Making it through May

May always feels like the most hectic month. My kids’ last school vacation is behind us and the month is filled with sports, dances, art shows, one kid’s birthday, graduations, concerts, etc. Summer is coming up fast and I’m preparing myself for a summer schedule (or unschedule).

But back to that vacation. We were lucky to travel back to Palm Springs again this year. After a long and very busy working winter, the desert and rest was just what we needed. But we also squeezed in a day trip to Disneyland plus early morning hikes, meals, and shopping trips while our teens slept in. I also got a chance to meet up with fellow kidlit author Stephanie Campisi. I’m so impressed with Steph’s work ethic and successes with publishing and she’s been such a great supporter of my work as well. We took our families up the aerial tramway to the top of Mt. San Jacinto in Palm Springs and explored the cooler forest above the desert.

I hoped to see a roadrunner on my trip, but no such luck. Instead, I’ve made a drawing sheet so we can all draw this speedy and hard to spot bird of the west.

Back home, I’m still working on THE KING OF BOOKS (Feiwel & Friends, Spring ‘25). I’m doing some additional hand-lettering and the cover art has yet to be tackled. I’ll also have a round of edits at some point. As I always share with kids at school visits, making books is a lot of work and takes a LONG time!

In event news, I’m excited to return to the New Hampshire Maker Fest on June 1st at The Children’s Museum of NH. I will help kids draw trolls and gnomes and have books available for purchase thanks to Water Street Bookstore. It’s a wonderful family event with hands-on activities of all kinds for kids. I hope to see you there!

What I’m Reading: I have read a LOT this past month. Starting with several audiobooks during my book deadline, then switching to print books for vacation. Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen was a fast, fun, dark-humor read for my Palm Springs trip. If you liked Libba Bray’s Beauty Queens and Small Game by Blair Braverman, you will probably enjoy this.

What I’m Listening to: The 30th Anniversary release of Diary from Sunny Day Real Estate. I started listening to SDRE as a freshman in college when this album was first released and have never stopped. Their music has been the soundtrack throughout the best times in my life. I was thrilled to finally see them live on Mother’s Day in Boston. Some people have The Beatles or Taylor Swift, but this is it for me. It was magical and perfect.

What I’m Watching (but not TV): I recently began a trial subscription at CreativeBug so I could take this Lisa Congdon class on daily mark making. I needed to break out of my routine with final book art but I needed a very low bar of commitment. I’ve greatly enjoyed the playful nature of this class. If you just want to pull out basic art supplies and loosen up a few minutes a day, this might be your thing too.