My first children’s book is out in print. During my writing break over the summer, I tried my hand at illustration. It was hard and I learned a lot. I have a whole new respect for professional illustrators! You are amazing.
Thank you to all the authors who offered their feedback on the text (a simpler print and no italics). I realize it looks small in these images, but I did order proofs of the book (twice) and the actual size works fine.
I published this through Createspace, and it was a (grizzly) bear dealing with the images. Took me days and days and days to get the dpi right.
I was never going to subject myself to the agent-seeking process again, but I did, rather lamely, send queries to 7 agents in August. No takers, naturally, and I didn’t care a whit. This book was written for fun, illustrated for fun, and published for fun.
I hope you enjoy a few peeks at the illustrations. And, of course, it has a happy ending.
Only in Print: USA, UK, Canada
Grumpy Ana Goblyn is sour, dour, and cranky. Her lips droop in a frown. She’s bored with every place and person in her friendly town. With the help of her father, she builds a spaceship and travels to a soggy planet where she meets her perfect monster playmates. But there’s a problem! The monsters see her grouchy frown and think she’s a monster. In this children’s space adventure, Ana discovers that her attitude affects her happiness, and she can change it if she chooses.
Myths of the Mirror 
The lizards is my favorite part! The wording just slips of the tongue.
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Thank you! A blogger said that my monsters look like six-legged kangaroos! Ha ha. Cracked me up. I so appreciate your visit. Have a wonderful weekend. 🙂
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Ditto!!! And hey, can’t please everyone, but I liked it!
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This is beautiful!
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Thank you, Cathy 🙂 It was such a fun summer project without any of the pressures of my adult books. I’m so glad you like it.
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It’s breathtaking!
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A beautiful project! I especially liked the monsters’ picture. I hope you do many more!
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Thank you for the kind comment. Someone called them “kangaroo monsters” which really cracked me up. I may do another next summer… once again just for the fun of it. Have a wonderful week.
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I’m sure you’ll come up with another good idea for next summer. This one was full of love and fun.
Have a wonderful week too!
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[…] prolific fantasy/sci-fi author. Since she writes for the adult market, I wondered why she chose to write a children’s book, so I invited her to stop by and shed some light on the subject. Take it away, […]
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Diana! I had no idea! Congratulations! This is wonderful news! And kudos to you for challenging yourself creatively! You’re a true renaissance woman!
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It was a blast, Sean, and I did it for fun, so no pressure at any point. I might do another next summer. I’ve got a few ideas already. 😀
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arr Diana, you know what the children loves. They surely enjoys reading about grumpy characters and monsters. When I was around 6 years old, I read some books about monsters who lived in a green forests, but they were friendly monsters. I wish I could say that my children loves your book, but actualy that I am past those years, mine is a young adult now haha, Well done and thank you for keeping the kids entertained. You are too sweet!
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Thanks, Juli. My kids are all grown now too, so I got to write this one for the grandkid. Friendly monsters are the best kind by far! A little scary but nice in the end. 🙂
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hahahah you made me laugh, are you telling me that monsters do change, it is like the frog that became the prince charming hahahahahah – what a laugh! I missed reading kiddies stories to my daughter, they were great days. Now I only cherish the those days,. gone too quick.
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Loving the rhymes, reptilian aliens and overall concept! If ever you would like to exchange picture book reviews, let me know. I feel our views of the magical Universe is quite similar.
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Thanks so much for the lovely comment. I appreciate the offer to exchange reviews, but prefer to just leave that up to your inclination. That said, I was totally intrigued by the Snobbity Snowman. I can’t even write that title without smiling. I downloaded it and will read it with Tornado Boy this weekend. 🙂 And review next week.
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You’re welcome! I hope you and Tornado Boy have a snobbulous time! (that’s a good thing)
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[…] the story is unique, interesting, and has continued to keep my kids’ interest. The book is Grumpy Ana and the Grouchy Monsters and it is written by a good blogger friend of mine, Diana Wallace Peach. Check it out on Amazon […]
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OH! Thank you, Antonia! I’m coming over to read. 😀 😀
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so, these are all your own illustrations?! Wow, you have an abundance of creative talent, don’t you?! ❤️
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Thanks for the sweet comment! I did all the illustrations over the summer, Joanne. I now have 24 little paintings lined up on my windowsill. It’s nice to be back at the grown-up books. 😀
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The illustrations are wonderful!!!!!
