I have some fun updates to share!
- THE TURTLE SHIP is currently undergoing the color correction process. That means Colleen (the talented illustrator), Lee & Low (the amazing publisher) and the printing company are collaborating to make sure the colors represented in the book’s images accurately reflect the colors in Colleen’s original artwork. Jessica (our brilliant editor) thinks that the book will be in warehouses in June, which means it will be released in July/August of this year. Wowza! Anyway, here are some photos of the color correcting process, courtesy of artist Colleen Kong-Savage:

Colleen with Danny Adlerman for the color correction process. Danny is the production manager at Lee & Low in NYC.

Danny with our editor, Jessica Echeverria. Look at those beautiful prints!
- THE PAPER KINGDOM is in the process of being illustrated by wonderful artist Pascal Campion. He emailed me a few weeks ago to say how much he loves the story and how excited he is to start sketching. I REALLY enjoy the picture book process, and it’s thrilling to work with such talented, smart and kind people. I’ll share more news soon.
- CHUBBY SAUSAGE: Sherwin our chubby sausage is turning out to be a popular pooch in our neighborhood. People we’ve never seen before will eagerly walk up to our front yard to ask, “Is your dog around today? We walked over here just to see him.” In my mind, I’m thinking, “Who are you? And should I call the cops?” But my response is usually, “Oh, he’s inside getting a bath.” Then they’ll respond, “Okay, we’ll try again tomorrow.” Another time, a woman hollered across the street, “My son loves your dog!” In my mind, I was thinking, “Who are you and who is this suspicious son of yours?” But my response was, “That’s so nice! Thank you!” And there is one guy who schedules his evening bike ride to coincide with Sherwin’s walk. I think he travels around the neighborhood seeking Sherwin. And when he spots Sherwin, he speeds over and skids to a stop. Then he jumps off his bike, throws it on its side and scoops Sherwin into his arms. He won’t let go until we say, “We’d better run now!” Sometimes, I’m afraid there’s an entire gang of people hiding behind trees and bushes to snatch up our adorable chubby sausage. He’s such a lovable little guy. The only issue is he has a ton of puppy energy that bubbles out of control whenever someone new pops up, whether human or canine, so I can see him happily trotting off with a stranger. Stranger danger, little guy, stranger danger!

Sherwin seduces the masses with his astounding ears.
I’ll have more updates soon! In the meantime, check out my latest travel post about Southeast Asia here.