FEATURED PROJECT - JON-LOROND SAVES THE DAY (by Hanna Rasco / Brave Books Press)
This summer I had the wonderful opportunity to work with Hanna Rasco on her first children's book, Jon-Lorond Saves The Day. The book began as a Kickstarter funded project that was a great success, and is now available through Amazon and the Brave Books Press store.
The passion and vision Hanna brought to this project was a strong wind of inspiration as we set sail for the adventure. Here is a snippet of her story:
I really love children’s books and I love reading them to my children. When my girls were little we read Fancy Nancy, Ladybug Girl, and Pinkalicious. Eloise, Olivia, Madeline, and Molly Lou Mellon.
Then I had boys. Two of them. While they are both huge Fancy Nancy fans I was discouraged when I tried to find a children’s picture book where the boy was the imaginative, funny, and intelligent protagonist. You know, the hero of the story. A book where my little men could learn that boys knew big words and still had the ability to save the day. A book that celebrated the special qualities that makes a little boy unique.
That is where the idea of Jon-Lorond began. For the last two years I have been writing and re-writing, going to conferences, getting feedback, re-writing, and trying to find a home for my beloved book. After exhausting all my options. I tried again. And again.
Finally, I decided to try this publishing thing one more time, only this time taking a different route to the finish line. Self-publishing. I am partnering with a very talented artist, Luke Flowers, to bring the world of Jon-Lorond to life.
After hearing Hanna's story, I was on board for the adventure! So I began sketching ideas for our little hero, Jon-Lorond!
I always love the journey of finding the hero in the character design stage. Concept 3 was an instant winner, but now I needed to create the villainous pirates he would be battling. Any chance to sketch scalawags is a welcomed opportunity!
A few of the crew didn't make the cut and had to walk the plank, as we moved on to developing the style a bit more.
Once we had our crew in order, I set sail for storyboards.
The storyboards were a hit with Hanna and she gave me full creative captain freedom. Here are a few of my favorite scenes from the story. It's hard to choose "favorites", as I truly loved the characters, emotion and adventures that played out on every single page.
I'll leave you hanging there (lil' pun intended, yes). You'll have to buy the book to find out how the adventure ends for Jon-Lorond and the crew of scalawags!
Hanna and I would be blessed to have you support this book and share it with your own little heroes. We hope it will be as inspiring and fun for you, as it was for us to create it! We look forward to seeing where Jon-Lorond's next adventure takes him. You can find out more about the project and latest updates for Jon-Lorond at Brave Books Press.
