Busy beaver!

Well it's been a long while since my last post. Things have been quite busy for me with having a new baby and such so I'm going to ride that excuse train on not posting sooner.

He past few months I was just enjoying lots of time with my husband and baby before I had to go back to work and get started on my new book. Now everything is back in full swing and I haven't got a square to spare! But it's all good! I'm just trying to manage the life/work balance.

As for books and such, I am just getting started with my picture book "Laundry Day." I've been getting the sketched finalized and will start painting in the next week or so. I'm excited to work on this book because it's so different than my last two books. It's funny with lots of silly details making it very fun to draw and paint. I'll be spending the bulk of the year working on it, since my time is limited at the moment.

In other news, my book "Boats for Papa" is nearly out! I've just got a few months to go, but I'm already planning for the launch! My official book launch will be at Secret Garden Books in Ballard in Seattle on Tuesday June 30th at 7pm! I'm pretty excited and am thinking of fun things to do for the event. If you can't make it on Tuesday, I'm also going to be at the Urban Craft Uprising the weekend before- June 27th & 28th at the Seattle Exhibition Hall at the Seattle center. I'll be selling and signing books. Hopefully you can make it to either event!

Also in preparation for my book coming out, I've been making these little driftwood boats! They will be shipping out to various bookstores and book buyers around the country to introduce my book! I collected the driftwood on the beaches of Seattle and handmade the little flags. The flags are the letter "B" in the nautical alphabet ('B' for Buckley)!

They are really fun to make and it's gotten me extra in touch with my character.

Other than that, my second book "Before I Leave" is off at the publisher having its magic happen. Stayed tuned for more info to come,  but it should be out early 2016!

Okay! It was great to catch up. Back to the grind I go!

Jx

Happy New Year!

 

Hey everyone!

It's a new year! It's really hard to believe. So much happened in 2014. I finished two books and had a baby! So much more little stuff happened in between that was fun and magical. And now we are starting out a new and glorious year that has so much in store. It's such a good time to look back and look forward.

 

In book news:

My first book Boats for Papa comes out June 30th! It feels like it would never get here but it's so close. Before I Leave is in the process of being finalized and will come out Spring 2016. This coming year I'm working on my next book Laundry Day, also for Roaring Brook Press, due date TBD. So many cute animals in store for me to draw! I can't wait.

In personal news:

I plan on spending as much time as possible with the cutest baby west of the Mississippi and learning him on the ways of the Jedi.

I hope you all have a lovely 2015. Be kind to yourself and others. Love what you do and do what you love. Be in the moment as much as you can.

Cheers!

jx

New baby! New book! New year!

Hey everyone!

So much has happened since my last blog post in October! The biggest thing- I had my beautiful baby boy, Baxter, on November 7th! He arrived two weeks early unexpectedly but he was perfectly healthy with all fingers and toes, so we were delighted to meet him when we did! He arrived on a full moon, so any werewolf potential is still yet to be discovered. My husband and I are over the moon for this wee man. Here he is pictured with a hilarious book of comics by the incomparable Glen Baxter:

Even though we've been keeping VERY busy with our new family member, I still have some news in picture book world:

I sold my third picture book to Roaring Brook Press! It's called "Laundry Day" and it stars my two twin badger brothers Tic and Tac and they set out to help their mother with the laundry... That's all I can say for now. Here was a post in Publisher's Weekly:

I'm SUPER excited for this next book adventure! I love my badgers and plan on having lots of fun seeing what mischief they'll get into!

Its hard to believe the holidays are upon us! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and I hope you all get to share in the rest of the season with the ones you love! 2014 has been the most eventful and exciting year of my life to say the least and I can't wait to see what 2015 will bring!

Best to you and yours!

Jx

Boats for Papa- BIG BIG NEWS!

Hey all!
It's been a whirlwind past month and half and there is sooooo much to talk about!

