Since our last newsletter and the Thanksgiving holiday, I’ve done some rethinking about quite a few things, and I wanted to share them with you. My brain works in unusual ways sometimes, and will not rest until it is satisfied with a project and everything is exactly the way I want it to be! (I have spent hours and hours this last week reformatting my illustrations. Read on, and I will explain why.)
Consider this edition of our newsletter as being out of the ordinary as it does not give more chapters from our current project. Instead, it gives background for my creative process and a foretaste for what is ahead!
Changes prompted by my iPhone
Several months ago, I bought an iPhone, and that had done quite a great deal to change how I view my work. For example, I’ve wanted to make my illustrations fit better onto an iPhone screen. Although I do use a platform to create my website that allows content to be shown on several devices such as desktop or phone screen. I wanted everything to work better on an iPhone screen because I’m usually working and viewing on my iPad screen which more closely resembles a desktop. Here is how the new illustration dimension work on my iPhone. (Nice and tight, but not too tight, and not a lot of unnecessary space.)
If you’d like to review these yourself on your own phone, just go to my author’s home page. I’ve placed a gallery of illustrations there that you can scroll through using the arrows.
A little farther down and directly under the gallery of illustrations, you’ll see some buttons with links. The first one is “Latest New Projects on Ko-Fi.”
That link will take you to our page there titled “My Life With Pearl.” The button labeled “Gallery” will take you to all of the illustrations shared on the site, and the button labeled “Posts” will do the same. Both include a description of what you’re seeing, and I actually like doing these illustrations and descriptions because they help to guide me in developing my story. (This last volume titled Through the Gate is the most demanding of the three. The midpoint will involve meeting the Head Librarian of the Living Library in Paris, The Principalis Bibliotheque.
You will notice the big button that says “Donate.” Pearl picked out the color of that button. It is called “Maximum Yellow” and it reminds her of the bright yellow yolk of an egg. As you know, we don’t charge anything for a subscription to our newsletter even though Substack and other sites can be set up that way. “My Life With Pearl” lets anyone see our work for free as well, but they can give us a donation which helps with the cost of food and treats. (Right now, Pearl is hoping to earn enough to buy a huge bag of dried mealworms that are not only tasty, but also delicious for chickens! Actually she would be happy with a bag of any size!)
How This Has Carried Over to Book Design
The screen on a iPhone is 1080 pixels x 1920 pixels. This converts to 3.6 inches x 6.4 inches. In a print book, there will be margins around an image and the closest trim size of a book that would accommodate those illustrations would be a book that is 5 inches x 8 inches with roughly a 1-inch margin all the way around each page.
Honestly, I never imagined that there would be so much involved with this, but I’m glad that I’ve explored down this road.
More than that, I hope you as a reader will enjoy visiting this world of The Living Library which has long been a reader favorite since it was first introduced quite some time ago. As the plot develops in Through the Gate, I’d like for readers to be able to imagine this place and perhaps be slightly disappointed when they find that this is not an actual physical building in Paris like Le Palais Garnier or Notre-Dame Cathedral. The main home of The Living Library in Paris, France exists only in the minds and hearts of those who love everything that chickens and the songbirds love.
I’ve enjoyed knowing that our own neighborhood Living Library exists with us right were we are and only congregates for meetings occasionally, yet each must surely dream of flying to Paris!
Until Next Time
If you have any comments—good or bad—please share them on Substack or you can also reach me directly at John.Spiers@yahoo.com. (You can also always get to us through the contact form at the bottom of the main page of https://jrspiers.com.) We are looking forward to sharing with your exactly what happens next when our cast of characters (made of chickens, songbirds, and their friends) encounter Professor Accipiter and his White Peacock and venture to visit the Home of The Living Library!
A Foretaste of What’s Ahead!
The illustration below gives an idea of what is ahead for Pearl, and it does not look pleasant. Who is behind Pearl being abandoned and placed in a cage? Have there not been clues in previous chapters that we have shared about a threat lurking about in the daylight? Someone who might enjoy visiting Le Moulin Rouge in search of new talent to perform in a circus?
Our Best Advice for the Days Ahead: Be sure to try looking at things in a new way! Change is sure to come, let the change that comes be partly due to your personal way of looking at the world!
Thank you for reading!
John, Gracie, Bessie, Pearl, Blanche, Emily, and Amelia
Thank you for the notice on your new ventures. I am subscribing now on Ko-Fi and Instagram (you seem to have more than one page there!) but I can't find where to subscribe for Buy Me A Coffee.
I can also be found on those platforms if you're interested.
such gorgeous illustrations- truly marvelous, lush and vivid.