The Book is Born!

Yay! Hooplah! Celebration!

Holly Wild came home this week. What a long journey it has been for that kid--and me--and Bear Track Press!

A list of thank yous go out to Marie Rust and Lisa Ramlow--Team Taylor!

Thanks to Karin Fish--for fielding all of my InDesign questions--

and teaching me about 'em' dashes--and stuff.

To Kathleen Dougherty--thanks times ten. She has taught me much in the

nature realm for the last almost 30 years!

To my SCBWI Critter Crit group for looking over my ms. and

giving their helpful crit--times two!

Thanks to all!

So before I head off to Mackinac Island this weekend for the annual SCBWI-MI Fall Conference for Illustration Boot Camp, I've made sure that I've gotten all my ducks in a row. Holly's book has special buttons on my website to order books and here on my blog. She also has a Kid's Page with cool stuff for kids of all ages and her own Facebook page to keep you informed.

 And there will be school/libraryprograms, book signings and more in the future!

And you can bet Holly will have something to say about Mackinac Island in the future!

HOLY CREEPS! It's A Go with HOLLY WILD!

HOLY CREEPS! Holly H. Wild is ready to go--to press that is! As we speak, her story, her games, her activities and her words are rolling along the press. In fact, she will be showing her face to the world as of next week! So there's STILL a LOT more to do to get ready for bringing her home. We at Bear Track Press are all so excited, but no one more than me.

Just who is HOLLY H. WILD?  She's a cross between Raggedy Ann and Charlie Brown with a hint of Peppermint Patty and Lil Orphan Annie thrown in. OK, so maybe not, but she kinda looks like a combo of all of those. Holly is her own kid, with her own style! A tough and tumble, redheaded geek in hiking boots and hat who likes snakes and is ready to take on the world.

She's HOLLY H. WILD and she's awesome, times ten! She's fearless, brave, creative, bright, loyal and curious and--OK, she's a bit stubborn and clutsy, but that's because she is in a hurry to see the world and tell it to others. It's a dang good thing she has a Team like Tierra and Sierra Hills to keep her on track.

Holly may trip and fall, but she always get back up.

These last few months, weeks, and years of writing, revisions, illustrations and redoes, copyrights, ISBN and Library of Congress numbers and bar codes and setting up the files of the hundreds of illustrations is cause for CELEBRATION! Whew! To give you an idea, when we started writing Holly's story, Kenny was seven inches long and now he is five feet long! It's about time Holly comes to life! It's about time to celebrate her Wild appearance.

What does Holly have to say about all of this?
"Get UP, get OUT and get Wild!"



WATCH for Holly's arrival next week by following and liking her on Facebook. She will have her own page and fun stuff for kids to do. Kids can follow Holly and can become a GeEK (Geo Explorer Kid) and learn more about the nature world. Watch for Holly's fun promotional stuff, too.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Holly-Wild/174022782675624

HOLLY WILD:  Bamboozled on Beaver Island will be available for $12.99 at www.loritaylorart.com or Bear Track Press: http://www.beartrackstudiosllc.com/bear_track_press.html.

Birthing HOLLY WILD!

Lots of possiblilites here. Decisions, decisions!

This will be the last post before I get Holly published. Let me just say what a lo-o-ong journey it has been. A much longer labor and delivery than both of my own kids put together!

So I am putting together a scrap book of the beginnings of Holly Wild (and I'm sure that there are more in notebooks from way back). It was fun to gather these up, like putting together a baby book for Holly--which is more than what I did for my own children's baby books. Sorry kids.

But in order to develop a character and know her well and draw her with ease it takes at least 100 or more sketches and then at least 100 more times ten. Easy peasey right? Enjoy my trot down memory lane!

EEKS! Too cute--too clean.

Sketch pads, note paper, bank slips, stationery,
receipts--all held Holly Wild concepts.

Lots of paper and COFFEE!

HOLY CREEPS! A breakthrough! I was sick at the time of the coffe stain sketch when I saw patterns in the chimney bricks. It simplified Holly's look. This is the very beginning of the Holly Wild look, but she NEEDS to be more lovable.

AHA! Holly is lovable and perfect. But wait--she is too young.
Back to the drawing board.

HOLLY H. WILD 8-20-11

I can understand Holly's look as I feel the same way. We are both ready for her to be a hit and get into print. Besides Kenny was seven inches when we started this and now he is five feet long.

So back to work. There are files to be wrangled and ISBN numbers and copyrights to be wrassled. The next time I write I hope it's to say, BUY the BOOK!

Critters and Pets and Holly, Oh, My!

As the deadline for Holly Wild is looming ever closer, I've been sketching, scribbling, and drawing and redrawing on paper and in Photoshop to get this book put together. So before my hand fell off, I took a break from the routine yesterday to go to the Detroit zoo with my daughter, her husband and my granddaughter, Kyah, who was visiting them.

