In between shaping earth, scribbling in notebooks and bringing Mac back from the dead, I have also been working with an author/illustrator on their short story, “The Forgotten Picnic Basket“. The story is a simple, but heartwarming, tale about a forgotten picnic basket and the little mouse that finds it.
Sadly (in my opinion), it will not be published or released to the general public. Instead, the story will be handed out freely, in print, to a limited number of persons unbeknownst to me. It is uniquely small in size and contains 10 pages of artwork (a sample sketch can be seen at the end of this post).
Before anyone asks me for a copy, I have no say in its distribution. My role in the project was simply editing and photography. I mention it here as an interesting side-project that took me away from my work on “Glade” for a couple of days last month.
It was a great opportunity to lend a hand with a project that interested me. My reluctance to accept payment for my time was dismissed as being entirely unacceptable and remittance was rendered in the form of a bottle of whisky (Laphroaig “Select” for anyone interested). Despite a great many protestations I was eventually worn down and forced to accept.
Now, I wrote this post a while back; just before Mac succumbed to his fateful battery attack. In the time since then, I was politely asked by the author of the aforementioned book if I could conceal her name. Understanding her concerns, I have done as requested and also obscured the name from the book cover and sketch sample that I reveal here. The reasons behind this desire for privacy stems from an aversion to search-engine stalking and the possible connection to their public persona.
So, this post is a little sparse on details I’m afraid. Nice cover though, isn’t it?
THE FORGOTTEN PICNIC BASKET is now available
from AMAZON in print and ebook formats
It is a very nice cover.
It’s a pity not to have the possibility to read a good story, but I understand the author’s desire to give a gift to the people she loves. That’s a precious thing 🙂
And I’m happy the project was a good one for you too.
Yeah, having worked on the formatting, I can understand her reasons beyond linking her public and personal life. The story is very short, but works well in print as the book is small in size. It reminds me of one of those little booklets you sometimes get with a gift. I don’t think it would translate well to ebook formats. Just based upon size, it would have to be released for free anyway.
I hope that it will become one of those works that authors sometimes release, which will one day become sought after. I quite like that thought and it has given me some idea towards Christmas and birthday presents 😉
Of course, I hope that at some point she will decide to release the story online via her own website. Until then, I must adhere to a vow of secrecy – I know she reads these comments! 🙂
Eh, eh, eh 🙂
I love those little books too. We have published a few, here at the publishing house, always for ‘personal use’.
They are really the perfect gift.