Smallfish Books

Converting a Children's Book to ePub Format

2011-10-25T12:43:00.000-07:00

There are two ways of doing this - both of which I'm exploring. The first is to go it alone, setting up everything, and the second is to go via an aggregator like Lulu or Smashwords. I'm starting both today and will post how I get on with both methods - including (hopefully) revenue streams with the same cover price.

The first step is to create two ePub books - which is probably the easiest part. I'm using iWork Pages which seems to do the trick, and lets me preview on iPhone and iPad very easily.

UK Licensing Deal with Maverick Arts Publishing

2011-10-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

We're very happy to announce a licensing deal for The Goblin and The Girl in association with Maverick Arts Publishing. The license is to publish in English for the UK & Ireland. We'll be doing an initial run of 2,000 copies. We're very happy with a few layout changes from Maverick and we feel that The Goblin and the Girl is now ready for launch in the UK.

Click here for Maverick.

Follow Up to The Goblin and the Girl

2011-07-07T05:53:00.000-07:00

We've been hard at work producing five new books including the follow-up to "The Goblin and the Girl". Here's a b/w sketch from the book.

Converting a Children's Picture Book to Kindle Format

2011-05-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

I've been experimenting - getting a picture book formatted for Kindle. Most of the tools are useless - they don't give you the control you need to ensure the correct layout. The best way I've found so far is to export all the illustrations and then put the text below - with a page break to make sure each page is separated. More on this later - am hoping to register my first Kindle book soon.

Writing for the Amazon Kindle

2011-04-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

I've decided to write some stories specifically for the Amazon Kindle. The formatting is very easy - just using MS Word, but I'd like to add some basic b&w illustrations for flavour. By the nature of the medium, the stories will be for the 10+ age range. I already have 7 stories in progress - but am trying to work out how many pages would be right. Probably 100 or so for the first few stories.

New Series Of Books With Bold Colours for Younger Children

2011-04-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

Blue Balloon

I'm experimenting with a few styles using very strong and bold colours - mainly for stories for younger children. Here's one of the test illustrations.

Follow Up Story to The Goblin and the Girl

2011-04-12T13:26:00.000-07:00

I've finished the first draft of the follow-up story to The Goblin and the Girl. It features the girl and the boy, and a strange new character who the girl comes across in the woods. I'll post some character design as soon as Yun gets to it!

Getting the VeroK Agency on the Case

2011-04-07T12:29:00.000-07:00

We’re very pleased to announce that the outstanding Veronique Kirchhoff – founder of the VeroK Agency has taken on The Goblin and the Girl and The Perfect Pebble for rights and co-editions globally. As her website says;

"VéroK.Agency is a dream come true - as much as it was one, when I arrived in London in 2001, to get my first job in publishing. I've been very lucky to work in the Foreign Rights Departments of two top UK publishing houses (Kingfisher Publications and Walker Books Ltd) for six years and have decided to use this experience to launch my own Rights Agency in August 2008.”

http://www.verokagency.com

Excellent Audio Editing Software for the Mac

2011-04-03T06:02:00.000-07:00

Mix Pad

I've been struggling to find useful audio editing software for the mac for audio-book narration. I tried Audacity but it kept crashing. I finally found MixPad (mixing) which works very well in conjunction with WavePad (editing). Both free which is astounding given how useful they are.

Piazza Maggiore - Bologna Book Fair 2011

2011-04-01T03:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a shot of the beautiful Piazza Maggiore in Bologna where we had a couple of beers after the fair - about 10 mins walk from the central station where my hotel was. A great place to relax after a hard days work meeting agents, publishers, buyers, sellers, software companies, authors and illustrators!

Books at the Stand in Bologna 2011

2011-04-01T03:17:00.001-07:00

And here's a closer shot of my stand - I had an excellent banner with the iPhone apps which drew in many many people over the duration of the fair.

A Successful Bologna 2011

2011-04-01T03:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo of me at my stand in Bologna. Just got back yesterday - had some excellent meetings with publishers, agents and potential clients for book-app production. More on this later.

25-B-84

2011-03-22T14:31:00.001-07:00

I'll be at stand 25-B-84 in Bologna - fully booked from Monday to Thursday - but if you're going to be there please drop by.

