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 I’ve written several as-yet-unpublished YA novels that include artifacts, doodles created by the characters in the books (but really by me, of course), so assuming the role of the Ego while drawing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.
illustories 