Happy Halloween!

Consider End Papers

Nice blog article from Tara Lazar  on end papers in children's books. Nice to know!

Thanks, Tara:)

Brother Prairie Dog Blog

Wondering where to find Brother Prairie Dog and his friends? 
 Watch for a link to the Brother Prairie Dog Blog right here! I'm setting up the site with some fun activities!

Don't worry, guys. It'll be here soon!

Brother Prairie Dog is at the Printer!

Okay, it's official: Brother Prairie Dog Goes to Town is at the printer!

Ordering info soon......

....and a link to the Brother Prairie Dog Blog is also coming soon.....for all the latest news and info about Brother Prairie Dog and his friends plus educational fun.

Be Afraid, Mr Puggles...Be VERY Afraid....

I know it's been a while...been workin' hard to finish up on Brother Prairie Dog Goes to Town. Finally got everything submitted. We'll be getting back a proof soon! YAAAAY!


In the meantime, did a fun comic sketch for the #saturdayscribbles on twitter, hosted by the @hellobroccoli group.

This week's theme was animals....I decided to draw one of my favorite animals, the dog, and one of my favorite dogs, the pug, and plugged it into a Halloween theme.

Style Evolution

Here's a wonderful article on Author All Sorts about how our style changes over time.

Boy, was this helpful for me to read!  I've had a bit of a struggle over this, thinking I'm all over the place with my art, when I suppose I've just been growing and *evolving, to put it in Ged's term.

Thank you, Ged Adamson for taking the time to write this article! Check out Ged's website. His illustrations are brilliant :D


*Side note, which I can share b/c this is MY blog, baby - I have to say, I don't believe in evolution, as it pertains to life on earth (we were created by an amazing God - YAY!), but I do agree our art and other abilities can evolve;-)....just sayin'......

Baby Elephant POP!

Baby elephant with some color. Wooooo!

Baby Elephant Walk....

Got final final revisions sent in, so have a little time for fun sketching....

Here's a baby elephant:

Prairie Dog Central?

On the heels of that last post, I wanted to let you know, I'm planning to make this blog into Prairie Dog Central, in order to celebrate the release of Brother Prairie Dog Goes to Town.

My plans are, to not only have info about the book, including ordering information (of course;), but also fun info and activities for kids and parents! I think this book, and hopefully the series to come, is a great fun educational opportunity (without seeming educational). 

And, as parents, I think we're always looking for that.  So, stay tuned.......

Brother Prairie Dog is Coming to Town!

I mentioned a while ago that I've been working on a couple of children's books.  Well, I'm excited to say that, in 3-4 weeks, the first one is due to be published!!

The author (soon to be announced) and I are frantically working on last minute changes...trying to make everything just right (hopefully!).

I can now say that the story is called Brother Prairie Dog Goes to Town. It's the epic adventure of a young prairie dog trying to get to town and back, facing the perils that a real critter of this type might face!

More info to come, but here's a sneak peek, without the text, for now:

Squishy Wish

A poem I just thought of this morning. I shan't tell you why...

Stepped on something in the dark,

I wishy, wishy, wishy,

When I stepped on that thing in the dark,

It hadn't been so squishy.

Pigeon on a Hot Air Balloon

I had such fun creating this guy. I think he needs to be in a story, some day....

My husband said, "Wow! You're getting faster..." which I take as a compliment. Doin' all these twoodles (which is what this guy originated as) has helped me become more and more comfortable doing this.

Great Advice on Writing & Illustrating Picture Books

I love love LOVE this post from Tara Lazar! Actually there are 2 posts on her blog that are perfect for me, right now, so maybe they are for you, too. One is about Writing a Picture Book.  There's a lot of staring, yes, staring (and coffee, of course) involved. So it appears that I am VERY productive most days. Heh-heh....

The other post is about Being an Illustrator, Then an Author-Illustrator.  BINGO! That's where I am...actually, I'm still working on becoming a published illustrator and in my down time/waiting-for- author-and-publishers-time, I'm being an author-illustrator for another book.

So, thanks again, Tara, for such helpful and encouraging advice;)

Jump for Joy...or 'Fro Joy, Whichever You Prefer

Phew! Okay, it's all better now...

Things are more matchy around here.....

Hope you like my update...decided to lighten up and also change to fit my new style....at least my current style...until I change again, right?;)

And I am starting to shamelessly promo the book I'm finishing up illos for....just waiting to hear from author about a couple of things before finishing up, hopefully! (Which is why I have some time to update my blog.)

Then, hopefully, eventually, it'll be published, and then we'll jump fro joy (fro joy??? Does that mean we are joyful because we have 'fros??? Well, we may not have 'fros, but we can jump FOR joy) and then I'll be able to share the whole shebang with you.

Oh, and if you DO have a 'fro, you, too, can jump FOR joy....maybe even more so! 'Cause 'fros rock, man!