Another Creative Collaboration!
While we were in Alaska in May of 2017, I spent a significant amount of time taking notes and doing research for another possible
Lindstrom Wintertime Tale. Michael and I recently began working on another one of our illustrated short stories!
While I've completed the text for our tale set in the Alaskan Wilderness, Michael has been so busy that he only recently found time to begin working on the illustrations done in oil paints. This process is very time consuming, so I can't promise when our creation will be published and available.
Here is the initial sketch-in of his first painting. Every oil painter has his own way of creating a composition; this is how Michael begins. Since this illustration will also serve as the cover, we spent a lot of time discussing what would best represent our storybook. (We've yet to pin down a title.)
Here is the finished painting-illustration - I love it! Once it's photographed with a high-resolution camera, I'll send it to my talented cover designer/book formatter, Kriston. Having the book cover completed will allow me to use it for marketing while Michael completes the rest of the illustrations.
All of Michael's illustrations have a timeless, almost fairy-tale feeling to them. They work well with our
Lindstrom Wintertime Tales since all of them take place decades ago. (This latest one is set in the 1920's.)
As I've mentioned on
Writ of Whimsy before, I like the flexibility that working on multiple projects at once affords me. While I enjoy the freedom that publishing our
Lindstrom Wintertime Tales provides, I also have a middle grade fantasy novel -
Livvi Biddle - that I am submitting to agents, with the hope of being traditionally published.
As I mentioned last week, while a writer waits for a response from literary agents, she must continue to create! In fact, that's how our
Lindstrom Wintertime Tales came to be. I felt like seeing any of my stories come to life was completely out of my control. However, when Michael and I embarked on creating and publishing illustrated short stories, I was able to better accept the outcome of my submissions to literary agents and keep on writing. For me, this approach works well.
Keep writing and honor your creativity!