I wanted so badly to publish with createspace. I was having my daughter do the illustrations. I had written a book for her when she was very young and she always wanted to do the illustrations for it.
For the life of me I could not get it right!!!!! I will go back to it. I need help to actually use that formattting because I really got so frustrated. So I went back to adult poetry and writing and working on my book. One day though!
Really enjoyed what you shared of this though. The talent in the drawings is really phenomenal.
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Thanks Beth. I took a quick look at your about page and we have a lot in common! I was an Early Childhood mental health clinician and worked for years in hospice as well. Ah yes, that Createspace nightmare with illustrated books. UGH. If you want to send me an email, I will happily share the steps I took to get the formatting right (dwallacepeach@gmail.com). Don’t give up on your dream 🙂
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Well how cool is that!!!!!!
I so miss my hospice years but they gave me memories that have and will stay with me a lifetime. After the muscle disease I stopped being able to drive that distance. Interestingly right after, two hospice patients were presented right in my neighborhood! So I was not finished yet!!!!
Thank you for the email. I am writing it down yet.
I don’t quite have the patience at the moment but hopefully soon I will ask you for help with it. This was maybe a year ago I tried and just could not get it at all. As in no where near getting it formatted correctly!
I’m still recovering from 5 grand mal seizures that let me with some short term memory loss so if I tried right now…well..would not get far I am afraid.
But I will not give up. Thanks for the encouragement very much and offering to help.
I even tried with amazon kindle and oh boy that was even worse. I did publish 2 books of poetry on amazon kindle but even that was not exactly what I had hoped. Still I did accomplish that! But my children’s book is very important to me so one of these days when I recover I will embark on it!
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You have a lot going on! Whenever you are ready, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m happy to help. I loved working in hospice – deep heart work that made me a better person. ❤
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Oh yeah. I grew leaps and bounds working with hospice as a chaplain. Learned true unconditional love and selflessness.
I do have a lot going on! Lots of health issues. Lots of sticky notes reminding me of everything from yesterday and the day before. I remember the past like it was today though interestingly. They just said I need time to heal. I’ve got nothing but time really. I can wait. Take some pretty flower pictures while I wait
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Well, that’s good news that you will heal with time! Yes, enjoy the flowers and take pictures. 🙂
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She said, after the CT scan. It would be about 6 months to know what is permanent memory loss and what will come back. In just a month a lot came back. The first 2 weeks I had lost everything. Forgot I had a muscle disease. Was back living in myself at 18 years old which was pretty scary I have to tell you. But I was told that was normal given the severity of the seizures and how long they lasted. The seizure meds seem to be working. Every day I go out for 2 hours and find things to take pictures of and stay mindful. I think it has really helped me
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It sounds like you have a wonderful attitude, and I think that goes a long way in healing. ❤
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I actually had forgotten every blog post I wrote. My doctor told me to give it a month before I reread them. I did. As I read them it was as if I was reading someone elses life. No recollection of anything I had written. My husband has pieced together the last 2 years for me even though I was supposed to wait to see if it came back on it’s own because I was getting to frustrated with tiny things like where my mother was and what age my daughter was, etc. anyway….enough of that!
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What an amazing story you have to tell. Truth is stranger than fiction, sometimes, isn’t it? I’m glad you are on your way to recovery. 😀
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LOL my truth is one crazy crazy life that is for sure!!!!!
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A very important message for kids, esp those navigating hormones!
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Ha ha ha. I know. I could have used this message as a teenager myself. Thanks for stopping by, Diana. I’m so glad you enjoyed my little summer creation. 🙂
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The pictures are beautiful. Good luck!
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Thanks, Susanne. It’s funny with this one being a side project, I feel no pressure to market. Maybe that’s not funny; maybe it’s bad. But it is kind of nice to have created something that had no pressure attached. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Writing.
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Diana, I’m so sorry I missed this post! How wonderful! I love the concept. The illustrations are perfect for that kind of story. And such color! What a marvelous thing. Wishing you huge success. Hugs on the wing!
