BookLust

Bird is the Word

Birds fascinate me. Always have. I love 'em. And not just because I draw my share of cute cartoony birds, though of course, that helps. Obviously there's more out there in the art world than just cute cartoons. Case in point: the paintings of an extremely talented Canadian artist, Ellen Sereda. This lady loves birds. In fact, I think she is obsessed with our feathered friends, and I mean that in a very good way. And now her obsession has become mine, bwa ha ha ha ha. I love her work so much, I've started collecting some of her art. Here is the first painting of hers I purchased. It's called Jutta.

Isn't it stunning? The lovely girl is one of Ellen's beautiful daughters. And dammit, Ellen really gives good raven. How I adore ravens and crows.

This painting is called Passing Train. Robins are so underappreciated, I think.

And this is my most recent purchase. Sweet Jeebus, I freakin' love this.  It's called Post Apocolypse Retro Fashion Show 2. I find it deliciously creepy and beautiful. Totally freaked out my husband when I showed it to him, hee hee.

Ellen is an astounding talent. And she has a hilarious and brilliant blog, too. She is definitely one to watch. No doubt the birds have been keeping a very close eye on her these days.

Vote for Horatio

On Monday Oct 25th, there was a whack of municipal elections across Ontario. Now if this guy had run, he woulda had my vote.

Wanna Be a Writing Superstar? Sure ya do!

Heck, I sure wanna be a writing superstar, don't you? And you know what will help you on your writing superstar journey? Why, a book called Be a Writing Superstar, of course! It's written by the funny and talented Joel A. Sutherland and illustrated by, yes, moi! So what's the book about?

Be a Writing Superstar is an irreverent, encouraging writing guide for young readers, which covers a whole spectrum of topics. It succeeds in teaching them the nuts and bolts of the entire writing process - from brainstorming their early ideas and shaping them on paper, right through to hosting their own book launch! Yes, kids will be trading witty repartee and bon mots with their fellow scribes, as they get their literary game on! And, for when the dreaded writer's block kicks in, kids can draw inspiration from their writing heroes by reading some short interviews with famous Canadian authors and illustrators! Some of Canada's finest, including Robert Munsch, Mélanie Watt, Gordon Korman and Kenneth Oppel, agreed to answer 5 Silly Questions about their writing, and all of them are included in this book. A hilarious reminder that writers are funny people and writing is, above all else, fun!

Sounds like fun! Where can I get my copy? Oh, wait, I already have copies, duh, 'cuz I drew the funny pictures inside. Wanna see some? Here's a little sneak peek:

And Scholastic even has a way-cool page on their web site with writing tips from the author!

I had lots of fun illustrating Joel's book, because he's got the same kind of kooky and goofy sense of humour that I do. And guess what! He works in a library! So he's got my 100% stamp of approval. Congrats on the book, Joel, you writing superstar, you!

New Digs!

 
I gots me a brand spankin’ new web site! And along with that web site, I gots a new blog, too! But don’t worry, folks – BookLust ain’t going anywhere – I’m actually going to try and (ha!) have two blogs going at the same time. How I plan on doing this, I haven’t a clue. Stay tuned and see!

For the most part, the new blog will focus mainly on kidlit stuff, and BookLust will continue to be what it is (which is what, really, aside from being very silly and occasionally a tad potty-mouthed, ahem).

Kudos and thanks must go out to the wonderful and very patient Stuart Lawler, the designer of my new web site and proprietor of CreateMeThis. Hooray, Stuart!!

Now regarding the look of the new blog, I’m no expert in WordPress, so it may take me some time to make it look a bit better, so please be patient. In the mean time, sit back, stay a while, have a cup of tea, and enjoy!