It was a busy day yesterday with several appointments at preschools to promote 'Custard and Carriages'. As I'm not naturally inclined towards public speaking or trying to talk up my product, I do get very nervous before these sort of meetings. But I made it to all the preschools on my list for the day and each person I talked with at the various centres was encouraging and was impressed with the book. It is such a boost to hear that people actually like it. Plus the managers of some of the centres gave me ideas for further promotion which I am very grateful for. Every little bit helps!

While the marketing side of things is beneficial and necessary, it does mean that the time I spend on my next book is limited. And, sometimes I just lack the motivation to sit down at the desk and draw. However, 10 of the illustrations for my second picture book are completed and number 11 is almost finished too. The text is still taking some time to work through. I know the general idea of how I want the story to unfold, but getting the exact words down on paper is the hard part. So far there have been about four attempts at writing the text each a little different from the last. I'm still not sure which version I like best or which one to work on further - but that's where a manuscript assessor is helpful!

Here are some of the photos that I'm using as references for the illustrations, plus my grandmother has sent me a stack of photos from her own albums for me to use.

 

 

Summer at the farm - awesome!!