As you know, publishing takes place over a long span of time, and when the writer types, "The End"---it is really the beginning.  I have a picture book coming out in the fall and showed you a glimpse of it some weeks ago.  I'll be talking about it more as its publication approaches.

So: the "package" that I described in my last post was actually the galleys of an upcoming book which is  scheduled for publication in Spring 2010.  I'll show you a quick glimpse of a page (in galley form) so that you can see and appreciate the illustrations done by my friend Jules Feiffer.  I once told Jules he drew FEET better than anyone else, and that is true, but you can't really see it in this one small drawing.  What you can see is the whimsical charm of his work....very appropriate for this completely whimsical book, set in a mthyical kingdom with all the standard accoutrements: royalty, castles, serving maids and suitors.

In this scene, the large wheelbarrow is filled, I am sorry to say, with newly-neck-wrung pigeons.  That's right: dead birds.  Soon to be served, creamed, along with many other luxurious goodies, at The Birthday Ball (which is the title of the book)...

Thanks, Jules!