This whole children’s book thing has been immensely fun. As a writer, I’m used to painting “word pictures,” but I’ve never had to deal with real pictures.

“Sierra Becomes a Search Dog” is written, drawn and in the production stage. It’ll be for sale soon.  My artist Taillefer is now working on the second book in the series “Sierra The Search Dog Finds Fred.” In the story, Fred goes missing and his buddy Ted calls on Sierra to help find him.

The first question we have to ask is “What does Ted look like?” It’s called a character study, and we make sure each character’s appearance enhances their role in the story.

Taillefer dropped me the attached character study of Ted. Mary Ann and I laughed out loud (with joy) when we saw the picture. Grandparents reading the story will recognize Ted as an aging hippy, the kind of guy who might now work at a coffee shop or bakery. We think the kids will like his hair and moustache….and oh, those glasses.

Fred, however, will remain a secret until publication. After all, Sierra uses her nose to find him. If we plaster his picture all over like some kind of wanted poster, then just about anybody would be able to find him.

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