Long time no post so let's get right to it. I recently finished a significant overhaul of "The Goblin Prince". There is now significantly more back story and a couple new characters inspired by Anne Terres' fantastic artwork. You can see some of the new concept art in the slide show. The reading level is now a bit higher. The book is now meant for readers transitioning from picture books to chapter books, although there will still be illustrations on every page. The extra words were liberating, though, and opened the possibility of future books about these wonderful goblins!
On a completely unrelated note, teaching is completely eating my time. Steph Becker has been wonderful and patient with me, considering that her illustrations have been complete for quite some time. However, I cannot find the time to A) learn how to layout a book and B) actually lay out the book. Is there anyone out there who would be willing to help me with either of these steps? "The Fox and the Shadow" looks absolutely incredible (and hopefully, reads just as well), and I feel awful that it is still unfinished.
Now it's time to finish a baseball article before my editor devours my soul for tardiness. Hopefully, there will be a couple updates over the next few weeks including, but not limited to, news about graduate school admissions...
Showing posts with label Goblin Prince. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Goblin Prince. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
News News News!
Before I dash off to work (where I spend nearly all my time right now), a few quick updates and previews for this weekend's more extensive update:
1) I am currently working laying out pages of "The Fox and the Shadow." A preview page will be posted this weekend!
2) Anne, the illustrator of "The Goblin Prince," sent some new character sketches. They are absolutely fabulous and even better than before, as hard as that is to believe! They will be posted as we start to finalize the vision. Also, the manuscript itself is undergoing considerable changes, so it is a bit away from completion. I'll work on it much more after my classes finish their exams and I submit my graduate school applications.
3) "Reckoning" is in the midst of a complete overhaul. A new version will be up within the next month. Thank you for your patience!
1) I am currently working laying out pages of "The Fox and the Shadow." A preview page will be posted this weekend!
2) Anne, the illustrator of "The Goblin Prince," sent some new character sketches. They are absolutely fabulous and even better than before, as hard as that is to believe! They will be posted as we start to finalize the vision. Also, the manuscript itself is undergoing considerable changes, so it is a bit away from completion. I'll work on it much more after my classes finish their exams and I submit my graduate school applications.
3) "Reckoning" is in the midst of a complete overhaul. A new version will be up within the next month. Thank you for your patience!
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!
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!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Pictures. Books.
My favorite coffee shop in Israel (sorry Ba'cafe) is The Coffee Mill in Jerusalem. It has decent food, a great selection of coffee, and a relaxed atmosphere. The right-hand wall is filled with bins of different coffee beans, imbuing the small building with a warm, earthy scent. The rest of the walls are covered with old New Yorker covers spanning at least a couple decades.
I spent many days there whiling away the hours with friends, glancing at the wonderful illustrations constantly. Each captures the mood of a moment in history, from Bill Clinton's mug during the Lewinsky scandal to the iconic New Yorker monocled man.
A recent cover summed up the unfathomable nature of the disaster in the Gulf. The reference to Escher is brilliant; like his work, the oil spilling into the ocean tricks our minds. We cannot comprehend it rationally. Despite my best efforts, I cannot imagine millions of gallons of oil worming their way through deep waters and onto shores hundreds of miles away. I cannot fully understand the true extent of the damage wrought on the ecosystem. All I do when I see pictures of birds covered in brown goo is say, "Wow, that sucks."
The cover is brilliant because it is not didactic; it doesn't leap off the page and smack you on the nose for being an oblivious dolt. Instead, it blends the timeless with the present to remind us of the limits of our mammalian brains. Our brains are fantastic pattern-recognition machines provided patterns conform to the scale of our humanity. But there are events in the world that defy our sensibilities, rendering our efforts to shape them mockeries of competence and comprehension.
In a strange way, the illustrations in "The Goblin Prince" and "The Fox and the Shadow" are wonderful because they work similarly and also at cross purposes as that New Yorker cover. They work similarly because they combine the classic with the contemporary in exciting ways. Hetsi and Agorot are green-skinned humanoids (like most mythological goblins) but have expressive ears and body language (Anne's idea, a unique feature). The Fox and his world start brightly colored and cheerful (classic fable material) but slowly darken as the story twists into something decidedly un-childlike.
However, their intention is to take ideas larger than any individual such as the duty of the parent to a child and the relationship of humanity to the natural world, and make them bite-sized. That is the great gift any great illustrator gives her writer. Even if you never read a word of either book, you can understand almost everything through the illustrations. You can know how much Agorot idolizes Hetsi and how Hetsi adores his son. You can understand the monstrosity of the Fox's actions toward his shadow. As "The Fox and the Shadow" moves toward completion, the interplay between the words and images invigorate me like a warm summer afternoon scented by freshly ground coffee.
I spent many days there whiling away the hours with friends, glancing at the wonderful illustrations constantly. Each captures the mood of a moment in history, from Bill Clinton's mug during the Lewinsky scandal to the iconic New Yorker monocled man.
