Working on my fourth book

This year was very exciting for me because I wrote and illustrated three children's books.  I spoke about them a few posts ago, but to review, they are,,,"I saw a purple monkey" "The Shell Lady of Cecil Bay" and "The Spooky ABCs of Halloween."

All of these books can be found on Amazon.com.  Here's a link that will send you to all three..

One of my teacher friends really loved the purple monkey book and suggested I start a series.  She enjoyed my subtle teaching of the proper use of see, saw and have seen and all of the colors of the rainbow.  Her idea was to continue writing about the adventures of the Purple Monkey incorporating grammar lessons into the story.

I liked that idea and have been working for the past few months on "You're Naughty, Purple Monkey."  My deadline is November 30, 2012.  I want it to be available for Christmas shopping.  It's the story of the purple monkey and teaches, once again, subtly, the correct use of Your and You're and the days of the week.

I've done all of the illustrations in an Eric Carle style of collage.  I designed all of the paper and use them in the illustrations.  I think my books have a unified look and I enjoy illustrating them in this way.  I'll keep you updated on the publication date and in the meantime here are some sneak preview images of the book.

  The illustrations won't have my watermark on it and will have text of the story.

What are you thankful for?

For those of you who have facebook accounts have you noticed the daily thanks that friends are posting?

Somehow I always miss out on the beginnings of these kinds of committments, like the 365 days of crafting commitments or learn a new word each day,,etc.  I usually discover them about half way through or two days after the sign up is closed. 

But, because of my blog here I can make my own days of thanks and since I have such a hard time with commitments, I'll list what I'm thankful for all in one shot. 

1. I'm thankful, everyday, for my children and my grandchildren.  I could actually stop there and be fine with it, cause they are definitely the most important part of my life,,but I'll continue.
2. I'm thankful that I'm intelligent.I'm thankful to my parents who insisted that I got a good education.
3. I'm thankful for my talent.  Once again, my parents allowed me to take lots of art lessons at the Detroit Institute of Arts, an experience that shaped me into living a creative life.
4. I'm thankful for the rest of my family, like my sister and nephew and cousins and aunts and uncles.
5. I'm thankful for my son for rescuing me and letting me come and live with him for awhile.
6. I'm thankful for my sensitivity to my surroundings.
7. I'm thankful for my faith in God and thankful to him for hanging there with me when I wasn't so faithful.
8. I'm thankful for my boyfriend who makes me laugh and always is agreeable to any idea I have.
9. I'm beginning to be thankful for my quirks and idiosyncrasies, something I've struggled to accept in the past but am starting to embrace.  (it's about time, since I'm not going to live forever.)
10. I'm thankful for my good memory that is enhanced by a smell, a song, a feeling.  Having along term memory is such a gift.  I just wish my short term was as good.
11. I'm thankful for the internet, because without it, I would still be doing craft shows.  I just can't do them anymore,,they are tiring and frustrating.  
12. I'm thankful for all kinds of books and music. Life would be so dull without them.

I think I'll stop there.   I think that's enough.  Maybe next year I can be thankful for better health and more money.  I guess better health is enough.

What are you thankful for?