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Thanks for taking a peek, Teagan. It was a fun little summer adventure. Now back to writing the grown-up stuff and having lots of fun. 🙂 Never apologize for missing posts – we all have to spread ourselves around as best we can. It’s all good. ❤
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Amazing! I’m very impressed. Thank you very much for sharing!!
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Thanks for taking a peek at the book. It was fun to do something different. Now I’m back to writing my adult books and loving that process too. 🙂
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Do you do that full time?
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I write adult fantasy full-time. This book was a bit of a tangent for the summer. I have a 4-yr old grandson who is growing up way too fast, so the timing was key. 🙂
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Sounds lovely! I’ll be sure to read one of your adult fantasy books soon!
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I would, of course, be honored and delighted if someday you chose to, but totally up to you. 😀
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Definitely will! I’m honored you are reading my story.
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Diana I love the illustrations and your words are super catchy as always! Keep up the awesome job! So happy for you 😊
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Thanks, Bel. Are you doing well? I check in now and then for your posts. Hopefully you are just busy and enjoying life. Happy Travels 🙂
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Lol! I know I have a huge backlog – and definitely hoping to release one for a halloween edition 😊
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Looking forward to it!
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[…] via Grumpy Ana and the Grouchy Monsters — Myths of the Mirror […]
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This is stunning! You “tried” your hand at it??? I feel like maybe we have different takes on what that usually looks like once you finish the initial attempt. You are ridiculously talented! This book is going to be on order and heading my way shortly! Congratulations on your brilliant success. 🙂 Joanna
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You are so kind, Joanna. I won’t list all the redo’s and fixes and start-overs. Ha ha. That was probably half of the total time required to pull this together. But I learned a lot and it was a wonderful break from adult books. And my grandson, Tornado Boy, is delighted. Thanks for the visit and I hope you enjoy the book! 😀
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Fantastic, Diana!!! How wonderful it must be to see your book in print. I am thrilled for you and also very inspired!! xo
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I finally got to read it to Tornado Boy today and he enjoyed it. PHEW! Ha ha. Thanks for visiting and cheering me along! Happy Monday!
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I have no doubt he enjoyed it. Happy Monday to you as well. 💜
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Yay, congratulations Diana! I love your illustrations. I just ordered a copy on Amazon and it will be here next week. I bet my kids will love it! 😀
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Thank you. Big Hugs. I hope the kids enjoy it. It’s a pretty silly story with a positive message. I have all these little paintings scattered around my house now. 😀 Have a wonderful day, my friend.
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I’m looking forward to reading it to them! Thank you, you too!
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Congratulations! The illustrations are so beautiful.
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Thank you, Shobhna. My grandson comes over this weekend for the real test! I’m glad you enjoyed the peek. Happy Writing. 🙂
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How’d I miss this post? I’m so excited for you. The colors and illustrations and rhyming lines all look like a hit. I know what you mean about using Createspace for a children’s book. I gave up the idea for mine because the illustrations were too large for the Createspace size. Thus, it was so much more costly to print/produce. But, I love the final product, so all good. How’s Tornado Boy like it?
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Tornado boy is coming over this weekend, Pam. He knows the story, but hasn’t seen the pictures. Oh, yes, and silly me didn’t check the book-size options on Createspace!!! One of my many learning curves. Cropping them all to fit! Yeesh! Thanks for taking a peek!
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Wonderful! I can imagine how tricky it must have been to figure out all the formatting (something I’d like to try someday). You did a great job, congratulations!
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The biggest challenge for me was figuring out how to retain the dpi through all the conversions, Marcia. I’m not that techy, so I just tried a dozen different combinations until it worked. Lol. Thanks for the visit and Happy Writing!
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Congratulations, this is awesome, I love how colourful and bright it is, kids will love it ❤
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Thanks, Sacha. It was something different to do on my summer break – of course, the “break” was an illusion. Ha ha. Hope your writing is going great!
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Wow! A new string to your bow, Diana! Well done, and best of luck with it, it is certainly colourful and eye-catching, and I’m sure children everywhere will love it!
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Thanks so much for stopping by to take a peek, Ali. I certainly hope the little ones enjoy it. Have a wonderful week! ❤
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What a cute book! And a children’s book? What inspired you, or was it who? Grandson? Such wonderful colors, and rhyming–I think that might be the tough part for me 🙂 Good luck with it!
