The soundtrack of my youth began everyday after school. I would get home and watch Gilligan’s Island, The Beverly Hillbillies, Bewitched and I Dream of Jeanie.
It was a simple and good life back in the olden days. We only had a black and white TV and the canned laughter always helped me know when something was funny.
I received some good news today. Un-Brella, my first picture book is being reprinted this week. It is so nice that it has found a niche in the crowded market. The book was first published in April 2007 and so it has taken just over a year for it to sell out the first printing.
The only post transplant exercise condoned by my doctors is walking. As it turns out I am most comfortable when walking. So I have been walking around the neighborhood. Today I decided to bring a piece of the walk back with me each day. Here is the first entry from my morning walk.
This is a spread from a book I am working on called Color Buzz. Delicious color mixing: a tragedy. There just aren’t enough picture books about tragedy.
It is mosquito season in Idaho. I saw my first one last night while enjoying the cool shade. Bummer! I do like cool Idaho evenings.
Yesterday was my 6 week “re-birthday”. I feel great and will forever be in debt to an unknown donor who gave me a new life. In addition to the liver transplant that I received, the donor gave 2 kidneys, a pancreas, and a heart. All I know is the donor was a male about my body build and my blood type. To all families of donors out there, thank you.
Each day I am feeling stronger and I am looking forward to being the best husband and father I can be.
One of the biggest surprises for me was the hope for the future that I felt. For the past year it hasn’t been possible to plan anything, because we lived life waiting for the transplant call.
As far as children’s picture books go. I do hope that there are more for me in the future. I have been going through my achieve of ideas and found three ideas that are near completion. I have sent one out to Roaring Brook Press, the publisher of Un-Brella. I enjoyed working with them so much that I hope that they will publish it. I will keep you up to date on what I hear from them.
An average of 18 people die each day from the lack of available organs for transplant.
Un-Brella | What if instead of an umbrella you had an UN-brella? Imagine that when this unbrella was opened it suddenly made the world around you change in exciting ways. Open up this book to find out how one little girl's unbrella changes her world.
Digital painting | experimental digital paintings
A-Line | a limited edition series of digital drawings
Life in Lyman | stamps from my wonderfully ordinary life
A doodle-a-day | 100 daily doodles
