C.K – Thanks!! I first read your comment as “… a feast for the AYES.”

Diana – Thank you!!

WOW! Super congratulations!!!!!

I’m ecstatic for you! EWE AND AYE is going to be a feast for the eyes.

Ruth S – Thank you!!

Wow! This is terrific news, Stephanie! YIPEEEEEEE =D

Ruth – Thanks!

SO COOL! Congrats! I loved reading about your journey.

Donna – Thank You!!

Congratulations Stephanie!!!! Wow, this is a great step for you and quite an accomplishment. You proved to yourself that you could do it. GREAT JOB….

Jenn – Thanks so much for all the cheers!!!

Sara and Fred – Thank you!!

Dana – Thanks! I’ll share illustrations when I can

Pam – Thank you!

LitWorld Presents: World Read Aloud Day, March 9, 2011

People around the world are reading aloud today to support the 774 million people worldwide who cannot read or write, by reading for a collective 774 million minutes. What would you miss most if you could not read or write?

The global rally shows the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people and we lend all our voices to the Global Literacy Movement. Let the children of the world know we believe in the power of words and stories to change their lives.

“I know the day is coming when global literacy isn’t fiction. I don’t know how long it will take, but I know that day will come.” – 10 year-old World Read Aloud Day Participant

Visit http://www.litworld.org/worldreadaloudday to participate in World Read Aloud Day and to “Read it Forward” and donate to LitWorld’s mission to change the world with the power of words.

If you’re in the NYC area, please join in at any time midnight to midnight March 9 to read and listen! You can visit with Clifford, The Big Red Dog at 8am or 10am and look for LitWorld’s poem exclusively in the New York Daily News.

If you’re in the US, you can tune in to Good Morning America on ABC to see LitWorld live at 8:30am EST!

Read aloud today and connect with LitWorld online any time on their website www.litworld.org, or on Facebook, and Twitter.

The prompt this week for WaWe is artist’s choice and for Illustration Friday, it’s resolutions. My choice this week was to do a painting of a football playing moose that I had sketched a couple of years ago (and had always wanted to do something with). It also works for the IF prompt, because one of my New Year’s resolutions is to play more with my art, to make something of those sketches that look fun, but aren’t for my portfolio or a specific project. I know that playing with my art helps it to move forward and helps me to grow as an artist. Plus, this image reminds me of tonight, with the starry skies and fresh snow, both of which seem to promise that all my shiny, new resolutions will be kept all year.

I’m still trying to figure out what my other resolutions are …

What are your New Year’s Resolutions this year? How do you make sure you keep them?

Happy New Year!

The prompt this week for Watercolor Wednesdays is Winter Activities. I painted this image at the beginning of the month for this prompt. Then I got an email from Illustration Friday with the prompt for this week, Phenomenon, which I thought also worked for this painting. It would be a big phenomenon if penguins started to ice skate! Maybe they’d even start a penguin Olympics! Okay, probably not. Here’s my penguin skating with his birdie friends:

The prompt for Illustration Friday this week was, “racing.” I thought this drawing fit the topic.

at the finish line

This is an illustration I had in my portfolio several years ago. I’ve always liked it because the cars look like beans and the boy reminds me of Linus from the Peanuts because of his hair (he was not modeled after Linus, it was just a happy accident). Speaking of Linus, I was in MN this summer and saw a real person that looked like just like Linus!

Speaking of the Peanuts, did you watch, It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, tonight? I did

It’s been a month since my post about taking a vacation from Facebook, Twitter and the BlueBoards! At first the withdrawal was painful. I was itching to see what everyone else was doing and living my life in 140 character spurts (now it’s in longer terms for blog posts). After a month, it’s better. I miss the fun and industry news on Twitter and the community on the BlueBoards, but I’m surviving. I don’t miss Facebook, except for a couple of people I only connect with there. I have heard through the grapevine that I have friend requests, which I don’t know what to do about. I feel awful that I haven’t approved them, but I’m not logging on to Facebook for four months so there’s no way around that. My hope is that people will understand and not be offended.

How am I doing on my goals?

