The cover is finally here! If you've been following along on this blog, you know that I take my children's book covers very seriously. 

Here's a post I did on the ideas I took from other children's books I love. Most of them focus on a single character in a setting that illuminates the themes and story of the book.

I gave a few simple instructors to Maima, the Tessalation! illustrator. I said:

1. I wanted Tessa showing the kind of exuberance she has in the book, maybe doing something physical,
2. I wanted it to be in the backyard (where else?)
3.  I wanted the cover to reflect the theme of the book -- that there is a beauty and an order to nature, and we can feel like a part of that beauty.

What do you think? I think it turned out rather well.

The font for the book's text and the cover, by the way, is Maiandra GD, which was chosen by the project's graphic designer, Jeff Diesburg. 

Last week Stephen Long, a local writer in McMinnville, interview me about Tessalation!, and Kickstarter. Stephen had a great novel that he pre-sold through Kickstarter a while back.

Yes, once you've done a Kickstarter, you are now part of a club -- those who have given over a month of their lives to social media and project creation through the site. I can't say enough about what Kickstarter has already done for me and this project!

Check it out. I was super grumpy this day -- hope it doesn't come across too much!

I was so tired at the end of my Kickstarter, but not too tired to do a tessellation flash mob event at my favorite coffee shop, Flag & Wire! McMinnville Library Children's Librarian Sam Geary loaned me this antique quilt, made of tessellated hexagons. I bought a pot of coffee and invited anyone who supported the project to come have a coffee with me and snuggle (tessellate, if you will) under this lovely quilt.