Wednesday, December 2, 2015

A deeper look into - Owen's Pirate Adventure

June 11, 2015


This is the first post in a series around introducing the various books that I have been a part of, over the last few years. My thought is that I could go a little more in depth around the process of creating the books themselves and the themes involved in the stories and artwork etc.

In Sept 2011 I was introduced to Terrilee Bulger, the owner/publisher of Acorn Press. Acorn Press is a small press publisher that focuses on publishing and promoting a wide variety of books that are all Prince Edward Island centric. The work that they put out ranges from adult fiction and non-fiction, poetry, books filled with beautiful photography from around the island and in my case, childrens books.

Shortly after meeting Terrilee and establishing that we would like to work together on a project, she has sent me an email asking me if I was interested in drawing pirates. Well at the time I was really getting into the books and work of Johny Duddle who has created some amazing worlds full of awesome pirate characters, so my head was already that space.


I was teamed up with award winning YA Author Patti Larsen and set about to illustrate a book about pirates that would take the readers on an adventure, all the while teaching them that the grass is not always greener. Spending time with Patti at our signings proved to be invaluable experiences, as she is a fountain of knowledge on all things book publishing.

I had lots of fun with the whole process and my earlier experience working in the art and design worlds really helped me to understand the iterative process that also exists in the publishing world as well.

All in all it was a wonderful first foray for myself into the world of Childrens books publishing.


Owen's Pirate Adventure met with very positive responses from the public. Here is one such review below.

"Owen’s Pirate Adventure is the perfect tale for any children interested in pirates. They will easily relate to Owen who wants to be a pirate, read about pirates and play with pirates. The author and illustrator have done a good job of creating a balance of excitement and danger that will entertain young readers without frightening them."

- Sophia Hunter is a teacher-librarian at Crofton House School in Vancouver, BC.



For more information and to purchase - CLICK HERE