- Exercise: I’m exercising on a regular basis (this is week three)!!! Some days I’m so sore I can barely get out of bed (even though I’m using one pound weenie weights … yeah, I’m that out of shape). I know from the last time that eventually it gets easier (it’s starting to get better). I’ve only lost a couple of pounds but my clothes fit better, so I’m guessing I’ve gained muscle weight.

- Zombies: Almost done revising the beginning! Plus I have a shiny new synopsis that has helped me figure out the ending! I have a ton of writing left before the book is done, but I’m happy with how it’s going.

- Chickens: This is going to be a chapter book graphic novel, or at least that’s what I’m shooting for. I just sent a story overview and three act arc to my critique group. I’m crossing my fingers that they won’t find too many plot problems so I can start writing and drawing (actually, I already started, but knowing if the story works will help me keep going).

- Blogging: Still working on how often to blog and how to fit it into my schedule. Lots of planned blog posts haven’t happened either because I didn’t have time or I thought they weren’t that interesting (in otherwords, posting to my blog all the things I wanted to Tweet about seems like a bad idea).

- Visiting Blogs: I thought I’d be visiting blogs all the time now, but I’ve only visited a few. The first week I stayed away because I didn’t want a new obsession (or actually an old obsession – blogs were my time kryptonite before I found Twitter). Then I got involved in my projects. Since I’m not online much, I don’t think about going online just to read blogs.

- Having a life offline and away from work: This is starting to happen now that the crazy deadlines are done (meaning all the stuff I was neglecting because I was online all the time).

- Reading: No novels yet, but I’m almost caught up with my Writer’s Digest magazines and SCBWI Bulletins. Novels are next on my list; I can’t wait!

- Art: I finished my cats wearing hats picture. I’m also working on my chicken graphic novel and new pieces for my portfolio, as well as creating art for the ripple project (all proceeds from the sale of art goes to help animals affected by the gulf oil spill). Two of my paintings are still up for sale ($10 each) with new artwork available later this week!

That’s what I’ve been up to the last month … well that and wondering about all the fun stuff and news that I’ve missed.

How’s your summer going so far?

Twitter, Facebook and the BlueBoards are great for connecting with people and finding out what’s going on in the publishing world. It’s like one big party at three adjoining houses, and it never stops. Woohoo! Party! Except … it’s hard to work when there’s a party going on. Some people are able to be creative in the middle of chaos (including me several years ago). These days that’s not me. I need a block of time to think about and talk with my characters before telling their stories. The more time I’m at the party, the harder it is to be creative.

It’s time for me to jump off the party boat; my vacation is from now until September 22nd.* Four whole months. (Yikes!)

However, I’m not going to disappear altogether. I’m staying off those three sites, but I’ll be blogging, checking email, and reading blogs. (Although I won’t be reading blogs on a blog reader, friends list, or follow list, because those are as addictive as Twitter for me.) When I have time, I’ll go see what friends are up to on their blogs. A few minutes here and there throughout the week is a good way to keep in touch, and hopefully manageable (crossing my fingers).

See you in blogworld or on email this summer! I’ll miss being at the parties, but I’ve decided to spend my summer writing, drawing, reading, and trying to reach my goals. At the end of the four months, I hope to be done with my zombie novel and have a finished (or almost finished) graphic novel starring a chicken named Daria. I’m also hoping to get in shape (a.k.a. lose all the weight I gained while I was injured) and spend more time with my husband (actually having fun in the real world, instead of online).

What are your summer plans? Have you ever taken or contemplated a break from online fun? Did it work for you?

*Unless, of course, I go crazy and decide that I can’t live without Twitter and the BlueBoards (I can probably live without Facebook). BTW, I had a hard time posting this because, as much as I want to do it, I don’t want to leave the party!

Update: I’m working on a new digital paint style, trying different things to see what looks best. The top image is new, slightly altered from the first one (which is below it). Basically I’ve made it a bit more painterly and gotten rid of the black line. The third image is them together, side by side. Which one do you like better? (I’ve done this style before and showed it on my blog here.)

