Living Right Now

It's a gorgeous, sunny afternoon at the Bakehouse and I am happily digesting a tuna melt and mac & cheese.  The place is packed; a group of Chinese mothers are chatting while their infants stare at the strange sights.  At a window table, a young couple is eating lunch.

When the couple first entered, they seemed very much in love.  They sat down holding hands and made silly faces at the babies.  They shared soda out of same glass, Norman Rockwell style.  Their faces were joyful, their voices clear.  I felt their happiness and perhaps even a touch of jealousy.

The moment fully enveloped them.  They were engaged with, and engaged by, where they were right now, what they were doing right now.  This is a rare thing, rarer than it should be.

As a child, it was so easy to be present, to embrace the moment.  I remember one summer day when I, all of 10 years old, realized that inter-dimensional invisible dinosaurs were trying to destroy the universe.  No one else saw them; the responsibility of defeating their nefarious schemes fell on my shoulders alone.  My weapon?  A hockey stick.  Two hours later, I banished them to their nether realm and fell sweaty and blissful into the grass.

The young couple isn't saving the world from possible catastrophe, but that's the domain of children.  Their food arrives: a reuben with chips and a pickle for him, a lettuce, tomato, and mozzarella panini for her.  They grasp their sandwiches and lean in for a kiss.

Before their lips meet, he jumps as if waking from a dream.  His hand digs the phone out of his pant pocket and raises it to his face.  Her face goes blank; she leans back and takes a bite of her sandwich.  It doesn't taste as good as she had hoped.

His fingers flick across the screen, sending information out into the endless ether.  He apologizes and puts the phone away.  She accepts his apology.  They speak as they eat but their sentences stumble together.  When the food is gone, they don't linger.

As they leave, his hand twitches towards hers, then falls to his side.  They drive off and my jealousy disappears.

The Goblin Prince, Updated

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...

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!

Letting Go

Today, around 8 PM, the edges of the sky turned gold, then dark blue, then purple.  Clouds lazed in their grooves while the wind sang a silly song.  Then I, brief repose complete, returned to my class.

It has been two months since my last update.  Much has changed.  Summer is fading and autumn is kissing the leaves.  Parts of my life that I believed unending have ended, and new chapters have begun.  Spring is supposedly the season of renewal, but perhaps there is a chance that buds can bloom before the snows arrive.  Although my progress is uneven, I have been learning to let go.

Happily, one flower, planted months ago, is reaching fullness.  Steph recently sent me the completed illustrations for "The Fox and the Shadow."  As individuals, they are precious.  Each somehow tells a complete story on its own, with colors and shapes wriggling about playfully.  But as a whole, they are far greater.

As you will see once the layout is complete, the images in sequence convey the transformation the Fox endures in the name of vanity.  The Fox is not a terrible being; his pure-hearted friends love and cherish him.  But he is a flawed one, and in the end, his flaw lays him low.  Somehow, Steph touches the Fox's soul and brings it onto the page for all to see and, hopefully, learn from.

One note before bed: Updates will be more frequent now, probably weekly.  As much as I would like to speak with all of you every day, my current work schedule combined with graduate school applications makes it impossible.  However, I will stay in better touch from now on.

I promise.

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!