Waiting for a proof...

All of the editing and reediting is done and I am waiting for a proof before going to the next step...

I am very happy to finally be done with my first book.
I am proud of the story I wrote, the way the words fall together to create a certain level of suspense. I am a bit embarrassed to admit it took so long to finish this project - not because I was totally goofing off - but because there were so many other projects in between that I let take priority over finishing this one.

The picture to the right is the area behind my drawing table when I started The Last Monkey in 2005. I had just moved back to the bay area. I had the idea and a bunch of scribbles of how the story should end...the hardest part for me. I broke down the text into pages that would each need an illustration. 142 in total. I began to slowly work at creating the drawings I would need to complete the book. I did not know at the beginning how I would publish it. I only knew I needed to finish.

I made a lot of linoleum prints and paintings and other smaller projects. I had my day job, teaching art to 6-12 graders. I worked to get my art into galleries and show as much as I could. I dated. I moved a few times. I thought about getting a Masters Degree. All the things that get in the way of a low priority project. Time passes with multiple re-starts. A few more moves and a wonderful wedding, a few new drawings added each time. As I get older, my drawing style changes - improves - I think! I wonder if it will ever be finished. I wonder which of the older drawings will need to be redrawn to fit my newer work?

More false starts, but this year I decided to really commit to completing the work. More than half of the drawings have been made since January 2017. Several older drawings redone. Four editors to look at the text and imagery and other details I never thought of before getting to this point.

So close! Now I am just waiting for the proof to arrive. So I can say go! The book will be available in traditional book format and on Kindle. The next step is to reread the multiple ideas in my old notebooks and choose which to complete next or perhaps work on completely new stuff. The next book will not take 12 years...