Sometimes when I watch the Olympics, I wonder about things, like do elephants have their own Olympic games? And if they do, would they have the same events as our Olympics? Here’s the first event that I imagined from their winter games – Elephant Figure Skating:

Olympic Elephant Skater (take 2)

Figure Skating at the Elephant Olympics

2 Elephant Skaters Side By Side

What do you think about when you watch the Olympics?

I’m thinking of drawing the Elephant Olympians  in the curling  event next. It cracks me up every time I imagine it. Plus, I need to work more on this new style; I haven’t mastered it yet.

p.s. Don’t worry, I’m not getting rid of my more graphic style, just trying something new.

I’m designing my postcards for the SCBWI winter conference next weekend. I had it all planned out when I realized that I wanted a different image on one side. I’ve already done several finishes for the chicken PB, but they were all similar emotion-wise. So I did a new finish from a different page in the dummy. On one side of the postcard will be the new image:

sruble postcard image 1

On the other side is one of the chickens I finished last week:

sruble postcard image 2

I also have new business cards with this image on one side (and a crop of the new image on the other side):

sruble's new business card

It’s always takes longer to design postcards and business cards than I think it will (not to mention that printing and cutting usually takes twice as long as I think it will). That’s why I started early this time, but it’s worth it if they turn out.

Update: all 105 postcards and business cards are printed and cut, and ready for the conference! This is the earliest I’ve ever been done with promo materials before a conference. Now all I have to do is finish all the art and stuff for my portfolio! Whew!

There’s an auction going on for author/librarian Bridget Zinn, to help her kick cancer. There are lots of great things to bid on, including books, art, critiques, cards (some with my art on them) and more! Bidding is open until 9pm (CST) Friday December 11. Go to – www.32auctions.com – Auction ID: bridget Password: rules (info about Bridget and the auction at the end of this post).

Here’s more about the cards I donated if you’re interested. There are five sets of cards, featuring: Animals & Birthdays, Chickens, Elephants, Puppies, and Reading &Writing. Want to see the cards? Here’s all 20 designs for the 5 collections (each set has 8 cards, 2 of each design).

cards for Bridget Zinn auction

Ooh, pretty. Actually, the cards turned out really well. I was worried for a bit, because when I donated the cards, I was going to have my local printer print them for me. He couldn’t do it because there were too many designs to print in a small quantity. Then I tried an online printer I trust, but they couldn’t get them here in time. I knew I couldn’t print them with my old printer (it was barely printing passable prints for my portfolio … ok, not even passable for that).

So … I bought a new printer and some great textured felt card stock (and envelopes). Then proceeded to print lots of test prints (and mistakes), before finally printing up a whole batch of cards for the auction.

All cards are hand printed, cut and folded and can be used to send as birthday cards, thank you notes, or even a handwritten note, because everyone loves to get snail mail once in a while.

There’s only one day left to bid on the items in the auction. Please bid before 9pm (CST) Friday December 11 if you want to help. Go to – www.32auctions.com – Auction ID: bridget Password: rules

More info about Bridget and the auction: Browse, bid, and win for a good cause at this online auction to raise money for Bridget Zinn and Barrett Dowell. Bridget is a 32-year-old writer and librarian who is currently being treated for stage 4 colon cancer – and her “healthy young person between jobs” health insurance does not cover many of her expenses. Read Bridget’s blog at http://www.bridgetzinn.com/blog for more information.

We have received dozens of generous donations of items to be auctioned off. Many authors – Bridget’s friends and acquaintances – have donated signed copies of their books; there are also a number of manuscript critiques and proofreading services for authors. But that’s not all – there’s something for everyone! We also have works of art, note cards, food and drink, baby gifts, jewelry, and more. Many of the items would make lovely gifts, just in time for your holiday shopping. Take a look – you may find just the thing you’re looking for!

Auction items can be viewed at http://www.32auctions.com/view_auction?id=bridget&pwd=rules – or just go to www.32auctions.com and use the Auction ID: bridget and Password: rules (as in: Bridget rules!!) to view the auction. You will need to create an account on the site in order to bid on auction items. (Creating an account simply requires your name, email address, and a password, and it is required so that we can contact you if you win an item.) Bidding started on Nov. 27 and will continue through 9 p.m. Central time on Dec. 11.