A recent cover summed up the unfathomable nature of the disaster in the Gulf. The reference to Escher is brilliant; like his work, the oil spilling into the ocean tricks our minds. We cannot comprehend it rationally. Despite my best efforts, I cannot imagine millions of gallons of oil worming their way through deep waters and onto shores hundreds of miles away. I cannot fully understand the true extent of the damage wrought on the ecosystem. All I do when I see pictures of birds covered in brown goo is say, "Wow, that sucks."
The cover is brilliant because it is not didactic; it doesn't leap off the page and smack you on the nose for being an oblivious dolt. Instead, it blends the timeless with the present to remind us of the limits of our mammalian brains. Our brains are fantastic pattern-recognition machines provided patterns conform to the scale of our humanity. But there are events in the world that defy our sensibilities, rendering our efforts to shape them mockeries of competence and comprehension.
In a strange way, the illustrations in "The Goblin Prince" and "The Fox and the Shadow" are wonderful because they work similarly and also at cross purposes as that New Yorker cover. They work similarly because they combine the classic with the contemporary in exciting ways. Hetsi and Agorot are green-skinned humanoids (like most mythological goblins) but have expressive ears and body language (Anne's idea, a unique feature). The Fox and his world start brightly colored and cheerful (classic fable material) but slowly darken as the story twists into something decidedly un-childlike.
However, their intention is to take ideas larger than any individual such as the duty of the parent to a child and the relationship of humanity to the natural world, and make them bite-sized. That is the great gift any great illustrator gives her writer. Even if you never read a word of either book, you can understand almost everything through the illustrations. You can know how much Agorot idolizes Hetsi and how Hetsi adores his son. You can understand the monstrosity of the Fox's actions toward his shadow. As "The Fox and the Shadow" moves toward completion, the interplay between the words and images invigorate me like a warm summer afternoon scented by freshly ground coffee.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The Goblin King
I am not particularly enamored with corporate holidays like Mother's Day and Father's Day. I'd like to think that my parents know how much I love them every day, with or without presents, and certainly without horridly unfunny Hallmark cards.
This Father's Day, though, has particular meaning. A few months ago, I started writing "The Goblin Prince." The idea appeared in my mind during a bus ride. It felt true and right, and I almost started crying. Luckily, I stifled the tears lest my friends discover my insanity and/or menopause.
As a children's book author, much of my time is spent thinking parenthood. What does it mean to be a parent? What do we teach our children, and what do we let them discover for themselves?
The title character of "The Goblin Prince" is Agorot. He, like all children, has wild dreams. Hetsi, the goblin king, is Agorot's father and rules their subterranean kingdom. They disagree about the direction in which the goblins should dig. Hetsi wants them to dig down as they always have, while Agorot wants to see the sky and stars.
Many families find themselves at this crossroads, when the dreams of children and parents diverge. I know my grandfather wanted my father to follow in his footsteps and become a doctor. He never let go of this, even on his deathbed, even though my father became a successful attorney. It is hard for parents to watch their children head down unfamiliar roads, into worlds with unfamiliar dangers.
But as Hetsi realizes, a parent's role is not to tell a child what to dream but to give him the tools to achieve his dreams.
So, on this Father's Day, I would like to thank my father for a rare gift. Throughout my short but blessed life, his love has carried me toward the sky. Together, we have tunneled through the long dark to see the stars together.
Thank you, Dad. I love you. I will always be your goblin prince, and you my goblin king.
This Father's Day, though, has particular meaning. A few months ago, I started writing "The Goblin Prince." The idea appeared in my mind during a bus ride. It felt true and right, and I almost started crying. Luckily, I stifled the tears lest my friends discover my insanity and/or menopause.
As a children's book author, much of my time is spent thinking parenthood. What does it mean to be a parent? What do we teach our children, and what do we let them discover for themselves?
The title character of "The Goblin Prince" is Agorot. He, like all children, has wild dreams. Hetsi, the goblin king, is Agorot's father and rules their subterranean kingdom. They disagree about the direction in which the goblins should dig. Hetsi wants them to dig down as they always have, while Agorot wants to see the sky and stars.
Many families find themselves at this crossroads, when the dreams of children and parents diverge. I know my grandfather wanted my father to follow in his footsteps and become a doctor. He never let go of this, even on his deathbed, even though my father became a successful attorney. It is hard for parents to watch their children head down unfamiliar roads, into worlds with unfamiliar dangers.
But as Hetsi realizes, a parent's role is not to tell a child what to dream but to give him the tools to achieve his dreams.
So, on this Father's Day, I would like to thank my father for a rare gift. Throughout my short but blessed life, his love has carried me toward the sky. Together, we have tunneled through the long dark to see the stars together.
Thank you, Dad. I love you. I will always be your goblin prince, and you my goblin king.
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