BTS Five (with a giveaway!)

1. Happy Two Year Anniversary to SMALL! I can’t believe it’s ONLY been two years since SMALL came out - it’s been a busy time. I’m so proud of my debut and hope it keeps finding it’s new readers. Not getting a trade review but getting on the Bank Street Best Book list has sadly still not balanced out. SMALL is in less libraries after two years than my latest book out for one month. I hope that over time, librarians will connect the dots between my books and give SMALL a spot on their shelves.

2. Peanut & Moe Tour Recap I read indoors, outdoors, in cities, in the country, at stores, in schools, to babies, adults and every age in between. I saw old bookstore friends, made some new ones and wrapped up by treating myself to fried clams (gluten free, of course) at Woodmans. One of my last visits was at Copper Dog Books (formerly Cabot Street Books in Beverly, MA) which was very recently purchased by long-time booksellers Meg and Julie. They are the new generation of indie owners and could use your support. Check out their indiegogo, here. Many thanks to all the stores (and libraries!) who hosted me! You can get signed copies at many of the stores I visited, particularly my home store, Water Street Bookstore.

3. Office Space It’s been almost a year since I moved and gained a real office. I finally got around to hanging some special things and giving it more of a fully decorated feel. Especially after the chaos of the book tour, it was time to put things in order. I still need to rearrange and hang my ‘tiny art’ and have space for two more big inspiration pieces over my desk. I’m allowing myself a bit more time to fill in the gaps but I’m loving the feel of things for now.

4. Summer Reads I started the summer with some big objectives - finishing two book dummies and querying for a new agent. When I finished, I treated myself to a pile of new lovely books to read. I’ve gotten through most of these and plan on making a new to-read pile soon. I might be outpacing my kids with books this summer!

5. Back to School Giveaway! Last, but not least… I truly appreciate all the love and support I have received for my books these past few years. It really does take a village to survive as an author and illustrator! As a thank you, I am giving away a copy of NOW? NOT YET! - just leave a comment below and I’ll pick a winner on August 13th. If you are a teacher/librarian I will add in a stack of bookmarks and extra goodies, too!

Peanut & Moe Leave a Trail of Clues

In every book, there is one spread that seems to take forever. The one that takes a supreme amount of focus to power through. They are usually the best in the book in the end, so I do my best to remember this each time. For NOW? NOT YET! it wasn’t a page, but the endpapers at the front of the book. It started with a thought ‘how about a map?’. I put it aside as I did the interiors, and then my editor Sam said ‘how about a map?’. And since Tundra is always so generous with the extra details, I could make a separate piece of art for each endpaper once again. Peanut’s map at the other end was FAR FAR easier and freeing to create!

And if you don’t already know, I hid a different animal or bug on every spread of the book (EXCEPT! When they have their joint meltdown, it’s just the mosquitos from the previous page). You can also find all of them on the map OR use the scavenger hunt page in the activity kit for a handy checklist.

I am halfway through my NOW? NOT YET! book tour and so far it’s been lovely. I hope to see more friends at my last few stops and that you’ll take a minute to request my books at your library or review them online (Amazon or Goodreads). Every little bit helps me stand out in this big book world, so thank you!

NOW? NOT YET! (Tomorrow)

A long time ago, I came up with a book idea called TOO MUCH! NOT ENOUGH! I created two monster friends, Peanut & Moe (though they were renamed many times!) with opposite personalities, but lots of love for each other. They were stuck inside on a rainy day.

Originally, Moe was sad because they had actually planned to go camping, and the rain ruined their plans. So it’s nice to know that I am LITERALLY MAKING MOE’S DAY by sending them on their camping trip for NOW? NOT YET! coming out tomorrow.

I am so grateful to Tundra Books and my editor, Samantha Swenson, for wanting another adventure from Peanut & Moe. Samantha really helped to shape this second book into something magical and funny and totally relatable to kids and adults alike.

Peanut & Moe’s first book came out three days before my family sold and moved homes last August. I couldn’t celebrate the way I really wanted. So this time, I’m going all out with tons of fun events and hope to see lots of friends out there (Come. We will have fun and there will be good swag!).

It was especially fitting that I found myself on a hike this weekend up Mt. Agamenticus in York, Maine with good friends and my daughter Piper. In true Peanut style, the kids ran up the mountain. And at the top I read NOW? NOT YET! Minus the campfire, we recreated the treat from the end of the book - those girls earned it!

