Avast, You Scurvy Rats! It's The Next Big Thing Blog Tour!

The Next Big Thing blog tour started in Australia, but it's sturdy sails soon caught a mighty wind (ewww...), sending it on a tour of the seven seas. The object of the tour is to bring awareness to authors & illustrators and their current work. A treasure chest filled with thank ye's goes to the very talented Wendy Martin for tagging me. I've been asked to answer 10 questions about my current book-in-progress, after which I'll tag three others who aren't just amazing illustrators and writers, but good friends as well. Now weigh anchor and set a course for some long-winded answers!

1. What is the working title of your next book?

Pirates Go Shopping

Some of the original character sketches. Can you tell which ones my son didn't like?

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

I entered the 2011 Picture Book Dummy Challenge organized and run so well by KidLitArt founders Wendy Martin and Bonnie Adamson. Sitting at our dining room table I asked my son, Jake, who was three at the time, what my book should be about. Without looking up from the picture he was drawing he told me, "Pirates Go Shopping." How could I possibly argue with such logic?

More early sketches. Getting closer, but not quite there.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Pirates Go Shopping is a 32-page picture book suited for all ages, but I believe it works best for the single-digit aged kiddos.

Closer still. I kind of miss the guy with the life saver and floaties.

4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

I love this question. Assuming it's not animated:

Captain Golden Hook: Zach Galifianakis if the budget allows. Alan Tudyk, the guy who played the pirate in "Dodgeball" and the angry squire from "A Knight's Tale" would be a great fit, but can he carry a movie? Am I actually worried about that at this stage?

Seadog the Cat: I suppose the studio would insist on CGI, and Seadog doesn't have any speaking parts in the book. Maybe one of the Murray brothers could record some cat noises, although I'm not sure Bill would touch this after the whole Garfield thing. Let's go with audio by Tracy Morgan. 

Sloppy Joe: Joe is the crew's chef. Big and sloppy, big and sloppy… John Goodman channeling a less angry Walter Sobchak from The Big Lebowski. Or if the movie jumps to an R-rating I'd love to have Danny McBride.

Pirate Biff: Biff is a kind and gentle soul that provides comic relief. Paul Giamatti with a goatee? David Cross? A role for Bill Murray? This could be the most fun character to cast.

Thumbnails for each page, because that's what you do.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A band of smelly pirates who have more treasure than they can handle decide to go shopping to improve their ship and themselves.

I played around with my illustration style throughout the entire process. This one didn't make the cut. Claymation anyone?

6. Who is publishing your book?

I'm wondering the same thing. One agent, a couple of Art Directors and many illustrators have seen it so far. The reviews have been pretty positive and any criticism has been of the constructive variety. As soon as I'm done tweaking minor points in the story and have revised the illustrations a bit more I'll take a more aggressive approach to finding a publisher.

No room left to bury the treasure in this scene sketch. Finished versions are below.

7. How long did it take you to create the illustrations?

The illustrations are still being improved upon, so I suppose the answer is… forever? Once the current versions of the characters were set, the thumbnails were sketched and I settled on an illustration style it took about three days to rough in all of the pages. The final illustration spreads took about a day and a half each. 

Better, but described as too flat by a couple of Art Directors. They had a point.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Comparisons to other pirate books are inevitable I suppose. I feel that Pirates Go Shopping has the same wit and charm as Milinda Long's How I Became a Pirate and Pirate's Don't Change Diapers, although my drawing style is much different than that of illustrator of those great books – the super talented David Shannon. It also has the silliness of a favorite in our house, Dirty Joe, the Pirate, written by Bill Harley and illustrated by Jack E. Davis.

This page was critiqued as too cartoony and not a good style for picture books by a professional illustrator co-running an illustration intensive at a 2012 SCBWI conference. I'm not bitching. Honest I'm not. Just an FYI.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Four things: The Picture Book Dummy Challenge, our son Jake, my love of drawing and my love of picture books.

I improved the island scene with a new-to-me style using a tablet and stylus which made all of the art look much looser and so much better. Is it picture book worthy? We'll find out soon enough. The tablet and stylus save me so much time over my antiquated mouse/pen tool technique. There's more work to be done, but I'm pleased with the progression.

10. What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

Pirates Go Shopping an amusing story with a moral. I love the characters and have had fun tweaking my illustration style and drawing techniques to a point where the images are full, loose and lots of fun. And the title itself is certain to pique the interest of potential readers. Just like I planned it. :)

Rowing to a bookshop/library near you? ARRRR you ready?!!

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So who are the nexts on The Next Big Thing Blog Tour? Pull the patch off your eye and take a look:

Gaia Cornwall! I first met Gaia on the Thursday evening #KidLitArt Tweet chats a few years ago. I had the pleasure of meeting her in person at the 2011 Falling Leaves retreat run by the EasternNYSCBWI. In addition to being an amazing illustrator and animator, Gaia is also a wonderful instructor, having taught an awesome session (7 Animation Concepts Every Illustrator Should Steal) at the NESCBWI 2013 Conference. She has a style that's perfect for picture books. Looking forward to seeing her book, Jabari Jumps!, make it to everyone's book shelves.

A wonderful scene from Gaia's book in progress, Jabari Jumps! I absolutely love Gaia's style.

Ernie D'elia! Ernie is a gosh-darned force of nature. I met him at the 2012 NESCBWI Conference and not only is he an amazing artist, but he has an incredible sense of humor – two very handy traits for a picture book writer/illustrator. Not sure what Ernie has up his sleeve for the project he's working on, but I guarantee it's going to be epic. He'll be blogging about it next Sunday so we'll just have to be patient.

A little something from Ernie D'elia. His color work is fantastic, but this b/w portfolio piece really caught my eye. Reminds me of the great Bill Watterson in so many ways, only Ernie is much more handsome.

Kevin Barry! I also met Kevin Barry at the 2013 NESCBWI Conference. Do you see a trend here, people? Go to that conference!!! Kevin effortlessly wields the largest sketchbook I've ever seen, and he's been filling it with these unbelievable drawings that are full of character and humor – again, two perfect traits for a writer/illustrator. Poking around on his online portfolio, I'm guessing his book project involves a mouse. He can either confirm or deny this next Sunday on his Next Big Thing blog post. In the meantime, let's all kick back and enjoy the smooth illustrative stylings of Kevin Barry...

Seriously, people. What's not to like? What's the mouse doing? What's the fish thinking? So many questions!!! Can't wait for Kevin to reveal the answers.

Keep an eye on these artists! And keep an eye on me as well by following my blog. The button is over there on the left. Thanks so much!