I am super excited to share this new children’s book from Miriam Hurdle on my blog today!
Hi Jan, I’m delighted to be on the beautiful blog of a fellow musician. Thank you so much for your generosity to host my Book Release Tour and allow me to share my process from pen to publication with your readers.
The Making of Tina Lost in a Crowd, Part 5
Finding an Illustrator
I’m a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). On one blog post, it featured an illustrator and her work. I liked the style of her artworks, so I contacted her and got an idea of how much she would charge for the number of pages in my book and how long it would take to complete the job.
Some blogging friends recommended some websites with illustration services, and I checked them out. The illustrators charged by hours. They didn’t have a portfolio with sample artworks, so I couldn’t tell if I liked their style.
After much search and consideration, my decision was to search for an illustrator on fiverr.com. I could see the services they provide and their sample work. Some would provide limited, and some unlimited revisions.
I do watercolor painting and wish to illustrate my book, but I don’t do portrait painting. There are thousands of gigs out there, and it would take forever to scroll through all the pages to find one. I narrowed it down to watercolor, and children’s illustration, and got 660 services. It took me six months to find one I liked. I paid for one sample page and when I ordered the rest, it became part of my entire book.
After I accepted the sample page, I sent the story summary and the description of each page to her. She then sent me a few sketches at a time. I gave her my feedback and suggestions. She revised them and sent them to me. Sometimes I respected her creativity and approved them. But if they didn’t correspond with the story, I asked for further revisions until they were done to my satisfaction. It was a pleasant experience working with Victoria Skakandi.
Blurb
Tina invited her friend Erica to attend a popular Tchaikovsky’s Spectacular concert on a summer evening with her parents. During the intermission, her dad left the seat to buy some snacks. Tina and Erica followed him wanting to use the restroom. The shoving crowd pushed them away, and they lost sight of him. It would be impossible to fight through the 18,000 people to find him or go back to Tina’s mom. What would the girls do?
This story tells about what happened to Tina and Erica after they got lost. Children can adapt to the learning from different situations they may observe or encounter. Adults could have discussions with the children about the situations to help them develop problem-solving skills.
Purchase Links
Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091M586M7
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w?ean=2940162309741
MY REVIEW:
| This children’s story portrays a real-life situation and a lesson. It is a book that parents and children alike will enjoy reading and you never know, it could save a child’s life. Tina is making plans with her mother for summer activities, as school will soon be out. When her mother informs Tina they will be going to a concert at the Hollywood Bowl, she asks to bring her best friend along. Not long after arriving at the huge stadium, the girls need to go to the restroom. On the way, they get disoriented and can’t find the restrooms or their parents. What happens next is such a great lesson for parents and children. I won’t spoil the story by giving it away, but I will say that I highly recommend the book for anyone with young children, or for grandparents to share with children. The illustrations are outstanding and the book is well-written. |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Miriam Hurdle is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She published four children’s books at twenty-six years old. Her poetry collection received the Solo “Medalist Winner” for the New Apple Summer eBook Award and achieved bestseller status on Amazon.
Miriam writes poetry, short stories, memoir, and children’s books. She earned a Doctor of Education from the University of La Verne in California. After two years of rehabilitation counseling, fifteen years of public-school teaching and ten years in school district administration, she retired and enjoys life with her husband in southern California, and the visits to her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughters in Oregon. When not writing, she engages in blogging, gardening, photography, and traveling.
Contact Miriam at –
Website/Blog: https://theshowersofblessings.com
Amazon Author’s Page: https://www.amazon.com/Miriam-Hurdle/e/B07K2MCSVW
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17252131.Miriam_Hurdle
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mhurdle112
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Miriam-Hurdle-Author-100123351515424
Miriam seems to be everywhere this week! Great review, Jan, and nice to see her tour stopping at your place. Congrats, Miriam. 😀
Yes, she does, Diana. It was a pleasure to read and review her new book. Thank you for stopping by!
Welcome back from your blogging break, Diana. Thank you so much for stopping by. Jan was wonderful hosting my tour and reviewing the book. 🙂
Good to see Miriam over here today, Jan. I’m happy to see her getting so much support.
Absolutely, Pete! Me too! Thanks for stopping by and sharing!
