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!

Summer holidays with family are awesome!!

(Thanks Tessa, Olivia and Aunty Lynn for the photos.)

Last week I finally began work on some of the final images for my second picture book. As this time I'm planning a wordless picture book, there will be more than three times the amount of images in the finished book than there was in 'Custard and Carriages'. That's a lot of extra work!

Before leaving on holiday, I received my latest dummy book back from the assessor with her report on my changes to the storyboard. Her response was very encouraging and I think the story is coming together at last. The ending always seems to be the hardest part for me to structure, but I hope I've got it sorted now. Soon it will be time to start approaching publishers!

Also, since arriving home, I've been reading this book 'Show Me A Story: Why Picture Books Matter'. The book consists of twenty-one interviews with some of the leading illustrators of children's books. Compiled by Leonard S. Marcus, the selection of interviews are full of insights into the illustrators themselves and into their techniques and inspirations. 

Since the publication of this book Maurice Sendak has passed away, which makes reading his contribution even more absorbing. Finding out how some of his ideas were first conceived and why he wrote the type of stories he did was illuminating. 

Although I've never been a great fan of his style of illustration, Sendak's contribution to the field of children's literature was immense.

There are only three interviews that I haven't yet read and I can't wait to finish this wonderful book.

The first post for 2013!

While away on our week-long family holiday last month, we were able to drive out to my grandparents old farm in Hastings. They sold the farm 20 years ago and I hadn't been out there since I was about 6.

The picture book that I'm currently working on is set at this farm, so I wanted to make the most of the opportunity to get some photos to use as references for my drawings.

There had been some changes to the farm - hedges extended, swimming pool gone, house repainted - but there was still much that remained from when my grandparents owned the property.

Although we didn't actually go onto the section or into the house, the current owner met us as he was turning up the driveway and stopped to chat for a while.

He mentioned that the ancient blue tractor (which will appear in my illustrations) is still parked in the hay shed. That old machine was very exciting to play on!

Armed with a camera, I walked up and down the road, stopping to admire the view and take photos - I took over 40 pictures in the short time that I was there. The storyline for my second picture book is close to being finalised now, but the photographs will be a huge help as I draw the illustrations that will appear in the book.

       View of the farm house from the road.

The field directly next to the farm.

The driveway - by the yellow letter-box.

Standing outside this same driveway more than 20yrs earlier. I'm wearing the red hat.

Check out this awesome website: http://www.readingstartshere.com/archive  Every day for a year, (starting in August) Candlewick Press are posting short interviews with a selection of authors and illustrators. They are wonderful insights into the process of creating children's books!