On Its Way

I turned in my final digital files for the book-length "Fire Story" yesterday. Abrams works fast--they had the book laid out and on its way to the printer by the end of the day. I'll have one more opportunity to make small corrections when I get proofs (pages as they'll actually appear in print), but the book I turned in is more or less the one that'll be published next March. Abrams seems to think we've got a winner, and is giving it unprecedented  (for me) support. I'm of course anxious but also sanguine; there's nothing I could have done to make it any better, so no regrets whatever happens.

The photo shows a 150-page stack of hand-drawn artwork, topped by the drawing I did for the cover (inset). These are all ink on 11 x 14 inch Bristol board. In the age of Photoshop, there's often a big difference between original and published art. No need for me to waste a bottle of ink filling in all those black areas when I can do it later with the push of a button. New ways are practical and efficient, but sometimes I miss the old ways, and there are pages on which I did more work than necessary just because I wanted to create a pretty piece of art.