This blog post is VERY over due! So many of you have been asking me a bout my "BOOK" and with my internet troubles, I have been rather behind the times in chatting about this!
To clarify: No, I don't have a book chalk full of my illustrations for children, but rather a non-fiction hardback book of mom-to-mom tips on pregnancy with spot illustrations throughout.
Full of Life, the book I illustrated for Nancy O'Dell and published by Simon and Schuster was released about 2 weeks ago and is doing great! It is currently #17 on Amazon's Hot new releases in it's category. But I will be honest: my illustrations have nothing to do with it! It helps that Nancy is a huge celeb in the Hollywood scene and has a great following. I was asked to illustrate 7 chapter headings, and a few icons through the book with Nancy in certain positions during her pregnancy. It isn't really a showcase of my art, rather spot illustrations in black and white. But it was a great experience to work with the publishing industry....something I really hope to do more of in the future.
Nancy O'Dell is quite the celebrity and has been on a book signing/media tour since it came out. I haven't had contact with her during the creation process (thus the role of art directors and editors) but I have watched her progress online since the book release. On April 30th, she promoted her book on the Martha Stewart Show for their Baby Shower episode. I was just tickled to see this picture of the book I illustrated in the hands of Martha Stewart! Can you see it? it is a bad photo, but the best I could find. The Empress has no idea who I am, and my name is only in small print on the title page, but still. I am entitled to a bit of butterflies in my tummy, right?
It was such a great experience to put this book together. Like I said...don't go rushing to see it for the illustrations (there are so few) but do go check it out for you or friends who are pregnant! It is really a GREAT book!
I am just so grateful for the taste I got of the book creating process, and I hope to get into that more now that Baby #3 is coming soon (8 weeks and counting!). I love my ETSY shop, but children's book illustration is my ultimate goal! But in the mean time, I had a little "Martha Stewart touched something I made" moment and as stretched as it might be, It did make me blush! And really, I am still blushing. Thanks Simon and Schuster for a great opportunity!