The first question everyone asks when I talk about my upcoming picture book is whether I am doing the illustrations, to which I instantly chortle. Luckily for me, the incredibly talented Jay Guida has signed on to bring Bob to life, and I couldn’t be more thrilled! You can check out his work here: http://www.jayguida.com/. Prepare to be charmed.
As a picture book author who is not also an illustrator, I must inevitably give up control of the story that has for so long been mine alone. That’s a scary concept, and I’ll admit, I worried about how the illustrator would impact my vision. When my publisher sent me the first sample drawings from Jay, I nervously clicked on the image. And then I relaxed. And then I did a little dance. I could tell from his rendering of the characters and also from his previous work that this was an illustrator I could trust. What a relief!
We are still in the early stages of transforming Bob from words on a page into a real picture book character, but I’m so grateful to be working with such an amazing team – a publisher who values my opinions and an illustrator with such skill. I’m not sure whether my experience is typical of a debut picture book author, but thus far I’ve experienced nothing but collaboration and support. Stay tuned for some sneak peaks of Bob and his cohorts as they come to life!