#TBT in B&W

Maggie meets her grandmother, and Oliver gets a scolding. (From MAGGIE & OLIVER OR A BONE OF ONE'S OWN.)

Box O' New Books!

Look what Mr. UPS guy delivered yesterday! Hardcover copies of Maggie and Oliver, or A Bone of One's Own! The official release date is in less than three weeks, on October 25!



















Such fun to page through it...

The book is printed in a nice brownish ink, which fits the time period well, I think! Here are a few interior spreads...

While working on the endpapers, my editor and designer came up with the brilliant idea of having Maggie and Oliver separate on the front end... (See the girl and the dog close to the gutter?)

... and coming together on the back end, as they do in the story.

And it was a lovely surprise to see that they had taken one of interior spots...

... and embossed it on the hardcover of the book. Sweet detail!

I'll post more in the coming weeks, but for now, time for a great big Happy Dance!

What's On My Desk

This week I'm working on endpaper illustrations and a few other bits and pieces for Maggie and Oliver, a middle-grade novel by author Valerie Hobbs.

There's always a stage in the process where I think the art looks like blech. Most times I can work through it. (Figured this out after years of self-torture.)

















Usually my desk looks something like below. My hairy little assistants are always ready to help. (Between nap breaks, that is.) Luckily I also have a standing desk. Keeps the ol' spine happy.






















Here's another piece from the book:

Dept. of Good Stuff: Update!

I'm happy to be posting again about my Maggie and Oliver book illustration project, with an update! Things were put on hold this summer because my lovely & wonderful editor moved to another house. (It's publishing. It happens.) The book was reassigned to a new editor (just as lovely & wonderful)* and I'll be finishing up the cover and endpaper art in the next month or so. Look for a Fall '11 publication date! I still intend to blog about the whole process of working on the book– probably closer to the release.

Meanwhile, here's a sneak peek at one of the interior illos:























*(Just gotta say, I'm feeling really, really fortunate to have the chance to work with so many lovely & wonderful people!)

Spilling the Beans!

Wow-- time flies when you're having fun, for sure! I can finally talk about the middle grade novel project I've been working on.

Last November I was commissioned to illustrate the cover and black & white interiors for a forthcoming novel by the award-winning author, Valerie Hobbs. (You should have seen my happy dance!) The book is tentatively titled Maggie and Oliver, and is the story of an orphaned girl and dog who cross paths in turn-of-the-century Boston. It will be released by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers in 2011.

It's been wonderful getting to know these characters, and I will be blogging about the process of creating the illustrations in the months to come. But for now, the interior sketches are done and I've been given the go-ahead for final art, so deadlines call!

(Above: Meet Maggie and Oliver! These are chapter head sketches.)