Eric Rohmann was great, once again. I got to his apartment around 11:30, and we promptly took out my “stuff” and talked about what I am working on and where I need to go with it. He had all sorts of great ideas and offered great advice for honing my story and exploring the tangents to make sure I don’t miss any great ideas lurking in my subconscious. I also got a little sneak-preview of his next project, which looks just awesome. I love his painting style.

Over lunch we talked more about the “business.” There are many ways to get into the children’s book world, and I feel like there is definitely a place for me in it somewhere, though I am set on taking my time and being patient. I want to do good work, not just get work out the door. It was also good to learn that publishers can be quite flexible about the timeline: if they know I have a day job (and I do), they can give me more time to work on things (which I will need.)

Finally, we went back up to his apartment to look at a couple things online. I’ve felt like I have been taking a lot of his time without being able to offer much in return, so I thought I’d offer some website development time, if he wanted it, since I know web development. I’m not sure he really wants to set anything up right now, but it was good for me to feel like I could offer something to him. We spent a bunch of time looking at Bear Skin Rug, which I hadn’t seen in a while. Finally, at about 5:30 we both realized we needed to be other places, and we parted.

Previously I wondered why Eric was so good at being encouraging and supportive, even after seeing the obvious gap between the quality and maturity of his work when compared to mine. But as we were talking it came out that he has his MFA, and for a time he considered taking a faculty position at some university or another. He would make a great teacher, though it would be a shame to take him away from his books. I think “unofficial mentor” suits him well, anyway.

It was a great visit, and I think the biggest thing I need to work on right now is my painting, and the style and design of the book. As a result, I have recently spent too much money at the various local art supply stores, and not enough time actually drawing and painting, but I am making progress. I think.

Our trip to Kansas was great. I hadn’t seen my grandma in about two and a half years, which is just silly. It wasn’t a long trip, but it was great to see her kicking around on her new ankle. I didn’t know they could even do ankle replacement surgery, but I guess it is a relatively new procedure. She was getting around like a 60-year-old!

We took part of the day on Saturday to go out the the Konza Prairie restoration. They have something like 300 bison on about 7,000 acres, and we were led on a tour of the preserve by one of my grandma’s 92-year-old neighbors (who, incidentally, had gotten hip replacement just 8 weeks before our tour!) Mr. Thomas has been a docent at the prairie for 10 years, and it is clear that he loves to be out there.

Not only did we get to spend time with my grandma, but we got to spend some time with her husband, whom we have only barely met. They got married about three weeks after we did, so we didn’t have a chance to go to the wedding, and we haven’t really had a chance to see them much since then. He is a warm, friendly guy with a deep, booming, professorial voice. It is clear he and my grandma care very much about one another.

And of course the journey is as important as the destination: we drove down there with my dad and his partner after meeting up at her house in Iowa. It was great to have a chance to talk with them and catch up on their plans for the near future.

All-in-all, a great trip.

Groggy little hedgehog.

The gargoyle was a birthday present from my brother.

“Don’t mess with me.”

She’s as big as my head!! (not really; she fits in the palm of one hand)

We only got her yesterday, and we had to leave her alone most of the night because we were stressing her out, so she doesn’t have an official name yet. But yes, we got a hedgehog!

Isn’t she cute? =)