Even though we did the zoo early because of the heat, we still got hot and found ourselves scouting about for the next blue water fountain to cool off. But the best cooling came from visiting the Dinosauria exhibit in the shady woods. As we gladly stepped back through the mists of time (enjoyed by everyone from 1 to 91) we entered the forest of giant, ancient herps! We had a fun time moaning and roaring at the animated rubber dinosaurs and posing in front of them. It made me think of some giant herps introduced in the Holly Wild book.

Gigantic toads on Beaver Island the size of squirrels!

Willy-Nilly, a small rodent pet.

Beaver Island is much like a Jurassic Park--only not with herps the size of T-Rex--but amphibians and reptiles. Giant toads and larger than average snakes have been discovered there in the last few years.

Castor canadensis, a modern day beaver.

Speaking of giant critters, we got to see a Capybara at the zoo. They must've been hot too, because they hit the beach and dove in the water. After the Capybara, our modern day beaver is next in line as the largest rodent. However, our acient beaver relatives would dwarf them both. Those bad boys were once the size of our Michigan black bears and roamed the shores in search of soft foods, not trees. 



As we walked along we got to visit the Bush Dogs. They are tiny little scrappers that look like shaved wolverines with stubby black tails. These lil fellers had a well-traveled grassy trail in their enclosure and were running their route when we spied a small rabbit eating clover near a stump in the their pen.

We wondered how long the bunny had been in there and how long it would be until the bush dogs discovered the critter. If their sense of smell and hunger was like Hunter, the hound in Holly Wild, it wouldn't be too long. Yikes! Run bunny, run.

Queenie, a not so wild dog.

It also got me thinking about how poodles were once used as hunting dogs and are now the size of rabbits and get dressed up in sweaters.

Of course we did visit the Herp House at the zoo.
Inside, we ogled the variety of snakes, turtles, and lizards
--from big gators to a dwarf caiman.

So after three hours at the zoo, four Ibuprofen, two quarts of water and a good night's sleep, I'm back in the chair working on the book today--just to get ready to hit the road north tomorrow in search of BEARS!

And did I mention that I forgot my camera at my daughter's house and I will have to DRAW the bears and wildlife we see?! Better rest my hand up again.

HOLLY WILD: Poking it with a STICK!

In my last blog, I mentioned that I was illustrating the science portion of the book. Simple science. No big gadgets or apps. Pure and simple Holly Wild curiosity and a good poking stick is all that is needed. In order to get in touch with nature, you need a few other good things like a good notebook and a good pencil. but that's it--anything else is mere icing on the nature cake. A hand lens, specimen collecting system (Ziploc bags and plastic medicine bottles) and you're in business.

A few tools of the naturalist trade

Speaking of getting in touch with nature and science, the "poke it with a stick" Holly Wildism has been around longer than she's been around. And since we are talking poking sticks, my editorial team would like me to touch on polite poking stick etiquette:

'Nuff said!

Science and nature study need not be complicated. Observation and experience is key. With homemade explorer kit in hand, I can't tell you how many trees I climbed, places I explored and how many snakes I tailed a kid. I grew up in a naturalist's heaven on five acres of pines, hardwoods and ponds and had a wild neighborhood of lakes and more woods--without NO Trespassing signs around. Ahhh--nature! Ahh-mothers! My mother had us kids watching out for wild snakes, wild badgers, wild cats, wild dogs and anything else wild that might harm, bite, scratch or otherwise maim us.

NEVER poke a snake, especially an EMR--just saying!

And, yes, we did grow up with Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes (EMR) and lived to tell the tail--so to speak. We knew the dangers and were careful. OK, we knew the dangers.

But in order to get kids outdoors and stay outdoors today, we need to have them out simply for adventure. Not for a specific study or learning purpose. They need unstructured time to make stick forts and eat lunch in them like explorers. OK, so explorers didn't have Kool Aid and chips, but by golly it helps add to that adventurous feel. Time outdoors for kids to collect things, dig for bones (been there--done that) and make fox traps (been there--done that and punished for it). It doesn't take much in the way of tools or cost much and the benefits are wild, crazy cool.

Notebooks hold feasther, fur, skin, leaves, and small bones nicely.

Kids (and us adults) need adventure without the push of a button or a beep of digital notes. Keep science pure and simple.

Keep it Holly Wild style and POKE IT WITH A STICK--politely! 

HOLLY WILD: The Countdown, Part 2

Even though I have been working on the "science" portion of the book right now (snake species, scientific method, tools), I wanted to introduce you to the book's lively characters. Each one is quirky, quaint and down right vibrant. These folks are the guts, the juice, the fire, and the glue--that help and hinder Holly with her adventure on Beaver Island.

