimes, so I took a lot of reference photography myself. Some elements in the book come directly from the photos I took. Using all of this, and the Mi’kmaq research I did for character design, I continued sketching and storyboarding, before going into Procreate on my iPad. I like working digitally for the final pieces for its ease of editing and early color experimentation, but my goal is always to make the work look traditional. For me, that means erasing strokes rather than “undoing” them and keeping lines and paint as loose and messy as possible.
***
M. That’s so interesting! How special that illustration also involves a lot of research, sometimes online and sometimes even in person to make the book more accurate. Thanks for sharing!
Cindy, this is your second picture book, can you tell us what is something that was very different from your journey with this book compared to your debut,IF A BUMBLEBEE LANDS ON YOUR TOE?
C. The biggest difference was the timeline. With this book, one of the publishers, Tielmour Press, had an open submission month in June of 2024. Before the submission period, I was able to see a video interview of Tielmour Press editor, Jon Seymour, talking about the new Canadian press he was starting and learned he was prioritizing picture books with nature themes by Canadian authors. I sent 4 different stories and they wanted to publish BUTTERFLY SEA! I’m thrilled with the fact that a portion of proceeds from the sale of the book will go towards reforestation. I heard from Jon in August of 2024 that he was interested in acquiring the book, wanted to publish it the following year. IF A BUMBLEBEE LANDS ON YOUR TOE was acquired in summer of 2022 and published 3 years later so it was a much longer timeline.
***
M. Wow! Talk about the right timing and I absolutely LOVE that a proceed of the sales will go towards reforestation. Way to go! Marie-Laure, what would you say is the most valuable lesson YOU learned from working on this book?
ML. A technical lesson is: when you add color to your spreads, treat your book like a graphic novel rather than stand-alone fine art pieces. When using traditional or digital watercolor, the amount of pigment may vary from one day to the next, or the pressure you apply to your digital brush may change, so I recommend painting all of the same element at once across all of your spreads before moving on to the next element. For example, paint all the grass across all of the spreads, then all the faces, then all the hair, then all the shirts, etc. When I first started coloring, the skin color, especially, varied from one spread to the next. Since we need consistency across a book, I scrapped it all and started over like a graphic novel colorist.
***
M. That’s such a great recommendation and it makes so much sense. Finally, to wrap up the interview, what is the message that you would like kids to take from this story, Cindy?
C. There are several takeaways I tried to layer in to the story. I’m so proud of all the layers I was able to work into the sparse text! It’s hard to say which one is most important, but here are some: * siblings can be very different and still have empathy/love for one another * if you have a goal or something difficult you long to achieve, it is possible as long as you keep trying and learning *there is value in pretend play * there is beauty in poetic language, artwork, and the natural world * slowing down can lead to magical discoveries *certain flowers, ex. yarrow attract butterflies and are important for their survival *the idea of homonyms (sea/see) *children can use cameras *since writing the story, I learned from illustrator, Marie-Laure Couët that the Mikmaq people of Quebec and the Maritimes view butterflies as messengers to the spiritual world. I also learned from my own research that the migration of the monarchs and their arrival in Mexico happens around the Day of the Dead celebration. I did not know this when I first wrote the poem.
***
Thank you, Cindy! So many wonderful takeaways for the readers! It was a pleasure to chat with you both. Congratulations again on this great accomplishment in your writing/illustrating careers. I wish you the best with this book and with other projects you might be working on. Cheers!
***
CINDY’S BIO
Cynthia Mackey’s poetry appears in The Toy,The Dirigible Balloon, and Little Thoughts Press. Her debut picture book, If a Bumblebee Lands on Your Toe, published with Yeehoo Press last spring has now been acquired by Picnic Heist Publishing. Her second book, Butterfly Sea with gorgeous illustrations by Marie-Laure Couët, is published by Tielmour Press. A portion of proceeds from each Tielmour Press book goes toward reforestation. Cynthia offers workshop presentations and school visits for the South Vancouver Island area and online school visits worldwide. For more info, see www.booksbycindy.com
SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram @books.by.cindy (book related posts) @mackey_cynthia (nature related posts)
Hailing from Québec City, Marie-Laure Couët is a mixed media illustrator and designer with a love of collage, imperfection, and chickens. When she isn’t working on her projects she volunteers as the SCBWI Canada East Illustrator Coordinator. In a past life Marie-Laure ran an award-winning cheesemaking company in Massachusetts and tended a dozen laying hens. The hens have been replaced by two human babies and, while the babies don’t offer any eggs, they do provide Marie-Laure with all the snuggles necessary. And more than enough boogers.
