Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Mid-July Update

Sorry for the week-long hiatus.  Life creeps up on you sometimes and all you can do is try to deal with what it brings.  Happily, there are many great things on the horizon!

On Monday, my writing group met for the first time.  I presented "The Goblin Prince" and "Across the Ocean" and received fantastic feedback.  For example, in "The Goblin Prince," there is little background on the goblins.  Other aspects of the back-story and world are similarly unexplained due to the word constraints of the standard 32 page picture book.  However, without these explanations, the entire story falls a bit flat.  So it is changing to an older age bracket, loosening word constraints so Hetsi, Agorot, and friends get their due.

I also met with Steph Becker, the illustrator for "The Fox and the Shadow."  We are on track to finish in early August and the new illustrations are wonderful!  They capture the Fox's journey into narcissism and isolation through color and form while still forming a coherent whole.  It is a privilege to work with such a talented artist.  Plus, we came up with an idea for another project, tentatively titled "Rabbits and Robots."  Exciting stuff!

Although it can be difficult to find time for new writing given the demands of editing existing work, rough manuscripts of three new works are nearing completion.  To whet your appetite, here are the titles and short descriptions:

"Across the Ocean": A family in a coastal village face a wrenching decision when there are no longer enough fish to catch.  Two brothers set out on a journey across the ocean to find a better life in a new land.

"Sarah and the Sunken Ship": Sarah, a mermaid, lives happily underwater in a sunken ship.  When she rescues a handsome sailor from a shipwreck, they fall in love.  But when he decides to return to land, she has to decide: Will she follow?  Or is there another solution?  A feminist take on a familiar story.

"Shira and the Tree of Stars": Shira's life is great; she spends her days wandering the forest with her grandparents and her nights learning from her parents.  But one day, her grandmother comes down with a mysterious illness.  Shira learns about the interconnectedness of life and death, and discovers how even those who die live on in our memories and hearts.

So stay tuned!  There is plenty to come!

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