Yay! I'm so happy to be able to announce that my newest picture book, THREE LITTLE WITCHES AND THE SPOOKY OLD HOUSE, will be coming soon from Little Brown Young Readers, August 2026!
Coming soon, you say? Two years and three months from now? "Why does it take so looong?" Here's a little bit of an inside look at the process.
The contract for THREE LITTLE WITCHES AND THE SPOOKY OLD HOUSE was signed with Little Brown in early November, 2023.
Here come the holidays!
In January I worked with my editor, Deirdre Jones, on some revisions.
Next, the publisher's search for an illustrator begins! Lucky for me this didn't take too long.
In February Gaia Bordicchia signed with Little Brown to do the illustrations for the book. I LOVE her little witches!
In March the final manuscript was sent to Deirdre.
In April I received the final copy edits.
The next step is with Gaia. She will be working with the publisher on sketches, color illustrations, and the layout of the book. A picture book is 50/50 between the author's text and the illustrators art to show the whole story. From past experience the art will take at least another year.
Once the text and illustrations are in place, it's sent off to be bound.
Finally, since this story is about 'witches' and a 'spooky old house' the best time to put it out on the market would be fall! So the release date will be August, 2026—just in time for Halloween!
It's not easy to be patient, but absolutely worth the wait! In the meantime, I'm full-steam ahead working on another picture book manuscript.
Thanks for being patient with me! While you're waiting, please enjoy some of my other picture books including A HIPPY-HOPPY TOAD, a perfect hoppy read for spring.