Besides writing "Good As Lily," I also did all the character designs. All this week I'll be featuring my design sketches and notes, and there's plenty more to come. So for those of you who were wondering what the book would have looked like had I drawn it, now you'll know!The above composite drawing was done to show Jesse how tall I wanted each character.You know, going through all these sketches made me realize how fond I am of these characters. They feel like friends to me. Or maybe friends I never had and wish I did. At the Emerald City Comicon, someone told me that she bawled at the end of the book. (Actually her boyfriend volunteered the information to her slight embarrassment.) I never thought it would make me so happy to make a woman cry. Seriously though, I can't think of a better compliment for a writer. Not making a reader cry specifically of course, but to have someone react to your fictional creations in any real way. I remember reading books like "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and having the same sort of reactions and how powerful that was. How Betty Smith made me feel as if the people on the page were real and I was living with them. To know that you are carrying on that wonderful and amazing tradition even if it's just to a few people is such a joy for a writer. At least to this writer. So to that lovely couple in Seattle, thanks for making my trip up there totally worth it!
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Monday, June 23, 2008
I love these people
Besides writing "Good As Lily," I also did all the character designs. All this week I'll be featuring my design sketches and notes, and there's plenty more to come. So for those of you who were wondering what the book would have looked like had I drawn it, now you'll know!The above composite drawing was done to show Jesse how tall I wanted each character.You know, going through all these sketches made me realize how fond I am of these characters. They feel like friends to me. Or maybe friends I never had and wish I did. At the Emerald City Comicon, someone told me that she bawled at the end of the book. (Actually her boyfriend volunteered the information to her slight embarrassment.) I never thought it would make me so happy to make a woman cry. Seriously though, I can't think of a better compliment for a writer. Not making a reader cry specifically of course, but to have someone react to your fictional creations in any real way. I remember reading books like "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and having the same sort of reactions and how powerful that was. How Betty Smith made me feel as if the people on the page were real and I was living with them. To know that you are carrying on that wonderful and amazing tradition even if it's just to a few people is such a joy for a writer. At least to this writer. So to that lovely couple in Seattle, thanks for making my trip up there totally worth it!