Many thanks to all the friends who have been so supportive of my books - by requesting them from libraries, reviewing them online, showing up at events, sharing my book news, and bringing Peanut & Moe into the lives of so many kids. All of those things really mean the world to me. I hope you’ll enjoy their next adventure as much as I enjoyed making it. xoxo

Marketing MAY-hem

As promised, I’m sharing a bit more about the packages I mailed out this week in advance of the June 4th release of NOW? NOT YET!

For each of my author/illustrated books, I have sent out a select number of packages to independent bookstores across the US. It’s my way of connecting with booksellers and hopefully, getting them excited about my book for their readers. Since Peanut & Moe are on an outdoor adventure this time, I wanted to include a mini sketchbook that one might use for nature journaling or drawing. The frenetic yellow bird appears a few times in the story, too.

I do love making swag, so I also included two pins (made by Pure Buttons) so you can choose and declare whether you are a PEANUT or a MOE. And a bookmark with a fun reverse side that lets you mark your book as NOW or NOT YET with a simple flip. AND… a fortune teller. This time the game is ‘Can We Go Swimming NOW?’ *Spoiler alert: most of the choices end with NOT YET! (Bookmark and fortune teller printed by GotPrint)

I always include a personalized note, and if the store is local(ish) I mention that I would love to have a reading at their store.

Since Peanut & Moe now have two books I figured they deserve their own oversize rubber stamp for mailings!

I won’t lie. These are an incredible amount of work and a significant investment financially. But I really do enjoy putting them together, and much like my books, I do it with heart and fun.

I always consider doing a pre-order giveaway but the idea of that feels a bit harder to justify (how many will i have to do? will I be shipping like crazy while preparing for book events? is that really helping my book reach more readers?). For these, I can control the number of packages I send and get them out a month or two before the book launch.

If you are a bookseller and have thoughts about mailings like this, please feel free to comment and share!

In other aMAYzing news… TOO MUCH! NOT ENOUGH! was selected for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library for 2019! If you don’t know about this program, please read about it here. I am over the moon that Peanut & Moe will be zipping into so many kids homes. This is really an incredible honor and I couldn’t be happier. Also - a signed letter from Ms. Dolly Parton herself!!!

And one last bit of fun to share. Look up there. That’s ME reading SMALL at the MFA in BOSTON!!! I was so grateful for the opportunity to read and draw with kids during vacation week. I tried out some new drawing games with the kids and even got them to all do superhero poses with me. So fun!

Bonus moment: Having my books in the MFA gift shop, displayed with the awesome Jannie Ho’s books (Jannie got the kids doing the chicken dance and bunny hops that week, lucky kids!)

Phew. I’m exhausted. I’m looking forward to a quieter May, then full steam ahead to celebrate NOW? NOT YET! on June 4th (you can pre-order wherever books are sold, but I highly recommend supporting your local indie!)

Two Friends. Two Books. One Book Trailer!

TOO MUCH! NOT ENOUGH! is available now.

NOW? NOT YET! comes out on June 4th. Check my events page for my upcoming readings.

Friday Five

Photo by Jarrett Lerner

1. KIDLITCON 2019! Last weekend I attended KidLitCon, and participated in my first panel. Along with Andrea J. Loney, Alison Goldberg, Gaia Cornwall, Jannie Ho, and Emma Otheguy and moderated by Charnaie Gordon of Here Wee Read, we talked about the ups and downs of our picture book debut year. I’m not going to lie. I was very nervous. But I am so glad I had the chance to share some of my debut story. The whole conference was really amazing. It was a small group (about 150 attendees) and a mix of bloggers, publishers, librarians, and authors. I met so many new and wonderful people in person. It was a very happy, laid back vibe overall which I greatly appreciated. I learned so much in different workshops over two days and felt extremely lucky (and inspired!) by keynotes LeUyen Pham and Varian Johnson.

2. EXETER LIT FEST Next weekend, I will have a chance to be on my second panel (here’s where I will see if experience will make things a little less nerve wracking!) at the very first Exeter Lit Fest. Together with authors Lisa Bunker and Paul Durham we will talk about our experiences in kidlit. The whole schedule is remarkable and can be viewed here.

3. MFA APRIL VACATION WEEK The following week I am pleased to share that I will be part of the Boston MFA’s April Vacation Week programming, along with fellow author/illustrator Jannie Ho. We will both have two interactive, all-ages presentations celebrating the Art of the Story. See dates, times, and details here.

4. ON MY DESK Despite rumors that Mercury Retrograde would halt all progress, I have been very busy this month revising two early reader / graphic novel projects as well as pulling a new picture book dummy together. It feels great to switch gears between these books and see them evolve and improve. The picture book came from smack dab in the middle of this year’s Storystorm month. Looking back, I can see where I built ideas up in the first two weeks only to find this gem in the middle. Thank you, Tara Lazar for creating the arena for idea generation!

