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Interview With Audrey Coleman

Aired September 05, 2003 - 14:50   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. "That's when Walter let it fly. It was the worst fart of his life."
"UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It made a tremendous noise and shot him across the room. A hideous cloud filled the air. The burglars clutched their throats, unable to breathe."

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you very much, readers.

And why don't you listen up to this, and if you have any questions, we'll certainly include those. I guess you can tell it's Friday around here. How else to explain an entire segment about something not usually mentioned in quiet company, shall we say. something we'll delicately describe as passing gas.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, don't blame us. "The New York Times," no less, tells us that "Walter the Farting Dog" is No. 1 on the children's list. It's easy to see why kids would be so amused by flatulent antics of Walter. But grown-ups are also jumping on the Walter band wagon. It's a true story, after all. And haven't all of us known a dog that never wanted to sit next to you on the couch?

O'BRIEN: Joining us to talk about the bubbly mutt and another creation of hers, Francine, is illustrator, Audrey Coleman. Audrey, great to have you with us.

AUDREY COLEMAN, "WALTER'S" ILLUSTRATOR: Hi. Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Are you surprised by the tremendous success of this book?

COLEMAN: Well, yes, of course I am. Never expected it to go this far.

PHILLIPS: So, Audrey, what inspired the book? The idea just to be able to talk about this? I guess you could say it's always humorous, I guess as soon as we mention flatulence. But this is a great book.

COLEMAN: Well, Bill Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray are responsible for the idea of the book. And I think they knew actually someone who had the original dog who inspired the story.

But, you know, as you know, we all do it, dogs, people, you know. So it's not like there's one special dog that it needs to represent. O'BRIEN: Now, Audrey...

PHILLIPS: That's the original right there.

O'BRIEN: There's the original dog.

PHILLIPS: The original farting dog.

O'BRIEN: And that's your partner in this book, right?

COLEMAN: Sorry?

O'BRIEN: Is that the writer of the book?

COLEMAN: I'm not seeing what you're seeing. No, no, no. In the newspaper article?

O'BRIEN: Yes, don't worry about it.

The point is there was an actual dog at the root of this. I guess none of us are truly surprised that there are actual dogs at the root of it. I'm curious, though, how you decided to draw this. What sort of inspired you on this one?

COLEMAN: Well, that was tricky. I hadn't had much experience doing children's books or even illustrating people.

But I had sent my artwork over to the publisher, North Atlantic Books, about a year prior, and they had my art on file. And the -- one of the authors, Bill Kotzwinkle, was looking for an artist, and they called me up and I kind of competed with a few others, and they chose me. So I lucked out.

PHILLIPS: So, Audrey, why is there a spider on every page?

COLEMAN: Oh, no. I get a lot of e-mails about this spider. I just stuck him in there. I thought it would be fun. And then, of course, I forgot him on one page, and nobody lets me forget it.

PHILLIPS: Do spiders pass gas?

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: We don't know.

COLEMAN: You know, I don't know. I was wondering that this morning.

O'BRIEN: So the fact that it's absent from one page, there's nothing special about that page, you just forgot.

COLEMAN: I forgot.

O'BRIEN: All right.

COLEMAN: Yes. PHILLIPS: We actually have some much -- I guess we could say smarter journalists than you and me?

O'BRIEN: Yes, better questions.

PHILLIPS: Definitely better questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think?

(LAUGHTER)

COLEMAN: Oh, Murrah (ph). Your son's already getting all over you.

So, Audrey, we have a young man, a young woman here. They've been reading your book, obviously. You've probably have heard that. They have questions for you. Murrah you want to start?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you really have a farting dog?

COLEMAN: Well, no. Actually, I have a farting cat.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: And that's the other book, "Francine," which is also out now, right?

COLEMAN: Yes. "Francine" actually made it on "The New York Times" best-seller list also.

O'BRIEN: Wow. So you've got a cat and dog on the list at the same time.

All right, Caroline (ph), you have a question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, not really.

PHILLIPS: Are you sure?

O'BRIEN: OK.

PHILLIPS: I can tell she's cooking up one in there.

