Behind the Scenes
The Full Story
Hi! Welcome to my studio. C’mon in, pour a cup and get comfy. The website back end is considerably more relaxed compared to what goes on up front, because this is where my muse kicks in and boots my editor out. Where jotted notes morph into run-on sentences that transform into thought maps that sprout into stories. Where sketches in an actual sketch pad blend with watercolor paints to become some lovable character before being finalized into a digital illustration. Basically, this is where all the fun begins and where all the rules are broken. It’s my creative space where words and pictures and characters and settings collide, because everything inside my imagination is always a jumbled mess, until I get things flying in formation, on one track, all heading in the same direction. No escapees...
In the actual space I look out on my gardens, watch the birds, and a bit further away observe my horses grazing in the pastures or napping under the big elm trees. Back there too, is the outdoor kitchen where the feral cats that used to roam this area now occupy. In fact, they lounge around like they’re sunbathing next to a private backyard swimming pool. All of it, every animal, plant and nuance on our farm is food for my imagination. So sit back, relax and I'll introduce you to the behind the scenes stories.
Curious Claire
Meet the inspiration behind Curious Claire. One morning, our ‘Claire’ announced her arrival with piercing screeches blasting from under the storage shed, the one up on blocks out by the equipment barn. Puny, still blue-eyed and infested with fleas, she was not at all afraid of our yellow cur dog, who was looking for ways to disappear her.
Trapping Claire was not our first rodeo. Hubby did the set-up, while I corralled the dog and put food in a bowl. It didn’t take 10 minutes, and we had ourselves the most curious cat ever. BTW...should you ever look up curious in the dictionary, you’ll find Claire’s photo.
This is Claire reorganizing my sock drawer.
And this is Clair helping out on laundry day.
Claire’s natural tendency is to share her love and adoration, committing herself to lap snuggles and lyrical discussions filled with yowls, snerps, and occasional chirps. On cold winter days Claire wraps up in a tight circle, tail covering her nose and those gleaming yellow eyes following our every move. But the best thing about Claire is her ability to make us laugh every day. Sure makes it easy to write stories about her.
Big Inspiration
Children's book characters must have big personalities to nurture big imaginations. We have an abundance of whopping big P's on our horse farm. Most likely the reason for that is we encourage our horses to show us their ideas regarding the work they do. By allowing this, we find that our horses concoct far better athletic arrangements for driving carriages, working cattle, and herding cats. Plus, there's never a dull moment (and always a lot of laughs) as our horses peel back layers of high work ethic mixed with silliness, kindness, and joy.
My book characters Ezmeralda, her Mom, Vivienne, and Donna the Dusky Donkey are a combo of several horses we share our lives with.