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I actually wrote it years ago, Julie. Tornado Boy, 4, has been writing books lately and giving them to me as presents. I figured I’d better reciprocate while he’s still young enough to enjoy. 🙂 Thanks for asking and for the lovely comment. ❤
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Your talents abound, Diana. The illustrations were delightful and the text was so appealing. Well done. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Thanks, Suzanne. I’m happy with it and hope the kids get a kick out of the “kangaroo dragons.” A fun summer project. 🙂
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Congrats! Sounds like a fun thing to put together. I love her hair! Haha. So unique.
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Thanks, Rob. It was a bunch of fun. Her hair was a blast to paint. It’s something that she’s grumpy about at the beginning, and later decides that there are worse things than curly hair. 🙂 Have a great week!
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Wow Diana… Your illustrations are fantastic! Great Christmas gift for my eldest 🙂 You are a star!
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Thank you, Inese. It was a lot of fun trying something different over the summer and giving it a push into the world. Maybe I’ll try it again next summer 🙂 Have a lovely week!
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I have to confess I love the books with a couple of pictures here and there 🙂 I like to know the author’s vision 🙂
Have a wonderful week you too!
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You never cease to amaze me Diane…wow! I love children’s books and enjoyed them as much as my little one did, maybe more. Have a super day. 🙂
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Thanks, Holly. With a 4 yr-old grandson, I’ve been reading lots of children’s books. I always want to see what he got at the library so I can read them, with or without him. Lol. Have a terrifice week, ❤
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The good times …. they will never forget the times they read with Grandma! ❤
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Good for you, Diana! That must have been quite the adventure, creating an illustrated book with Createspace. Amazing job!
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There were certainly ups and downs to the process, Jennifer. I should write it down so I don’t have a melt down next time. Lol. Thanks for the lovely comment, and have a great week. 🙂
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You too!
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You also write childrens books, what do you want to put them kids in therapy?….By the way the other post I noticed you can’t comment on it,
so I’ll go ahead and comment here, that is my girlfriend!!!!
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LOL I used to be a children’s mental health counselor, so hopefully I’m not sending any of them into therapy. And your girlfriend is an amazing writer. 😀
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Don’t read me in Mr. Ankers blog…. just kidding.
I don’t know about the kids but I’m scared that you might actually send me into therapy. My grilfriend you said…… anyway this if of Rich the Ankers, he’s a nice guy and always has support me in my crazy writing.
By the way, don’t you think you need therapy yourself after theraping those bunch of devils?
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😀
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Many congratulations on the new book, Diana. Colourful and eye-catching. Thank goodness you never asked me to contribute to the illustrations. In my art exam at my final year of school, my art teacher wrote this on the school report – ‘Hugh draws like a three-year child!’ I never liked my art teacher anyway. 😀
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Oh no! That’s a terrible teacher. Art is supposed to be all about fun. Thanks so much for the lovely comment and for the laugh. Have a wonderful week. 😀
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What a delightful tale. Love the illustrations too.
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Thank you for taking a peek, Alethea. It was a fun project and it’s a pleasure to let it loose. Have a wonderful week. 🙂
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Even before I knew you did them, I was going to remark on the illustrations and tell you how wonderful they are. And don’t get me started on dpi!!!
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Thanks, Andrew. The whole process was fun, sprinkled with little bouts of sighing with frustration. Yes, those dpi’s seem to downgrade by magic. I spent hours trying different combinations of programs and finally got it to work. Don’t ask me how! 😉
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[…] Continue reading: Grumpy Ana and the Grouchy Monsters | Myths of the Mirror […]
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I so love this book, Diana. It is beautiful and wonderfully written. You are simply just amazing! Have a terrific Sunday 😀
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Thanks, Lana. Doing something outside my norm was fun. I feel like I took the summer off, even though I was still “booking.” Terrific Sunday to you too. ❤
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Huge-mongous congratulations! 😀 … it looks gorgeous. 🙂
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Thanks! It was a lot of fun and quite a learning experience. If I do another one someday, I expect it will be a little easier without all the redo’s. I’m glad you like it. 🙂
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I adore the beautiful colors, simplicity and beauty of the artwork. Such a lovely, delightful story line too. Don’t give up, share it with others.