Bologna Next Week

2011-03-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since the last posting - am off to Bologna on Monday for the International Children's Book Fair. I have two book apps on iPhone, iPad and Barnes & Noble Nook Color - and they look great!

Book Apps on the iPad

2011-03-07T12:13:00.001-08:00

I bought an iPad at the weekend (yes the old one) - and a very nice machine it is. I've been working on transferring the book-apps to the iPad with mixed success so far. It's not 100% compatible with the iPhone software, and annoyingly it's not the same aspect ratio as the iPhone so I have to re-format all the illustrations to make it fir and look good. Am still getting excellent help and support from the guys from Corona in Palo Alto.

Bologna 2011

2011-02-22T11:31:00.000-08:00

We’re gearing up for Bologna 2011 and we’ll be at stand 25 B 84 as part of the UK Publishers Association. New this year are iPhone apps and a series of four bright and colourful books to help young children get a sense of geometry.

Book App for Nook Color

2011-02-16T13:33:00.000-08:00

I've been working on formatting The Perfect Pebble book app for the Nook Color. This presents one big problem in that the aspect ratio is different from the iPhone or Android - it is 2508 x 1254 which is very "Cinemascope" - difficult to cater for when the original illustrations for the book are portrait.

The Perfect Pebble iPhone and Android Book App

2011-02-07T12:33:00.000-08:00

The Perfect Pebble book app and video are finished - will be available on iTunes as soon as Apple approve the app.

Book App Update for iPhone and Android

2011-02-07T12:26:00.000-08:00

I have some excellent news coming soon about releasing my first book app in collaboration a Palo Alto company and a major book chain. The apps look great (because I built them myself) - it's really easy if you have some basic VB skills.

Developing Book Apps for Apple and Android using Corona

2011-02-01T12:35:00.000-08:00

I’ve finished the first book app (Big Eye Ben) and am half way through the second (The Goblin and the Girl). They’re looking great in the Corona Simulator, but before I can test them out on the iPhone and Android, I need to register Smallfish Books into the Apple Developer Programme. I’ve filled in the forms and should be able to download the Apple SDK soon. Membership for this is US$99 / year, and it’s US$349 / year for the Corona membership. It’s not as easy as I thought it might be, but Carlos M. Icaza (co-founder at Corona in Palo Alto) has been very helpful in getting us off the ground.

The Goblin and the Girl makes the Best New Books List

2011-01-28T00:11:00.000-08:00

The Goblin and the Girl makes the Best New Books List on Parents in Touch.

When the girl looked in the mirror, she thought she was a goblin. She was ashamed of the way she thought looked and hid herself away as much as possible - but everyone else saw a normal little girl. One day she found herself in the forest, without the hat she always wears to hide behind. She doesn't want the boy to see her but they do walk and talk together, and things change. There is a real message for all of us in this story, especially in an age when we are all so concerned about outward appearance. With charming illustrations by Park Yun, this is an enchanting and thought-provoking story.

The Perfect Pebble makes the Best New Books List

2011-01-28T00:08:00.000-08:00

The Perfect Pebble makes the Best New Books List on Parents in Touch.

' ... because sometimes looking for something can be more fun than finding it.' This is another picture book which carries a really important message, put across in a lovely way. I think it is a lovely book to share with children, both on a superficial level as an enjoyable read and on a deeper level to learn what is really important in life. Every day, the friends had a wonderful time on the beach, looking for pebbles - but one day, they find the perfect pebble and then it all goes wrong... Park Yun's enchanting illustrations are the perfect complement to the text.

Our Newest Books Make the "Parents in Touch" Best New Books List

2011-01-28T00:03:00.000-08:00

The Perfect Pebble and The Goblin and the Girl make the Best New Book List on Parents in Touch - Best New Books - Click on 0-5 to see the reviews - or just click here.

First Book App Almost Ready

2011-01-27T13:06:00.000-08:00

I've been working on my first book-app which is almost ready for sale on iTunes. It's reworking Big Eye Ben which has translated to the iPhone quite well. More news on this soon once it's online.

Tortoise George New Illustrations

2011-01-24T12:52:00.000-08:00

Looking to re-illustrate the first ever Smallfish Books book called Tortoise George. Here are the initial sketches.

