The Ego’s Playbook is written from the POV of the Ego, and it’s chock full of art. Author Pam Grout says it’s “like a picture book for adults.”
Pam wanted lots of visuals, similar to Gun Violence 101 by Thomas Gabor, PhD, which I designed and illustrated last year.
POV
THE EGO’S PLAYBOOK is written from the persepctive of the Ego. Pam wanted the art to look as if the Ego had doodled his pernicious plans as they occurred to him, on whatever scraps he could find. Paraphrasing Pam (condensing from boatloads of emails), “I want the art to look as if the Ego doodled on the back of a coffee-stained napkin.”
Artifacts
I bought a scanner (joy! haven’t had one since we moved to Asia in 2019) and spent weeks collecting bits of paper from sidewalks and parking lots, amassing a giant cluttered pile. Did my stash include bags and wrappers from chopsticks and paper straws? You know it did! Bonus points for readers who can spot them in the book.
I love reading and writing first person POV in fiction, and have a deep affinity for books like Everything, Everything (Nicola Yoon) that include artifacts created by their characters. I’ve written several as-yet-unpublished YA novels that include artifacts, doodles created by the characters in the books (but really by me, of course), so assuming the role of the Ego while drawing was easy and fun. Many of the illustrations, including this one, were thought up by Pam.
Meet the Author: Pam Grout
Pam Grout and I had not met before this project. As we got acquainted, we discovered we have loads in common. I also discovered that she is a delight. You should definitely follow her blog and read her many books.
Recently I had the pleasure of chatting with Laura Backes Bard of WriteForKids about our course DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, which is full of helpful and inspiring advice for writers. 🖤🤍🖤🤍
In 2023, I was in NYC with the publisher of Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist, Michael Sampson. (If you don’t know Michael, look him up, he is hugely impressive!) We were walking past chic boutiques in Manhattan when Michael told me about a fashion book idea about which he’d been ruminating for years. (We also brunched at Ellens Stardust Diner, seen below, which was SO FUN.)
Because he is a super thoughtful person and also a keen researcher, Michael knew some obscure facts about my history, including my former life as a theatrical costume designer.
In that moment, a collaboration was born.
Because Michael is not only talented and prolific but also gracious, he allowed me to take his idea and write it in verse. Creating the art for this dream assignment was, well, a dream! I am so grateful to Michael and to the amazing team at Brown Books Publishing, led by the brilliant publishing maven Milli Brown. Designer Danny did an incredible job. He is a magician of typography and, therefore, is my personal hero.
Book Tour
Michael and are presently touring to promote A MAKER OF DRESSES. We visited TLA (the Texas Library Association Convention) in Dallas yesterday, which was incredible, and will be making various stops across the US next week. Follow along on our social media, and if you’re in Atlanta, Miami, Austin, or Wake Forest, I hope you’ll stop by and say hello!
Gun Violence 101: A Graphic Guide to How Gun Safety Policies Save Lives
I am pleased to announce the release of Gun Violence 101: A Graphic Guide to How Gun Safety Policies Save Lives, written by Thomas Gabor, PHD, which I designed and illustrated.
The Origin Story
I listen to the news while I’m illustrating. Two years ago, in the Spring of 2023, I was heavily involved with Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist, my picture book biography of a victim of the Uvalde school shooting.
While listening to MSNBC, I heard Nicolle Wallace’s remarkable interview of co-authors Fred Guttenberg and Thomas Gabor. They were making the rounds to discuss their excellent book American Carnage: Shattering Myths About Gun Violence in America.
It was refreshing to hear clear, sober wisdom about gun violence in America. I was so inspired by the conversation, I created an anti-gun-violence social media campaign illustrating quotes by Guttenberg, Gabor, Wallace and others.
I read American Carnage and was immediately inspired. It occurred to me that all of the many shocking statistics could be shown in a visual way, similar to one of my all-time-favorite books, Steal Like an Artist.
I wrote to Fred and Tom and shared my vision for a book chock full of infograhics that would build on their masterwork, American Carnage.
Fred, whose beautiful daughter Jaime was a victim of the horrible Parkland shooting, replied that he was moving away from books; Tom Gabor, however, was interested in collaborating. Not only that, he had a similar idea. We got to work immediately.
Two years later, Gun Violence 101: A Graphic Guide to How Gun Safety Policies Save Lives is finally available from Mango Publishing. My sincere thanks to Fred Guttenberg, who wrote our foreword; to the entire team at Mango Publishing; and especially to my collaborator and friend Tom Gabor. Hopefully all of our efforts will make a difference.
Click here to order your copy from Barnes & Noble today, or support your local bookseller—if they don’t have it in stock, they can get it!
