New Post #23: "False Alarms"

I've finally figured out a time for working on this graphic novel. I have about 45 minutes every morning, seven days a week, between the time the dogs need to be fed at sunup and the alpacas and barn kittens need to be fed and released from the barn. This is the only way I've been able to get to the next chapter!

www.donkeyinalbany.com

New Post #22: "Rollercoaster"

Besides the fact that there have been new developments in our lives over the past several months, one of the factors that made it so difficult for me to finish this post is that a hospital color scheme is so unpleasant and uninspiring. It's bad enough that I don't enjoy drawing hospital junk. It's no wonder that many patients become more sick while in hospital.

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New Post #21: "Sinking In"

Dang, it's been a long time since I'd posted! I've been very busy with other projects, and then the barn flooded. But I'm back on now, devoting time daily to the book. 

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I'm very excited about working on these hospital pages because the story starts to really pick up; however, I must admit I'm not crazy about drawing hospital beds and paraphernalia. While coloring the  hospital rooms Susan was in, I'm struck with how absolutely bland the color scheme is!

I'm also working on being true to my dark brown skin AND making visible my facial features. Not easy. Nature is amazing!

New Post #20: "The Diagnosis"

I'd forgotten to mention that I'm writing/drawing this book based solely on my own memory, which was altered during highly stressful situations.

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New Post #19: "Virtue of Listening"

Susan and began to learn a lot about doctors and nurses--

like that there are certain virtues specific to those in the medical profession. 

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Either I have really bad allergies or a cold. Whatever it is, it's made me stop working on digging post holes and instead given me time to work on this graphic novel. What I discovered is a more efficient way of coloring the pages. First, I decide on the colors and trace the outlines of spaces in those colors. Then, the following day, I color the entire page. Day three, I add shadows and highlights, and am done!

New Post #18: "Emergency"

Dang! It's been quite a while since I'd posted! Been working hard on outfitting the barn, learning how to dig post holes, and planting this year's gardens. Anyway, the next page is here!

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New Post #17: "Attention"

Working on this graphic novel is painstaking in that each page takes me so long to complete. In the actual journey of Susan's cancer, each step toward the MRI took forever. After the MRI, events really began to speed up, and I'm hoping the process of coloring these pages also begins to speed up! 

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New Post #16: "The End is Near"

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New Post #15: "Eternity"

It's taken me a while to get this page posted because I thought I'd try working on two pages at a time. Unfortunately, this messes with my one-posting-a-week routine, so I'm going back to working on one page only.

I'm very pleased that The Donkey in Albany was featured in the International Myeloma Foundation's Myeloma Minute, an online publication. I am honored to be allowed to share Susan's and my journey with other families wrestling with multiple myeloma.

See the new posting at www.donkeyinalbany.com

New Post #14: "Vertex"

I'm actually working on two pages at once. This one and a page that the IMF wants to feature. I had to jump ahead to work on that page. I'm enjoying working on two at a time. This way of working might become my trend.

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New Post #13: "The Edge"

I'm thrilled that the IMF wants to feature The Donkey in Albany in their weekly newsletter as well as in  the quarterly newsletter. I am absolutely honored!

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New Post #12: "Waiting Room"

The drawing from which this image is a part is one of my favorites 

even though it records one of the worst days of our lives.

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New Post #11: "Eve"

Trying to portray night light is quite a challenge, but the attempts are so beautiful!

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New Post #10: "Landing"

Since I've been subbing twice a week, tutoring midweek, and playing music with friends twice a week as well, it's taking longer for me to post pages, but here's the next one:

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New Post # 9: "Welcome Home"

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New Post #8: "The Drive Home"

Rushing back for Susan's MRI.

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New Post #7: Chapter Two --The MRI

This chapter documents the series of events that unfolded after Susan finally got her MRI. I had trouble resizing the image and canvas of this image in Photoshop.

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New Post # 6: "Monsoon"

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New Post #5: "Shock"

So hard, if not impossible, to avoid bad news.
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On another note, I've been so focused on posting Donkey, I haven't been sending out Stella or Bringing It! to possible publishers. I've also been working as a part-time substitute teacher and aide at a nearby K-12 school and am already taking notes for the next graphic novel!

New Posting #4

"Finally, An Answer"

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Busy and Productive

It's been quite a while since I've posted on this blog. I've been busy working in our small town's school so I can earn some money for our future alpacas and angora rabbits. And the only graphic novel work I've been eager to do is adding color to Donkey and then immediately posting the finished pages to donkeyinalbany.blogspot.com. Here's the latest one:

New Direction

Now that I've begun to send Bringing It! and Stella out into the world, I've been wondering how to get the Donkey graphic novel out. While perusing the Abrams Comicart site, I came upon Brian Fies' graphic novel about his family's experience with his mother's cancer. It looks GREAT, and I'm gonna buy it! How did he get his graphic novel out there? He just posted it on the internet so as to share his experience with other families facing cancer! Is that cool or what?

Anyway, I wrote to Brian to ask him how exactly he posted his book on the internet. It's a risk, but I think that's what I want to do with Donkey.

Stella's Back!

Gosh, I love sending out my cover letters and samples! I remembered a publisher of a graphic novel I'd bought a few years ago and sent a Stella packet to them just now. The book I'd bought is Walking Shadows by Neil Bousfield. Beautiful woodcuts with a disturbing darkness that matches the equally disturbing story. Like Stella, Walking Shadows is a wordless book. We'll see if Manic D Press thinks it's a good fit.

Gone Fishing

I've been submitting a sample of Bringing It to several publishers. It's a lot like going fishing; you throw out your line, and you just wait. Calmly. In the meantime, I've gone back to working on the Donkey graphic novel. It helps that the Professional Bull Riders 2015 season has begun. A little distraction while waiting.

Real Writer

Today, I received my first rejection letter! A very nice letter from PM Press, and what's really sweet is that the representative gave me a couple tips for two other publishers to contact. One thing I learned from listening to successful writers is that they all seem to have a collection of rejection letters. I am starting my own collection; now, I'm a real writer!