Stories About Shapes - The Fundamentals of Teaching Maths

2011-01-19T13:27:00.000-08:00

We're publishing four new books which feature simple geometric shapes. The "stories" are intended to help to teach fundamental maths through seeing (rather than counting) shapes and their relationship with each other. Here's a quick sample.

A New Super Hero Cover

2011-01-11T14:21:00.001-08:00

Work in progress on the Super Hero series. Here's the cover for the ninth in the series.

Corona on Snow Leopard

2011-01-10T12:38:00.001-08:00

Have installed Corona on Snow Leopard and am already making some iPhone book apps - very interesting developments.

Upgrade to Snow Leopard for Corona

2011-01-04T11:58:00.000-08:00

I've realised that you need Mac 10.6+ to run Corona for iPhone and Android apps - so I'm buying Snow Leopard for my MacBook Pro - will report back how easy this and Corona is to load and to get running.

Using Corona to Develop iPhone, iPad & Android Book "Apps"

2011-01-03T12:50:00.001-08:00

Instead of creating epub format for my books, I'm looking at using Corona (see link below) to re-create the books as apps which I can then sell on iTunes etc. If you have any positive of negative experience of using this product I'd like to hear from you.

http://www.anscamobile.com/corona/

The Nemesis Character in the Super Hero Series - Early Design

2010-12-27T06:26:00.000-08:00

Introducing Sophie & Sam's nemesis called Notso. This cover is work in progress - to be painted over hopefully in time to go to the Taiwan Book Fair in Jan.

Another 5/5 Review for Bear On The Roof from a Top-500 Amazon Reviewer

2010-12-15T14:31:00.000-08:00

"There's a bear on my roof is a great children's book to get out when your child has a temper or has done something wrong.

It helps children to understand about guilt and owning up to things but at the same time works as a lovely story with some fantastic illustrations and, of course, the bear which is more of a funny odd creature than anything scary.

The story is told in rhyme, which my children loved, and though younger children may not understand the full message that the story is trying to get across, they will still love the narrative and enjoy the pictures." By Paul B "-pb-" (UK)

Colour & Detail Design of New Super Hero

2010-12-07T12:51:00.001-08:00

And here's a colour close up of the new character Monique.

New Super Hero Sketches

2010-12-07T12:43:00.000-08:00

Here are some more Super Hero sketches for the next book. I can't give away too much of the story at this point!

Great Reviews for There's a Bear on My Roof

2010-12-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

We've had some great reviews for There's a Bear on My Roof - including an excellent 5/5 from an Amazon top-500 reviewer.

Lovely Story When looking for childrens books my golden rule is that the book MUST be enjoyable and pleasurable enough for me to enjoy because we all know how children like to have the same book read to them over and over.

"Theres a Bear on my Roof" is a lovely story with a hidden message. That we all make mistakes and get sad and angry, being sad and angry isnt very pleasant but with one word..."sorry" and a sympathetic ear, the saddness goes away and everything is good again.

I liked the flow of the story, the rhyming and the illustrations were good. Definately recommend this book!

By S. D. Williams, Amazon Top-500 Reviewer

Illustrations For A New Book / Mini Series for 2011

2010-11-25T12:54:00.000-08:00

Here are the preliminary sketches for a new character to feature in a mini-series of books.

The New Super Hero Book

2010-11-22T12:21:00.000-08:00

Here are the initial sketches & character / costume design for the next "Super Hero" book.

This is Sophie (Sam's sister from "I Want to be a Super Hero".

Updated Unicorn

2010-11-19T12:35:00.000-08:00

Here's the updated version of the girl on the Unicorn.

Three stories in progress - just trying to decide which to publish first.

A New Fantasy Story

2010-11-16T12:50:00.001-08:00

Here are the initial sketches and design for a new series of books.

Illustrations by Nozomi Inoue who also did the fine work for I Want to be a Super Hero.

The Goblin and the Girl at the Printers

2010-11-06T01:25:00.000-07:00

The Goblin and the Girl has gone to the printers - the first batch should be on Amazon soon, and off to Bologna for the Ragazzi Award.

