Showing posts with label new projects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new projects. Show all posts

Monday, June 19, 2017

on my desk monday

It's been a long, long time since I've illustrated another author's words...but I'm doing it now! I'm going to be illustrating an updated version of this old book:

 

Doesn't look familiar? Well, does the author ring a bell?

  


Yes! It's that Eleanor Roosevelt! I'm honored to say that I will be the illustrator of an updated version of "When You Grow Up to Vote" by Eleanor Roosevelt!

It's going to be a bit of a challenge for me--I didn't realize how rusty I was being "only the illustrator" until now. But, hopefully, I can rise to the occasion...wish me luck!




Wednesday, March 10, 2010

I hope you aren't sick of me...

So, it's official! I am super excited to say that I am now contracted for THREE more novels! Yes, three. I really hope you are aren't sick of my books because there are three more coming down the pipeline. Right now, the ideas for them are:

1. DUMPLING DAYS: I did a quick little poll on my facebook fan page asking if people would rather another fantasy like Where the Mountain Meets the Moon or a sequel to The Year of the Rat. It was close, but the majority wanted to find out what else happened to Pacy. Well, the Writing Muse can be finicky and contrary but this time it was rather amenable. Because DUMPLING DAYS, as I am calling it now, will be the further adventures of Pacy--specifically the summer she visits Taiwan with her family and experiences the Ghost Festival. If you notice, the Writing Muse was not, however, willing to make the story into "The Year of the Pig" or "The Year of the Tiger" but you never know. Writing Muses are very fickle. The book is slated for publication in Fall 2011

2. RETURN TO SKY: After writing, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, I realized there were so many stories that I wanted so badly to use but was not able to. Those "leftover" stories have twisted around and are beginning to form a new story, which will be RETURN TO SKY. It will be another folktale/fantasy like Where the Mountain Meets the Moon but it will not be a sequel. It will be more like a companion book (I have sneaking suspicion one of the characters from Where the Mountain Meets the Moon will show up). I am pretty excited about this one, but am glad it is not slated until Fall 2012 because that gives me plenty of time to do it right.

3. NEEDLE AT SEA BOTTOM: This will also be a folktale/fantasy companion book to Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and RETURN TO SKY. I have lofty aspirations of making the three into a trilogy of sorts. This book idea is actually inspired by a tai chi posture (for a short while I was learning tai chi, I need to find time to get back to that...). If all goes as planned, I will be writing a boy as the main character! The book is not expected out until Fall 2013.

And after that, what will I do? Who knows? Maybe something completely different. A mystery? A romance? A cookbook? Or maybe just go on vacation. (A travel book sounds nice, doesn't it?)

Thursday, May 10, 2007

what I'm reading now

Elaine tagged me with What Books Are You Reading?, which made me want to look up the most erudite books on Amazon and claim them as my bedside companions. Yes, I'm reading House of War and American Theocracy. Yes, yes, of course I am (haha, I haven't read an adult book in 5 years).


Okay, honestly, right now I have been brushing up on my Chinese folk and fairy tales with books like, Tales of a Chinese Grandmother, Chinese Fairy Tales and Fantasies and Tales from China because I am in the midst of trying to write my new novel. It's a novelization of a Chinese folktale with other folktales and myths woven through. It may or may not work as I'm taking lots and lots of artistic license and letting my westernized views influence the story. It's quite a bit more ambitious than my other books. But I'm giving it a shot, and as Samuel Beckett said (I read this on someone else's blog),"Try again. Fail again. Fail better." I'm going for the "fail better."


I'm also reading the Houndsley and Catina books, the Mr. and Mrs. Green books and the Zelda and Ivy books as research for... shhh! a new book that I'm not suppose to reveal yet. Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have said anything about my above novel either, but oh well. Interesting how the question, What are you reading? is answered by what I am writing!