HEY! It's ME!! Yeah, It's Been a Minute... Sorry About That

It's been over 18 MONTHS since I last wrote on this blog. I've been a tad busy. I know... I know. No excuses, right? Well, actually, having your little six year-old have 50% of his temporal lobe removed IS kind of a big deal. You can go here to go back and read all about it. But odds are, if you know me at all, you know alllll about the story.

Anyway, I've had an interesting ride, this last year and a half (in addition to the Epilepsy journey!). In fact it's been downright madness, I tell ya. I got an agent... And not just any agent. I got THE Danielle Smith from Red Fox Literary to believe I'm actually worth representing.* It's been an honor and a thrill. She lets me write what my heart wants to write, without thinking I'm some hippie-fied weirdo. THAT. ROCKS. We also share the same nerdy obsessions and that makes our relationship kind of awesome. For example, when she was sick, I may have sent her Sherlock memes to make her happy. It did the trick.

*Hypnotizing. It works like a charm.

So, my other new found love of my life friend asked me if I'd be willing to make a bloggity blog comeback with this fun interview thing. I thought it was actually perfect timing! So we all have Lauren Awesomesauce Eldridge to thank for this return. But if you're thinking that this is the worst idea ever, then we have her to blame. It's all in your hands.

On your marks? Ready... Set... GO!

What am I currently working on?

This is a question I can answer with one word...

EVERYTHING.

I am writing and writing and writing (when you have the freedom to write what you want, you have a grander creativity resource available to you). At this exact moment, I am revising a story I've written that is unlike the others for the simple fact that it... rhymes. *Gasp!* I know. But hey, one must try, right? It's not at all easy, but that's how I like my challenges. Bring it, you rhymer, you!

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I'd personally like to think that my inability to have a niche in the picture book world has made me different. I often hear from my in-person critique group that I bring something different each time I show up. At first, I thought it was my biggest handicap. Now? I rather like that about me. I tend to be less conventional, though. Whatever that means.

Why do I write what I write?

I write what comes from my heart. It really must move me, before I put it to paper. I have to feel passionate about it. That might sound cliché, but it's the truth. I can't write a story about a cactus who wishes it were a banana. I can't pretend I'm funny because I'm really not. I write what makes me go, Oh wow... That's perfect. I also want to show the world that life isn't the same for everyone. That's the thought that actually DRIVES me. There are so many people on this planet; I want to write about and for all of them.

How does my individual writing/illustrating process work?

It starts with an idea. Just a word, even. Then I usually get out me old pen and paper and literally brainstorm on paper. Remember when you were in elementary school and your teacher made you write a word in a circle, and then draw lines that pointed to other circled words, and so on and so on? Remember how much you hated it? Yeah. NOT ME. I loved it then and I absolutely need it now. I can be super visual in my planning of a manuscript. After that, I just... write. I never, ever start writing on the computer though. I always begin with a handwritten draft. I will eventually switch to the computer with reluctance, and start my second, third, thousandth drafts.





Okay, sooooo...

Up Next on this lovely blog tour:


My wonderful friends Marcie Colleen and Tracey M. Cox. They really are two of my most favorite people on this planet (that I've NEVER met in person). I adore them, and you should too!

That's all for now... As awesome things happen, I'll be blogging about them. Don't you worry!!

 

****HOWEVER****

Look for one last post from Perched in a Tree, coming SOON!! I will be moving my blogging adventures over to my website, and this one will go quiet... AGAIN.