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Thank you, Joy, for the lovely comment. I absolutely intend to share. And maybe next summer I’ll try another. I suppose what was different about this book was that since it’s outside of what I usually write, it was just for the fun of it, no worries about reviews, marketing, revenue. etc. It feels stress free to me. Have a great Sunday and new week!
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What beautiful illustrations…:)
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Thank you! I’m so glad you like them. It was a stretch for me, but I wanted to do something different over the summer. Have a lovely Sunday 🙂
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“This book was written for fun, illustrated for fun, and published for fun.” Well, it certainly looks like a fun read.
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Thanks, Dan. It really was a nice break from writing for the summer and now I have all these little painting around the house too. Have a great Sunday. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Haddon Musings and commented:
I just bought my copy. Don’t forget children’s books make wonderful treats at Halloween🎃
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Aww. Thanks so much for the reblog, Bernadette. You made my day. 😀
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Thank you for sharing it.❤️
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My pleasure. Thanks for taking a peek. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Richard M. Ankers – Author and commented:
Some things make me go WOW! Diana’s unending brilliance is one of them.
Richard
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Aww. Thanks, Richard, for the kind comment and the reblog! You gave me a huge smile. Happy Writing, my friend. ❤
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Happy writing AND drawing, pal. 🙂
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I’m back to grown-up books now. Paints are put away until next summer. 🙂
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Maybe an illustrated grown-up book? I’d buy it.
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Oh, yikes. You ARE a dreamer. 😀
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I’m a realist. I’m like a monkey with purpose. My new purpose is to own a D. Wallace Peach illustrated fantasy. I’m trying not to say adult as it sounds iffy LOL
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I happen to know that you are an artist too.
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Meh! I scribble.
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There’s a uniqueness about your illustrations–an excellent balance of reality and fiction. I think you’re onto something.
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I wish I could say that was planned, Jacqui. Lol They just are what they are. 🙂 I’m so glad you like them. Thanks for the visit and have a great Sunday!
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Congratulations Diana. Your book looks beautiful.
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Thank you, Brigid. It was fun pulling it together and finally getting it out there. Have a wonderful Sunday. 🙂
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Congratulations, Diana, this is wonderful news :). Love the illustrations! Would you like to do a guest post to promote this book on my blog?
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Thanks so much, Damyanti. I’d love to do a guest post! That’s so kind of you to offer. I didn’t see a contact form on your blog, so my email is dwallacepeach@gmail.com. If you’d drop me a note we can discuss timing and what you’re looking for. I’m so honored. Thank you. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Author Don Massenzio and commented:
Check out the book, Grumpy Ana and the Grouchy Monsters by D.Wallace Peach, as featured on the Myths of the Mirror blog.
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Thanks for sharing, Don! I so appreciate it. Have a great Sunday. 🙂
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You’re welcome.
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You can write for kids, too?! I shoulda known you were a Renaissance Gal.
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Just something to wile away the summer, Mike. I had to do it while Tornado Boy is still young enough to enjoy it. He’ll be entering your age group soon… well, not YOUR age group, but your books’ age group. 🙂 Happy Sunday!
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Congratulations, Diana. That’s quite an achievement to write and illustrate yourself. I think your illustrations look amazing. The colours are vibrant and the content interesting. They also have an element of fun that would engage children. The story’s message is quite an important one for children, us all, to learn. I’m pleased you wrote and published this book for fun. It shows.
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Thanks for the lovely comment, Norah. It was a fun summer project, and I’m back to the demands of writing for adults, which I also love doing. I hope the message resonates and that kids enjoy the pictures of my kangaroo dragons. 🙂
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I’m certain they will. How nice to have an interlude before returning to your “serious” work. 🙂
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Congratulations! Your book looks wonderful and the illustrations are vibrant. It sounds like you were self publishing your book, yes? I have not heard of CreateSpace. You are right, once we delve into the illustration world, we learn that it has a lot of challenges with the uploads, etc. YOU DID IT!
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Thank you! I did self-publish it. Createspace is a print-on-demand company owned by Amazon. They are super easy to use when creating regular books, but tougher with images. They’re picky, which is good, but getting the file just right was hard (for me). Thanks so much for taking a peek. Happy Sunday!
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Thanks for the explanation. Well, pat yourself on the back. It is fun to learn something NEW, even if the process is hard, right!
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