july news: {briefly} back in the studio

a story*filled july!!

i’m home from highlights camp, the happy mail sticker club continues, & another big city adventure isjust around the corner!

did you get your ewok sticker?

if you got the july preview newsletter a couple weeks ago, you saw a sneak peek of this li'l fella! in order to help my author friend beth revis celebrate her upcoming star wars book THE PRINCESS & THE SCOUNDREL, i painted some early fan art of one of the wedding guests! ;D

there's still time to join the crayon box this month (my author-illustrator patreon) and get not JUST july's summer sticker club sticker, but your welcome goodies, THIS super*adorable sticker, and more goodies from beth herself!

click the button above to check out the crayon box! join for just $5 a month (or more); and you can of course cancel anytime. if you want to see ALL the things crayon box members are getting access to this month (happy mail! art! a new story from denmark! highlights summer writing camp updates! + more studio fun!) click HERE. :D

here’s to the books!

^ my favorite reads of june.

we are the song, by catherine bakewell: a middle grade fantasy that read to me as if Aslan was a goddess and lucy pevensie was a singer. it was beautiful and creatively empowering and i even made an "alternate cover art" mixed media painting for it in the crayon box last month!

admission: a novel, by julie buxbaum: a YA fiction title exploring the kids affected by the college admission scandal. it wasn't inspired by any particular celebrity or their (privileged) kids, but fascinating to understand the drama from the kids' perspective: their hopes, shattered dreams, and floundering expectations of higher education.

sense and second-degree murder, by tirzah price: the second in the jane austen murder mystery series (remember me going on and on about pride & premeditation last year?) it's a YA retelling of sense & sensibility and brought back alllllll the emma thompson and kate winslet vibes... with a healthy dose of girl power and oodles of (murder!) mystery! :D

all the greys on greene street, by laura tucker: do i have a new favorite middle grade book? possibly. it's soho in the 1980's. warehouses and artist studios, adult depression, family drama, danger, mysteries, friendship... and of course, the way our young artist heroine sees the world as she puts it down in her sketchbook. it was moving and beautiful.

if you don't have an independent bookstore in your town, you can shop online at bookshop.org! i've organized my page by category if you're ever in need of a recommendation.

^ currently reading/reading next!

how maya got fierce, by sona charaipotra: i got to meet sona at highlights camp last week, and her latest book just came out THIS tuesday! (i got the 2nd signed copy in the world; thankfully her mom got a copy first before i cornered her over s'mores for an autograph!) ;D it's younger x the bold type: a southeast asian california garlic farm girl gets her dream job at her favorite magazine in nyc where they don't know she's still a teenager... ! i'm currently reading and loving it! (gimme allll the ugly betty x devil wears prada + cultural representation vibes any time!!)

the charmed list by julie abe: a magical YA contemporary that was my signed, indie pre*order of the month!

contested will: who wrote shakespeare? by james shapiro: because if i'm gonna read non-fiction, it'd better be a travel memoir or about the theatre. (it's also the only answer famed shakespeare actor-director mark rylance will give if you ask him the authorship question.)

hummingbird, by natalie lloyd: another amazingly magical middle grade from one of my all-time favorite authors! (definitely my fave living middle grade author!!) this one doesn't come out until august 2 (but thankfully for you that's not that far away!) i'm doing everything in my power to (finally!) meet natalie on tour, so it's also an august indie pre*order for me!!

it's a crazy month for me: still processing my overwhelmingly inspiring time at highlights (the crayon box gets to read the post early here!!), i'm painting two more pieces for a secret commission TBA soon, i'm creating more art for my patreons (including august's summer sticker club sticker! our last month of happy mail unless we reach our membership goal to keep stickers coming all year!), working on my theatrical middle grade novel, aaaaand nathan & i are headed up to NYC again at the end of the month! whew! so stay tuned to all the bookish, artsy fun! :D

here's to many more story-filled, creative adventures for us all!

with peace, love, and many colourful reads to you,
*hallie :)