Horizontal Surfaces

A book can be all encompassing. I work for months, half a year, a year on a book. Everything else falls by the wayside - the lawn doesn't get mowed, the cobwebs build up, the dust bunnies take over.

And it can feel like I've achieved nothing in a long time. Then all of a sudden I turn a corner and discover a stack of watercolour boards with paintings on them and realise that the ideas I've had in my head actually might work on paper. It feels pretty good.

Of course, everything else looks like this:

And this:

And even in the house every horizontal surface is littered with stuff.

It's all good stuff though, and I'm certain it's better to have a table covered in creative bits and pieces than devoid of anything. That's what I tell myself anyway.

It's been an ongoing problem. Here's a drawing I did several years ago of this horizontal surface syndrome. 

Strange People on Trains

Enjoyed drawing these people...

Close ups from a page of a new book called My Two Blankets, written by Irena Kobald.

The Runaway Hug in Japan

It's always very exciting when one of your books finds a publisher overseas. Last week the Japanese version of The Runaway Hug arrived on my doorstep.

The covers of overseas editions can vary from the original, sometimes quite a bit! Countries have different aesthetic values, or the market calls for a different approach. (See the Korean cover below, with bright yellow hearts for added appeal...)

The Japanese version is a lovely edition of The Runaway Hug, with a different image on the cover, a snazzy dust jacket and a fabulous picture on the back. Thumbs up to the Japanese designer!

I particularly like the title font.

And a friend sent a photo of the book in the Kinokuniya bookshop in Tokyo. Thanks Owen!

The Runaway Hug can now be found in Japan, Korea, the United States and Canada (in French and English). Here's the Korean version, sporting some yellow hearts!