O'BRIEN: Yes. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

COLEMAN: Yes, they were both on for a while at the same time. Both on "The New York Times" list.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why were all the people green in the pictures?

COLEMAN: I don't know. I kind of like to make my people greenish. I don't know why.

O'BRIEN: Just because, huh?

PHILLIPS: Is it your favorite color?

COLEMAN: I'm kind of olive-skinned. I guess I just think, you know, yellowish, greenish kind of -- I don't know. Sort of just what I like.

O'BRIEN: All right. Audrey, clearly this kind of -- well, you know, of course we were big fans of the "Captain Underpants" series...

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: So some of this has been dealt with. But this takes the whole potty humor to a new level. Is this something that you laugh at necessarily, or you found funny, or was this just something you wanted to illustrate?

COLEMAN: Well, no. Actually, I never really found it all that funny, to be honest with you.

(LAUGHTER)

COLEMAN: I mean, I'm not offended by it, but it doesn't particularly crack me up.

But, you know, I was really happy to do this book. Bill Kotzwinkle wrote "Dr. Rat," one of my all-time favorite books. And I couldn't believe it when I was offered this opportunity.

But the sequels that I'm working on now for "Walter the Farting Dog" are extremely funny. Those do crack me up a lot.

PHILLIPS: Can you give us a little hint?

COLEMAN: The stories are wild and really way out and ridiculously funny. Far beyond, I think, just the fart jokes in this book, which are funny, you know, people like it, but the sequels are really outlandish.

O'BRIEN: We can hardly wait. Audrey Coleman, the illustrator of "Walter the Farting Dog."

PHILLIPS: Will you come back, Audrey?

COLEMAN: Sure. I was hoping you'd mention "Francine" again.

O'BRIEN: And don't forget "Francine."

PHILLIPS: That's right. You can find a couple of Audrey's books, actually. Best-sellers. Audrey, thank you so much.

COLEMAN: Thank you very much.

O'BRIEN: And Murrah and Caroline, thank you, too. PHILLIPS: Great reading.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired September 5, 2003 - 14:50   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. "That's when Walter let it fly. It was the worst fart of his life."
"UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It made a tremendous noise and shot him across the room. A hideous cloud filled the air. The burglars clutched their throats, unable to breathe."

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you very much, readers.

And why don't you listen up to this, and if you have any questions, we'll certainly include those. I guess you can tell it's Friday around here. How else to explain an entire segment about something not usually mentioned in quiet company, shall we say. something we'll delicately describe as passing gas.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, don't blame us. "The New York Times," no less, tells us that "Walter the Farting Dog" is No. 1 on the children's list. It's easy to see why kids would be so amused by flatulent antics of Walter. But grown-ups are also jumping on the Walter band wagon. It's a true story, after all. And haven't all of us known a dog that never wanted to sit next to you on the couch?

O'BRIEN: Joining us to talk about the bubbly mutt and another creation of hers, Francine, is illustrator, Audrey Coleman. Audrey, great to have you with us.

AUDREY COLEMAN, "WALTER'S" ILLUSTRATOR: Hi. Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Are you surprised by the tremendous success of this book?

COLEMAN: Well, yes, of course I am. Never expected it to go this far.

PHILLIPS: So, Audrey, what inspired the book? The idea just to be able to talk about this? I guess you could say it's always humorous, I guess as soon as we mention flatulence. But this is a great book.

COLEMAN: Well, Bill Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray are responsible for the idea of the book. And I think they knew actually someone who had the original dog who inspired the story.

But, you know, as you know, we all do it, dogs, people, you know. So it's not like there's one special dog that it needs to represent. O'BRIEN: Now, Audrey...

PHILLIPS: That's the original right there.

O'BRIEN: There's the original dog.

PHILLIPS: The original farting dog.

O'BRIEN: And that's your partner in this book, right?

COLEMAN: Sorry?

O'BRIEN: Is that the writer of the book?

COLEMAN: I'm not seeing what you're seeing. No, no, no. In the newspaper article?

O'BRIEN: Yes, don't worry about it.

