One crazy summer!

Well summer, she came and went, and I'm left looking back wondering how/where did the time go?!!!

So I'll step back and do a catch up just so I know what happened over the last few months:

So June 30th was my amazing, fun, and emotional book launch for Boats for Papa! (I sort of dropped off the blogging radar after it happened). It was, in short, one of the best moments in my entire life. I was surrounded by friends and family all sharing in the exciting culmination of a life's work. 

Here is a me with Neal Porter (Roaring Brook Press) my AMAZING editor who surprised me and flew out for the book launch. Needless to say there were many tears of joy hat night. 

It was one of those nights that I wish I could relive over and over again! So much fun! AND I even made a cake shaped like a boat (like Buckley's Mama makes in the book).

After the book launch, I took a bit of a breather-for like a day- but I really was working hard already on Laundry Day, my third picture book. So was basically doing that for the rest of the summer. 

I recently did Story time at Queen Anne Book Company in Seattle for Boats for Papa! It was very fun and I have never been so nervous in front of a group children under the age of 4. 

Also this summer, SO MUCH great press for Boats for Papa has been pouring in. It was reviewed in the School Library Journal Boston Globe, Washington Post, listed on Huffington Post's top 50 picture books of 2015 list, and then a month ago it was reviewed in the NY Times Sunday Book Review! I'm just floored and humbled by the love its received. I couldn't be happier!

In between the book work (evenings & weekends), and my day job, I spent the summer with my husband and my son as much as possible. The rigors of working on a book sometimes mean little time for play, but I tried as best I could to maintain a good life/work balance. I've also been writing a lot. Trying to keep new ideas churning for future books.

And the just finished Laundry Day and sent it off to my publisher last week-YAY! I loved working on such a fun book about two little mischievous badgers. It's totally different that my other two books in a really fun way. 

My second book Before I Leave comes out in February which blows my mind! So I'll have to gear up for that in the upcoming months. I have some other pots on the stove for sure. But for the time being, I am going to try and breath, relax, and celebrate being finished with my book!

I'm sure there are more things in between that happened the past few month. But that's all my brain can recall at the moment...

I have learned though that emailing and blogging were the great sufferers of my time slicing-hence the terrible delay in blogging. But I'm slowly catching up.

I hope you all had a great summer and are as excited as I am that it's fall!

Jx