My, it’s been a long time since I posted to my blog, you may have thought in fact I’d given up on the blog entirely. Well no, not given up at all – but I made a decision to put things on ice for a while. There are a few reasons for this, one of the biggest being a very heavy workload this year, so I’ve cut back on a lot of social media until things get a little easier. So what have I been up to then? Here’s a brief update on activities.
First and foremost, a cover reveal!
My next picture book collaboration with Jane Sutcliffe is currently awaiting release in the US in March 2016. Will’s Words: How William Shakespeare Changed the Way You Talk, is published to coincide with the anniversary of Shakespeare’s death in 1616, and takes the reader through the streets of Jacobean London to the Globe theatre. Dropped into the narrative are numerous words and phrases from his plays that are widely used in everyday speech today. I’m greatly excited about this book, research and production of the artwork consumed much of my workload during the first half of this year. This will be my second collaboration with Jane, (our previous book together Stone Giant: Michelangelo’s David and How He Came to Be was released in 2013).
Currently I’m working on a picture book for Japanese publisher Fukuinkan Shoten, Yozora o Miageyo, with words by Yuriko Matsumura, which follows a child’s discovery of the stars of the night sky, culminating in a country trip to see the Perseids meteor shower. This too is due for release in 2016 in Japan. Here’s a sneak snapshot of some work-in-progress.
Other book projects thereafter are currently under wrap – all will be revealed in due time!
Finally, I was recently honoured to be interviewed by writer Kathy Temean for her excellent blog Writing and Illustrating. This is a very full interview with plenty of images, so if you haven’t seen it already do please have a look!