I’m fortunate to be in this supportive community, Pete. I’m so happy to have Jan hosting me and reviewing the book. Thank you very much for stopping by, Pete.
I’m enjoying following along your tour, Miriam. It’s a great kids read that I’ll be sharing with the grandkids!
Thanks for hosting, Jan:)
I agree, Denise. I will be sharing this one with my grandchildren too! Thanks for stopping by!
You sure are cheering me along my tour, Denise. Thank you so much for all the help and support. I know you did a wonderful review. Please let me know what your grandkids think. 🙂
Miriam, you are making the rounds today. Best of luck with the new release.
Thanks for hosting, Jan.
Thank you for leaving a comment, Joan! I know Miriam will appreciate your support!
Miriam is out and about this week!
Yes, she is, Teri. 🙂 Thanks for leaving a comment and sharing!
Thank you for stopping by, Teri. Wow, I have a parade of cheering leaders. I appreciate all of your support.
Love the story behind finding and working with the artist.
It is a truly interesting story, Craig. Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment!
The actual work took a year, Craig, but I’m happy to see the result. Thank you for stopping by.
How lovely to see Miriam here, Jan, with Tina Lost in a Crowd. Her information about how she found an illustrator and embarked on the process is interesting. I’ve always created my own illustrations, but I am pleased to learn from her experiences.
You are so talented, Robbie. To be able to do your own illustrations gave you such freedom. Thank you for stopping by and supporting Miriam, Today!
This is a lovely book, Jan.
You’re so talented in creating your own illustrations for the stories and recipes, Robbie! painting portrait is a different story to me because I only paint landscape. It was a long process searching an illustrator but It turned out the way I wanted. Thank you for hosting me and doing the review!!
My pleasure, Miriam. You found a terrific illustrator, Miriam.
I did, Robbie, and will use this illustrator again when I need the service.
Congratulations, Miriam. Thanks Jan for hosting today.
Thanks, John!
It’s great to see you here, John. Thank you!
Thank you, Jan, for putting the spotlight on Miriam and her lovely book. My heartfelt congratulations to Miriam! 💗
My pleasure, Gwen. Thank you for stopping by to support!
I’m so excited to have the support from you and the blogging community, Gwen. Thank you for your kind comment! <3
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Thanks for featuring Miriam’s sweet book, Jan. I’m looking forward to reading it. I clicked over to Amazon to purchase and my Kindle option is grayed out…ugh. I’ll have to mess with it so I can grab my copy. Congratulations to Miriam!
How frustrating, Jill. I hate it when technology doesn’t work right. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment today!
It’s so good to see you here, Jill. Sorry about the trouble with Amazon. If you still have problem dealing with it, please let me know!
Greta to see Miriam and her book featured here. I´m looking forward to reading the story.
Thank you for stopping by, Darlene!
It’s wonderful to see you here Darlene. Thank you for reading the Tina book. I’m excited your tour of Amanda is coming up.
Hi Miriam, Hi Jan,
Miriam, thank you for talking about your work with fiverr.com. I have heard about them but hadn’t heard of anyone choosing their services. Congratulations on your book release also. I hope you have a successful book launch and sell many books. This book sounds like a book that reminds us to watch out for our children.
Jan, thank you for hosting Miriam and for your book review. I will certainly consider reading the book although I don’t have any children or grandchildren, I do have nieces and nephews,
Wishing you both a very lovely weekend.
Shalom aloeichem
Hi, Pat. I also have used Fiverr.com several times with great results, so I do highly recommend them. Thank you for stopping by today and leaving a comment! Have a great day!
Hi Pat, I’m getting to like fiverr.com. I used a designer to format this book also because formatting an illustrated book with bleed has a different process and I didn’t subscribe all the Adobe tools to do the job. Amazon and B&N have different formatting requirements and the designer has experience doing it.
You’re right about watching out for our children. Anything could have happened when our eyes are off watching them. Thank you for coming over to show your support and consider reading the book to your nieces. Jan is a wonderful host!
I’ve read this short story. It was wonderful! Thanks for promoting it today, Jan! 🙂
I agree, Yvette. It was a wonderful little story. Thank you for stopping by and sharing!
Good to have your support here, Yvette. I’m glad you enjoyed the story. I look forward to your post! 🙂