Thursday, May 10, 2012

A Conversation with my Illustrious Illustrator

So, on Tuesday, when I quit procrastinating and started working on my new middle grade fantasy, my son decided to draw a picture of the pirate ship in my book. The conversation went something like this:

Little Dude: So, what kind of pirate ship is it?

Me: A crystal one. It's invisible.

Little Dude: Should it have a dragon cannon?

Me: Yep. Sounds good.

Little Dude: And Gatling guns?

Me: Heck yeah!

Little dude: Old-fashioned ones or new ones?

Me: Old fashioned.

Little dude shrugs, then: Those are harder, but okay. What should go on the prow?

Me: Haven't decided yet. You decide.

It ended up being a cool triangle diamond-head. And that conversation and others I have with him are the reason I started writing for a younger audience, in addition to my adult books. I love the pure magic that comes with it. I've let my son read the first two chapters, and it's so fun to share the world of books with him.

Who do you love to share books with?

13 comments:

  1. How cute that he shrugged and said that was harder but ok:-) I love a kids thought process! It sounds like you have quite the cheerleader on your side.

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  2. How FUN! It's great you are able to share that with him, and have a reader of your manuscripts. When my daughters were young I'd bounce ideas off them, too (I wrote a few picture books along with my novels). :) Enjoy!

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  3. That is so sweet! I love that. I feel like I should write a book for younger kids just so I could share a moment like that with my little one. Although I do tell her a lot of stories and she'll fill in some of the info. That's fun too.

    It's awesome writing for kids.

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  4. He sounds like a dream.

    I share my love for books with my Piano Man and my Little Princess. We are in love with words; seriously. For the Winter Solstice, the Little Princess made me a book (she even included a bio lol) and for my birthday, she made me a bookmark. My Piano Man got me an old fashion typewriter and a 150+ year old dictionary, respectively.

    And my Piano Man enjoys my stories as much as I do--I write dark fiction. I thought I wouldn't be able to share the love with the Little Princess (she is 6), then we find out she is crazy about vampires. Her favorite song? The Bloodmobile by They Might Be Giants. I couldn't ask for more.

    I didn't mean to comment-jack. I'm just a bit in love with this topic ;-)

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  5. That's so adorable! Sounds like he's got a great imagination--what a great writing partner. :)

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  6. Your illustrator sounds super cool :)

    Will he be interested in illustrating my book ;)

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  7. Cute! You should share some of his efforts here.

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  8. How old is your son? Sounds smart. ;) And when are you going to post this picture for us to see??

    Also, love the idea of a crystal ship!

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  9. Sounds like you have the perfect partner to talk out your ideas! Take note of his feedback!

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  10. Aw! What a wonderful conversation between the two of you. Nas is right: the perfect partner!

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  11. how cute... the conversation was too adorable. Who doesn't like a crystal ship:)

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  12. That is so cool you share your writing with your son! And then he illustrates it? That'd be awesome if you got published and he could illustrate the cover or on the inside of the book.

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  13. Awesome!

    I share my love of writing (and books in general) with my mom. We have exactly the same tastes and she's about the only person who loves to talk books as much as I do (in my "real" life, that is!).

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I love talking with friends new and old! What's on your mind?