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For Mystery Fiction Monthly Ezine -- The Voice in the Dark, Issue No. 20, August 2006 Meet Heather Diodati, www.Whimsies-online.com Interview by Anne K. Edwards Q. Tell us something about Whimsies. Where did the name come from? A. Whimsies are a line of over 200 cartoons that can be personalized with names, titles, sayings, dates and any other text you can think of. Whimsies is different from other personalized cartoon company in that I can change, at no extra charge, details in my cartoon characters according to what the customer wants. This means that I can change hair color, style, length; eye color, clothing color, skin tone, even add a moustache, a dimple or some freckles! I also have two special collections (soon to be more) apart from my many general cartoons for hobbies, occupations, pets, sports, etc. The first is a line of personalized wedding cartoons for everyone in the wedding party. I offer a free service where I can change clothing and bouquet colors to match their wedding colors. The second is a line of personalized dance cartoons. I was a ballroom/Latin dance competitor for a number of years and the comical moments you’d see in the dressing rooms while changing for a competition was enough to send a budding cartoonist off for her sketch pad! My cartoons are kind of whimsical, hence the name Whimsies. I think the fact that I can change all the details of a cartoon character, and also that I don’t charge for this service, has skyrocketed Whimsies to the #1 (or #2 with certain keywords) spot for all of the relevant keywords, in all the top search engines, where it has remained for the last few years! Q. How do you go about doing a personalized cartoon for someone you haven't met? A. When I receive an order from a customer, along with the description and personalization they've emailed to me, I sketch out the design in pencil. When I'm happy with the drawing, I ink it in over the penciled lines. If, at this point, I'm missing any details from the customer, or if I have an idea for something, I'll send them an email. After I have the final inked design, I then erase the pencil lines and scan the cartoon into my art program. I do a final clean up of the lines and details using a pen tablet. After the lines are cleaned up, I colorize the cartoon. I may have more questions or ideas for the customer at this point. Once the cartoon has been colorized, I add the personalization the customer wants. This can be a title, a saying (I have a page of Whimsical Expression (www.whimsies-online.com/sayings.htm) for all occasions that the customer can choose from, if they wish), a date, names on the characters or on different items in the cartoon such as on Christmas gifts or luggage. One fun detail I came up with, which is very popular, is that I can add a photo (jpg) to the cartoon. For example, if my customer emails me a photo of their cat, I can add a frame around it and size it according to the background and then place it on a wall in the cartoon. After the cartoon is finished, I print it out in best quality print onto heavy glossy photo paper (the colors are very vibrant when printed on photo paper). I add the mat in the color chosen by the customer and ship it off along with a surprise personalized gift (can't say what it is…it'll spoil the surprise!) Q. Are you also an author? What genre is your work in? Where may it be found? How did you get the idea for a chocolate cookbook? A. I've always loved to write. I've written a number of articles on a wide range of subjects, anywhere from "Protecting your Home and Family against Fires" (with the help of my firefighter husband and his fire chief friend) to "21 Free or Low Cost Ways to Promote your Online Business"; and comical articles such as "How to Understand your Cat in 6 Easy Lessons" to "Ballroom Jitters - Souvenirs of a First Dance Competition" (ah...memories!). These articles and more can be found on www.whimsies-online.com/freecontent.htm. There's one I had a lot of fun writing called "Once Upon a Squirrel - or Hobbies for Retirement". It's all about my newly-retired husband, his crazy antics with a humane squirrel trap and a lot of time to spare! (oh, and several skunks later…thank you Ron!) Then I decided to write a book, so I picked one of my favorite topics! "Easy Mouthwatering Homemade Chocolates and other Candies" was easy to write because of two things…my love of chocolates and the fact that I love to make them. I got the idea for this cookbook because of my family and friends constantly asking me for recipes for the various confections I've served and given as gifts. Q. What are your future plans for Whimsies? Do you have any new projects you'd like to talk about? A. Future plans for Whimsies? I'd like to add another line such as "The Baby Collection" which would be personalized cartoons about babies, children, new moms, obstetrician, pediatrician, etc. I have a good start...I have two cartoons along these lines already. One is a Daycare and the other is a Baby Shower. I think this collection would be a lot of fun to design and a great follow up to my Personalized Wedding Collection :-) Q. What is your website url that readers can click on for a visit? How can visitors order your work and books? How may they contact you if they have questions? A. Whimsies Personalized Cartoons and Custom Cartoons can be found and ordered on www.whimsies-online.com and my Chocolate Cookbook is on www.whimsies-online.com/chocolate.htm. If anyone has any questions, they can send me an email at info@whimsies-online.com - I'd be more than happy to help! Q. Is there anything you'd like to tell the readers about your work? A. I'm very passionate about my work; I love expressing myself through my cartoon designs and each cartoon I create is a labor of love from the heart. I love working with my customers/friends to create a one-of-a-kind personalized cartoon gift for that special someone in their lives, and I truly enjoy knowing that one of my designs has brought a giggle or a smile to someone’s lips! Q. Do you have any advice for others contemplating a similar website and work? What qualifications does one need to become a cartoonist? A. Advice for others contemplating a similar website and work? Expect to devote a lot of time and hard work to get things ready for the internet and to be successful at it. Read everything about websites, online marketing, promotional ideas and search engine optimization that you can get your hands on. I put together an article about this entitled, "21 Free or Low Cost Ways to Promote your Online Business" which can be found at www.whimsies-online.com/promotionalideas.htm. I have some motivational sayings that I keep on my office wall - just re-reading them once in awhile helps me get out of a rut! 1) An idea is a funny thing…it does nothing unless you do. 2) Once you start, keep going. Once you stop, you'll have to start all over! As for the qualifications you need to be a cartoonist, watch people constantly…try to see the funny side in every situation...picture how you would describe these situations in pencil...then DO IT! Don’t be afraid...you can always erase or throw out the sheet of paper! Buy books on how to cartoon. Look at the cartoons in newspapers and clip them out to pop into a file or make a scrapbook. Study them and practice constantly! But creativity in designing is self-explanatory; persistence and perseverance are definitely needed to succeed. All too often we hear of small businesses 'going under' because the owners get discouraged and gave up too soon without really giving it a fighting chance. Remember, there’s no such word as "can't"; if they can do it, YOU can do it! One last thing I'd like to mention: believe in your product. Be proud and excited about your product. If you look at your product and you get goose bumps, this is good! And no matter what happens, don't give up too quickly…believe in yourself! Back to Press Releases and Articles 
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