The BolognaRagazzi Award

2010-11-01T13:07:00.000-07:00

We've entered "The Goblin and the Girl" as well as "The Perfect Pebble" to the BolognaRagazzi Award. We hope they do well, even to be shortlisted would be a great achievement.

Big in Japan (I Want to be a Super Hero)

2010-10-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

We've sold out of "I Want to be a Super Hero" in the first bookshop in Tokyo - so I'm printing and sending another box of 50 over. Of course these are small volumes, but I'm hoping it'll be 500 next time.

Another Page from the Goblin and the Girl

2010-10-24T12:13:00.000-07:00

Here's another page from The Goblin and the Girl - almost at the end of the story when she has gained her self confidence.

The Goblin and the Girl - ISBN 978-0-9561430-9-9

2010-10-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

Here's the cover for the latest book - now officially titled "The Goblin and the Girl". It's a fairy tale, and had a great response in Frankfurt. Basically, it's about self confidence, and the coming of age. The illustration is by Park Yun (her third with Smallfish Books) and is outstanding - she developed the illustrations from my rough sketches very well, adding originality and intrigue along the way.

New Illustration from the Goblin Book

2010-10-12T13:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a new illustration from the "Goblin" book - showing the girl running into the forest. Yun has delivered all the illustrations and they're fantastic. I had great interest for this book at Frankfurt (showing it on the mac) - and am sure we'll be able to sell co-editions and rights for this book which has a fairy tale feel about it.

New Review for There's a Bear on My Roof

2010-10-09T13:10:00.000-07:00

We have a new review for "There's a Bear on My Roof" from Adam Brooks - an Amazon Top 500 reviewer. He gave it 4 out of 5 stars and says "The story, told in simple rhyme, is clearly told and engaging when read aloud. The illustrations cleverly describe the feelings at the heart of the story."

A Very Successful 2010 at the Frankfurt Book Fair

2010-10-09T08:11:00.000-07:00

Despite all the delays in getting to and returning from Frankfurt, it was a great Fair. I had an outstanding response to The Perfect Pebble, I Want to be a Super Hero and for the Goblin book which is still in progress (which I demoed on the mac). I'm entering into a partnership with a UK sales company for distribution in the UK & Ireland, and will follow up with all the publishers and agents (primarily USA, Canada and South Korea). Will post more soon re: follow ups.

Frankfurt Verloren

2010-10-05T13:32:00.000-07:00

Here I am back at home - after 4 hours in the plane on the tarmac in London they finally declared the flight was cancelled. So I'm having to cancel and re-arrange where I can my meetings as I now won't get there until lunchtime tomorrow. Lufthansa I hate you.

Frankfurt Morgen

2010-10-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

Off to Frankfurt tomorrow afternoon for the biggest book fair in the World - Mac and socks already packed.

New Review for I Want to be a Super Hero

2010-09-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

We just had our first review for I Want to be a Super Hero on Amazon. It’s a four-star review which is nice, and it says “This is a wonderfully illustrated book that you can read with your child to help them develop their reading. I got this as a gift for a friend and his son loves imagining himself in the story helped along with the excellent illustrations. Highly recommended!”. Click here to see the page on Amazon.

And another illustration in the rain from the Goblin book

2010-09-27T14:17:00.001-07:00

Here's another work in progress for the Goblin book - showing the girl and the boy making their way through the forest in the rain. But what will happen next??!!

The Goblin Book - New Illustration in Progress

2010-09-26T12:31:00.000-07:00

Here's another illustration in progress from the new "Goblin" book which won't be ready in time for Frankfurt, but which I'll be taking to Bologna 2011. Excellent work again by Park Yun.

She never had friends over to play

2010-09-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

She never had friends over to play, and she never went swimming or dancing or playing in the park.

Entering the 2010 Galaxy British Book Awards

2010-09-21T14:40:00.001-07:00

We’ve entered “The Perfect Pebble” in to the 2010 Galaxy British Book Awards. Two copies posted yesterday to the company managing the event. Whether or not it is short listed for an award we’re very proud of this book and are very positive it will do well.

