New Picture Book Deal

It’s happening…albeit rather slowly. It takes a long time to have your work published and the timeline is surprising. The process is long and extends years beyond the creation stage. I won’t get into that right now. Today I want to talk about the inspiration for this story. This picture book manuscript and dummy began almost 5 years ago. The story has changed and grown over time, but the heart of the story remains. The idea for this book originated from memories of my childhood. I remember exploring our family land. There, I found plenty of open space and, what seemed like, endless stars in the sky.

My background is in art education. For many years, I worked as an Adjunct Professor. I taught Art Appreciation, Drawing & Painting classes. Even after I had my daughter, I continued teaching. When my son came along, I decided to stay home with my children. I began working as a fine artist, making gallery work. I started researching wildlife and exhibiting watercolor paintings. My daughter became interested in the sky and the constellations that were represented through animals. We searched for them at night and checked out picture books from the library. I found that it was difficult for me to find picture books about constellations that had a story line. Most of the books that we found were nonfiction/informational. I wanted to write a fictional story for children. In doing so, I aimed to teach them about constellations, the moon, and the natural world.

I started with a manuscript that was not good. But it was an idea. I made an illustration of the Ursa Major constellation walking with a boy, using watercolor layers and procreate. During a portfolio review, an art director asked, “Do you have a story for the boy and the bear image?”

SANTIAGO AND THE GREAT BEAR tells the story of Santiago, a city boy who feels lonely after moving to the countryside. At the sight of the only constellation he knows, Santiago wishes for a new friend. When he is losing hope his wish will ever come true, Great Bear falls from the sky. But this new friend can’t stay forever.

Note that the publisher has moved the date from 2025 to 2026. This often happens when the editing and marketing team work together. Still, I am so excited to share this story with you. Now, I realize that it gives me more time to make the book the best it can be. It also gives me extra time to work with the marketing team and brainstorm book tour ideas. Two years seems like a long time, but it goes by so fast.

Thank you for following along on my creative journey. More to come!