I’m excited to announce that I recently signed with a literary agent for my writing: Don Pape of Pape Commons! Meanwhile, I’m still illustrating children’s books, for which I remain happily represented by MB Artists.
I met Don Pape virtually decades ago. He was working at one of the big publishing houses, editing a book written by a friend. Don doesn’t remember me from those days, but I will never forget him! My friend shared samples of my writing with him, and he was very encouraging—so encouraging that I kept at it, through motherhood and professor-ing, through illustrating and writing picture books, and several international moves.
A Serendipitous Meeting
While on a tour for my picture book Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist in 2023, I was one of several speakers at an Author Breakfast at the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association Meeting in Denver. Don was behind me in line for the breakfast buffet. When I saw his name tag, I almost tipped over.
“You’re Don Pape!” I said.
“Yes, I am!” he agreed.
Don ended up at my table. In fact, we sat next to each other. He explained his new role as a literary agent; I explained my recent interest in writing fiction for older kids.
Since then, I’ve completed two young adult novels and am finalizing my third. Don has graciously agreed to represent me for all of them, and I am thrilled!
Finding an agent, of course, is only the first step on the road to publication. Stay tuned for news here and on my social media channels. (I’m @violetlemay pretty much everywhere.)
Are you agented, or querying agents? Share your stories, comment and questions below… and happy writing!
Way back in 2023, my friends Laura Backes Bard and Jon Bard, the couple behind the Children’s Book Insider Newsletter, Write For Kids, and Writing Blueprints, asked me to design characters for a new website that would combine all of their services.
In a Zoom meeting, Laura and Jon cast their vision: Characters representing several types of writers sitting around an Algonquin-style roundtable. I sent this sketch full of options.
We all preferred the anthropormorphic characters for this kid lit venture. Over time, Laura and Jon fine-tuned their vision and sent me descriptions of 6 characters and a color palette…
…which I illustrated in various poses.
Eventually, I also had the pleasure of athromorphizing Laura and Jon.
I mean. How cute is this?
(o:
If you’re a writer of books for kids—of if you’d like to become one—definitely check out this fantastic new website. Write For Kids Online has everything you need to get you started and send you on your way to becoming a successful author.
When I was very young, my family moved from Illinois to Missouri. At the new house, my father promptly planted a row of roses along the back edge of the patio for my mother. Mom wasn’t a big gardener. I’m not sure how much time she or Dad spent tending her roses, but every summer, they bloomed.
My husband and I recently bought a home in Timaru, New Zealand. It’s our fourth house, although we haven’t owned one since leaving the US in 2015. Buying a home here has been our dream for nearly a decade, so of course we’re floating on a cloud of joy now that we;re home owners—but for me, it’s not just the house that’s making me happy. It’s the roses.
City of Roses
I can’t smell a rose without thinking of my mom, and Timaru is teeming with them. We just happened to drive past this gorgeous “Rose Cottage” while running errands this morning.
In five minutes, I can walk from our front door to a gorgeous rose garden in Caroline Bay, a beautiful city park.
Last weekend, a rose festival kicked off the summer season. (New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere, so summer begins in December.) And there are roses casually strewn about everywhere, decorating the lawns and gardens of nearly every house.
A Woman Who Prays
Dec 7 was my mom’s birthday. She passed away a few years ago. Some people say that grieving hearts heal over time, but I’m not sure that’s true. It’s more like grief changes you. You learn to function in spite of it.
My mother never stopped praying, and I know she had a hand in guiding me and Fred to Timaru, city of roses. Strangely, our new house—which has plenty of other flowers—had nary a rose. We fixed that today. We bought this rose and planted it for my mom, Marianne.
She is everywhere here, all around me, in every rose.
I feel closer now to my mother than ever—despite the grief and loss, which are still there, and always will be. I’m very, very grateful for our new home, and for the roses,
If you’re an American who has never been to the UK, Australia, or New Zealand and have never experienced entertainment (films, series, books) created by citizens of the aforementioned, what I’m about to share may shock you: Americans, on average, don’t speak as well as our neighbors from across the pond. A command of the English language is not prized in the US; in fact, in my experience, it is mocked. (I’m talking to you, Grinchman75—you meant “grammar Nazi” as a burn, but I have risen like a … what do you call that thingy? Oh yeah… a Phoenix!)
One American in particular—me—is especially guilty. I grew up in a family ruled by the ellipse. Rarely were sentences completed. Instead, we trailed off after a few words (…) ending our sentences with facial expressions, gestures, and—especially my father—laughter.