Meeting Éditions Les 400 coups Inc

2010-09-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

I have set up 15 meetings so far for Frankfurt while I'm there for 2 1/2 days - also just landed one with Éditions Les 400 coups Inc, from Montréal in Quebec (French Canada). This is my third with a Canadian company which makes me wonder if there's a reason - as opposed to a broader spread of countries/interest which is what I was expecting.

スーパーヒーローになりたい Super Hero Flies to Tokyo

2010-09-19T02:43:00.000-07:00

"I Want to be a Super Hero" came back from the printers yesterday and it looks fantastic. Through Nozomi the illustrator I'm posting a box of 50 copies for distribution in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan - right by Tokyo. I'm hoping this will appeal to the oriental market and so far I have meetings with two Korean distributers and am following up with a Japanese agent I met from Shogakukan Inc also in Tokyo.

New Hard Copy Orders from Amazon, Working on Kindle and ePub for iTunes

2010-09-12T13:21:00.000-07:00

I've just had the advance order from Amazon for "The Perfect Pebble" and "I Want to be a Super Hero". Am trying to get everything converted to sell on Kindle and via iTunes asap.

New Story in Progress with a Girl and a Goblin as the Lead Character(s)

2010-09-11T03:45:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to write more for girls. Here are some initial sketches for a new story which Park Yun is illustrating (Over the Wall and The Perfect Pebble).

I Want to be a Super Hero - Back Cover

2010-09-05T12:57:00.001-07:00

Harder than the front covers, the back covers take a lot longer to design. Here's the final draft for the back cover for I Want to be a Super Hero.

My "Neil Irani" Page on Amazon

2010-09-05T12:53:00.000-07:00

I've set up the "Neil Irani" page on Amazon - but for some reason the most recent book (the one with the great review) isn't appearing there. Amazon! Wake up! I've submitted it twice but it won't appear - I'll try again.

Review for The Perfect Pebble by James Mayhew

2010-09-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

I had a great review for the Perfect Pebble from James Mayhew - author of the "Katie" series of books - “It’s a thoughtful little tale, with a clear-cut moral. It’s great that a small independent publisher is trying to produce books with a purpose. This would be a really useful and attractive book for parents and teachers to use when discussing what is really important in life” - James Mayhew, Author of the ‘Katie’ series of books.

PDF to ePub

2010-08-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

I tried the software I mentioned below and it's useless. What appears on the iPhone bears little resemblence to the PDF - (1) Fonts defaulted to TR, (2) Illustrations layers split, (3) Illustrations wrong size, (4) All the pages seem to blur into a continuous fuzz. I could go on ...

Converting Children’s Picture Books to ebooks (epub format) for iTunes

2010-08-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

I’m testing out a way to deliver Smallfish Books to iTunes. First, I have to decide if a book can best be represented on the iPhone or iPad in portrait or landscape format.

Then, re-work the book in InDesign – probably expanding the book into more pages because the font will have to be quite large, so I’m guessing there’ll be only one sentence per ebook “page” (to make it work on the iPhone).

Next, export from InDesign to PDF, and then use some software to convert the PDF into epub format. The one I’m going to try first is simply called “PDF to EPub” -http://www.pdftoepub.com/. I’ll post again once I’ve got the first book sorted out.

I Want to be a Super Hero - Cover

2010-08-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

Here's the updated cover for "I Want to be a Super Hero" - many thanks to Nozomi for all the hard work.

Am hoping to be able to finish production and get some copies printed in time for Frankfurt.

The Perfect Pebble (ISBN 9780956143082) - Front Cover

2010-08-22T05:21:00.000-07:00

Here's the front cover for "The Perfect Pebble" (ISBN 9780956143082) which will be printed in demo form in time for Frankfurt.

Thanks to Yun and for all the updates.

Sophie Falling Off Her Bike (I Want to be a Super Hero)

2010-08-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

Here's another work-in-progress - showing Sam swooping down to help his sister Sophie.

Frankfurt Book Fair - Hall 8.0 B901

2010-08-20T14:02:00.003-07:00

Forgot to mention - I'll be at the shared UKPA stand in Frankfurt - Hall 8.0 B901.

I Want to be a Super Hero - Front Cover

2010-08-20T13:58:00.000-07:00

Here's the draft font cover for "I Want to be a Super Hero" - the illo still has to be hand painted but this is fairly close to the finished cover. I'm playing with the font as it doesn't look particularly heroic - let me know what you think.

