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Thursday, 30 April 2009
Home Sweet (messy!) Home!
Topic: what I'm up to

Hello all who read my doings! Sorry they are so far and few between but at least it is a consistent and predictable pattern.....

So, I'm home and a little slow off the mark when it comes to doing my creative stuff. While I was in Adelaide I was determined to come home and establish a good routine for writing regularly but....I know these are excuses but those who run a household will probably understand, I took two weeks to do all the ironing left for me while I was away and have only now found almost all of the rooms in my house under luggage and travel paraphernalia!!

So, the bug is still there and my brain is working on my novel, it seems to grow well there, just doesn't agree with what comes out on paper though.

I am working on the roughs for a new picture book written by Angie Lionetto-Civa called In The Deep Red Desert. Sadly, I had to ask for a text change, not because it was wrong but because of my extreme phobia of large hairy spiders! Yes, a whole double page spread had a large huntsman type spider and it required me to study it closely and draw it quite realistically. Couldn't stay conscious for that long so it was changed to something else, much nicer! What a wimp I am!

Kip was launched really well and he has been sent out into the world to do his bit. He has been received very well and was selected for the ASO box that goes to schools around Australia, so, in kinder rooms around Australia there will be much crowing and it is all my fault (he he he!).

Anyway, keep reading, writing, drawing or all of the above if that is what you do but most of all enjoy it.

Write again when I can,

Christina B

 


Posted by c-m-booth at 9:29 PM EDT
Sunday, 8 March 2009
Adealaide!
Topic: what I'm up to

Yes, I'm back in Australia and in webland. We returned safely from our big holiday to Holland and then we got sick with bugs that came from the hospital my husband works in, very generous of him to share them around. Then, once back to normal life, we had to pack children off to school for 2009, then on to camps and then I had to go and get back on a plane and fly to Adelaide and here I am!!!

2009 is indeed the year of airports for the Booths.

I am doing a residency with the May Gibbs Literature Trust for 4 weeks. I'm the only one here, my family are in Tassie! I get my computer all to myself so I have been writing my novel and working out family tree's for the characters and plotting out their lives.

I have also been working on illustrations of a frustrated chicken who hates laying eggs and tries to ignore the inevitable with disasterous results! All ends sweetly. I'm hoping to find a home for it somewhere.

Off to Victor Harbour to meet the kids at the school there and do art stuff and writing with them during the week, it will be wonderful.

Oh, and my new book KIP is being launched in April. Come if you can. There is a sneak peek in Adelaide on March 22nd (check out the May Gibbs Literature Trust site for details, you need to RSVP, it's a brunch, yum!) The offical launch is in Launceston at the Children's Library in the city, 10.30 am, Saturday April the 4th, and, if you work in a school there is a bit of a happy hour sneak peek the night before, 4.30pm Launceston Library, Friday, April the 3rd. Drinks and nibbles to start (please rsvp to the Library), hope you can come to one of these events and help me celebrate Kip!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stay well,

Christina


Posted by c-m-booth at 4:33 AM EST
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
cold fingers!
Topic: what I'm up to

Hello to you all,

I have been absent for a little while...why? Well, it's been too cold to type and my fingers are frozen......why? No. It isn't summer here, it's winter....why? Because I'm in Holland, not Australia. Today it is well below zero outside, minus 10 overnight but I fib when I say my fingers are frozen because here the houses have central heating and we are toasty warm when inside. We do have to rug up very warm to go outside so as not to freeze.

I had planned to do some work on my novel while on holidays but there is a constant que for the laptop (my daughter is looking over my shoulder as I type even now!) and face book is foremost in my oldest son's mind. So I have been thinking it out instead. I think I have made quite a bit of progress in my head (that's saying something isn't it). I have a few new ideas for picture books that I will focus on when I get home.

 A highlight of the trip (there have been a few) was reading my Potato Music story outloud to an audience for the first time, not that the audience was all that important but the main thing was that it was for my Opa's 90th birthday as his present. The story is about him and is based on a true account of something he did in the second world war. This story doesn't have a release date as yet but is being published by Omnibus Books, I'm not the illustrator for this one which is certainly an interesting journey for me.  There were few dry eys amongst the aunties and I even struggled to read aloud, it was very emotional. My mother is the second oldest of twelve children so it was a big gathering.

I'll be home soon so it is a good thing I love my job and am quite keen to get stuck back into work.

Have a fantastic 2009!

 

 


 


Posted by c-m-booth at 4:03 AM EST
Sunday, 26 October 2008
Glorious sunshine!

Smile After a few days of being plunged back into the cold (they say it snowed in Hobart!) the sun is back. Yay! It is hard to stretch art work quickly in the cold. My studio is usually warmer than the house but my fingers began to ache while I worked so I gave up! Back to it now and I'll have my illo's packed up and away early this week.

I have been working on a novel. A 'novel' idea for me, especially when I reached 2000 words and couldn't believe I had hardly dented it with enough words to procure four picture books! Whew! After working so hard over the last few years to fine tune my ability to write more with less, it does seem strange to be able to write so much.

I found myself laughing at the idea that I could pull it off but now I have a completed chapter, I'm quite excited and find myself taking it seriously.The thing about picture books is the art of using as few words to paint a story of great depth or layers. A skill I think I will be working on forever....I'm a bit wordy (that’s what got me thinking about writing a novel). I'm ok at editing it back though after I put it away for a while, not so attached then. The thing about a novel (I'm finding so far and I am no expert, believe me) is that you can use plenty of words but not just for the sake of them. They need to be considered quite carefully. It's not like padding out an essay for grade ten to reach the word limit (not that I had that problem, verbal diarrhoea. My teacher’s comments always said I said too much in too many ways!)

