In addition to writing and illustrating, my soul also loves to sing!

I recently acquired an old (100+ year old) building in Covington, TX that I'm using for all my artistic passions. One part of it is my studio away from home. It's very, very quiet here. very condusive to work. The other part of the building is for music (kind of music -- old style, traditional music) and puppets.

Here are a few pictures of the birdhouse, and if you want to know more, visit the birdhouse blog. If you're in Texas and play old-time music, come on out!

The Chickies are going on a Texas sized tour next week. They will cheep for joy if you can make it to one of our storytimes!

One of my favorite parts of the publishing process...opening that big box of pre-release author's copies!!

Chickies will hatch one week from today!

BEDTIME FOR CHICKIES got a lovely starred review from Publisher's Weekly!

The chickies and I have a lot to be thankful for this year!

  

A random Google search (because I'm not obsessive about it or anything) reveals that the first two Chickies books have covers up at the various on-line retailers! 

They're not due to publish until January, but there is something about seeing those covers up there that makes an impending book somehow seem more real. Know what I mean?

Bedtime for Chickies

Pottytime for Chickies

The PBJeebies and guest Jeebie, Leslie Muir, discuss the waiting part of the submission process.

As I mention over there, I like the wait because I can free my mind (and desk) of the project and move on to something else. I feel the same way about that period of time when I'm waiting to hear back on sketches. It's like a little vacation right in the middle of a project.

If you have a chance, stop by the Jeebie blog or our Facebook page and let us know how you cope with the waiting game!

Ever wonder when and how to use art notes in your picture book manuscripts?

My critique group, the PBJeebies, tackle this question today. Find out how each of the Jeebies, plus honorary Jeebie Ame Dyckman, use and abuse them on the PBJeebie blog.

And join us on Facebook to see what else we've been up to!

I made my very first, non-sock, puppet - Zeke.

Did I mention that I haven't sewn anything since I was 16?

The last week of every month is puppet show week at the Grapevine Library. This week, I've not only been performing in the show, but even more exciting, I wrote the script!

So if you're in the area, stop by the library at 7:00 this evening for the family story time and The Magic Rattlesnake puppet show.

I think there may be two very different intentions at work here.

I'm trying to update my portfolio. Working on new pieces and giving some old, tired ones the axe.

I'm thinking the upcoming holiday and everything I still need to do to get ready for it must be weighing on my mind right now. Otherwise, I'm not really sure what prompted this guy.

I'm still experimenting here. I enjoyed playing with digital cut paper yesterday. I expect I will explore this technique more.

I attended my local SCBWI conference this weekend, and came back recharged and ready to experiment. The message *I* took away from the conference was risk taking and going where you fear to go. With that in mind, I jumped out of my comfort zone this morning and did a little experimentation in Painter. I came up with this contraption.

I recently attended a puppet making workshop given by Sandy Shrout at my local library. Ok fine, the workshop was meant for kids, but I had a blast anyway.

With ordinary socks, some yarn, pom-poms, felt, a glue gun, and assorted craft items, you can make an endless number of puppet friends. I made Mable here who, you know, lives in the stable, y'all. She's got a thick Southern drawl and a healthy self image.

Some of the more age-appropriate attendees made dragons, monkeys, and puppy dogs puppets.

 
 
If you're not into sock puppets or want less work, you can alter a ready-made puppet to fit your needs. I made a puppet of my caveman character by simply exchanging his existing garb for a quick prehistoric wrap.

In other news, I'm also feeling love for some new librarian friends.

• Mr. Schu posted the Caveman, A B.C. Story trailer and an interview on his Watch. Connect. Read. blog, and
• Els Kushner from the Vancouver Public Library nominated Caveman for a Cybils!

And more love for the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association for putting Caveman on their 2011 Kids' Pick List!

Here's to making friends!

The book launch was great – 100+ people came!

My summer volunteering at the library really helped me get over the nerves for this event (and many of the small guests were children who had come to see our Readers’ Theater performances this summer). Although, I will admit, I did not expect anything like that number of people. Luckily, I catered for twice that many. 

We had the:

Imagination Station – cave painting wall (25 feet of brown butcher paper crinkled up and stapled to the wall and buckets of sidewalk chalk).

Creation Station – tables flat on the floor with coloring pages, mazes, dinosaur cut outs, crayons and glue sticks.

Narration Station – I read the book using a projector (I was very pleased with how naturally the children took up the story telling – it was really interactive).

Excavation Station – a cave made out of a beach cabana tent covered in rock print flannel with a plastic box of sand. They had to excavate a colored rock to win a prize.