The 2010 Frankfurt Book Fair

2010-08-20T13:47:00.000-07:00

I've booked my flight and hotel and have already set up some meetings with publishers, distributers and agencies. Very exciting - especially as it'll only be my second fair.

Advance Order from Bertram's

2010-08-15T14:32:00.000-07:00

We've just filled an advance order for Over the Wall, Big Eye Ben and Two Robots from Bertram's. The books will be availabe on Amazon in about 2 weeks.

Watermark Generator for PDFs for Mac

2010-08-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

Being a bit paranoid about emailing PDF's around the world (and having heard stories from the Rights seminar at the London Book Fair) - I decided to buy a Watermark generator. This works really well and makes me feel a lot more confident about emailing even low-res PDF's of finished stories.
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/productivity_tools/watermarks.html

The Perfect Pebble - Illustration Completed

2010-08-05T06:03:00.000-07:00

The illustration for The Perfect Pebble is compete (well done Yun for another top job) - it'll be on Amazon in a few weeks. Here's some detail from the opening illo showing the girl on the beach. Most illo's for this book are full double spreads.

Amo Agency and Smallfish Books

2010-08-03T06:02:00.000-07:00

I'm in Seoul, South Korea right now - and had a very useful meeting with the Amo Agency who want to promote Over the Wall and There's a Bear on My Roof. The Amo Agency specialise in Translation Rights which is a new area for me - not only in Korea but also China, Japan and most of the rest of the world.

Bertrams Smallfish Books Order

2010-08-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Ahead of official publishing I've got an order from Bertrams - "The UK's leading book wholesaler, library supplier and publisher distribution business". Interestingly they've ordered Big Eye Ben, Over the Wall and Two Robots. Interesting because the book I've had the most interest (and sales in Australia) is for There's a Bear on My Roof. It'd be really useful if Nielsen's captured the reason why a buyer has decided to order some books - maybe I'll have to do that myself.

I Want to be a Super Hero - New Initial Sketch

2010-07-31T04:42:00.000-07:00

Here's another initial sketch for I Want to be a Super Hero - showing Sam early on, dreaming about being a Super Hero. Nozomi is starting the colouring next week, so I'm hoping to have this book finished and printed ready in time for Frankfurt.

I Want to be a Super Hero

2010-07-28T10:44:00.000-07:00

Here's work in progress for the Super Hero book - this illo showing Sam wishing he could fly. Very good work from Nozomi.

Relating Shapes to Maths and Fractions

2010-07-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

I’ve written a new book which is hopefully educational as well as a bit of fun. It’s all about simple shapes and how they fit together. The purpose is to help young children understand maths and fractions without having to use numbers. More later – hope to have it published in a month or so – probably in A5+ format rather than A4 as I have a really good quote from a new printing company.

Amazon Vine Program

2010-07-28T10:08:00.000-07:00

I’ve just posted 15 copies of There’s a Bear on the Roof to the Amazon Vine programme. I think the idea is that they then forward them on to some top-reviews. The contact for this was made via the IPG (Independent Publishers Group). I had an email from Amazon with some PDF’s to print sticky labels over the bar-codes so the reviewers had a special Amazon Vine way of identifying the book. Fingers crossed it gets some good reviews!

New Work In Progress Illustration & Character Design for "Pebbles"

2010-07-04T01:24:00.000-07:00

Here's another work-in-progress illo for the "Pebbles" story - showing the character designs for the boys friends on the beach.

This is good practice because I've started writing more stories with girls as the main character.

Super Hero Book in Progress

2010-07-02T13:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some initial sketches & character design for a new "Super Hero" book.

The story revolves around a boy and his sister.

A New Illustration For Pebbles

2010-07-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

Here's a new illo for the Pebbles story - Yun has delivered all the initial (computer) outlines and now it's time to hand-paint them. The finished book will be out in August 2010.

New Book - Working title "Pebbles"

2010-06-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

Initial character design for a new book - working title "Pebbles". Well done to Park Yun for interpreting the story and my very short brief!