5. WHAT I AM READING Lastly, I wanted to share what I have been reading. 1) I beat down a path to get Lucy Knisley’s KID GLOVES when it came out last month. I adore her instagram feed and love watching videos of her cute boy and cat Linney with my daughter. It’s an amazing graphic novel - I love the way she wove her own journey from pre-pregnancy through birth with the history of pregnancy and myths. It’s honest, sweet, funny, and eye opening. 2) I picked up Science Comic The Brain when I was at KidLitCon and met illustrator Alex Graudins. My daughter and I love this series - they really are all so well done. I love the characters and narrative set up contrasted with the illustrated science of the brain. 3) I am about a 1/4 through Jo Knowles latest book, Where the Heart Is and can’t wait until tonight to dig back into the story.

Drawing Operation Frog Effect

At the start of 2018 I had the great pleasure of working on interior illustrations for OPERATION FROG EFFECT by Sarah Scheerger. (OUT FEBRUARY 26th!) The story is told in journal format by eight students, one of whom draws his entries - just about 40 of them. That’s where I come in. First, I needed to come up with designs for all of the students, their teacher, and their classroom frog. It was fun to read a longer book first to learn more about the kids (also, it’s an awesome story!) The final art was meant to be a little rough and sketchy, and done with just linework (no shading) so I needed to make sure there would be no confusion about who was who. After a few rounds of edits, we had our cast! (see above and below!)

I did a lot of the rough sketches on my iPad. I am the rare artist who doesn’t like drawing on my iPad, but I was grateful that I could work even while out for afternoon activities with my kids. Below are very rough sketches for two pages, followed by their finals. The page design and content were revised after first sketches, as well as art edits.

Below is another page, start to finish. This page featured mostly ‘other’ students that wouldn’t be confused with our main eight kids. Also, I enjoyed doing the lettering throughout the pages, as well as the chapter headers and names for all the journal entries. I can’t wait to get my hands on a final copy to see how it all came together. Many thanks to Sarah Scheerger for writing this fantastic story and being an A+ author for keeping me involved in all the book love on social media. Additional big thanks to Bob Bianchini at Random House for being an A+ art director all around. Be sure to visit Sarah’s website to read more about the book and look for it in stores on February 26th (or even better, pre-order since it means so much to authors and then you won’t forget when it comes out!)

February Five

PSIS208 Queens, NY - Drawing and Writing after our Skype!

Castleberry, TX

1. WRAD: This was my second year participating in World Read Aloud Day with Skype calls in New York, Connecticut, Texas, the Ukraine, and Florida! Below are the books I shared at the end of our talk. I love seeing so many happy students and answering their questions about writing and illustrating.

2. HANK! We have a new member of the family. His name is Hank and he is a 3 month old pug puppy. We all picked favorite names before he came home, but none of them fit until my son said, “What about Hank?” and it just fit. Miles had just finished reading FRONT DESK by Kelly Yang, and liked the name from one of the characters in her book. He is a funny, cuddly dog who loves to get toasty warm and isn’t so fond of our New Hampshire winter. EXTRA BONUS: He has already given me lots of new book ideas.

3. FROG! Stay tuned for more all about Operation Frog Effect. I was lucky enough to do the interior illustrations for Sarah Scheerger’s middle grade novel and it comes out February 26th. Andy Smith illustrated the cover. It’s been getting awesome reviews and I’m not surprised! I will post a bit next time about how I developed the characters and what it was like to work on such a different project.

4. RESOLUTION RECAP: Last year I resolved to:
a) Donate Blood regularly: Check! Until I got sidetracked by anemia. But after a few months of iron pills, I hope to get back to it soon.
b) Try a spin class: Check! I love my local spin studio and it’s been an fun and healthy habit.
c) Eat healthier: I wasn’t doing well with this until the Fall (I ate my moving stress!) then I joined NOOM and lost 12lbs. But more importantly, I feel like I really learned HOW to eat.
d) Visit the Isles of Shoals: I TOTALLY forgot about this resolution, so it goes to the top of the pile for warmer months in 2019!
e) Less ‘Internetting’: Oh, I failed this entirely in 2018. But I’m doing MUCH better in 2019.

5. NEW RESOLUTIONS: This year I would love to travel more. AND, to adopt the mindset I will call NO DOUBT. I wouldn’t say I get easily discouraged, but I do have a tendency to doubt myself when a project gets rejected or I’m not as busy with projects as I’d like. If my mindset was NO DOUBT, I wouldn’t waste a beat on quiet times, but get working on all those great projects I didn’t have time to work on before.