Education Station – we put out books about prehistoric animals, so even if you weren't buying one of my books, you could still check out a book.

Corporation Station – The Book Carriage & Coffee Shop handled the book sales (thank you so much, ladies!)

Germination Station – pin the acorn on the squirrel.

Vegetation & Hydration Station – which had:

• Pterodactyl Toes (boneless chicken wings)
• Boulders (donut holes)
• Sticks & Stones (pretzel sticks and cheese balls)
• Vegetation (veggie tray)
• Dino Juice (Sprite and apple juice)

We even stuck a sign over the trash can that said “Sanita

 
I got to perform in my very first puppet show this week! Actually, my first FOUR puppet shows. My local library replaces the usual story times with a puppet show one week of each month. This time, they let me play too!

We did a very funny version of The Princess and the Pea (refashioned for the puppet stage by children's librarian extraordinaire, Leigh Burnham).

Things I learned:

• the bigger the action, the more the kids like it (chase scenes, etc.)
• make sure the different characters' voices are distinguishable
• add something for the parents, but aim mostly for the kids
• be dramatic with your movements

And finally, I was reminded that I am short. How short? I had to use a booster seat and the child-sized glove. Oh well.

Enter at Goodreads for a chance to win a copy of CAVEMAN, A B.C. STORY!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Caveman, A B.C. Story

by Janee Trasler

Giveaway ends September 15, 2011.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

I had just started mulling over an older idea I had stuffed in the back of the idea drawer - an idea about a hamster and a guinea pig. I was reading my notes and trying to decide if these might be good characters for the chapter book challenge my critique buds and I have planned, when I got a call from my friend (megastar children's librarian Leigh) that a guinea pig had been abandoned at the library.

Yes, that's right. Someone left a guinea pig in the library parking lot - in 90 degree weather.

Two hours and a lot of bucks at the pet store later, Alfie was safely installed in his new home - just hours before baseball sized hail hit the library parking lot.

Now I'm back to my outline for the guinea pig and hamster tale. Hello little muse!

 
I know it's New Year's Day and Easter is probably the last holiday anyone else has in mind today, but I've suddenly come down with a big hankering for bright colors and chocolate bunnies. My book, BENNY'S CHOCOLATE BUNNY, came out today and the lovely folks at Scholastic/Cartwheel did a fantastic job. I couldn't be more pleased.

So a great, big, chocolate Thank You goes out to Rotem Moscovich and Jamie Weiss Chilton, and Happy New Year to everyone else!

 
I've talked a lot about Art on my blog, but haven't really touched on the Soul side of things. Today, though, is Carcinoid Awareness Day, and my beloved husband John has carcinoid.

Despite the watered down name it's been given, carcinoid is cancer - a neuroendocrine cancer. It is slow growing, and if it's surgically removed before it spreads, a person might be cured. Unfortunately, mostof the hallmark symptoms (called carcinoid syndrome) don't show up until the cancer has already spread.

The carcinoid mascot is a zebra because in medical school, doctors are taught "If you hear hoofbeats, think horses not zebras." Carcinoid is one of the rare zebras and often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for years. My little zebra above is flushing bright red because that was one of the symptoms that John had for years before diagnosis. We were repeatedly told that it was a food allergy. Guess what, it wasn't.

Here is the official Worldwide NET Cancer Awareness Day site if you'd like to learn more.

To my husband John - keep kicking it in the butt and Happy Birthday! :-x

Warm-up painting for a different project.

I've found that it's much easier for me to write away from home. Coffee shops, a rental cabin, even a hospital waiting room (don't ask) seem to work better for me than my home.

After thinking about it for a while, I realized I've never really set up a place to write at home. My studio is very illustration oriented and full of client-work vibes. The living room is too close to the T.V. And the rest of the house is full of to-do list items calling my name. What's a goil to do?

Well, I'm stealing a room. We have a sitting room off the master bedroom that hasn't been more than a storage room for a few years, and I just slapped my name on it.

I'd love to hear from other writers what you feel is absolutely essential for your writing space. I've got a super comfy chair on the way, but what else? What can't you live without when you write?

Jana, I think you're GREAT!
 

 
I've been working on toning down my color palette for a while. I like my candy-bright colors, but some of the manuscripts I've been working on seem to be calling for something a little less bright.

I was inspired recently by fellow Texas illustrator, Mary Sullivan's work, to try an even more muted palette. She has an awesome sense of color (and detail by the way). I played with this image of a panic-stricken mom.

I'm not sure I really have the hang of a muted palette yet, but I had fun experimenting.