Dad (best father ever) also uses self-created replacements for words he doesn’t know or can’t remember, “jobbie” being a perpetual favorite; as in, “Kid, bring me that little jobbie (gestures towards object on table). No, not that one, the one we got from the…” (nod and smile, eyes sparkling, followed by raucous laughter).
Word Robbers
Sleep deprivation from motherhood whilst working two jobs did my brain no favors. I suspect wine with dinner (I swear, doc—two glasses a week) doesn’t, either. But lately, the main theft of my ability to speak proper English is my career. As a WRITER.
Sure, I spend months at a time locked in my studio wrestling with words, but here’s the thing: talking is different. Conversation is an art, a skill, and a muscle. Neglect it and it will atrophy. After speaking to no one apart from my husband (who, by now, understands my half-spoken, half-pantomime communication style), I’m barely able to ask a friend about her day. “How… you? Good?” Crikey.
Books
Reading sharpens my awareness of my verbal inadequacies. The last one to the party, I recently read Bridget Jones’s Diary. Helen Fielding’s vocabulary is stunning!
Same with Nicked, by National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson, which I was prompted to read by an Instagram Story by another amazing author, Rainbow Rowell. (Master American wordsmiths, both.) (USA! USA!) Rainbow’s recent best seller, Slow Dance, is a gorgeous slow burn.
Run, don’t walk, to your bookstores and buy all of these incredible reads!
Do it, now!
What I’m trying to say is, especially now that I’m conversing daily with well-spoken Kiwis (with killer accents, by the way)…
Goodbye, Duolingo!
After two years studying Spanish, Italian, and French, I’ve deleted your rude, mean, albeit educational app from all of my devices. (Image to left is actual app icon used to bully users to engage.) Instead of guiltily trying to recall high school French for fifteen minutes a day (because, let’s face it, le vocabularie in my long term memory is all I’ll ever have), I intend to use my Duolingo time to write and read gorgeous books, and talk about them. Hopefully my English usage will be strengthened in the process.
My latest picture book, Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist, recently won several awards.
The Eric Hoffer Award
Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist won the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize; click here to read more.
Reading the West
The Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association’s READING THE WEST competition is a people’s choice award. Thanks to everyone who voted. Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist won Best Picture Book! Click here to watch the award ceremony.
Next Generation Indie Book Awards
Finalist, Children’s Picture Book, Non-Fiction. Click here to see the awards catalog.
IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award
Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist won Independent Book Publishers Association’s Benjamin Franklin Silver Medal for the design of the book’s interior. Special thanks to Danny of Brown Books who finessed my suggested design. Click here to see the full list of winners.
Children’s Book Council Favorite(s)
Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist was selected as a Children’s Book Council K-2nd GradeFAVORITE by children, teachers, and librarians! Click here to see the complete list.
The BookFest
Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist won a Gold Medal in the Children’s Historical category, and a Silver Medal in the Picture Book category of The BookFest’s spring competition. Click here to see!
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Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist, a joyous celebration of art and life, is a picturebook biography of Uvalde victim Alithia Ramirez. Alithia’s artwork is included in the book (with her parents’ permission, of course). Click here to order your copy today—or, shop local! Order a copy from your local bookstore.
I am honored and completely flabbergasted to have been awarded the Hoffer Grand Prize for Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist, a picture book biography of Uvalde victim Alithia Ramirez that I wrote and illustrated in 2022. Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist was released by Michael Sampson Books in association with Brown Books in October 2023. All thanks to the Eric Hoffer Award committee, the publisher, my agent, and especially to Alithia and her family.
In addition to the honor of winning and a lovely cash prize which I will share with Alithia’s family, the Hoffer committee also provided the following commentary:
Hoffer Grand Prize
The Eric Hoffer grand prize is the highest distinction awarded each year.
Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist, Violet Lemay, Michael Sampson Books – A life itself can be a lasting image. Alithia Ramirez loved to express herself through art and share that passion with others. In fact, “her art voice was love.” She dreamt of studying in Paris and worked hard to become a better at her craft. This vibrant picture book combines the author’s illustrations with young Alithia’s original drawings, while honoring this gifted child and the love, color, and creativity she brought into the world. It was written with the support of Alithia’s parents, who lost her in the Uvalde school tragedy. The book does not however focus on the tragedy, but instead tastefully mentions Althia’s death only in the postscript. This could simply be avoided for the youngest audience or at least presented in the way of the parents’ choosing where death is part of life itself. It’s not easy for a children’s picture book to outscore expert works of fiction or heavily researched nonfiction. This book was wonderfully arranged, poignantly delivered, and brilliantly executed.
Order Signed Copies of “Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist”
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