The Next Big Thing: A Global Book Tour

I was recently tagged by the wonderful Courtney Pippin-Mathur to participated in a global book tour called The Next Big Thing. The idea originated in Australia and is basically a cool way for authors and/or illustrators to promote their next or latest book. 

On to the questions!

1) What is the working title of your next book?
The title of the latest book I illustrated is "Goodnight Baseball" (Capstone Young Readers, March 2013). 

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?
"Goodnight Baseball" book was wonderfully written by Michael Dahl, but I can tell you some of the ideas that went into the illustrations!  The book is written in a way that evokes childhood memories of a day at the ballpark, so the Art Director really wanted to incorporate an overall vintage look to the book while keeping it contemporary at the same time. One of the main ways we decided to do this, was to use a color palette similar to that of old baseball cards and other baseball ephemera. 

3) What genre does your book fall under?
The book is definitely a picture book aimed at little ones aged 4-8. It's a perfect bedtime read!

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Oooh! Such a great question! There's only two main characters: I think the dad would be played well by Adam Sandler (not in super-silly mode) and I'm sure there's no shortage of cute little boys out there who would be ideal to play the main character!

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
"Goodnight Baseball" is a warm and gentle book portraying the bond between a boy and his dad as they create life-long memories during a day at the ballpark. 

6) Who is publishing your book?
Capstone Young Readers published the book in March of 2013. 

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
From the illustration end, this book was done on a pretty quick turnaround. It was somewhere in the region of three months from start to finish. 

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
There are a few books "Goodnight Baseball" would pair up with wonderfully. Obviously, "Goodnight Moon" is one and "Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site" is another. All great books for winding down the day. 

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
As the illustrator, there were a few things that constantly played in my mind. One is the movie "A League of Their Own". The color palette of that movie screams "vintage baseball" to me and I used a lot of similar reds and greens from that movie in my illustrations. Another inspiration was the memories I have of spending time at Dodger Stadium with my family. Attending baseball games at dusk during an awesome summer evening in Los Angeles provides some serious inspiration!

10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?
The book really is designed amazingly well. The Art Director, Bob Lentz, really went to town adding really great details and touches to the covers, endpapers and title page. Also, the story is really so sweet, it's going to make the reader want to snuggle up to their nearest loved one!

A big "thank you!" to Courtney Pippin-Mathur for inviting me to participate! Check out her new book, "Maya was Grumpy" in stores now!

To keep the ball rolling here, I'm tagging my wonderful fellow SCBWI Mentees Eliza Wheeler and Andrea Offerman. 

Eliza is very, very close to the birth of her book, "Miss Maple's Seeds" which she wrote and illustrated!

And Andrea recently illustrated "The Broken Lands", written by Kate Milford. Go check them out!