Yes, I’m Still Here

When I first started writing, I read that new bloggers often started their posts with, “I know it’s been a while since I’ve written…” While I never intended on being a blogger, I certainly intended on posting more updates. But I realized the more time I spent on posts, the less time I spent on my books. And, I do not have much time to spend on my books! I also have 26 trusty followers at this point (thank you!), so I’m probably not letting many people down by limiting my posts, lol.

So, exciting developments in the “Always With Us” space. Reminder: That is the book Penny and I are working on to offer healing advice for those families coping with a miscarriage. Although I was very pleased with her human drawings, she just wasn’t feeling it. So all those illustrations are tucked away.

She loves cats and proposed the idea that we make the characters cats. Umm… Hmm… (Those were my initial reactions.)

“Draw me a sample so I know what you are thinking,” I kindly said to her.

And so, she did.

“Oh, wow. I wasn’t expecting that,” was my reaction. I mean, I always expect her to create something great. But, she somehow captured the human emotions we wrote about, but in cat pictures. Additionally, now the main character could be thought of as male or female, making it relatable to both genders.

Although it went against my initial vision, I had to remember that this was our vision. And, so, I nested a “Cats” folder under “Illustrations” on One Drive. Plus, it really started to grow on me and I trust her. That girl.

Since then, she has drawn most of the pictures and I am coloring them in Photoshop. I just drafted the cover page tonight. See my Projects page for the updated cover.

This is a learning process, y’all! I have so much newfound respect for all authors and illustrators, no matter how small or big the work. Wow. Luckily, I have Photoshop experience. Otherwise, that would have been a tremendous learning curve as well.

So, we are movin’ and groovin’. And that’s about all I have to share at this point. I hope you all have an amazing new year! Thank you for reading and journeying alongside us.