by jdsmeaton | Aug 7, 2024 | Creativity, Recommendations
Everything you want is on the other side of fear. That’s an adage that’s been bopping around my head recently. I’m not sure fear is in the way of everything. I often want cookies and fear rarely holds me back from those. But I get the truth of that statement. One of...
by jdsmeaton | Jul 17, 2024 | 3 Questions With...
Bethanie Murguia I met Bethanie a couple years ago at Kid Comics Unite where we were in a writer’s group together. Bethanie was a seasoned children’s book author but was working on her first graphic novel. It was about a little girl and the bond she has with her dog....
by jdsmeaton | Jul 3, 2024 | Creativity, Storytelling
Hey, That Was My Idea There is this interesting phenomenon called simultaneous invention. This is when the same idea shows up in different places independently or when a discovery is made simultaneously by multiple scientists or inventors. This happens in comedy too...
by jdsmeaton | Jun 19, 2024 | 3 Questions With...
Pedro Martin I came across Pedro Martin last year when his graphic novel Mexikid burst onto the scene. It’s the story of when his very large family all drove down from central California to Mexico to bring his grandfather back to live with them. It is such a...
by jdsmeaton | Jun 5, 2024 | Behind the Scenes, Writing
If At First You Don’t Succeed… If you read last month’s newsletter, you know my upcoming graphic novel Woodland Hills was dropped by the publisher. The rights have been reverted to me so I’ll be pitching again to new publishers. My agent asked if I wanted to...
by jdsmeaton | May 22, 2024 | Creativity, News
Some Fishy Advice In the movie Finding Nemo, Marlin and Dory have just lost their only connection to finding Nemo. Marlin is despondent but the oblivious and optimistic Dory asks “When life gets you down, do you know what you’ve got to do?” Marlin does not want to...
by jdsmeaton | May 15, 2024 | 3 Questions With...
Jonah Newman My introduction to Jonah occurred when I was originally participating in Kidlit GN, a pitch event on Twitter for graphic novel creators. It’s a way for editors and agents to see your work even if you are not represented. Jonah saw my original pitch for...
by jdsmeaton | Apr 24, 2024 | 3 Questions With...
Gene Luen Yang This is Part 2 of Lunar New Year Love Story creators interview. I got to meet Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham at a book signing for LNYLS and they both had fascinating behind-the-scenes tidbits and stories to share. Sidenote, if you are ever in a...
by jdsmeaton | Apr 17, 2024 | 3 Questions With...
LeUyen Pham Pronounced Lay-Win Or Win for short. I went to a book signing last month for LeUyen Pham and Gene Luen Yang’s book Lunar New Year Love Story. It was such a treat to sit in on their discussion. Lots of fascinating insights and behind the scenes anecdotes....
by jdsmeaton | Apr 10, 2024 | Creativity, Writing
The Thief of Joy: Overcoming the Comparison Trap My wife and I were talking about our career paths and aspirations. The conversation drifted to comparing our current situations to those of others we perceive as more “successful.” I’ve certainly tumbled...
