I'm Agog.

Life has been busy lately. Busy enough, I haven't made a post in a while... so let's catch up.

The Kids Comics Studio Anthology Kickstarter was a SMASHING success! I'm incredibly grateful to all of our backers that helped us reach and surpass our final stretch goal of $9000 (99.99% of them I don't know). Looking over the list of supporters was tough. I knew I wasn't going to bring many to the table, but I thought at least my parents would be interested in my first ever published work. Nope. That one hurt. There was a single name on the list I recognized. My husband's childhood best friend. Honestly, I was shocked out of all the people in my life, he was the one person that showed up. We met in high school and got off to a rough start since I was essentially stealing his best friend. He hated me. Likely thought I wouldn't last because not many first high school relationships actually do. Here we are, 23 years later and have both come a long way.

Thank you, Sterling. I can't adequately put into words what your support means but I know 23 years in the future I will remember that time you backed this comics anthology. Seriously, THANK YOU!

Speaking of the high school sweetheart turned hubby, we starred in Moon Over Buffalo at Love Street Playhouse together and even though the entire cast came down with some sort of plague that caused Bronchitis only to recover and be struck down by a second plague, it was an amazing experience to share the stage and greenroom with my love. However, it was quickly decided that while we have kids at home we should avoid being cast in shows at the same time. The sickness didn't help. When auditions happened for the following show Pistols for 2, I didn't think I would be a fit for the youthful regency romance, but it's always good to audition for directors - maybe they'll remember something for a future show. I forgot that the show had a pair of comedic roles that play all of the supporting characters and SURPRISE, I was cast! The hubby was not thrilled. He thought we'd be taking a break. Oops. I'm now taking on 4 characters, with one of them pretending to be a 5th. It is a huge challenge to my acting skills, but I'm truly loving every minute of it and my favorite line is, "I'm agog," hence the post title.

Following the anthology, I signed up for Mike Lowry's Getting Paid to Draw course, and completed 2 weeks of it before the sickness and rehearsals drained away all of my time. Luckily, I can come back to is and still complete the other 6 weeks. I really enjoyed the first 2 weeks and somehow, I just had my first paid illustration gig! Granted, I did it at a discounted rate to build my portfolio, but I got to make some show artwork for a different local community theater's next season.

Slowly, my portfolio is coming together! I've updated my website based on the advice in a recent Kids Comics Studio workshop. They put together a blog compiling the best tidbits, but watching the recap was invaluable. I truly think my website looks better after implementing their suggestions and I feel like I truly have the foundations to grow my portfolio. Finishing the illustration course will help fill it out!

Lastly, the thing I'm most excited about...

Fellow Kids Comics Studio Anthologist, Johnell Dewitt, and I are collaborating on a comic!

Chancho loves his favorite boy Lonnie even more than cookies, so when Lonnie shows up for a visit, Chancho’s pot-bellied piggy heart is happy. But Lonnie isn’t his usual self and misses the video game he left behind. With Chancho’s help, Lonnie transforms the farm into a gamer’s world and he and Chancho set out on a quest to find Zanzigor’s staff. After being thwarted by a wicked magician (who looks remarkably like a ram), Chancho and Lonnie are afraid they’ll never find Zanzigor’s staff and finish the game. Fortunately, Chancho’s bravery and friendship helps Lonnie conquer all his foes and earn a plate of cookies.  Don Quixote meets Zelda.

Keep an eye out for more Chancho content coming soon!