First off, I finished all of my art for my next picture book Before I Leave. This is the book I spent the summer lovingly toiling over about the friendship between an anteater and a hedgehog. I sort of fell in love with these animals while making this book, to the point where I would highly consider having a hedgehog as a pet. Before I Leave is due out Winter 2016, so more to come with that!

The next most recent big news is that earlier this week I got my Advance Reader's Editions of my book Boats for Papa! I was SOOO excited to receive these! It was such an awesome thing to hold my book in my own hands was sureal to say the least. It's was like holding my dream in my hands. It looks so good. I am beyond words to say how I feel about how it turned out. I can't wait for it to hit the shelves June 30th, 2015!

AND to top it off- just this morning, I received some phenomenal news: The Japanese rights to Boats for Papa was just sold at the Frankfurt Book Fair to distinguished publisher, Asunaro Shobo. SO awesome- and the book hasn't even come out yet!

And if that wasn't awesome enough- I found out Boats for Papa was selected by the Junior Library Guild!!! It is an AMAZING honor to be selected by them! They go through over 3000 books and select what they believe to be as the best ones and send them to small libraries that can't afford their own selection staff. It's a very bog honor and I am so grateful to be among the chosen "best books" that will make it into the hands of thousands of little kids.

All of this is so awesome and overwhelming, and all just before I'm about to have another dream come true- having a baby! Ahhh!!! So much to be happy, and thankful for.

Thanks to everyone for all of your support!!!
jx

MY BOOK JACKET!!!

Hey Everyone!
I've been sitting on this for a few weeks, but I got my book proofs for Boats for Papa!!! I was SO thrilled when the package made its way to my doorstep on my birthday! I couldn't have asked for a better birthday gift! Book due out JUNE 2015!!!

Here the the full final jacket:

 

I LOVE IT and can't wait for my book to come out!!!!

 

Happy Birthday Beatrix Potter!

Hey all!
I've been spotty about posting the last few months but for two good reasons:

1) I'm working on my second picture book for Roaring Brook Press. It's called Before I Leave. I don't want to say too much about it other than it's a story about moving and parting from friends, and that it stars an anteater and a hedgehog. Needless to say I am IN LOVE with both animals right now and they have made a special place in my heart. The book is due out sometime... in the future. Maybe winter 2016? I'm not sure. All I know is I have an October deadline and reruns of Cake Boss are getting me through the fast paced crunch!

2) I am having a baby! Woo hoo!

So that is what I'm working on right now. I've been pretty occupied with both things, hence my blogging hiatus. I can't reveal much about the book now, but I have been documenting the process pretty well this time, so I'll be able to share more about it after the book is finished and I have the  go ahead.

So much to think about and to do over the next few months. 

In other news, I am supposed to get my proofs for my book Boats For Papa this week- AHHHH!!! So I will try to post at least a snippet of the cover when they arrive. I can't wait to see the book!!! So much work and so much love went into it, it will be magic to see it getting even closer to being published!

I have to get back to work but before I do, I had to mention that today is Beatrix Potter's birthday! She has been an inspiration for me since childhood and contributed to who I am as an artist today. I love her illustrations and stories so much- she was so good at creating a world for her creatures to live. My favorite Beatrix Potter story is the Tailor of Gloucester- which was Beatrix Potter's favorite story as well. I think that we could have been kindred spirits in another time! So happy birthday to a creative hero!

The Writing Process: Author/Illustrator Blog Tour

Well I just got tagged! Last week my good friend and AMAZING AMAZING illustrator Brooke Boyton Hughes tagged me as the next one up in this cool series. When I first met Brooke I was truly humbled by her talent and she quickly became an artistic mentor for me. Everything she draws is sweet and dark like the perfect chocolate. She just illustrated the book "Cupcake Cousins"written by Kate Hannigan which she is working up a second for now. She also has a picture book, Baby Love, written by Angela DiTerlizzi coming out next spring! "Lovely" and "magical" aren't descriptive enough words to describe Brooke's style. Do yourself and favor and check out her work. You will instantly fall a love and want to live inside one of her drawings.

