Upcoming Events!!

Currently my website is having a massive overhaul thanks to the lovely services of Denise Biondo (http://www.biondostudio.com/), which I will be revealing later this month :) But in the meantime I wanted to announce some upcoming events, so if you are in the area...

February

Friday, February 3rd

When Blue Met Egg Book Launch Party!

6-9 p.m.

Room Service Cleveland

2078 West 25th Street

Cleveland, Ohio

Saturday, February 18th

Bookstore event at Greenlight Bookstore

11:00 a.m.

686 Fulton Street

Brooklyn, New York

Tuesday, February 21st

School Event - Valley Vista School

North Royalton, Ohio

Monday, February 27th

School Event - Albion Middle School & Royal View Elementary School

North Royalton, Ohio

March

Saturday, March 3rd

Bookstore event at The Learned Owl Book Shop

11:00 a.m.

204 North Main Street

Hudson, Ohio

Tuesday, March 6th

School event at Woodland Preschool

Akron, Ohio

Friday, March 9th

Bookstore event at Barnes & Noble

10:30 a.m.

Crocker Park

198 Crocker Park Boulevard

Westlake, Ohio

Wednesday, March 14th

Storytime at YMCA

9:00 a.m.

Fairlawn, Ohio

April

Saturday, April 14th

Ohio Author Book Fair

Hudson Library & Historical Society

Hudson, Ohio

TBA

July

Saturday, July 21st

SCBWI Critique Meet Event

Barnes & Noble

10:00 a.m.

4015 Medina Road

Akron, Ohio

** This event is free and open to the public but RSVP is required, please contact Regional Advisor Victoria Selvaggio at vselvaggio@windstream.net**

Whew! Okay now you're in the know! I hope to see you there!

Blue's Playlist

So you know how YA authors always seem to include a playlist with their books these days? Well I decided picture book authors/illustrators should be able to do it too. Although most of these songs have nothing to do with Blue herself, this is the playlist I listened to, pretty much on repeat, when I was illustrating When Blue Met Egg. In honor of Blue's upcoming debut...

A-Punk - Vampire Weekend

After Hours - We Are Scientists

Anyone Else But You - The Moldy Peaches

Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve

Brick By Boring Brick - Paramore

Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa - Vampire Weekend

Dog Days Are Over - Florence + The Machine

Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z

Float On - Modest Mouse

Foundations - Kate Nash

Four Kicks - Kings of Leon

Gives You Hell - All American Rejects

Holiday - Vampire Weekend

Icky Thump - The White Stripes

Lasso - Phoenix

Little Secrets - Passion Pit

My Mathematical Mind - Spoon

Paper Planes - M.I.A.

Ready to Start - Arcade Fire

Sleep Through the Static - Jack Johnson

Time to Pretend - MGMT

Undone - The Sweater Song - Weezer

The Whole World - OutKast

Rock on!

Studio Rearrangement!

Apologies for missing my usual Wednesday post! I was knee deep in picture books and dust! Before I begin working on sketches for my new book I (for some crazy reason) decided to give my studio a makeover. Which sounded great in theory...but turned into a very stressful move. Said makeover took place yesterday. As noted in previous posts my studio is right out of Alice in Wonderland, in other words small...very small. So what did I do? I decided to try and fit my ridiculously large drawing table into my teeny tiny studio space. And shockingly enough it worked! Albeit after a lot of swearing, expletives, and sweat.

There is something to be said about the perfect working space. Before and after photos to come...

A Very Blue Party

Hello and Happy New Year everyone! It's finally 2012 which means that my new book, When Blue Met Egg, will be released in less than a month, just in time for Valentine's Day!!!! I am so very proud and excited for you all to meet Blue and her pal Egg. In fact, to celebrate Blue's birthday, I will be having my very first book launch party! So if you are in Cleveland in February....

My very Blue party will be hosted by the fabulous boutique Room Service Cleveland on February 3rd, 2012 from 6-9 p.m., I hope to see you there!!

2078 West 25th Street

Cleveland, Ohio

www.rscleveland.com

216.696.6220

Copies of Blue!

Yesterday I received the best Christmas present ever: my very own copy of When Blue Met Egg! I was so excited to open the package it arrived in, I almost ripped the book...yikes! But of course Blue is intact and resting happily on my shelf along with Pelly and Pig. It is so surreal to flip through the pages of something I have been working on for four years. I am very proud of Blue and I hope you will all love her as much as I do. When Blue Met Egg will arrive in stores February 2, 2012 or 2.2.12 (I love the symmetry of that). I'm currently in the process of planning a book party for her, more details on that soon...

Publisher's Weekly Review of When Blue Met Egg!!

Thank you Publisher's Weekly for this wonderful review of When Blue Met Egg. I can hardly wait for her to meet the world February 2, 2012!!!

http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8037-3718-1

Character Studies

Lately, I have been working on revisions for my new picture book. I've been thinking a lot about character study and how we as writers and/or illustrators determine the qualities and characteristics of our characters. Who are they? What do they care about? What is their motivation? What is the appropriate resolution for them? And so on and so on. The questions are endless it seems.

Of course everyone's character development process is different. But I though this week I would share a little bit about my process. Oddly enough, the first thing I create for my character is their name. I can't begin to draw them if I don't know their name. I don't know why, it is just the way my brain works. Pelly, for example came from the book The Giraffe, the Pelly, and Me by Roald Dhal, granted the Pelly in that is story is actually a pelican but I always loved the name. Emma Bloom's surname came from a friend of mine whose last name I thought was really unique and would make a great character name...which is how it ended up belonging to Emma.

Once my character has a name, I begin to draw. As an illustrator it is important to take everything into account. When I was working on Pelly and Mr. Harrison Visit the Moon, I originally wanted to make Pelly a brunette. However, when I went to do the color studies I realized that dark hair wouldn't stand out against the night sky. I needed a color that would pop, which is why Pelly became a blond. Apparently they have more fun too. Clothing is another thing I think a lot about. I have to make sure that the clothing I pick will be appropriate for the characters actions throughout the book.

But the most important thing is my character chart. It basically looks like one of those bubble diagrams you learn to make in 3rd grade. I write the character's name in the center and add traits and ideas about the character as they pop into my head. EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT: their favorite color, activity, food, who their friends would be, what they like to do, if they have pets, even their favorite ice cream flavor (Pelly's is Rocky Road). Generally I don't use a 1/3 of what I write down in the actual text or drawings, but it helps me get to know my character inside and out. The more you know your character the more your drawings will look authentic because you will know exactly how your character will look, act, or behave in any situation.

Whether or not a bubble diagram helps you, it is definitely something worth trying if you feel stumped developing your character. You never know what you might discover...