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sketch drafts by Annie Barnett

Finding time for creativity in the midst of the day to day is often a challenge for my husband Phil and I. Wait . . . let me rephrase that. Our job requires us to be creative, but finding time for our own creative projects is difficult. By the time we’ve designed for others, we’re usually spent.
It’s worth carving out time
to bring a dream to life.
That’s exactly what Phil and I have done over the past few months. We’ve been writing our first children’s chapter book. The story came to life in the early morning hours, during stolen daytime moments, and late into the night. Life and work must go on, but when something is truly important and the time is right, so much can be accomplished. We sent the manuscript to the amazing Sandra Peoples, who read our words and showed us how to make them even better.
With the story ready, we knew there was still an important element missing. What children’s book is complete without illustrations?
It’s an odd feeling to entrust your beloved characters to someone in hopes that they will read and see and bring them to life just as they are in your mind’s eye. You write the words, but do they translate clearly to someone else? It’s a huge question. And it was incredible to see how closely Annie of Be Small Studios managed to capture the personality of our characters in her illustrations.
It won’t be long now . . . the book is coming soon. If you’d like to hear more, sign up for the Growly Books email updates below:
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