Phase one of the book project is out!

I've mentioned on here before that Duane is an artist.  Well, we decided that her talent could be put to good use by creating watercolor drawings for a Kindle version of a book that I was currently recording.  The Tale of Chirpy Cricket by Arthur Scott Bailey was originally published in 1920.  I had wanted to narrate some of his work because they're terrific books for kids.  Bailey never talked down to kids and managed to slip in some actual science and nature facts while still creating likable characters.

Duane got to work and the new edition with her watercolor drawings is now on sale on Amazon!   There are over 30 illustrations of the various characters now sprinkled throughout the book.  She decided that she wanted to make them less 'cartoon-like' and more realistic (with a bit of whimsy thrown in here and there) so that children could even use the drawings to help identify the crickets and other critters from the story in 'real-life.'  Here's the cover featuring, of course, Chirpy!
 

 

I hope to have the audio version up soon and have it in the Whispersync program with our Kindle version.  I love the idea of immersion reading for children -- particularly those still learning or possibly struggling with reading.   Duane's book can be purchased here on Amazon.  Once the audio version becomes available, it will be heavily discounted if you purchase or have purchased this Kindle version.  I'll leave it for now with another character from Duane's drawings.  Meet Kiddie Katydid!

A Valentine's Day pinwheel(?)

The pattern I chose to make Valentine's Day gifts for my three young nieces is called a pinwheel.   I think the idea was to create something that looked like a pinwheel but would be a nice substitute for a flower.  However, I thought these would look cute mounted on sticks so I decided to go for it.  It was pretty easy to crochet the 'blades' but there was some sewing involved (which I never like doing).  However, I was pretty happy with the finished product.  I'm still putting the second two together but they all look like the one pictured.  They'll be accompanied by the requisite Valentine's Day M&Ms and a card.  I just wonder if I should mention that these are 'pretend' pinwheels or label them as magic wands or flowers... Hmmm...

You can find the pattern here.   Lots of possibilities with yarn colors and center buttons!

I'll be posting soon about the book project that Duane and Linda and I have been working on.   Until then...

George's latest photo news

As I've mentioned before on here, my husband, George, is a pretty good photographer.  He's been taking pics for years and has had his photos published and won and placed in some contests.  His latest 'news' is that one of his photos was named in Popular Photograhy's winners of their 2014 Annual Readers Photo Contest.  This is the biggest contest the site holds each year.  George has had a couple of photos published in the magazine before but it's fun to see one on their site.  Here's the main page for anyone wanting to check through all of the winners.  There's a little bit of background on each photo from the photographer.  Here's the page with George's pic or you can just look below.  Great way to start 2015.

 

My Interview on Eargasms Audiobook Reviews and a Drawing!

I was interviewed by the wonderful April Holgate on her site Eargasms Audiobook Reviews!  April has done a terrific job spotlighting narrators and their work in addition to reviewing audiobooks.  She is also hosting a giveaway for 5 of my audiobooks -- winner's choice!  Hop on over to her site and enter.  Ask a question or just say 'hello' in the comments section, too.  I love to hear from listeners.  The drawing will be held in 9 days.   The interview and drawing can be found here.

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