Life in Fiction –Thinly Disguised as a Frog

I need a steady stream of ideas and characters with strong visual appeal in the world of picture books. Now in the midst of NaPiBoWriWee (National Picture Book Writing Week – challenged to write 1 book every day May 1-7!) I am drawing out of a folder of old ideas and looking out the window for new ones.

So I guess some of my inspiration comes from the world around. The javelina story grew out of a trip to Tucson . The collard lemming adventure grew out of an adult book on polar exploration.

Sometimes I see some psychological stuff of my own –I had a series of stories where every character wanted to flee or fly. There was a frog who could not get past the brick wall. Freud not needed.

Today I am working on all the different kinds of grandparents a child can have – after spending a weekend with the little ones. The trick is to keep my eyes open and jot ideas for weeks like this!


I have an absolutely wacko cat literarily named Potter but so far he has not found his way into any adventures. On the other hand I have 2 stories done this week, 5 more to go and only 3 more ideas perking! Here kitty, kitty!