This morning Ben Morley, the author of The Silence Seeker, dropped into our office from Singapore during his holiday in London.

After a minute’s silence, Ben enthralled an audience with an intimate reading. The publicity director, managing director and production controller were among those who enjoyed the story and asked Ben questions. Although we can’t repeat the magic of the book read aloud, you can see a video Q & A with Ben below.

Ben signed copies of the book which you can win on Facebook and Twitter next week.

What inspired Ben to write The Silence Seeker

Ben Morley on… Favourite books

Ben Morley on… The Crown Prince of Brunei

Ben Morley on… Being a writer

Ben Morley on… Workshopping the book

So far you’ve heard from a picture book author, an illustrator and a designer on how Tamarind books are made. (If you missed out, you can read the interviews here.) This month, meet our commissioning editor, who chooses the books we publish and works with authors to get the story just right.

Which Tamarind books have you worked on?

All the September 2010 titles. I’m currently working on our 2011 list. There are some fantastic new books in the offing.

What would you be if you weren’t an editor?

A musician if I could actually play an instrument! Seriously, though, I’d be on the other side of the editor/writer divide. 

Describe a typical day.

Hectic and varied. Anything from editing or writing copy to thinking up cover briefs, checking illustration roughs, liaising with authors, planning workshops or competitions and much, much more.

What are you reading at the moment?

I’ve just finished Trash by Andy Mulligan – fantastic! I’m reading Bitter Leaf by Chioma Okereke; a sequel to Spike and Ali Enson from Malaika Rose Stanley and Ipods in Accra by Sophia Acheampong.

What’s your favourite Tamarind book and why?

There are too many to mention… I Don’t Eat Toothpaste Anymore was one of the first books I bought my daughter 16 years ago so that has always been special. More recently I love The Silence Seeker and the forthcoming Spike and Ali Enson, and not forgetting our first full-length novel The Young Chieftain by Ken Howard.

To find out more about writing for Tamarind, click to see Patsy’s submissions guidelines. If you’d like Patsy to do a workshop about how books are made for a school or library in London, please contact Kelly Tapper on ktapper@randomhouse.co.uk.

We’ve delved into the lives of a picture book author and an illustrator so far in this feature. (If you missed out, you can catch up by clicking on interviews.) In this interview you’ll meet the woman who puts words and illustrations together on the page to create our fantastic picture books: designer Zoe Waring.

Which Tamarind books have you worked on?
Baby Ruby Bawled, The Day the Rains Fell, Why Can’t I Play?, Ben’s Birthdays, Miss Bubbles Troubles… The other books are all top secret for now!

What would you be if you weren’t a designer?
I’d love to have my own little art studio where I could listen the radio and doodle all day long!  I’d also quite like to be an art teacher, helping children to develop their creative skills, unleashing their imaginations and making lots of mess in the process! 

Describe a typical day.
I tend to work on a couple of books at a time, and each is usually at different stage of development. The first stage for a picture book is the editor and I looking at the story. We discuss each character, how old they are, their personalities, ethnicity, hobbies etc. Then we look at the scenes throughout the text and I work out what each page will look like. I start by scribbling ideas on paper then take this on to my Mac to add in the type and move things around. I design the insides and then the cover. This is the most important part; it has to be really eye catching and tell the reader what the story is about all in one image! Once we are happy with the design and layout, I write a creative brief for an illustrator to follow.

The next stage is to find the right illustrator. I search online, in magazines, at exhibitions and through artwork submissions. It’s often difficult to choose! Once we have somebody whose style is perfect for the story, I send them the text, my designs and a brief to work from. First their rough sketches arrive, which is really exciting. After this, the illustrator begins the final artwork with their paints, pastels, pencils, Photoshop, pens, pies and whatever else they like to work with. Unveiling the finished artwork is a big moment for everyone involved – lots of excited ‘Oooh’s! I send the artwork off to be scanned so that we have it as digital files, ready to drop into layout software. I experiment with fonts to match the artwork, story and age range, making sure everything fits and is looking amazing. When I’m finally happy I send copies to the editor, author and illustrator to make sure they are too!

My last job is sending the work to the production team to arrange printing. Eventually the shiny new books arrive, ready for all the lucky readers!  

What are you reading at the moment?
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, a collection of short stories by my favourite weird and wonderful Japanese author, Haruki Murakami.

What’s your favourite Tamarind book and why?
This is far too difficult to answer. I have too many favourites to choose one!

To find out more about Zoe’s designs and illustrations, you can follow her on Twitter.

Last month in this feature you met Odette Elliott, a picture book author. Once we have a powerful story, we turn to illustrators to bring them to life. Here’s a little bit from an illustrator extraordinaire, Carl Pearce.

Which books have you had published?
I’ve illustrated The Silence Seeker, Big Eyes, Scary Voice, Ferris Fleet and The Night The Lights Went Out for Tamarind as well as a tonne of educational and fun books elsewhere.

What inspired your artwork on The Silence Seeker?
The 1993 Michael Douglas movie ‘Falling Down’. The way that film looks is a big influence on a lot of my work. Also, a lot of the scenes in the story are actual places local to me in North Wales and Chester.

What you’d be if you weren’t an artist?
I don’t think I am an ‘artist’ but I would either be a fireman or a nature photographer somewhere interesting like South Africa or Northern Canada. I may still change jobs, you never know.

What are your hobbies?
Drawing, obviously. Watching movies, reading books and comics, being outdoors and on the beach and making stuff, like models, toys, pictures, a mess…

What are you reading at the moment?
211 Things A Bright Boy Can Do by Tom Cutler. It’s my bible.

What’s your favourite Tamarind book and why?
Can I be selfish and pick Big Eyes, Scary Voice, merely because I had so much fun ‘researching’ it in Cornwall in 2007. I took over 400 photographs of bits and pieces I wanted to add into the pictures on that book.

If you’d like to book Carl for a signing, drawing workshop or talk with questions and answers in your school or library, please contact Kelly Tapper in our publicity team on ktapper@randomhouse.co.uk or 020 8231 6648. Carl is based in North Wales.