Exciting news x 2

Paperbacks, moonstones and magic…

Nov 30, 2023

“It was November - the month of crimson sunsets, parting birds, deep sad hymns of the sea, passionate wind-songs in the pines. Anne roamed through the pineland alleys in the park and, as she said, let the sweeping wind blow the fogs out of her soul.”

- Anne of the Island by L.M Montgomery

Hello Redwings,

Whoosh! It only just hit me this morning that we were at the end of November - and I needed to write to you all. I can’t believe we’re here already. Today I’ve scurried up the moor to my friends house, primarily to keep a great, lolloping hound company and ensure the chickens don’t freeze to death (it’s -2°C), but as a bonus I get to gaze at the beautiful near-full ghost moon just beginning to wane, and watch the mists roll across the valley - whilst selflessly using their central heating (Ta EB x)

November has been busy. Autumn is without a doubt when I feel most productive, and this year I’ve been aiming to get everything tidied up for a more chilled December, although I’m not sure I’ve managed that.

Back at the start of the month I attended the SCBWI (Society of Chrildren’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Conference in Manchester, along with my buddy Annie. We had a ton of fun, and met some lovely folk. Next year I will get my business cards/postcards printed in good time, rather than scrambling at the eleventh hour and missing the printing window by 10 minutes - I was so frustrated and it definately meant I didn’t feel like I’d quite made the most of the opportunity.

The following weekend I took Big Kid to Thought Bubble Comic Convention in Harrogate. It was overwhelming but we had a blast, there were plenty of places to stop and have a breather (including Bubs Lounge in which I managed to close my eyes for half and hour whilst Big Kid sat and drew) and so many gorgeous business cards to collect, freindly people to meet, and goodies to buy. I think Big Kid spent every last penny of her pocket money on stickers.

Then came Folktale Week 2023. I had such noble plans to be well prepared and have most of my illustrations finished before the week even started - but the idea angels were not of the same mind. After the prompts came out I struggled to feel my way into a story that worked with them, and it wasnt until I was doodling in my sketchbook whilst listening to Ed Vere talk about his illustration journey at the SCBWI conference, that my character appeared - and she’d lost (the first prompt) her tooth.

I love Folktale Week, but it can be pretty intense - 7 narrative illustrations over 7 days - with thousands of people sharing them on instagram. I last took part in 2021, with my digital woodcut series on Yorkshire folktales and I only managed 4, but this year I did all 7 - and more importantly for my development, I used watercolour and pencil crayons. I’m planning on sharing a behind-the-scenes - including my inspirations for the story and images - in a little extra email when I find the time.

The day she lost her first tooth, Jocelyn wrote a letter to the tooth fairy - “Dear Tooth Fairy, I’ve lost my tooth. I woke up and it was gone. Maybe I swallowed it! Can I still have a gold coin? I promise you can have all my other baby teeth. Love from, Jocelyn.” She tucked the letter under her pillow, and closed her eyes. Deep underground the tooth goblins toiled. When it was time, they prepared to make the journey into the over-world. And found the treasures promised them.

Pathways Into Children’s Publishing is rocketing on - we’ve just been given our fourth (and penultimate) Literature Brief and its the widest and most ambitious one yet, but more of that next month. I received feedback from the team at Happy Yak for Literature Breif 3, and despite my frustrations with my the final pieces I submitted they were received really well.

“Since the first round of roughs, we’ve been so impressed by your strong compositions. You have a real feel for shape and texture, and we love that you’ve followed the feedback to keep in some of the marks of the making process. We particularly like these smudges and textures which give real depth to your work. Your characterisation is thoughtfuil and your palette compliments how contemporary and strong your line work feels.”

- Happy Yak Literature Brief 3 feedback

I have saved the best for last though, news wise. I have my very first commisision for a publisher! I can’t tell you too much right now - it’s a front cover for a middle-grade fiction book with Little Tiger - but it’s super exciting, I’m right in ther middle of it, and my art director is wonderfully supportive and lovely. It will be published next Spring, so it won’t be too long before I can spill the beans.

Phewf, that was a lot, thank you for sticking with me. I’m never sure how much you want to hear about what I’ve been doing - please yell at me in the comments if you really don’t want to know.

Next newsletter is my 1 year anniversary of consistently writing a newsletter every month (February 2024 will be my 3 year anniversary on Substack for those of you who’ve stuck with me from the very haphazard beginning) and I might do something to celebrate. What should I do? Let me know in the comments. New things will be coming to my substack in the new year too, I just need to iron out a few details and corral all the ducks into neat little rows.

Talking of anniversaries, Mr Blackbird proposed this month. He wrote me a song and sang it to me in the lounge, amongst all the kids toys and toast crumbs, with Big Kid playing the keyboard and rapping in the middle, and Little Kid serving kinetic sand ice creams - it couldnt have been more perfectly us. I’m announcing right here that we’re not starting again with anniversaries, we’re at 20 years next October so there’s no way I’m going back to zero again!

Banner that reads “The Bower” illustrated with feathers, butterflies and plants.

It’s beginning to get a little bit magical and Christmasy here (if you manage to read just one link make it number 10):

A valid question with a slightly creepy answer - Why can’t robots tick the ‘I’m not a robot’ box?
I think Apple might have won the Christmas advert this year, although JD Sports comes a close second.
And I’m obviously suffering from a touch of the sentimentals, its the advent of advent that does it, because this beautiful coda by Brian Doyle on Their Irrepressible Innocence is exsquisite (okay, I admit it, I pretty much cry at every school assembly whether my kids are involved or not).
I really miss cassettes. I miss the way we used to communicate through mixtapes, the thunk of the double-press play/record button, the way we used to listens to albums from start to finish getting to turn them over halfway through, how you could hear when you were getting to the part when the machine always chewed them, the slow respooling by hand after a delicate sellotape fix, and that unique audio warp where the tape had stretched.
It’s hard to make an unconventional book in the UK, we’re too driven by the commercial market, but a few big names and imports from the more experimental European and Asian markets are pushing open the door.
Every now and then something comes along that had never been a thought in my head before, but like pandora’s box, now hover at the edge of my anxieties. Hello space junk (only click this link if unlike me you’re immune to existential fears).
On the art of growing older.
In the 4 houses we’ve lived in over the last 8 years (I know, blasted landlords) our book storage has taken many different forms. Conversly, now we inhabibit the tiniest of the houses, our ‘library' of books has it’s biggest display thanks to an awkwardly shaped landing. Still, there are many still boxed up in storage, and any form of order has sucumbbed to the ever growing piles of new purchases, even more so since Big Kid learnt to read. But I’ve never considered the history of shelving books until now.
“Growing up my parents didn’t have much, but what they did have - no matter where we lived - was a library.” I’m not a giver-awayer of books, but the books I carry from house to house are battered and dog-eared, because paperbacks are built for adventure.
In 1992, at 11 years old my biggest dream was to fly with David Copperfield - because despite knowing it was magic, I wanted it to be real. I still love magic, my all-time favourite magician being Teller, with his beautifully expressive non-verbal storytelling. Watch Penn and Teller’s 7 Principles of Magic, and read how they might just be the 7 Principles of Storytelling.