Let the journey begin. And with every story and journey comes the good, the bad and ugly! First the good. Our hero, Holly needs a trusty team to help her on her adventures. Twins, Tierra and Sierra fit the bill and do a good job of keeping Holly on task. Holly's brother adds color--er--black, and ugly smell to the story. Brothers do that--proudly.

*Left to Right:  HOLLY, Boy (Holly's big bro) and the twins, Tierra and Sierra.



*Remember these faces as they are early illustrations and will change as we go along. Another clean-up act for me to do at the drawing board. Redraw the characters so they look consistent throughout the chapters.

Now, for more good. The twinkly, sparkly, nature-fairy kind. Aunt Kitty. The bigger the hair, the bigger the heart and the bigger the brain. Aunt Kitty is a sweet, smart, flower-loving naturalist with a warped sense of humor. Yikes!

"Tee-hee!" (good friends make the best characters!)

And one other good fellow who unknowingly helps direct Holly in her pursuit of saving Beaver Island--artist and storyteller, Charlie Bird.

(One never knows what kind of characters lurk behind bad art and balloons!
The lines of good and bad can often be blurred.)

And what evil are all these good folk battling? What, is right. That unwanted, unliked family who shows up like a noxious, spreading invasive plant specie that is impossible to eradicate. The Buckthorn clan. (Yes, that's where their names came from!)

Spoiled Ivy Buckthorn has been a thorn in Holly's side since the second grade. But what makes Ivy so delicious is you despise her the moment she walks on "stage". From her ponytail scythe to her sharp tongue, you can't wait until this Buckthorn specie moves on--far away.

Then there is rest of the Buckthorn clan, Mr. and Mrs. B (Fern and Alder) and their sniveling poodle pup, Queenie. Queenie is annoying and Mrs. B can be obnoxious, but it's the greedy Mr. B who is the bad seed here. And Holly must help Beaver Island

outsmart, outwit and outlast Buckthorn Builders in order to SURVIVE!

Even though no one is REALLY bad--everyone learns lessons on this adventure. And good vs. evil makes for a great tail--er tale. And everyone is needed to tell this story especially when the story has environmentally educational material in it.

The science is hidden among all the humorous antics and

adventure like a snake or herp in the grass! Which is the best way to learn.

Back to the drawing board for me. I have more good, bad and ugly species to illustrate.

COUNTDOWN to Holly Wild!

 So after three years in the making (even more if you count character development and research) HOLLY WILD:  Bamboozled on Beaver Island (a mid grade fiction) will become a reality. Rejected by Michigan publishers who I am certain only one even looked at, we are going INDY...as only Holly would like. After all, she is a do-it-yourself, explorer kind of girl. That's right. Indy (independent publisher-of self-pub). BTP, (Bear Track Press) who put out Lissy-Lost! (L2) in 2011 after she went OP (out of print) in 2010, is going at it again.

Each week I will blog on the progress of Holly Wild, the characters, the setting, the plot and how this indy book will be put together. So after twenty plus revisions, my editorial team decided to go with the new ms. (manuscript). And let me tell you how many gazillions of illustrations that girl HW (Holly Wild) has me doing.

Who is Holly Wild? Well, if you haven't heard or seen hints of her by now, she is a feisty, earthy (muddy, dirty, scraped-up), ten-year old, in hiking boots and auburn hair (she hates being called a red-head or maybe she hates it when her ultimate enemy, Ivy Buckthorn calls her that).

HOLLY H. WILD:  Curious, mischievous and always at my side. Did I mention annoying? (But, only to me.)

Holly's outlook and thoughts on life: "Just poke it with a stick and see what happens." Holy creeps, everyone knows that. This could also be the reason why she gets into jams and trouble so often.

HOLLY H. WILD:  Brave, creative, inventive and knows no danger--or at least doesn't recognize it.

Holly keeps me up at night, pesters me during the day and is more loud and needy than any BTP pet running around here. She wants kids (and parents) to know about herps, poop (scat is the polite term), and bones and gross nature stuff. She wants someone to hear her. She wants company--kids to GET UP, GET OUT and GET DIRTY--especially in Michigan's wild places with her.

HOLLY H. WILD:  Determined and focused (for maybe ten seconds)

Me. I can't wait until she gets what she wants and get this first book out. But, then I will have to start on book two, because she is already hinting at book three and wants to know where we are going for book four. Hold on Holly--one indy at a time. Speaking of indy if you the reader has ANY comments on ANYthing (the cover, design, or illustrations) please feel free to let me hear about them. I'm open to suggestions and criticism (although I'm not so sure how Holly will take it.)

Look out Michigan--this is one kid to watch for this September in HOLLY WILD:  Bamboozled on Beaver Island. She just might have your kids getting dirty, poking things with a stick and searching for "herps"and asking, "What does the H. in Holly H. Wild, stand for?)"