There is good news and bad news. I’ll start with the good, which is that my new book The Wolf Who Cried Boy is almost finished!
The story is a fractured fairy tale retelling of The Boy Who Cried Wolf from the perspective of the wolf that acts as both a prequel and sequel. My target demographic is the 8-12 age range since the themes are better suited for older children.
The Wolf Who Cried Boy emphasizes the notion that even when a liar speaks the truth, they will forever face disbelief and mistrust as their only remaining loyal companions. Through the wolf’s journey, children learn the value of honesty and integrity and the destructive effects of deceit on relationships.
Artistically, it is influenced by Nordic fairy tale style art, and thematically green is important since it represents envy (hence the green-eyed wolf). The art style was initially requested by Fairytales and Myths when I created their creature artwork on commission in Summer 2023. But I loved it so much that I decided to create my own children’s book using the same style.
The bad news is that I may never finish Princess Zee And The White Witch (working title). I originally came up with the concept as a spin-off to Princess Zee Comes To America. But that book, which came out on Juneteenth 2023, is nowhere near as popular with readers as Princess Zee’s Alphabet Book, so I decided to switch gears after finishing the large Fairytales and Myths project, which involved illustrating over 100 creatures.
Will I ever go back to the Princess Zee series? It really depends on the readers. In the meantime, I’m hoping this lone wolf’s howl will catch everyone’s attention.