Nora and Lisa Ericson, sisters and writer-and-illustrator duo of the new picture book "Dill & Bizzy: Opposite Day" (HarperCollins, $17.99, ages 4-8), did not necessarily follow each other from city to city throughout their adult lives on purpose, they said. But they're really glad they have been able to live close to each other most of the time.
The Ericson sisters are the only two children in their family, so they said they were close as they grew up in upstate New York. They both studied art at Yale, and at one point, Nora Ericson lived in her sister's closet in a small apartment in California for about nine months.
"It was awesome. We got along great. It was one of my favorite times of my life," Nora Ericson said of what she referred to as "the closet year."
For the past several years, they have lived five minutes away from each other in Portland, Oregon, as Nora Ericson raised her two children and her older sister had her first child as well. They both have 2-year-olds, who they said are best friends.
But last August, Nora Ericson moved to Salt Lake City so her husband could start his medical residency at the University of Utah. So now it's her sister's turn to follow her to Utah, if the pattern is to continue.
"We tend to be drawn to each other," Lisa Ericson joked in an interview with the Deseret News. "Not to say that we've never lived apart. … We've mostly lived in the same places with little brief windows in between."
After studying art for her undergrad, Nora Ericson went on to receive an MFA in writing for children at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. It was a gradual transition from art to illustration to writing children's books, but once Nora Ericson fell in love with children's literature, that's all she wanted to do, she said.
She first created the characters of Dill and Bizzy in the form of an easy reader called "Odd Duck and Strange Bird."
"I've always loved those particular expressions," she said. "They're both about fowl. These two creatures make an amazing set of best friends."
This eventually led to the sisters' first picture book, "Dill & Bizzy: An Odd Duck and a Strange Bird." Nora Ericson had already created a few picture books with her sister that they had self-published for their friends and family. She asked Lisa Ericson to do the illustrations for Dill and Bizzy, thinking it would also be just a fun project.
Then, when an editor and publisher became interested in the manuscript, Nora Ericson showed them her sister's artwork and they loved it and ended up hiring the pair of them.
"That's not the way it typically happens," Nora Ericson said. "Normally, you don't get to choose your illustrator," but both sisters are happy it worked out the way it did.
Nora Ericson also said that most picture book authors are not included very much in the illustration process. But since her illustrator was her sister, Nora Ericson was able to be heavily involved the whole way.
"We were used to working closely together," Lisa Ericson said. "I would always go back to Nora with work that I was doing to see if I was on the right track and see if she had any feedback, and it worked for both of us to have that kind of tight relationship."
"My editor would occasionally email me, 'OK, here are the sketches I would normally show you at this stage of the process,'" Nora Ericson added. "And I had already seen all of them because I had been working with Lisa all along the way. I've never worked with an illustrator who isn't my sister in the professional publishing arena. It's very different."
"Dill & Bizzy: Opposite Day" is the second book in the series that continues the story of the odd duck and the strange bird who are opposites but best friends. Nora Ericson said that beyond the theme of opposites, the story really is about friendship.
"Even if the two birds are different and have different ideas of how to have fun, their friendship is so important to them that they can really overcome it," she said. "Their love for each other overrides everything else, and they can always get over their differences."
Though Lisa Ericson has a separate career in painting, her sister Nora feels immersed in the world of children's literature, and she's excited to get involved in the thriving children's writing community in Utah.
"A lot of the books that have left the biggest impression on me have been books that I've read as a child that you just remember so clearly and they stick with you," she said. "I think it's really special to be a part of that genre and be a part of that process."
For both Ericson sisters, the best part of creating picture books is getting to read them to their kids and get reactions from other children who have loved them.
Now, they're both excited for Nora Ericson to have her first author event in her new home of Salt Lake, especially since it means her sister gets to come visit.
If you go …
What: Nora and Lisa Ericson book signing
When: Saturday, Feb. 4, 11 a.m.
Where: The King's English, 1511 S. 1500 East
Web: kingsenglish.com
Note: The signing line is for those who buy a copy of the featured book from The King's English.
Email: mbulsiewicz@deseretnews.com
Twitter: mgarrett589