Big week as far as “creating” goes… I’ve been writing and editing up a storm, thanks to the incredibly helpful and positive feedback I’ve received from the kid lit pro I recently hired to critique two of my manuscripts. ALSO, I’ve had this insatiable need to draw this week… and I’ve been drawing things I don’t usually, such as St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow. Yes, that’s right– the one with all the colorful “onion tops.” (I’ll post it once I’m done with it– it started in my art class yesterday and I’ll finish it up in watercolor next week.) So far, so good… but I am sure that my “watercoloring” (which has never been my strength) will ruin it.
Something about sketching that beautiful building, though, really flexed the old drawing muscles because I spent the better part of last night rough sketching characters in various poses– from old men to children to… hippos? Oh yeah, and chickens. (Scratch the chicken to the left, though– I’m not too happy with her.)
And this week will end in such a fantastic way– it’s the Southern Breeze children’s writer and illustrator conference in Birmingham! I head out in just a few minutes and get back Saturday night. My new illustrator friend, Shanda (who is an incredibly talented illustrator, by the way) is riding with me. It’s going to be amazing… I just know it. I feel like all cylinders are firing flawlessly right now…
I may miss Perfect Picture Book Friday, though… after a 3-hour drive and an evening networking event tonight, I don’t think I’ll have time to pull it together!
Kid Lit Dish 
Oh, I love that hippo 🙂 Have fun at Southern Breeze, and don’t worry about PPBF – it’s for fun – not a requirement – it’s perfectly okay to skip any time you want 🙂