Anyway, I'm quite happy with chapter one and chapter two is coming easier than the first. A nice way to spend the evenings and I plan to take it with me  while on holidays over Christmas as well as work on it when  in Adelaide for the May Gibbs Residency (March!).

 

Happy reading!Christina

 


Posted by c-m-booth at 7:36 PM EDT
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
What I'm up to

Just incase you're interested, here are a couple of pages from Kip!

Enjoy....

(I've planted a veggie patch and found one garden bed nder all the weeds. If I get time I might make a scarecrow!)

Christina B

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Posted by c-m-booth at 8:47 PM EDT
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
finished! Yay!
Mood:  happy
Topic: what I'm up to

Hello out there in the real world! Hooray, I've finished Kip. All pages accounted for and after a 'laying out party' last week (that's where I lay all the pages of the book out on the loungeroom floor and check for consistency etc) I have tweaked the tweakable, re-done the redo-able and now I am stretching the paper ready to send it off to the publishers. I'm really happy with all of it but especially the cover!

The rule is that I have to tidy the studio when I finish a book. It gets so buried in paper and tissues (water colour painters really should take out shares in tissue factories) that it is a necessity! I find the most amazing things when I tidy up.....

No news on the manuscript yet. My agent is on holidays so it will have to wait until she returns. Oh well. Garden, here I come!

Hope you're all enjoying the spring weather.

COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!

 


Posted by c-m-booth at 12:59 AM EDT
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
I'm back!
Topic: what I'm up to

Yes, I'm still alive! I just received an email from an author and she asked if I had let my blog die. I haven't been able to access it from my studio computer so now that I have a new fandangled laptop (to replace the dead one from February, thank goodness for tax return money!) I thought I would attempt again and, wha lah!

 So what has happened since June?! Aside from everyone in the family succumbing to every virus and flu going around this winter all at the Booth household are well. I even managed to survive a car accident, no injuries just stirred and well shaken!

Spent Book Week in a whirlwind visit to Canberra, three schools a day, whew! Had a ball.

STILL WAITING to hear from the publisher about the manuscript submitted. They have shown interest but are taking a long time to get back to us.  I hope to know soon as we are off jetsetting to my Opa's 90th in Amsterdam in November and I need to get my head around what needs to be done in '09.

Kip is well underway (the rooster book) and I have only got two internal pages to complete and then it's the fun stuff, the cover and ends etc. Nearly there. It needs to be finished before we head off. Not back until mid January.

Meredith Costain and I have been celebrating the launch of our new book "No Noise At Our House", (Windy Hollow Books).We had a pyjama party at Stories Book Store in Launceston which included a spotlight search for escaped animals and a wonderful reading by Meredith with sound effects from the kids. Thanks Damian and the staff from Stories, it was wonderful.

Any way, back to work. Keep being creative all....

Christina


Posted by c-m-booth at 12:01 AM EDT
Thursday, 29 May 2008
slow week
Topic: what I'm up to

This week has been considerably slow as far as working on illustrations has gone. As usual there are many outside interruptions but this week was a doozer! At least the 'outside interruptions' were enjoyable. But today is the last day before my kids are home for two weeks school holidays so it will be an even slower fortnight ahead!

 I'm still doing the Rooster book, that will take a while but I do hope to complete it before it's due date. I am presently waiting to hear from a publisher about a manuscript that has been submitted, we (my agent and I) are hoping for a favourable response, of course.

Anyway, I'd best be drawing and painting instead of writing in my blog so that is all for now.

Here I am in my studio.

 

 


Posted by c-m-booth at 8:31 PM EDT
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
begin
Topic: what I'm up to

Well, here I am. Writing a blog! How up to date of me......

So, for those of you who don't know me, I'm Christina. I colour in for a living (very popular with the under tens set!). Really, I illustrate and write for children and my career is just starting to sit up and take notice. A nice feeling really. Just the other day a well known author (for the younger readers) said 'it takes a long time to become an overnight success!' I'd have to agree. Not that I'm an overnight success or even just a success at this point, but I'm still working hard at it.......there is hope.

So, what am I doing at the moment?

Today I'm working on finishing some roughs to send to a publisher for a book that will be published mid 2009. Seems such a long way away but in 'making books' terms, it isn't far. Roughs are the quick sketches that we do to show the publisher what we think the book will look like. It helps them to see what we are playing with in our heads as illustrators and make any suggestions and changes before we work on the main illo's. It is time consuming to have to re-do finished art work later, especially when one double page in a book can take up to a week to do.

The sketches I have for this book are already approved, the publisher saw them in the flesh a few weeks ago but I had to complete three pages and send them of for their records (helps the designers put them together) and so I can get paid. I need that to happen as much as I can to support my 'habit'! (Drawing that is.)

I wrote this book as well so it is quite a lot of fun playing and teasing out ideas and making a few of my own decisions. It is a story about our rooster (who is now in rooster heaven, that is, living with lots of hens in the country, not the 'roast' kind of heaven!). It's almost a true story with changes which often are the best kind really. Kids seem to love it when I read it to them at school visits.

 

Anyway, here's a sneak preview of a cute little pic (I rarely do cute I might add, but it was called for on this one page) of our little rooster when he was a few days old. Page 3 I think, enjoy.....

 

 


Posted by c-m-booth at 10:38 PM EDT
Updated: Wednesday, 21 May 2008 11:02 PM EDT

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