Gurggggggle swish…. slluuuuudge glump.… thorp…. bloop, bloop, bloop, bloop…..

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

If it looks like things have been a bit wonky here… well they have. The website, the blog have had a complete overhaul.

www.robertabaird.com.   Even my Twitter Page is all shiny! https://twitter.com/robertabaird

Now it’s all matchy like a new box of stationery. Check it out!

Oh, how I would love to work in YA novels.  I hope one day to get the chance.

But until then,  I’ll keep practicing. Here’s a sketch, I started while waiting in the car for my daughter. Such fun inspiration  to draw… and those tween kids are rich in expression!

www.robertabaird.com

Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love.  ~George Eliot

At the Houston SCBWI conference, we were given a homework assignment. A choice of one of two prompts that we as attendees could choose from. One was a double page spread from a picture book and the other was a YA cover.  I started both prompts and then went with the one that appealed to me the most.  The sketches were sent to the Art Director for comments and direction, then we all brought back a full color illustration with the changes suggested. Above is  my sketch and  then my finished illustration.  Later, I was decided to finish the other prompt on my own. Below you see  a “Mock” cover for a young adult novel that is currently out. This is just a mock cover.

Mock cover

Some folks taste it daintily,
Others gulp it down quick-ily.
Some lick around and around,
So it never, ever comes dripping down.                                                                                                                                                                                                            Some shove the ice cream
Down with their tongue,
So at the bottom of the cone,
You’re left with some.
But some lick in just one place
So it gets sort of sloppy,
And the top plops off
In a great big bloppy!

The conference was great!

The speakers were informative and friendly, and did I mention funny?  I love it when a speaker infuses their presentation with genuine humor.

The critiques filled my head with new possibilities and directions.   This year, there have been so many changes in my career, with having an agent and several books in the works, that the conference held special meaning to me. Where once I faced a critique with a case of nerves, causing me to forget everything said to me, this year I knew the questions I wanted to ask. I heard what they had to say.
This was the time to ask.

So this year those nerves were but a case of the butterflies…..

Then to top it off, I got to meet fellow illustrators in the real, that I only knew from Facebook. It was so much fun to hang out with friends who “get” why you do what you do!

So tomorrow when I start back to work, I have renewed outlook, but today…. I’m just going to chill and let all those ideas bouncing around in my head settle and form complete paths.

Grandpa dropped his glasses once
In a pot of dye.
And when he put them on again he saw a purple sky
~Leroy F. Jackson

We’ll eat you up we love you so! And Max said NO!

Every year the Houston SCBWI illustrators create a children’s book themed birdhouse. This is mine, a tribute to the late, great Maurice Sendak.

Call me, don’t be afraid you can call me,

Maybe it’s late but just, call me.

Tell me and I’ll be around.

www.robertabaird.com

Ethel was always a little bit different than the other sheep.

Let the good times roll!

Every time it rains, it rains…… pennies from heaven.

Don’t you know each cloud contains…. pennies from heaven.

You’ll find your fortune falling all over town.Make sure that your umbrella is upside down!

Hmmmm…..She doesn’t look like she’s singing the same song as I am! Oh well, it’s still my favorite song!

Once a year the eyes of the nation turn to this tiny hamlet in western Pennsylvania, to watch a master at work. The master, Punxsutawney Phil, the world’s most famous weatherman, the groundhog. Who, as legend has it, can predict the coming of an early spring. So I guess the question we have to ask ourselves today is, does Phil feel lucky?

~Ground Hog Day

Happy Gnu Year!!

So get a witches shawl on

A broomstick you can crawl on

We’re gonna pay a call on

The Addams Family

Today is Charles Addams birthday!  January 7, 1912 – September 29, 1988

The scent of the cat burglar grew stronger as Rathbone neared the edge!

There’s a popular myth about alligators living in the sewage systems of New York City. Rumors about alligators coming out of sewers and the police going underground to hunt them down still exist today.

However,

Scientists are quite sure that a sewer is not a fit environment for any alligator and they would be unlikely to ever reproduce.

It’s a rumor….. but don’t tell smiling Jack!

Quite the dapper fellow.

“The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings”