Southwest Texas SCBWI Workshop with Richard Jessie Watson

SCBWI workshop assignment. Not for resale or download
SCBWI workshop assignment.
Not for resale or download

On October 19-20,  I went to the workshop, “The Exquisite Act of Balancing Text and Art with Richard Jesse Watson.” hosted the SCBWI SWTX chapter.

1391727_10201228264201287_1013216267_n

In the weeks prior to attending the workshop the  attendees where given an assignment. We were asked to illustrate a paradigm shift featuring the beloved  A. A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh characters.

“What day is it?”
“It’s today.” squeaked Piglet
“My favorite day,” said Pooh.
I decided to send them to the future… to a land were there was a shortage of honey!  “Oh Dear!”
Here in this illustration, they’re beginning their quest to find the land of Abundant  Honey.  No more tummy grumbles!
The workshop was really fun and inspirational.
Richard Jesse Watson, is a great speaker, a kind and encouraging person, and of course an amazing artist!
Check out his beautiful books and other works here!

 

New Book ~ Ranger the Reindeer Who Couldn’t Fly

Legend-of-Ranger_Book-Cover_500New Book!

It’s Christmas in September! This is one of the book I worked on this year. I love so love Christmas and the the proceeds from this book go to such a wonderful cause.

Written by Alan Salisbury
Illustrated by Roberta Baird

Ranger the Reindeer Who couldn’t Fly

All profits from the sale of this book and related Ranger products will be donated to the Antonia J. Giallourakis Endowed Fund in Art Therapy for Children with Cancer at Massachusetts General Hospital.

(Click to Enlarge)

Take ‘Ranger’ Home: (Coming in October)

The complete “The Legend of Ranger” suite of products, includes the paperback book, the downloadable E-Book, the audio book (with narrated story) on CD and digital, Ranger’s original new song “Dream and Believe” (on CD and digital), the Ranger soft toy, and the complete box set – take it all home!

Daisy

 

daisy_Rbaird1small
He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath,his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning-fork that had been struck upon a star.Then he kissed her. At his lips’ touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete. ~ The Great Gatsby

The Next Big Thing

It’s The next Big Next I tell ya!
What is?

This!
This is THE NEXT BIG THING!
See, it’s like this… it’s a global blog tour that started in Australia.The idea is to bring awareness to authors and illustrators and their current work. I was tagged by the talented Ginger Nielson. At the end of this post  you see the awesome authors/illustrators that I’ve tagged…. because they’re The Big Thing!

So on to the questions.

1) What is the working title of your next book?
Actually, I’ve been very busy this year illustrating a couple of books that are due to come out in 2013 and 2014, but that’s about all I can say about them just yet. So instead I’ll talk about one of the dummy books that I’ve been working on. This one I took to the Houston SCBWI Conference this year and had it critiqued by Peter Brown.  Having my writing critiqued was a new experience for me but it was so worth it. The book is titled The New Kid.

pi1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

I would love to illustrate a book about a monster or maybe  a scary, but not too scary character that is actually quite lovable.  That hasn’t happened…… yet!   So, I wrote my own.  I love to bring the misunderstood to life. With this book  we get to experience the little monster inside us all.alligatorbackpack2_RobertaBaird

 

3) What genre does your book fall under?

This book is for the 4- 8 range.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?                                         

Hmmm….. actors maybe not so much, but animated for sure!  Hand drawn please!

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Who is the monster?

6) Who is publishing your book?
This book along with my other one, titled “Ruby’s New Stew” have no homes as of yet.  They’re polishing themselves up to go knocking on doors though. Did I mention I’m open for suggestions?  :)

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
It started small in one afternoon and bloomed to a full manuscript in about a week. It has been edited several times since then.

newkidpeek

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I try to never compare. We’re all so different in our writing and illustration. It’s important to find your voice. However, I do love Cinderella Skeleton written by Robert D. San Souci and illustrated by David Catrow. Another one that I really enjoy is The Wizard written by Jack Prelutsky and illustrated by Brandom Dorman.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

The love of the good story that we can all related to, while knowing that everything is going to turn out okay in the end.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
His backpack has teeth!  :))

Next on the blog tour are two very talented artists:

Candace Trew Camling

9781455617739

 

 

dog_flea