National Adoption Month

The blog has been quiet lately. I’d like to say because I’m knee deep in my new dino book but I’ve actually just been laying off the biz side in favor of focusing on my munchkin and the monumental task of turning two and taking on potty training.

I’m not completely bereft of projects though, and in honor of National Adoption Month I helped the good folks at WACAP with this little logo design.

More about WACAP:

The World Association for Children and Parents (WACAP) is celebrating National Adoption Month in November. WACAP assists families in adopting children from nine countries, including U.S. foster care, and believes that every child has the right to a permanent, loving family.

Each November, a Presidential Proclamation launches activities and celebrations to help build awareness of adoption throughout the United States. Thousands of community organizations arrange and host programs, events, and activities to share positive adoption stories, challenge the myths, and draw attention to the thousands of children in U.S. foster care who are waiting for permanent families.

WACAP takes National Adoption Month a step further, by not only advocating for children currently living in U.S. foster care, but also for children who are waiting for families in eight additional countries around the world. WACAP currently has information on children in Bulgaria, China, Ethiopia, India, Korea, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand and the U.S who are in immediate need of permanent families.

Your Baby, Binoculars, and African Animals!

This is the cover for my new children’s e-book, I see… Savannah. I’ve been toying with this dream of publishing a book for most of my life. Originally, I coveted the prospect of walking into a Powell’s and seeing my novel sharing shelf space with my favorite authors populating the Sci-Fi Fantasy realm. Although I am working on pre-writing/outlining for a novel length piece of fiction, that kind of book takes years. I’m no Stephanie Meyer. I know I don’t have the huevos to pop out a bestseller in three frakin months.

Now here comes the Ebook revolution and I think, “Gee, I should get on this book thing while the getting is like, CRAZY hot!” I start reading up on epub. I follow a bunch of great blogs about it. I really dig Joe Konrath. He mentions this book about the 10,000 hour rule. Basically, your not a pro at something until you’ve invested 10,000 hours, then the magic happens.

I started writing and developing The Nose with Toes. I thought, “Hey, children’s books would be a great start!” They are shorter so I can spend more time fussing and still get it done. I like kids. I like books too. And by golly I know how to use my Mac. I’m NOT however, a pro illustrator. Not by the traditional standards. So Nose has been a little slow in taking shape. I really love him. My sketches and initial illustration tests are super cute. The book is written, and I’ve started editing the crud out of it thanks to some helpful critiques, but I’m just not getting it where I want it to be yet.

Now I remember the 10,000 hour rule and think, “Wow, you know what? I’m wicked fast with a beziér pen, I have 10 solid years in Adobe Illustrator under my belt. I need a concept that USES my mad mac skillz!” Hence, my newest brain child:

I see… Savannah

The first in a series of super affordable, I’m going for .99¢ list price, seek and discover books geared toward young pre-readers. Your baby is on safari. Looking through the tiny binocular view they slowly discover Africa’s amazing wildlife. It’s simple. It’s sleek. It’s pretty darn NEAT!

I’ve completed two chapters and tested it on my 20 month old. She goes nutty for it. Each page reveals a new clue: I see big floppy ears! After three clues the animal is revealed: I see an Elephant! Kahlan totally picked up on the fun of it exclaiming, “Hiding Momma! Find him!” Then as the big reveal came she cried out, “YAY! Found him! Elephant!”

If I never sell a single copy, that right there made it totally worth while.

The book will be available for e-readers this summer. Don’t forget just about every e-reader — Kindle, Nook, Stanza, iBooks, etc. is available free for your desktop AND iPhone or other smart phone. I’m going to try publishing through Smashwords even though they specialize in long narrative, just to make it more available in multiple formats. If that doesn’t work out I may just start with Barnes & Noble, since they have a relatively simple self publishing site, and distribute it my self from there.

Stay tuned for release announcements!

MOO - They love to print!

Well this MOO certainly is not MOOT. And if you have ANYTHING worth promoting it definitely matters. For a measly $20 plus shipping you can have your very own designer business cards shipped to you from MOO’s England headquarters. Their products are hip and plentiful. The neatest feature is their print on demand ability to customize each and every card in your 100 card pack. Have a product that is unique and photogenic? You can upload your own images or link to a flikr, facebook or Etsy library and make each card a mini promo piece as unique as your work. Calling cards, business cards, shoot even a mini pocket portfolio… the possibilities are endless!

Not a designer? No problem! They also have a ton of beautiful and whimsical ready made designs that you can easily customize and have in about a week. I have my first box on it’s way so I’ll report on the print quality here shortly!

Every year in May, Portland Community College celebrates the arts by organizing a week long event, dubbed Art Beat, full of performances and guest speakers across all artistic disciplines. It’s been a few years since I graduated, but I still remember all the festival fun.

Amazingly, I have now been asked to participate on the Alumni Design Panel! I’ll get the chance to share my stories and real world experiences with the current students of the Graphic Design program I graduated from (it seems like forever ago).

I’ll keep you posted…