From the monthly archives: June 2012

By the author, Jim Doti


The image featured above is the earliest sketch that Lisa gave me for the cover of our book.  But as I looked at all of her initial sketches for our book, there was another one—showing Jimmy on stage with his hand thrust upward—that […]

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By the author, Jim Doti

Now that the book is nearing completion, we need to start giving more attention to the timing of its publication.  We want to make sure that it comes out in time for the holidays, and possibly even in time for a September 14-16 Orange County Book Fair being held at Chapman […]

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By the author, Jim Doti


I love Lisa’s depiction of Jimmy and his mom in her “hat room.”  The second scene in this room is of critical importance to the book, since Jimmy came up with the idea of raising his arm during the play by observing and […]

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By Lisa Mertins, the Illustrator


Jim remembers those school doors as massive, and my first sketches weren’t nailing that feeling. I struggled with keeping the doors in perspective while giving them a looming presence.

In hindsight, I could have eliminated the door surroundings to make […]

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By the author, Jim Doti


One of Lisa Mertins’ special talents is her ability to capture the essence of the storyline in her illustrations.  This is critically important, since readers—especially children—often look at the illustrations to get a visual sense of the characters and storyline.  Indeed, it’s this […]

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