Wow, it’s been a hot, busy summer. Sometimes with life you feel like you need to go into autopilot to get things done don’t you? And each day you prioritise the things you have to do, and realise that the things you want to do always end up at the bottom, always just out of reach. And when this happens, you have to just invent more time in order to get everything done, and that means sacrificing other parts of your life. Not seeing friends, ignoring life admin or messy rooms… No evenings out… Waking up, somehow managing to get the kids to school and sitting down and frantically trying to tick things off your to do list. But then somehow, you do the things and you reach a point where you can just stop. And breathe.
Well, I think I have just about reached that point. And it feels really great. I am a little bit wondering where did my summer go? But then I look back at what I have managed to achieve, while still making time for a few little bits of fun. So I thought I might dtalk a bout a couple bits of news with you today about what I have been up to and what is to come.
Really Chilled Writing Retreat
First up. I had the absolute pleasure of joining a small crew of wonderful people for the SCBWI British Isles SE region’s first ever Really Chilled Writing Retreat, located in the South Downs National Park in a rather lovely eco-lodge.
We wrote, a lot. But we also chatted, drank wine, walked on the hills, ate curry, called for owls, spotted stars, stared at the moon, ate A LOT of biscuits and became good friends in the process. It really was the perfect tonic after a very stressful busy summer. We are planning the next one so please get in touch if you think you might want to join us.
Your Rainbow Kickstarter
Next I want to talk to you about a wonderful project that I have been working on for nearly as long as I have been a children’s illustrator! If you can cast your minds back to the start of 2020… I know it feels like a lifetime ago but please try! I was a tiny little fledgeling illustrator wondering if I had what it takes to make it in this business. Of course I am still wondering this but I don’t feel quite so fetal anymore! But right at that very early point, I received a message from a lovely lady named Lynn, who wanted to find out if I was available to illustrate a beautiful bedtime story she had written for her children. I was so honoured, it really doesn’t take a lot of doom scrolling for you to see how many incredibly talented artists there are out there, ready and willing to illustrate books. The story take the kids on a relaxing, comforting adventure through the colours of the rainbow. So I agreed to work on the book with her. But then, of course, life got in the way. Pandemics and work and kids, etc. And by this point I had been picked up by an illustration agent, and was quickly learning more and more about my work and the sort of work I wanted to do, and improving my craft, so every I picked up this project again, I saw so many things I wanted to change.
An example of the red spread with an earlier character design.
Luckily Lynn was very understanding and of course she wanted the book to be the best it could be, so together we worked through the book, which was finally finished earlier this year. The project is now live on Kickstarter and you can get more info, and even pledge if you wish, here.
Next time
Lots more exciting reveals coming up over the next few weeks. In the next post I will have ANOTHER cover reveal for you, as well as info about where you can preorder the book. I’d love to hear what you feel like your greatest achievement over the last few months have been. Do you have a substack and want to connect? Please get in touch, I am still very much learning the ropes so any feedback is very welcome! If you have enjoyed seeing my work here, then feel free to follow me on instagram or twitter as I spend far too much time there! Have a great week everyone!
So happy to see you on here! It looks like you had such a wonderful writing retreat. I'm off on my own writing retreat next month and cannot wait – though I won't have anyone joining me, I will be likely be eating lots of biscuits and enjoying my solo art/writing time. I do have a Substack but haven't posted in a long while – hopefully I'll get back to it before the year is done :D
That writing retreat looks like it came at just the right time! Looks like a great chance to take a deep breath and also focus on a project. Perfect!