"Ella Bella Ballerina" is almost due for publication and I can't wait to see it.
I have been busy finishing Singing to the Sun, missing the deadline for the book by two and a half years, but falling more in love with the story than ever. It was hard work, some of the paintings had to be done at least twice and then there was the painting of the three girls that almost broke me!
And in the meantime our book "Can You See a Little Bear?" has been made into a little jewel of a board book that is just right! It should be published by December, which seems so late for a book that is so very obviously a stocking filler, but the vagueries of marketing in publishing defeat my intelligence. It has also been picked for Bookstart, the second time as it was chosen before in the paperback version. This time they have taken 100 000 copies, which is wonderful.
Snow Leopard is out and prowling and already up for an award in France. I have learned a thing or two about how to get past the slush pile and have manuscripts read by publishers and am hoping to have a contract for my first novel soon. Hoping, hoping.
And Barefoot are still waiting for a sample from me to prove that I can paint the book, the first two having been rejected. I feel dejected and lacking in enthusiasm for illustration. It could be the time of the year. It could be that after 20 years in publishing it would be nice to just get a contract and do the work without having to constantly prove myself. Neither James nor myself have had a contract for the book yet.
It could just be that I feel that I am at a crossroads in my career. I am waiting. I have no ideas or images in my head, either for "Starlight" or for "Tell Me a Dragon", the other book I should be working on. Occasionally an image comes to mind, but mostly I feel empty.
