1 Month to Pub Day!

Almost here! 

As much as it is a tricky thing 

to have a book born in the middle of a pandemic 

when we are all stretched thin and gatherings and book conventions are off, 

it also feels very much that THE STARKEEPER is meant to be born in this dark time.

My wish for this book is that it will bring light and hope, 

and spark more of the same in the readers who meet it. 

June 9, friends! 

Also available for preorder at your local indie booksellers- 

or via Penguin Random House website, 

or at bookshop.org

Guess what we did to celebrate?

That's right. 

When your book birthday is a month away, 

it's a great time to paint some shoes

with stars!

On perfection

Advice from my incredibly insightful agent Molly O'Neill. 

So, this is how we dance with perfectionism and fear - 

jump in and do the best we can do - 

today. 

Because we can only ever be as good 

as we can be in this moment. 

And that is enough.

I'm off for a few weeks to finish my deadline, 

blinders on, hopefully, 

nose to the grindstone, 

remembering not to stick my paintbrush in my coffee cup.

If I can, I'll check in briefly 

about this thrilling picture book process. 

Fingers crossed, etc! : )

Here’s to the best you make today, lovies! 

Merry Makers

Meet Bea and Jules. 

They are after-hours friends

who popped up in my night sketches. 

They really want to make Christmas special this year, 

but Bea's mom has a new job

and Jules' gran had surgery, 

so it's up to the kids to get the snowball rolling.

I'm going to follow them around for a few weeks

on a sort of illustrated journey

as they try to bring home 

a little bit of Christmas 

every day until it arrives. 

In other news, I am working devotedly on final sketches for THE STARKEEPER,
my picture book with Random House books
which comes out in 2020.
Here's a peek at my sketch process:

Oops. 

That's not progress. 

That's my new office assistant, Luna, testing paintbrushes.

There we go.
I've been building a village with blocks so I can create my imaginary village
in the book.

I want to know the bones of my world so that they hold together when I change my point of view.
I will share more about the blocks and village and the sketches in awhile.

Meanwhile, I think Bea and Jules will be stopping in again soon
with more and merrier.

Merry! Merry!