Name That ELF! Day 7

And here they are--everyone's elfs!

Yesterday's winning name was "Dean," by Shannon Hale. Santa is a big fan.

That's it! Have a Merry Elf Christmas everybody!

I'll be back in January! Maybe I'll post something over the break--but I've never needed a break so badly, so I might not. In any case, big things are coming in January. Starting off with the second half of Taco Hell Drive Thru.

Thanks for a great year of comments!

Confused Elf Day

Hi guys, one more day to enter your elf--tomorrow I'll post it and we'll call it a year!

Reverse Elf Name Day!

Oh this should be fun. We're flipping the tables for this elf.

You name and describe it first, then I--I mean SANTA--will choose the one to draw for tomorrow! Name that Reverse Elf!

And keep naming yesterday's light-hanging elf. I--I mean SANTA--didn't get a chance to choose a name for him yet.

Name That ELF! Day 6

This elf is in charge of hanging lights. Name that light-hanging elf!

Day 5's elf was named Hampton, by Gretchen Alice. Hampton the scooper.

Thank you to everyone who came to the signing on Saturday. It was fun. We SOLD OUT of both 12 BOTS and DINOSAURS NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS! I was happy to sell out (in truth, they didn't have that many copies to sell...) but there was a little boy there who wanted a 12 BOTS soooo bad, and we were sold out. It was very sad.

A special thanks to the Allred family who brought EVERY BOOK I'VE EVER DONE to the signing. Wow! (okay, not EVERY book, but a large number of them) It was fun to sign so many at once. Thanks!

Name That ELF! Day 5

This elf's job is following the reindeer around.


Yesterday's name was the first one posted, Lipnick, by Stuart.

I will be signing books today (Saturday) from 12-2 at the Orem Library with a whole bunch of authors. Who? You'll have to come and see!

Name That ELF! Day 4

This poor elf has been overworked at the doll factory.

Yesterday's winning name was Crenshaw by Tanei Atagi. Santa laughed and said, "Oh She's totally a CRENSHAW! Ho ho ho."

I'm going to keep the elfs coming (I know it's supposed to be "elves" but "elfs" is so much better. Also, I don't put an "an" in front of elf. No, I say it, "A elf." Plural, "Elfs.") Anyway, gonna keep the elfs coming through the weekend, since I missed the past two days and there is only so much time before Christmas. We've got to name these elfs while we can!

Space Elf DOUBLE Overtime!

Sorry Elf Namers. You get TWO days to name the space elf. What a wild and fanciful name she will have!

Guess who just turned in the finals for two mega graphic novels. It'sa ME!

I'm currently uploading the final files via the publisher's ftp site. The files are so huge it'll take a while. I wrapped the last page about 15 minutes ago. It's a wonderful feeling.

The finals for my first few picture books had to be shipped to the publisher in boxes. As in, the ORIGINAL art packed into homemade safety shipping containers. It was a humongous nightmare. I'd be coming off a series of late-night/all-night sessions to finish the art, then I'd have to scramble to pack the finished pieces into protective boxes and spend a FORTUNE at FedEx. Then wait in terror to see if they arrived safely. It was a terrible time all around.

Technology can be a wonderful thing. To be able to finish 256 pages of artwork, then send it to the publisher with a mouse click--that's magic.

Ahhhhh, I can't think of anything nicer that watching these FINISHED pages load one after another onto the publisher's site. So relaxing.

We still have to work out the cover...and the back cover. Possibly the endpaper...

But at least I won't have to box anything and stand in line at the UPS/FedEx/Post Office whatever.

I'm rambling, it's all the caffeine. And the euphoria from finishing something. I'm going to crash hard in 3...2...1...

Space Elf Overtime!

Hi Elf-namers. You get an extra day to name our friendly space elf. I'm right at the very edge of my deadline. I'm putting everything I've got into finishing on time. Thursday is the deadline, I won't be sleeping much between now and then. Crunch, crunch, CRUNCH-TIME!