1.  What am I currently working on?
I am currently working on my second picture book with Roaring Brook Press due out the winter of 2015. All I can say about that project at the moment, I'm drawing hedgehogs and anteaters these days. I'm soooo thrilled to have finished my first picture book, Boats For Papa, which is due out next spring. Both books I'm writing and illustrating. I've also been doing some gag comics for a new project for Highlights Publishing.


2.  Why do I write what I write?
I find that I as much as I love humor I am very drawn to stories that have a deep emotional connection with the reader. It's because of that attraction to an emotional story I naturally want try to write compelling and important work- work that has meaning and depth that will provide a safe place for a young reader to not feel alone. I've been trying to get better with writing what I know and I think that has allowed me to tap into those places inside of myself that can resonate with readers.

3. How does my writing/illustrating process work?
Well, I rub this magic lamp that I have and... Just kidding. It depends on the story. I'm always jotting down and drawing random things that I like or interest me as well as things from memories. That helps stir up ideas for stories. My best work comes when I act on inspired ideas.That is how both of my current books were started. When I get one of those "YES!" ideas I really try to act on it fast. Sometimes the "YES!" ideas turn out to be a big fat "NO WAY!" but the important thing is to get them down, then you have something fresh to work with instead of something labored and forced.

Usually it works better for me to do rough thumbnails and story writing simultaneously. Sometimes I write out the stories in advance, but those stories tend to get overwritten right off the bat and require extra work. Most often I'll see the story in pictures in my head and use that as my mental structure for how the story is going to unfold. Once I have my rough story and thumbnails, I start to work out the story a little more. Refine it and get it to a place that makes more sense. Once it's more than just a idea and has some recognizable visuals, I'll usually let my crit group in on it. They are all so awesome and really help to find the holes.

Once the idea has run through many edits and tweaks, it is ready to turn into a real dummy. I flush out the characters through sketches and color tests and get them to where I want them to be. Then I turn the thumbnails into real sketches. After I have my sketches, I lay out the dummy in InDesign and put in the text. Then usually I will turn a few of my sketches into more complete and finished illustrations to see what things will really look like.

(Sorry I don't have pictures for some of this next part.)

For my illustrations I take tracing paper and trace over my sketches to refine them. Then I flip over the tracing paper, and go over my line work again on the reverse side with a darker/softer graphite- like drawing the image backwards.This lets me see where the drawing looks a little wonky (if it looks out of balance backwards, it gets re-worked). Once the reverse image is completed, I burnish (or rub) over the traced image onto watercolor paper so the pencil lines get transferred to the paper. I find this easier sometimes than just tracing via a light box because watercolor paper is so thick, sometimes it's hard to see the details. And the best part of this is that if I have to redo an illustration, I just have to rub the image onto the paper again instead of re-tracing the whole thing all over again. It's a little extra art insurance!

Once the pencil lines are transferred, I use a fine black waterproof pen (Uni-Pin .01) and trace the lines and add in my extra line work (textures for trees or animal fur). Then I erase the pencil and watercolor over top. I use cheaper toothy Canson Cold Press 140lb watercolor paper to help retain my "pooling" technique (nicer and less toothy papers naturally make the watercolor behave smoother). I also don't stretch my paper to allow the watercolor to pool and stain.

That's pretty much it! Just repeat the illustrations and boom- you have a book! It's THAT easy! Just kidding. It's not easy and it takes a long time but it's SOOO much fun!

So I guess that's it!
Next up is my SUPER AWESOME friend Lisa Anchin! Lisa is just like her illustrations, colorful, bold, imaginative, and just downright fun! I've always loved and admired Lisa's use of color, perspective and her ability to show movement. Not to mention her characters are just too freaking cute. She's a fantastic writer and illustrator who is currently working on a couple of picture book projects. Check her out next week!!!