Jeremiah's Robot ABC

 

My newest book is a thing I promised to one of my kids. When I published A Apple Pie: An Active Alphabet, back in January 2023, I showed it to my then-four-year-old and asked what he thought of it. "I hate it," he told me. "There aren't enough robots." Preschoolers are a tough crowd. Anyway, I told him that I didn't know how to draw robots, but if he would draw them for me, I would make him another book. So he did, so I did, and now Jeremiah's Robot ABC is a real book, with twenty-six robots drawn by my son when he was five years old. Since my last alphabet book was a rhyming one, I wanted to do something different with this one, and since my son is at an age when he likes to count things, I decided to make this one a counting alphabet book. That means the illustrations got progressively more complex as we went along, until I was trying to stuff over twenty counting objects onto each page. It was a wild ride. 

Oh, and we also threw in a bit of art appreciation. All the illustration backgrounds are from paintings by Vincent van Gogh. Here's one of my favorite pages--how can you resist counting sheep in Van Gogh's Starry Night?

My son insisted on holding a shiny gold plastic egg in his other hand when I took his picture with the book. That's what I get for sneaking in a photo session on Easter Sunday, I guess. Anyway, he's also happy with our new book.

The Angel's Name--Spanish Translation Available

 

The Spanish translation of The Angel's Name is now available on Amazon! El nombre de la angelita was translated by Amy Hernandez and has illustrations only slightly altered from the original ones. Here's a picture of the new book with the angel that inspired the story--she's not made of glass, but she did belong to my grandma when I was a kid, and I remember once asking my grandma why her angel didn't have a name. She was eventually christened Faith, perhaps because I wouldn't sit down to dinner until the angel had a name. There was also a glass music box that used to sit on my grandma's electric organ, with the angel next to it at Christmas time. One day the music box fell off and broke, and I guess that became part of the story, too.

You can see from this picture that the Spanish and English versions are meant to match each other. I added a banner across the bottom with the translator's name, but otherwise it's pretty much the same cover. 

Realistic Heart Valentine 2025

 

Happy Valentine's Day! Here's another silly valentine with a more realistic heart on it. (Two I've made in the past can be found here and here.) This one is just a heart I found and a frame that I colored to match it, but it might come in handy if you want something bold and a bit unusual. Below is a sheet with eight small copies of it that can be printed out and cut apart.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

I'm a bit late this year, but I still wanted to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy New Year! And I'm posting my apparently now-traditional group photo of Christmas tree angels, because I think that's fun (here's a link to last year's). I spent Christmas with my sister, and between us we found four matching tree angels this year (or mostly matching, since one of my sister's is blue). The one in the back middle is my grandmother's original angel--the one I thought ought to have a name when I was a kid, which eventually inspired my first picture book, The Angel's Name. I actually misplaced one of my angels and didn't find her in time to pack her for the trip, but my sister recently bought a new one, so the choir is growing anyway.

I had a particularly wonderful Christmas this year, as we were able to spend it with my parents and sister and also my husband's parents. Also, I unexpectedly got a new job right after Christmas and New Year's, so I've been preparing for and starting that instead of blogging. I'll have less time for writing for a few months, but I'm close enough to the end of a couple of projects that I'll be posting about them soon enough anyway. I'm looking forward to an exciting 2025!

The Angel's Name--Spanish Translation Proof Copy

 

Today I got my proof copy of the upcoming Spanish translation of The Angel's Name, El nombre de la angelita. I've had the recolored illustrations ready for years, but it's only just been translated. My friend Amy Hernandez did a great job--it was a new type of project for both of us, but I'm pleased with the results so far. It still needs to be proofread again for typos and accent marks, but it's very close to finished. I'm excited! The Spanish I learned in high school and college is quite rusty by now, but a picture book like this is about at my reading level. I'm having fun with it already and can't wait to be able to share it!

Light of Hope Holiday Craft Market 2024

 

Last weekend I was in Claremore again for another craft fair. This time I shared a table with Kristi Woods, who had bookmarks and handmade cards as well as books. Kristi really knows how to set a table up nicely! The Light of Hope Holiday Craft Market was smaller than the last craft fair I went to, but I had fun and I did sell a few books. Our table was in the front, a little apart, and we had some great conversations with people who stopped by. Kristi's new book 101 Prayers for Military Wives has an interesting QR code bumper sticker that she's trying to get on cars in all fifty states, and I know it's now being sent to two states that weren't already on her list.

We had a third person helping out at our booth the whole time, which was extra fun! My son was an enthusiastic salesman and said he really enjoyed being there. Here's a selfie of the three of us getting ready for business. I was happy to have my "apprentice" along for the ride. A couple of other friends also came to see us, but I didn't get any more pictures after the beginning of the event. 

Westside Craft Bazaar 2024

 

This Saturday I had a great time at the Westside Craft Bazaar in Claremore! My friend Renee' La Viness and I shared a table and each sold several books, even though we ended up placed in sort of a back corner. There were booths throughout the whole elementary school building, and I'm not sure everyone knew they needed to wander around to see everything. Eventually word spread, though, and since it rained quite a bit we were much better off in a back hallway than we would have been outdoors. I think it went pretty well, overall, and also that my children's books and Renee's holiday coloring book made us ideal table mates. Some of the other booths were also really fun to look at--I think my favorite was the one with a laser engraver to customize wooden objects on the spot, but there were also fancy soaps and birdhouses and coin banks and Christmas ornaments and recycled book art and tons of adorable crocheted animals. One booth near us was all gourd art, which was pretty cool and not something you see every day. And now that I know how much I like them, maybe I'll go to more craft fairs in the future!