SUMMER 2023 | Update No. 3

Hello friends and family, and hello Summer!

Here’s a watercolor/drawing I finished this week. It’s been about four years since I began author-illustrator work; I still feel like I’ve got a long way to go. Doing fine art for the gallery space and learning to *illustrate* are very different kinds of artist work. And besides that, there’s the whole sequential visual narrative thing that needs to happen when building a picture book story. I’m super proud of a new PB* manuscript I just finished— for the first time, I wrote the story in words and drawing concurrently, each informing the other. That was fun! The working titles for my first two completed picture books are Going Out on a Desert Drive and The Treasure Collectors. If… I mean… WHEN!… I find the right literary agent and these projects get acquired by a publisher… you’ll be the first to know! Well, besides me & mine… heh heh. I’m also working steadily on Strawberries 4Ever (early reader graphic novel) and Fly Away Girl (hybrid illustrated novel), though both have a long way to go.

But it’s ok! I enjoy it lots! I’m drawing and writing all the time… except for when I’m gardening, which is also all the time. :) You’ll see below lots of garden-themed recommendations because that’s what’s on any mind these days. I took over the backyard garden my mom left behind. The number of things to learn (soil! sun! water- not too much! dead-heading! pruning!) can be overwhelming, especially if one’s garden has over 100 different types of plants. (!!!)

Stay in touch, ask me anything, and let me know if you have any illustration projects you need to hire for! Because I know somebody… :D

xoxo

~Maritza

*PB doesn’t usually mean peanut butter in kid lit world, it’s picture book :) :)

Good Stuff

Going Places: state parks! I went to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Preserve on my birthday, loved it

Listening: A Way to Garden by Margaret Roach. I found her first through a NYT article on dahlias… now I’ve read her books, her website is full of tips, and I’ve planted 14 dahlia bulbs thinking I’d get 14 flowers… turns out each bulb is like 5 flowers I think? Uh oh…

Watching: Tiny World on Apple TV, the garden episode of course :) Altho I do love all things tiny. Such as this person who has reels with little knit frogs and more

Picture Book inspiration: Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, illustrated by Yas Imamura. I heart historical writing + cultural commentary + not-realistic but still realistic pictures.

Middle Grade Book: The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo, illustrations by Sophie Blackall. My fave middle grade writer again. This quote: “Nothing is more terrifying to evil than joy.” :)

Classic Children’s Book: The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Loved the plant life narrative obvs, but the record of early 20th century racist disparity… ugh

Graphic Novel (middle grade): A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat, thirteen year old life drama, but in Europe. Fun!

Writer Resource (and graphic novel!): In the Land of the Dead: Lessons from the Underworld on Storytelling and Living by Brian McDonald, illustrated by Toby Cypress. So many deep dives on the roots of storytelling, he’s a master of the craft. :) Here’s his website, and his podcast You Are a Storyteller is sooo good.

Grown-Up Fiction Read: The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson. Just finished this last night. Strong female characters, historical references, cultural insight, loved it…

Non-Fiction Read: World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. As soon as I finished it, I wanted to read it again. I still plan to. It’s super short! Poetic + nature + depth.