July, 2025

Back at It...AND a NEW BOOK!

BIG news! (And I mean BIG!)

I’m so excited to FINALLY share the cover of my debut picture book, Catching Kindness. This sweet little story about a cranky boy in a grocery store is written and illustrated by me and published by Magination Press. , and it's out on October 7th!

“Sometimes being kind requires a little more oomph. Especially at the grocery store when everyone seems to be in a bad mood and the car cart you wanted is already taken. But sometimes kindness can take you by surprise. Suddenly, the kid with the car cart yields his ride, and that small act changes everything. If crankiness is catching, kindness can be just as infectious. As one child shows kindness to others, he watches how his kindness spreads and grows, with one kindness leading to another throughout the store.”

Anddd…I got my first review! (I’m gonna pick out the best part, okay?)

“A gentle, no-frills conversation starter about making the world a kinder place. - Kirkus”

I promise I’ll talk more about the making of Catching Kindness soon!

But until then…

PRE-ORDER the book HERE!

The first thirty pre-orders through Best of Books will get a little piece of original art from the book!

Best of Books is a great little bookstore in my hometown of Edmond, Oklahoma. When the book is officially out in October, I’ll do a book launch there where I’ll sign books and we’ll eat cookies and stuff. But until then, preorders really help!

What’s Good?

Vacation, that’s what!

This summer, my family and I went to Colorado, and it was dreamy! We spent a few days in Estes Park and a few days in Boulder. We made few plans, but we had the kind of chill vacation we all needed. A little tip - hold the fish closer to the camera. It makes it look bigger!

Fly-fishing, hiking in the snow, walking on a frozen lake, and encounters of the severance kind at Meow Wolf

Current Fixation

Stamping? Printmaking?

I’ve discovered something about myself that I should’ve known for a while now. I don’t really love painting. I have in the past, I guess. But it’s the drawing, the mark-making, that really gets me excited to make an image. Now, I’m not saying I won’t go back to painting; of course, I will. But for now, I’m diving into something a little different.

In an effort to eliminate painting from the process, I’ve turned to low-stakes printmaking. I know enough about my limits to know that I can’t handle the math of block printing. And there’s no way I can keep my area clean enough to make monoprints and have the colors line up. So, I’ve tried making stamps with craft foam and Styrofoam plates. My goal is to lay down color fast - get in, get out - so I can get to the good stuff faster. We’ll see where all this goes…

I tested a few small little images early on with craft foam and stamp pads.

I got a little more ambitious with these images.

This week I tried out some styrofoam plates. I might be getting closer to something with these.

Fantastic Distractions

Recent Picture Books That Rocked My World

These books are really well crafted. Plus, they made me giggle and smile. What more can you ask for, really?

Wrap it up, Kara!

Thanks for reading this far! I’m really hoping to be more diligent about posting here. But as the new name of this newsletter suggests, instead of having a consistent format every time, I’m just going to go where the wind takes me! Should be interesting, right?