Story of a Heart Mom

I know that I have woefully neglected this blog lately, and for that I am very sorry. I will do an update post soon (I promise). In the meantime, The Mighty has published another one of my pieces, and I wanted to share some backstory on the "Story" -

I wrestled with what I wanted to do with this piece for months.  It was my first attempt at a picture book, and I spent a considerable amount of time working on illustrations (digital composites of watercolors and photographs), hand-lettering, and revising, revising, revising. A lovely friend offered to edit it, and I felt like it was polished to super-sparkly status. But something about it never sat quite right. I wanted to tell a story that said, "My child is complicated, but my child is valuable. She has worth, and feelings, and a purpose." I wanted to prove that point by telling Aberdeen's story, from Aberdeen's perspective. Ultimately, though, what I was writing were MY thoughts and feelings, and it didn't feel right to assume that what Abby thinks and feels mirrors what I think. After getting some really good advice at a writer's conference, I decided to rework this piece to more accurately reflect what it was already trying to say. It's probably not as sparkly anymore, and it definitely doesn't follow the "rules" of a picture book, but I feel good about it. It's still her story, but it's also my story, it's also Jameson's story - it's our family's story. Even though my plans for this piece changed considerably from what they were at the start, I'm still extremely proud of the work that I put into it, and thankful to all that took a second to read it and give me their thoughts (for some, that was like 20 times). I have other pieces that I'm currently trying to get published, but this one (for now at least) is going to stay in internet land. Enjoy.

The Story of a 'Heart Mom' - The Mighty

(I also included a few of the other illustrations I worked on that weren't featured on The Mighty)

Apprehension

Life