june's a wrap (of carbs and books, as per usual.)
hello, my glitter chestnut whirling dervishes of dinosaur sprinkle cupcakes!!
hope you’ve all had a teeeeriffic june! (it’s as muggy as a finnish sauna in the rainforest here, but i’m inside typing, so i’m oh*kay right now, thanks for checking.)
here’s some funzies from this month!
i was on a break. now i’m over it.
i took a break for instagram for the month.
(wrote a blog about it at the mid*way point, too.)
essentially, i didn’t love not being there among my virtual people. (EXcEpT for the fact that i was a LOT less distracted everytime i picked up my phone to check the weather.) ;)
i’m excited to be back MONDAY with our weekly reading book review and sharing all the silly things that make me happy. (took a picture of a muffin that looked like the big hill in CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND at writer’s group this morning. that’s the kind of quality content you can expect in the back-to-insta days ahead… bwahaha.)
all you can do…
so you guys and gals know i have a patreon page, yeah? (a.k.a. “the crayon box!”)
anyway, MY favourite person to support on patreon is my best*selling author pal beth revis.
in one of her educational/informative author/writing posts this month, she ended with this banger:
“all you can do is keep writing.”
so i illustrated it.
you can see the time*lapse painting video here on my youtube, or support me in the crayon box (comes with sticker mail!) and watch it here:
you can follow beth’s writing wisdom and her serial fiction on her patreon here:
and in my book life this month…
while i might have been off of instagram, i still recorded our four WEEKLY READING BOOK REVIEWS episodes for the month of june! you can watch them on my youtube HERE, or collected on my art blog HERE!
here were my favourite reads of the month:
DREADFUL by caitlin rozakis
i mean, look at those painted edges! bahaha. skulls and garlic? i was sold. it was weird and funny and a total spin on all the old fantasy tropes of yore. (short take: a dark wizard wakes up in his lab with amnesia and has to figure out WHat The evil pLan is and Why there’s a kidnapped princess in his dungeon.)
THE LANGUAGE OF GHOSTS by heather fawcett
this one’s not in the picture above because i already leant it out! it’s middle grade perfection: three royal siblings on the run on an invisible island they steer through the seas of their kingdom as they escape the hostile insurrection. (i promise it’s not as serious as it sounds.) by the author of EMILY WILDE’S ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF FAERIES. also, can we give it points for the best book title ever?!
A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN by virginia woolf
another classic i somehow missed? reads more like an essay, but it’s powerful and so beautifully written, and i can’t believe how little has changed for women in the 100+ years since it was written.
TRUE GRIT by charles portis
still in awe as to how i’d gone so long without reading this book, too. it’s incredible: the voice of the narrator. the style of storytelling. the brilliant, snarky banter between the u.s. marshall and the texas ranger. it’s thrilling and a wee bit violent, but hello, the american west. it’s a must-read.
SHAKESPEARE: THE MAN WHO PAYS THE RENT by dame judi dench
transcript of dame judi dench in conversation about her 75+ years of performing in shakespeare productions and movie adaptations. funny and wise. not just for her insight into the plays (and the sometimes irredeemable characters she’s played), but hints about acting, preserving language, and for being a creative in this fast-paced world of immediacy.
THE BARD AND THE BOOK: How the First Folio Saved the Plays of William Shakespeare from Oblivion by ann bausum, illustrated by marta sevilla
a nonfiction kids’ book with all the kinds of quirky trivia i love, broken down into understandable info. accessible and enjoyable for all ages.
ITTY BITTY BETTY BLOB by constance lombardo, illustrated by micah player.
while it was digital/photoshop illustrations, it was still a spooky*cute colourful explosion of being yourself and the cover under the wrap is the wallpaper i want in my life. it’ll be next month’s picture book deep*dive video in the crayon box or right here on substack!
(book title links take you to the book on bookshop.org where you can conveniently shop for books online while supporting independent bookstores across the country who support their local economies and serve their neighbors with literary, author-supporting, and educational book events instead of price-gouging to control the publishing industry to send non-tax-paying billionaires into space. it’s just my book-shopping preference.) ;)
what stories did YOU love the most this month??
it’s gonna be a VERY festive month in the crayon box!
if you're not yet a paid crayon box member, This IS the Month!
here are all the ExciTING things you definitely don't want to miss on my patreon this upcoming muggy, indoor picnic-y month o' july:
very FesTIVE double sticker mail celebrating a certain international event with a certain crayon box "mascot" who's BEEN THERE ;)
picture book deep*dive video exploring itty bitty betty blob by contance lombardo (a nearly-local asheville, NC author-illustrator) and illustrated by micah player
time*lapse painting video of a certain red panda character of mine for....
studio process as i develop a picture book dummy of said red panda friend
and first to hear any agent/publishing news as it happens!
^ see those pages in that glitter sloth folder? my finale of a beta reader (the infamous haley from this haley/allie/hallie blog post) gave me the thumbs up to send my middle grade manuscript back to an agent after a revise & resubmit request… we anticipate an update any day now…?! :D
currently (sorta) listening:
i listen to a LOT of podcasts. possibly too many. BUT one worries you’re gonna miss the story/the info/the advice that’ll change your life… mmm, maybe that’s an issue for another time.
but here’s what’s in my ears right now:
VESPERISMS
author-illustrator and art pal vesper stamper dropping some beautiful, difficult truths through her essays here on substack, her podcast, and through her stunning must-read historical fiction YA illustrated novels.
THE BLONDE IDENTITY by ally carter
i mean, did i get it for the eiffel tower earring? or the fact that it’s dual-narrators? or because it’s ally’s adult debut (& a spy novel)? i dunno. i’m not very far into it, but it’s been a while since i listened to a BOOK instead of a podcast, so it’s fun when i can pay attention. :)
(while i’m painting and recording on my phone in the studio, though, i’m more than likely listening to henry mancini tunes on my cd player.)
okay! that’s all the news and sorta-news that’s fit to type for the month! :D
hope you’ve been having a stupendous, story-filled summer! :)
xo,
*hallie :)
nathan & i got all dressed up for a friend’s wedding this month. without the insta, i feel like it’s been forever since i showed you my face. so here’s me looking decent without a filter. ;D