Creative South Berwick: V.E. Kent & James Vaughn

There is magic in the air in South Berwick and writer Victoria Kent and illustrator James Vaughn have teamed up to capture it in their new children’s book, The Magic of Mrs. Magee. The two have brought their unique talent and world view to collaborate on a story about fanciful creatures and their magical gifts.

Victoria Kent, who goes by V.E. Kent discovered or, depending on how you look at it, was discovered by the book’s main character, Mrs. Magee, when V.E. offered to be the entertainment at a friend’s child’s birthday party. For the party she transformed into the Irish fortune teller Maggie Magee who told each child a fortune designed to help them value the special gift that they each possess. Not only did the children respond to the character of Maggie Magee, but adults were also intrigued. V.E. began making more appearances as Mrs. Magee and began to weave a story around the character. She also realized that her alter ego allowed her to speak to children in a direct and honest way that encourages self appreciation without being condescending.

The character of Mrs. Magee haunted V.E. and she began forming the story into a book. The collaboration with James Vaughn began when V.E. chanced upon one of his intricate pencil drawings that was displayed at SoBo Book & Bean. She bought the artwork and called James.

James has a long interest in illustration and writing. He holds a Master of Fine Art degree from Maine College of Art. When he finished his studies he moved back to South Berwick and got a job as a lab technician. He was writing in his off work time to keep his connection with creativity. In 2005 he got a studio space at the Salmon Falls Mills in Rollinsford. He began working more steadily on his art and writing and showing his work at the Mills’ open studios, which built up his confidence. In 2006 he had a show at SoBo, where V.E. Kent first saw his work. It had long been a goal of James’ to illustrate a written work, so when V.E and he began talking about creating a book that combined V.E’s story and James’ illustrations, he jumped at the chance.

For both of them the collaboration was fruitful. V.E. expected it to be more difficult than it turned out to be. She credits Jim’s good listening skills for his ability to interpret her vision of the characters into images that help tell the story. Jim says it was challenging at the beginning to bring their two visions together but he soon came to enjoy the collaborative process that stretched his creativity by leading him to try different styles and draw imagery he had never drawn before. The most difficult part was the logistics of getting the book ready for publication and dealing with deadlines and wrangling about layouts, sizes, and final adjustments.

The book is published now and the two are turning their efforts to marketing. They have made appearances at G. Willikers, Borders Books, local libraries, and will be at the Strawberry Festival. During these appearances Kent becomes the Irish fortune teller Maggie Magee, complete with her crystal ball and Irish accent, and has children and adults waiting in line to have their fortunes told. James does on the spot sketches of the children.

Expect more from these two. V.E. Kent is working on a sequel to The Magic of Mrs. Magee. She is happy to be writing books that promote reading and family literacy. James is working on his own project which he envisions as a series of books about vampires. He has about 400 pages written and is working on the illustrations.

The Magic of Mrs. Magee is available locally at Little Hat Company and SoBo Book & Bean and online at Amazon and Borders.

You can meet James and V.E. at the Salmon Falls Mills Open Studios on May 10 from 11 AM to 5 PM in Studio #125. They will be selling books and James’ intricate pencil drawings will be on view. Maggie Magee will be there offering fortune tellings too.