The Next Big Thing!

The Next Big Thing! is a blog tour that gives authors and illustrators a chance to share their work, then tag others to share theirs. Each blogger answers the same ten questions. The tour started in Australia, and has spread worldwide.

I've was asked to participate by illustrator Debbie Meyer, my roomie for the upcoming SCBWI LA Conference. Debbie and I have been online friends for years, and we met and hung out at the 2010 SCBWI conference in NYC. I'm looking forward to hanging with her again in August!

Debbie blogged about her dummy book she wrote and illustrated called "The Three Little Pigs Go To Preschool." For a dose of cuteness, visit her blog here.

1) What is the working title of your next book?

I am currently working on illustrating a book called "Annie the Scientist" by Daniel Johnson. It's the first book I've ever illustrated – Yay!

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

Since I'm not the author, I'll talk about what inspired the illustrations. The character came from the text. She comes off as sort of a know-it-all, so I had to make her cute to be likeable.

3) What genre does your book fall under?

Chapter Book

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

If we could turn back time, I think Abigail Breslin at the age she was when she did Little Miss Sunshine would be a great Annie.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Annie tells her skeptical friends that she is a “scientist,” and we watch as she slowly gains their confidence by performing one amazing scientific feat after another.

6) Who is publishing your book?

Character Publishing.

7) How long did it take you to create the illustrations?

I'm still working on them! At the end of the project, I will have had 14 weeks to design the whole book and complete the illustrations from the time I got the text.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I really don't know.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Once again, since I'm not the author, I'll talk about what inspired the illustrations. The age of the character is the same as 2 of my nieces, so I made her look kind of like one of them and gave her freckles like the other.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

This book is packed scientific facts. It includes a glossary in the back explaining some fun scientific facts. As for the illustrations, I have given Annie a little sidekick who appears in every illustration.

Thanks for stopping by to see what I'm working on. The blog tour continues next week with:

Wendy Martin

Illustration Friday – Farewell

The word this week is farewell, and the first thing I thought of was the movie "The Sound of Music" and the brilliant way the von Trapps escaped Austria after performing the song "So Long, Farewell."

If you haven't heard, the founder of Illustration Friday, Penelope Dullaghan, is stepping down after 10 years of running IF. I am so grateful to her for starting IF – it was one of the catalysts for getting me to illustrate after not doing so in about 12 years. Good luck Penelope and THANK YOU for sharing this great site with the world!

Great Resource About Commissioning Illustrations

There are a lot little intricacies about copyright law pertaining to illustration that are commonly misunderstood – mainly that the producer of the book needs to buy all rights to the art in order for it to be included in a book. I talk more about that in my post titled "Authors Who Plan to Self Publish – You Don't Need All Illustration Rights!"

I've found a great resource that I think anyone who works in the publishing business should read. If you are an illustrator, please read this, too. The more knowledgeable all of us are, the easier it will be to maybe get what our work is worth! It's a booklet written by illustrator Randy Gallegos and can be downloaded for free on Randy's blog.

Thanks Randy for this great resource!

New Postcard

Just sent this off to the printer last week. A goal of my whole critique group this year is to send out 4 promo mailings - Hopefully, they'll keep me accountable! One down, three to go!
I'll probably have extras, so if you would like one in the mail, email me your snail mail address.