Aug. 23, 2025 - Big! Huge!

I bought a book off Amazon and it arrived yesterday. It's about how to illustrate a children's book. It's so big I can't hold it! Between the arthritis in my shoulders and hands the book just weighs too much for me to read with it in my hands - I have to put it on a table. I hope the size is an indication of how much valuable information it contains. Time will tell. (See the picture at the end.) Three more books on the same topic arrived today. Fortunately, they're not as big or as heavy.

A few days ago I was feeling overwhelmed by the idea of illustrating my book. Now, I'm just really excited. It's like starting a journey... you have a vague idea of where you're going but it's like a fresh start: full of adventures. It will be whatever I make it.

I was in the middle of working on the illustration for the child in the story. It's the last character I needed to create. I had a rough sketch done and decided to take a break . I ended up snoozing and - you guessed it - my muse showed up! Originally, the character named Taylor, was a little girl. However, after I made the initial drawing, I realized it looked like it could be a little girl or a boy. The muse suggested I make the character gender neutral - so I did! It meant rewriting a couple of lines in the story, but that wasn't a big issue. I'm really pleased with the end results. I'm excited about how inclusive this feels. I love the child character. It really fits in well with the other characters and illustrations in the book. I've chosen a colour pallet - orange and yellow - but I have yet to do the final illustration. Next, I'm going to begin sketching all the characters in a variety of poses.

I've also decided to add some 3D illusions to the illustrations. I love doing them and think they could really add a dynamic element to the book. I already have ideas about which ones I want to use and how I'm going to incorporate them into the illustrations. It's going to be fun!

Best wishes always...

P.S. Welcome to my blog! My intention is to keep followers up to date on my latest writing adventures. My current focus is on fiction genres including children's picture books and YA/NA historical romanticies. I'm also preparing to write an epic fantasy for the young adult audience. As a debut author I face all the challenges of breaking into the traditional publishing market. I need your interest and support to do so! Please consider following me here and on other social media platforms, which you can access on the Home page of my author's web site. I'll be adding more in the weeks to come so please check back from time to time. Thank you so much, in advance, for following my blog. You are potentially helping me enrich the lives of future readers. I just need this break to attract my first agent representation! Your efforts will make all the difference! Thank you once again.

It's a hard cover copy with a book jacket - perhaps that's why it's SO heavy!