I'm now in the final stretch before printing my next book. As displayed in the following photo, I've decided to entitle the book 'All by Myself'. 

These are early proof versions and the design has changed a bit since then, but it gives a rough idea of the end product. I'm hoping to have the book printed before the end of this year, and then be ready for marketing and selling in late January 2016.

With my books so far, each one has taken years to complete mainly because I take so long on the illustrations. I don't seem to be able to draw from memory or imagination plus my realistic style of drawing means that I often rework parts of a piece numerous times before I'm happy with it.

I'll be thrilled when I've seen this project through to completion and can hold the finished book in my hands.

Then someone asks what my next book is going to be ... and I just stare at them with a vacant glazed expression silently thinking, 'No, no no more books.'

Until I have another new idea.

This book by BJ Novak is brilliant! Go to your nearest bookstore or library and get a copy.

Below is a short video of the author reading to a group of attentive school kids (but the video stops before he finishes the story, so you'll have to get it yourself to see how it ends.)

Books became an addiction very early on in life. I'm trying to read to my younger brother, but he seems a little distracted. 

Later though, he caught the reading bug too. Jono and I listen intently to Grandma as she reads us our story. I wish we still had that book - the illustrations were awesome.

Then this little one came along, my niece Amelia, and quickly discovered that books could be used for something other than chewing. 

I'm just making sure that her interest levels in books remains high. She seems to tolerate me quite well.

And addition number two, Beatrice, is now in training too. I see that Jono and his girls are enjoying the work of one of NZ's finest author/illustrators - Lynley Dodd. Now I just need to ensure that they are as familiar with my books!

At this point in the creation process for my second book, it's time to make some decisions about cover designs. As I'm self-publishing again, I make the final decision on the image that will appear on the front. That can be both a good and bad thing - good because I can create the design I want and bad because if it doesn't work, then it's my fault!

I don't have a background in graphic design, so I'll be relying on help from the printing company to give advice and add finishing touches. The previous book 'Custard and Carriages' that The Copy Press produced for me was brilliant, so I'm sure that they will make a great job of this project too.

This is the latest version - any ideas or comments?

 

While I was looking at images to use for the cover, I came across an old photo from Grandma's and Grandad's farm. I'm in the middle sitting on the hay bales and my young brother Jonathan is in Grandma's arms. It must have been summer, probably quite close to Christmas. 

The next photo down was taken 24 years later, also in summer, at my grandparents house. They no longer own the farm - that was sold a long time ago - but they still live in Hawkes Bay, NZ and I love visiting that area of the country.

They can't wait until the book comes out!

In between illustrations for my second picture book, I've created some one-off drawings to illustrate several poems. They are not my own poems, just ones that I found in books and enjoyed reading. The idea was to practice illustrating texts that I haven't written and try to bring my own style to the words.

Finally, I'm almost finished putting my second book together. The manuscript has been changed at least twelve times, going from a picture book, to a wordless book, and then back to a picture/word combination.

 This is one of the earlier versions - without words and over forty drawings.

Although I love wordless picture books and admire how talented artists can tell the story through the medium of illustrations alone, I eventually decided that method was not going to work for my book.

Throughout the process, I found that dummy books were a valuable way of figuring out what works and what doesn't. When the images were combined with the words on pages that turn, it was much easier to see how the finished book will look, instead of relying on the computer.

After returning to the original concept, I settled on the final text and have now completed all of the twenty-two illustrations. The next stage is to send the manuscript and drawings off to the printers - very exciting!