LFT Galore

LFT now available at Narnia Children's Books in Richmond, Va and Friendly Gift Shop in Wilmington, Del.

Had my first interview with Landenberg Today on Friday.  It went extremely well!  My interviewer, Nancy, was extremely friendly and easy to talk to.  It hardly even felt like an interview, but more of just a conversation!  The issue doesn't come out til the end of April, but I still can't wait to see it!

Lots Going On!

Hey there! I'm sorry I've been really bad at updating. Here's what's been going on in the exciting life of Stevie French!

1. I've been working on some projects, including a redraft of the Drunken Boat logo, a series of painted, jungle-themed panels for a baby's room, and illustrations for an out-of-publication book from the 1800s.
2. Contacting bookstores! In addition to the 6 copies that Bookplace in Oxford is carrying, I've spoken with the wonderful manager at Friendly Gifts in North Wilmington, who has agreed to carry 12 copies of LFT, and I am visiting a children's books store in Richmond, VA this weekend, because they are considering possibly carrying it. I also have a lead in Maryland.
3. Getting psyched for an interview on Friday with Landenberg Today! This is exciting because it's more exposure, will look good on the website and press kits, and as a stepping stone for additional publications to feature my work. The journalist I have been talking with so far seems very cool. I'm really looking forward to it.  Sure hope I can think of interesting things to say...

On top of all this, I also got a day job substitute teaching for the Brandywine, Christina, and Colonial school districts in Del. We'll see how that goes--it may warrant a whole new blog unto itself (just kidding!)

drunken boat logo

jungle painting sketch

Book Release Party: A Smashing Success!

Hello hello
Everyone ready for the holidays? Sounds like lots of people will be giving Lizzie Fox-Top to the kids in their lives! That makes me pretty happy. The book release party was amazing, by the way. 45 people showed up and the books sold out very quickly. The 2nd shipment was already claimed by the time it came in last week! I have a new batch though, all ready to go, and there are still a few left for any interested buyers. But more about the book release party: 45 of my closest friends and family descended upon little Bookplace in Oxford, PA on Nov. 21st to enjoy food, drinks, and the culmination of 1.5 years of work by me. I was floored by the outpouring of love and support that everyone showed; and to have so many people in that room who cared about me was just about the most surreal and amazing thing I've ever experienced. I even sold some original art: all of the ink drawings from LFT are available for $15-$75 each, with three already sold. I also sold my favorite piece, Mothman, and his cousin, the Domesticated Jackalope, as well as a couple prints of my Snowflake Catchers (frogs). The night was a success.

Currently I am in negotiations with a few area independent bookstores to carry my books, and they are selling nicely on Amazon and Createspace too. Who do you know that would like Lizzie Fox-Top for the holidays?

Update

Hello everyone! Looking forward to my book release party which is happening in exactly one week! So far I have a lot of people who said they're coming. In addition to hopefully selling a lot though, I'm just really excited to see all these people I love at once, and it's so cool they will be there to support me. I just hope I ordered enough copies (well...it would be nice to run out!)

Success!

Well the lectures went swimmingly. It helped that, although it makes me nervous at first, I very much enjoy public speaking. It also helped enormously that the students were extremely nice and attentive. I was asked some very good questions, and overall they seemed to enjoy it. Even though most of them are in more humanities type majors, I hope they got something out of it--I think it's always interesting to hear things from another perspective. I hope I can do this sort of thing again sometime!

Ordering yet another round of proofs of the book. I keep finding mistakes; it is very frustrating. I hope I get everything fixed and ordered in time for my book release party (TBA).

Lecture at Temple University

Exciting news! Tomorrow (this morning really) I am giving my first-ever lecture on children's books. I will be speaking about a brief history of children's illustration, picture book creation, and my own work, to 2 children's literature classes at Temple University in Philadelphia. Of course I am extremely excited as this really makes me feel validated as an illustrator, however I do grapple (as I'm sure many artists do, no matter how experienced) with feelings of horrible under-qualification. I keep thinking if only I had just one more book published, just one more award, even one more sketch to show of an upcoming book, that I will feel more like I deserve this. I can only hope I have enough to talk about given my extremely brief time in the field thus far!

But the truth is, I don't think I would be invited if I didn't deserve it in some way! I have to look at my achievements: I am a well-appreciated freelancer with loyal clients, and although the assignments are sporadic I get steady praise. And to top it off, I have a picture book on the verge of being available on Amazon, and I do happen to be extremely proud of it. As I was told in a conversation at a gallery opening the other night, lots of people can have the ideas or even make a few drawings, but it's really tough to make it as far as I just have, all the way to the press (and the internets!) So I keep reminding myself.

Enough tooting my own horn though. I still have to prove I can sell this thing to really make it happen. That will definitely be the biggest hurdle yet. But til then.....

I'm giving a lecture at a university! Yay!

Book Printed! Stay tuned for purchasing info.

I am pleased to announce the printing of the first edition of my book! It will arrive to my doorstep within a few days, hopefully. After going thru 2 proofs I think it's finally up to standards. I have to say, Createspace does do a good job. It looks pretty professional, not too shabby at all, I must say. I have a whole marketing plan for it now which includes doing signings, readings, getting it into local bookstores, and hopefully getting it reviewed.

In other news, I've been working on a logo for an online lit/arts blog. Design above.