When I learned from my publisher that my book files had been uploaded and were ready for printing, I immediately placed my first order for author copies.  The box from Amazon was delivered today, and I wanted to share this exciting “unboxing” moment with everyone. After a year of working on this project, I’m finally […]

For the past few weeks, I’ve been working with my book designer to pick a font and choose colors for the title text and main body text.  It is such an exciting phase of the process to see the disparate elements finally mesh together! The front cover is the first point of contact for potential

As many of you know, I’ve been working on my first children’s book for the past year. I’m excited to announce that my publisher confirmed October 21, 2024, as the launch date. “Charlie and Sophie’s Great Escape” will be available for purchase in three formats: ebook, paperback, and hardcover. Charlie and Sophie, our rescued Border

Before embarking on my writing journey, I had no idea that book design was a profession. I hadn’t even heard the term before! Now that the artwork for my book is complete and my publisher has submitted all the files to the book designer, I thought it might be helpful to talk about the book

Back matter in a children’s picture book refers to the additional content or supplementary information after the main story has concluded. Not every book includes back matter, but since I enjoy learning more about the author’s inspiration or the topic explored in the story, I decided to include a couple of pages of back matter

Whenever we decided to bring a pet into our home, we chose to adopt. Many animals need a home and are looking for a second chance. They have been lost, given up, or abandoned. They are unwanted and helpless, and many have been neglected or abused. After losing our old dog Max, I spent many

In a previous post (Illustration Mediums: Part 1), I listed six of the most common art mediums used to illustrate picture books for children. I briefly discussed the first three: watercolor, acrylic, and pencil. In today’s post, I will provide examples of charcoal, collage, and digital art. Charcoal:  If the story’s atmosphere is dark, moody,

In previous posts, I discussed some of the most popular illustration styles used in picture books. In this post, we’ll examine the tools and mediums that artists use to create their distinctive artwork. As an author, I know that the text of the story is very important, but what they say is true: a picture