What I’ve Been Working On: A Brief Sample
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade, Justin Fisher Declares War!, the writing process | 6 Comments »In college I had a teacher, Dr. Pat Meanor at Oneonta, who said something that I've always taken to heart. He said if you want to write, then you had better shut your mouth. Don't talk about it. Otherwise all ...
Arrrrr: Greg Ruth’s “52 Weeks Project” Revisited
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade, Around the Web | No Comments »One of life's little pleasures is the email I receive each week from illustrator Greg Ruth, as part of his second annual "52 Weeks Project." Each weekly missive includes a brief note from Greg -- who has a writing style, ...
Book News: “Our Enduring Spirit,” illustrated by Greg Ruth
Thursday, October 1st, 2009 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade | 3 Comments »My friend, Greg Ruth -- illustrator of our upcoming picture book, A Pirate's Guide to First Grade (Feiwel and Friends, July, 2010) -- just announced that his latest children's book, Our Enduring Spirit, is now available in stores. As Greg said ...
From Sketch to Final Art; Final Art to Cover
Monday, August 17th, 2009 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade, Greatest Hits | No Comments »I'm sure my Nation of Readers will remember this sketch, which I talked about here, fifteen months ago. Well, lubbers, double quick, set your deadlights on the final art: "Ahoy, me hearties!" I cried. "Prepare to be boarded!" Interestingly, in the above final ...
Cover Art by Greg Ruth for “A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade”
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade, the writing process | 1 Comment »One of the ruling ideas behind this blog is to document the working life of a writer. I try to skip the boring parts, of which there are many. But one thing that is never dull is when I first ...
Greg Ruth Illustrates “Our Enduring Spirit: President Barack Obama’s First Address to the Nation.”
Friday, January 23rd, 2009 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade, Current Events | 2 Comments »Back on November 5th, the day after the election, I acted quickly and purchased this remarkable, evocative piece of art from my friend, illustrator Greg Ruth. For the story on that, and where to find other art by Greg, click ...
I Think I Just Bought This!
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade | No Comments »Well, first, wow. That was an amazing election last night. The great turnout, the enormity of significance. But I'll leave it at that. There are other sites for those observations. I don't quite know how it happened, but I think I ...
Greg Ruth Strikes Again . . . and Again . . . and Again!
Monday, October 6th, 2008 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade, Happenings | No Comments »Greg Ruth is a remarkable illustrator and, from what I can gather, an all-around good guy. He's currently finishing up the illustrations for our upcoming book, scheduled for sometime in 2010, A Pirate's Guide to First Grade (Feiwel & Friends). ...
The Waiting
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 Posted in A Pirates Guide to First Grade | No Comments »The waiting is the hardest part. Every day you see one more card. You take it on faith, you take it to the heart. The waiting is the hardest part. -- Tom Petty Let's face it: Picture books take forever, and that's when they stay ...