The Home Stretch

Hello, from a little house on the prairie in central Missouri.

Even though the past few weeks have been snowy and icy and downright frigid, I’m writing this to you from a spot outside on an almost 70 degree day. Not from that spot in the photo above, but from another spot.

Let’s catch up!

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The Home Stretch

You have heard me mention that I’m illustrating a book about a wolf pack. I’ve definitely been in the weeds with it over the past bunch of weeks - head down working to get it done. I can happily report that we are in the home stretch. I recently sent in what I think is the final artwork for all the interior pages. So unless there are any last minute edits, it is pretty much done. Phew! I’m awaiting some decisions about the cover, so there still might be a little work for me to do there, but I’m coming back to the surface, finally.

This book has been in progress for almost a year. Sounds crazy, I know, but it’s complicated with lots of intricate page layouts and details to consider. I’m very happy with how it shaped up. It looks great, and will be a really beautiful book, but wow was it a lot of work. Oooof.

I’ll do a full post on it later, but here are some very cropped glimpses at a couple of the interior spreads…

The story follows a pack of wolves in Yellowstone National Park over the course of an entire year. We see them do everything from prepare the den for a litter of new pups, to stalking and taking down an elk.

Yikes!

I know.

It’s the circle of life. Wolves are the ultimate predators after all. Don’t worry, we don’t get very graphic. I’m actually pretty pleased with that section of the story, as I was really unsure of how I would draw it. But I did figure it out. We keep it very PG.

And here is a fun fact: I counted the number of wolves in the entire book, and there are 649 different wolf illustrations - which is why I felt like I drew A BUNCH of wolves this year.

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Author AND illustrator

In other news, I officially started working on another book last week. I’m not sure how much I can say about it right now because it hasn’t been officially announced, but since you are a reader here, and since I consider you to be the inner circle I will tell you that this book is both authored AND illustrated by yours truly. Remember a few months ago, when I was talking about pitching a story to publishers? Well, it was pitched, and there was interest, and I’m very happy with where it landed.

It’s a picture book, for kids, but it’s also a story that I think most adults will be delighted by too. It’s what I hope is a really clever and funny story, and one that you, and the kids you read it to, will want to return to again and again.

I can’t wait to show you more, but for now look at this cheetah who likes to boogie. He may or may not play a role in this story. (wink, wink)

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Resting and Recharging

In between wrapping up work on the wolf pack, and before I got too deep into my next book, I spent a few days letting myself re-charge. You probably know the feeling I’m talking about. It’s when you’ve been working for so long and so hard on something, and when you come out on the other side it’s like a huge weight has been lifted, but you also feel tired and your body and your brain is screaming for a break.

At least that is how I feel in these moments.

Things I’ve been doing:

1. Being outside, away from all the screens. Walking in the fresh air. It does wonders.

2. Reading the final Michael Crichton book that came out last summer, called Eruption. I feel like I’m back in high school. My biology teacher gave us extra credit points for reading books on her approved list which included a lot of Crichton. We all got really into Jurassic Park, and Sphere, and Congo. It’s entertaining, and fantastical, and a bit out there like all of his stories are. Although, probably not too far removed from what could be reality in today’s world.

3. I’ve been catching up on Silo, and Severance. Both on Apple+. Both are great.

4. And my dad took me to see the local bald eagle’s nest. It’s in a tree, on the edge of a corn field, a few miles north of their house. I wasn’t expecting to be stunned by it, but I was. When he pulled over on the edge of the road, and I looked out across the field to a stand of trees more than a quarter mile away (don’t quote that, I’m a bad judge, but it was far) I could clearly see it with my naked eye. It was big. Comically big. We took a spotting scope to get a better look, and I put my phone to the eyepiece and took a photo. It’s not a great photo, but look…

I did some reading and they actually get much bigger than this one. I guess the eagles just keep adding onto it. They can be thirteen feet deep. You should do a google image search and see what I mean.

It feels very Dr. Seuss to me.

A friend on Instagram said she saw one in Cape Canaveral and was told it is big enough to park a Mini Cooper inside.

Good grief.

Maybe there will be baby bald eagles in the neighborhood later this year.

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That’s all for now. I’ll be back soon!

xo Carrie