Two Robots - ISBN 9780956143068

2010-06-18T02:32:00.000-07:00

Well done to Andrea who's just finished the illustrations for "Two Robots" - ISBN 9780956143068. It's just gone into the Nielsen database and should appear in Amazon soon. Advance Info PDF will be available via the website / blog soon. Here's the front cover - will be published some time in August 2010.

Over The Wall - Mountain Scene

2010-06-18T01:16:00.001-07:00

Here's the new illo for Over The Wall - showing the boy and his new friends climbing over a mountain. The book is almost done and should be published in about 6 weeks.

Robots - Update

2010-06-11T03:28:00.000-07:00

We've finalised the design, look & feel of the robots - here's one of the illo's showing the green robot chasing the red robot out of the city and into the park.

Big Eye Ben - Update

2010-06-10T00:08:00.000-07:00

All illustrations done for Big Eye Ben - one or two are being fine tuned. Here's a picture of Ben wearing his glasses - which in the story he is now comfortable with.

Over the Wall - Update

2010-06-09T12:36:00.000-07:00

Here's one of the new illustrations for Over the Wall. This one shows the boy sailing across the Blue Ocean with crewmen three. Should be finished in a week or so.

Robots Book Sketch

2010-06-03T11:10:00.000-07:00

Here's another first sketch for the "robots" book. Very good 3d visualisation from Andrea.

Many New Books

2010-06-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

It's been a quiet but productive few weeks. I'm having to re-illustrate Over the Wall and I Want to be a Super Hero. There are also 4 new completed books and a further 3 which are in production. They range from 3+ to 5+ ... one is an experiment which is quite dark, 40 pages and has an open ending. Am awaiting a quote from a South Korean illustrator who I met via Bologna.

A New Illustrator Park Yun

2010-05-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

Am test driving a new illustrator (hello Yun) - Park Yun who graduated from Kingston Uni (Illustration & Animation) - http://www.yunpark.com.

Updated Green Robot

2010-05-14T01:11:00.000-07:00

Here's the updated version of the Green Robot face. The intention is to make it more plain and a bit less aggressive, although the nature of the story calls for him to be a bit nasty.

New Robots Book

2010-05-07T13:51:00.000-07:00

I've finished another book which is now being illustrated by Andrea Malaskova (the same illustrator who did There's a Bear on My Roof). Early days in the characterisation, this is what we have so far. Title and plot to follow once I've registered the ISBN and refined the story.

Big Eye Ben ISBN & BarCode - 978-0-9561430-5-1

2010-04-30T02:47:00.000-07:00

Book Barcode Creator

2010-04-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

I recently bought this barcode software for the mac - very quick, easy & simple to use.

http://www.easybarcodetech.com/ebc.html

Finished Bear on the Roof

2010-04-29T12:20:00.000-07:00

The Bear on the Roof is now finished - should get it to the printers in a week or so and then onto Amazon in May.

London Book Fair - Day One

2010-04-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

I had some interesting meetings today at the London Book Fair in Earls Court. It was great to meet up with some people that I'm getting to know from the Rights side of the business as well as agents, publishers and the crew from the Publishers Association. The Rights seminar yesterday was excellent - value for money, and it generates more enthusiasm in me to continue what I'm doing.

There's a Bear on the Roof - New Illustration

2010-04-17T03:52:00.000-07:00

There's a Bear on My Roof is finished (apart form the back cover) - here's a new illo from the book. I'm in negotiation with a South Korean publisher who's interested in this book - having seen the idiosyncratic Korean style I can see why they'd be interested in this style.

Turning Books into Animations

2010-04-13T10:12:00.001-07:00

I have some interest from an animation company to buy rights to turn two stories into animations. I'll post off the dummy books and keep you posted.

London Book Fair Appointments - Waterstones

2010-04-13T10:10:00.000-07:00

Smallfish Books has some appointments at the London Book Fair - most importantly a session with the children's book buyer from Waterstones.

London Book Fair - Rights Seminar

2010-04-10T00:57:00.000-07:00

I'll be going to the Rights seminar at the London Book Fair - a couple of people I already know are presenting - should be interesting especially as I'm writing two series, and there seminar addresses series rights - http://www.londonbookfair.co.uk/page.cfm/action=Seminars/SeminarID=179