Week Two of the 4 Week Novel*: Keep Writing! If you’re stuck, put in some backstory, do a bit of world building, or write a conversation between characters about what should happen next. All of these can be used to keep yourself going in the first draft (or for your word count in NaNoWriMo), as long as you realize that they might need to be cut later.

Or you could ask some questions to get jumpstarted again.
- What’s the main quest that your MC is on and how is she going to achieve it?
- Does your story have a theme or a question it answers?
- What’s the emotional tone of your story?
- Is your MC someone that the reader can care about and identify with?
- Can the reader identify with what’s important to your MC?
- What’s your MC’s secret? Do you reveal this to the reader?
- Do you know the ending of your story yet? Is it the logical conclusion to your story? Is it plausible?
- How does your character grow and change in the story, or do they not grow/change?

*The 4 week novel tips are designed for NaNoWriMo, but could be used any time of the year if you are trying to fast draft a story. This is the fourth post. The others so far were: NaNoWriMo Thoughts and Tips, prepping for the 4 week novel and week one, ready, set, go.

Here are some tips and ideas to help you write a novel in 4 weeks (this is for NaNoWriMo, but could be used any time of the year). This first post is up a few days before the fun starts if you need help planning. The first week post will go up November 1 and then every Sunday until it’s over. Hope it’s helpful!

Prepping for the 4 week novel can be done in one hour, one day, one month, or while you’re writing your novel – it’s up to you

All you need to do is come up with a plot idea for a novel or an interesting character (preferably both).

Having trouble coming up with a plot? Think about your characters and play “what if:”

*What if this happened? *What happens next? *What would be the best place to start the novel? *What does my character want, need, fear? *What happens if they get what they want? *What happens if they don’t? etc.

Still need help? Here are a few more questions to think about while plotting and planning:

*Who is your main character (MC)?

*What does your MC want, need, desire?

*What do they try to help them achieve that?

*Who or what thwarts their attempt?

*What do they try next?

*What stops them this time?

*Will they get what they want in the end, or will they grow/change to not want it?

*Does your character want more than one thing?

*Do the things that the MC wants conflict with each other?

*Is your MC struggling against another person, nature, or herself?

*What is the MC’s secret? Does it cause inner or outer conflict?

*Is the MC on the journey by themselves, or do they have a friend, boyfriend, group?

*What role (if any) does the MC’s family play in your story?

*Why does the MC need to tell this particular story about their life?

*What is the emotional journey or tone of the story?

Keep asking yourself questions until you know where you need to start your story and have a general idea of where you are going to go. Or just open a blank document on November 1st and wing it! Whatever you do, have fun

Originally I was going to do another ghost for the Illustration Friday prompt, but then I was drawing these two pictures of my NaNoWriMo character and realized that bees are fast too. (These are the black and white images I’ve been talking about all week on Twitter.) This style is a bit of a departure for me. What do you think?

The first image was done with ink on bristol.

Forest of Bees

The second image started out as a sketch of a different scene for a watercolor painting, but as I doodled, it became this image. I thought about transferring the image to bristol, but decided to just ink on the watercolor paper. My pens weren’t happy about that and rebelled a few times, but overall I’m happy with the image and I really love the texture of the tree.

Tree of Bees

The prompt this week for Watercolor Wednesdays is your favorite Halloween character. I decided to do a favorite character that I like to draw. I love drawing simple ghosts like these from last week, but for this prompt I decided to do a mummy, which is also fun. This is a more traditional mummy than the ones I usually do, so I played with texture in the background and added the little dog.

Oh No!

Last week, I said I wanted to do a crayon resist for Watercolor Wednesdays this week, so I did. I’ve always loved crayon resist, because you never quite know how it’s going to turn out. I even learned a few things (or re-learned them, since I’m sure I knew them when I was 5), like: white crayons first, then black, otherwise the black will smear (duh).

So here it is, Sheila and her best friend Amanda talking about school lunch at Zombie High:

Brains for lunch!

 I posted my notes from the LA conference on my new blog. Check it out if you are interested. My take-away theme this year was, "building your career."