Writing On Through!

Hello strangers,

It has been too long! Well I would like to address my recent life hiccup. January 15th I went to the ER which was followed by testing, testing, and more testing. I had to take a leave from work to deal with the pain on January 21st and will be returning March 3rd.. For a 24 year old, I should not have had this issue but my good old "friend" Murphy was hanging around: I got my gall bladder removed! My first ever surgery on February 10th, 2014. It is amazing that I have not needed a surgery with all the things I did as a kid and well...I'm a klutz. I won't bore you with the horrible experience and memory of that little organ being in my body. Lets get down to what I have been doing with this spare time.

A great way for me to recover is to throw myself into one of the things I love, until I get the stamina to paint and draw with my usual enthusiasm: I have been writing, researching, writing more, reading, writing again, highlighting, crossing out, hitting the delete button, emailing with my draft editor (the awesome, Ellen Walker), rewriting, and finally...being brave enough to go after what I want.

At the end of January I submitted a query letter and manuscript for a short children's picture book titled WHAT I SEE, to agents with the hope to get represented and eventually published. My story is written in a tiger mother’s point of view, her internal dialogue address the physical and emotional observations of her cub and the relationship of mother and child and follows these characters on a walk in the jungle. The tiger cub embraces his surroundings and experiences new things under the mother’s guidance. The mother tiger watches her cub race with pride, swim for the first time, hunt butterflies, and recognizes that he will need reassurance. She shares with him the commitment of her love. 

I'm really big on where authors and artists find inspiration. For this story, what got me writing was listening to Blake Shelton's Mine Would Be You when driving down the street that leads to my apartment in the Falls. The song's rhythm started it. Then the idea hit out of no where and tugged on my heartstrings. My father would tell me that every day when he came home, exhausted from work, he would look at his children to find something that is unique to each of us. He would tell me about my “constellation freckles” and how when my brother concentrates, he sticks his tongue out. He wanted to share the simplicity of a parent’s joy with me and to remind us that what we are is unique and special. I wanted to capture that feeling and put it in a children's book. It is warm and fuzzy and perfect for bed time.

So Plan A is to see if I can secure an agent with my submissions within the six week time frame. Plan B is to go the self published route and I will be illustrate the stories myself. I have been drawing here and there for WHAT I SEE. Here is sneak preview:

There was another story I started writing years ago, before I got married, around the time my brother graduated from high school.Thank goodness my Mom saved any art work or writing piece I did. She found it and I got into the editing and rewriting process. HOMER THE HUMMINGBIRD is the second children's picture book I sent out to agencies. 

What happens when a hummingbird has too big of an appetite? 

This story follows a very competitive young hummingbird with an insatiable appetite and poor attitude. Homer becomes mean spirited towards his sisters and does not heed the warnings of his parents about his gluttonous behavior. He is soon faced with the threat of the diabolical old garden cat named Boss and is too plump to fly. Homer finds that his family has a larger capacity to forgive than his stomach can hold and they come to his rescue, but did Homer truly learn his lesson?

My Grandma Bailor's garden inspired this book. She had a family of hummingbirds in the vines right outside her front door. I have been chased down the sidewalk a few times by them so I know they are extremely protective. Hummingbirds are athletic and agile birds normally. When I think of Homer I see a boisterous, comically obese hummingbird. He is so far one of my favorite characters to write about. 

I have not done illustrations for this book yet because I don't picture my style of art for this story. I envision watercolor artwork but like I said, Plan B will mean I will be creating my own art for it.

Writers write everyday. 

There is more! (I feel like a commercial)

I have been writing, editing, and rewriting my third children's book. This one is different. There is no rhyming and the story is very near and dear to my heart. The title is ABBEY BECOMES AN ANGEL. When that is finished and submitted I will post more about it. This story is very much about a real dog and my family. I want to help children understand death, life beyond death, grief, and never ending love. So stay tuned for this blog post. 

Well its time for me to get back to finishing Abbey's story. I will be painting again this weekend and hope to post about those pieces next month. It feels so good to be back!