A VERY MERRY UN-BIRTHDAY SF!!!!!!!!!!

Today is a milestone over at Plot This. SF has hit the BIG ONE!!!!!!!!!!! And to begin the celebration (which is lasting a full week) I am having a tea party for her this morning at my house.

For this special event, we (her writing group) are recreating her picture book, TEA PARTY.

It's a Burton-esque masterpiece for a budding little goth girl.

Many pics and commentary will arrive shortly. This is the table. Notice the melted candles, stuffed squirrel, cobwebs and bugs! Not to mention the eleven dead roses hanging upside down from the chandelier. She is gonna freak!

HAPPY BIG ONE SF!!!!!!!!! I love ya!
This is me with black goth dripping from my eyes. Gotta go get ready! More pics to come!!!

Re-re-re-re-re-revisions

Whoa!  I hate to follow Katie's post, but I guess I have to.  What a day, huh??

So . . . I'm revising.  Again.  My picture book has been through the wringer for a couple of years, now.  It's been subjected to three SCBWI critiques, editor interest and revisions (followed by rejection), and countless reads by super-writer friends (some of you are out there--thanks!).   I'm once again getting to the polishing stages and working on the sketches for the illustrations. I've gotten some great illustration advice as well as some revision advice about the pacing of the writing earlier this week, and I am overwhelmed but excited to get to work.

Here's my corner of the studio that is dedicated to this part of my work.  

I have printed up a tiny copy of my dummy onto index cards so that I can storyboard the entire book and look at it as a whole (it's to the right on the white magnetic board).  It is amazing how revealing it is to look at the project all at once like this.  I already see some problems with action and page turns.

Plus, I'm basically going to have to redo almost all of these sketches to fit with the new direction of the book.  Yikes!   Did I say that I am overwhelmed???   

Uh, and did I mention that my youngest daughter finishes school in two short weeks?  I really want to get the bulk of this finished so that I can be at the tweaking stage when Julia is home with Mommy. My plan is for her to color my computer printed black and white sketches while I work--I just have to keep her away from the originals.   She can sit quietly at my feet and color. This will work right??

So, it's back to the drawing board.  After tomorrow's field trip of course . . . and cardboard box racecar day Friday . . . and Double Decker Arts Festival this weekend . . . Yahhh!!

sf