The point is there was an actual dog at the root of this. I guess none of us are truly surprised that there are actual dogs at the root of it. I'm curious, though, how you decided to draw this. What sort of inspired you on this one?

COLEMAN: Well, that was tricky. I hadn't had much experience doing children's books or even illustrating people.

But I had sent my artwork over to the publisher, North Atlantic Books, about a year prior, and they had my art on file. And the -- one of the authors, Bill Kotzwinkle, was looking for an artist, and they called me up and I kind of competed with a few others, and they chose me. So I lucked out.

PHILLIPS: So, Audrey, why is there a spider on every page?

COLEMAN: Oh, no. I get a lot of e-mails about this spider. I just stuck him in there. I thought it would be fun. And then, of course, I forgot him on one page, and nobody lets me forget it.

PHILLIPS: Do spiders pass gas?

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: We don't know.

COLEMAN: You know, I don't know. I was wondering that this morning.

O'BRIEN: So the fact that it's absent from one page, there's nothing special about that page, you just forgot.

COLEMAN: I forgot.

O'BRIEN: All right.

COLEMAN: Yes. PHILLIPS: We actually have some much -- I guess we could say smarter journalists than you and me?

O'BRIEN: Yes, better questions.

PHILLIPS: Definitely better questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think?

(LAUGHTER)

COLEMAN: Oh, Murrah (ph). Your son's already getting all over you.

So, Audrey, we have a young man, a young woman here. They've been reading your book, obviously. You've probably have heard that. They have questions for you. Murrah you want to start?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you really have a farting dog?

COLEMAN: Well, no. Actually, I have a farting cat.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: And that's the other book, "Francine," which is also out now, right?

COLEMAN: Yes. "Francine" actually made it on "The New York Times" best-seller list also.

O'BRIEN: Wow. So you've got a cat and dog on the list at the same time.

All right, Caroline (ph), you have a question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, not really.

PHILLIPS: Are you sure?

O'BRIEN: OK.

PHILLIPS: I can tell she's cooking up one in there.

O'BRIEN: Yes. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

COLEMAN: Yes, they were both on for a while at the same time. Both on "The New York Times" list.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why were all the people green in the pictures?

COLEMAN: I don't know. I kind of like to make my people greenish. I don't know why.

O'BRIEN: Just because, huh?

PHILLIPS: Is it your favorite color?

COLEMAN: I'm kind of olive-skinned. I guess I just think, you know, yellowish, greenish kind of -- I don't know. Sort of just what I like.

O'BRIEN: All right. Audrey, clearly this kind of -- well, you know, of course we were big fans of the "Captain Underpants" series...

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: So some of this has been dealt with. But this takes the whole potty humor to a new level. Is this something that you laugh at necessarily, or you found funny, or was this just something you wanted to illustrate?

COLEMAN: Well, no. Actually, I never really found it all that funny, to be honest with you.

(LAUGHTER)

COLEMAN: I mean, I'm not offended by it, but it doesn't particularly crack me up.

But, you know, I was really happy to do this book. Bill Kotzwinkle wrote "Dr. Rat," one of my all-time favorite books. And I couldn't believe it when I was offered this opportunity.

But the sequels that I'm working on now for "Walter the Farting Dog" are extremely funny. Those do crack me up a lot.

PHILLIPS: Can you give us a little hint?

COLEMAN: The stories are wild and really way out and ridiculously funny. Far beyond, I think, just the fart jokes in this book, which are funny, you know, people like it, but the sequels are really outlandish.

O'BRIEN: We can hardly wait. Audrey Coleman, the illustrator of "Walter the Farting Dog."

PHILLIPS: Will you come back, Audrey?

COLEMAN: Sure. I was hoping you'd mention "Francine" again.

O'BRIEN: And don't forget "Francine."

PHILLIPS: That's right. You can find a couple of Audrey's books, actually. Best-sellers. Audrey, thank you so much.

COLEMAN: Thank you very much.

O'BRIEN: And Murrah and Caroline, thank you, too. PHILLIPS: Great reading.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com