Tomorrow I go to Orchard Books to deliver the illustrations for the new Katie book, Katie and the Waterlily Pond. It’s not been an easy book, I’ve been ill and there have been various distractions (like holidays in Cromer!). The book will not be published for a year or so, but in the meantime here are a few pictures to show you what I’ve been up to. I hope you(and Orchard!) like them…
Posted in Katie
11 responses to “Book 10 – almost finished!”
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Hi James,
It looks beautiful! Congratulations! I’m a bit fascinated by your studio, you know – it looks like some sort of cluttered, eclectic J M Waterhouse painting. Good luck with the hand-in tomorrow, and DO remember to treat yourself to lots of puddings! xxx -
Good luck. You are braver than me. I bundle my stuff up and post it as I can’t bear to see their faces when they look at my work. Hope the day goes well. Looking forward to talking. Also looking forward to seeing what you do next!
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J M Waterhouse??? In my dreams. I LOVE his work…The Lady of Shalott is one of my all time faves.
As for Bravery with delivering, it’s only because I don’t trust the post…
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Lovely stuff, very evocative and wish-I-was-there-ish which is what such a picture should be, I think.
JW Waterhouse by the way! John William. I have a horrible feeling I’m going to miss the exhibition of his work at the Royal Academy at the moment. But I love the Lady of Shalott too.
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You are absolutey right Griffin. It is J WILLIAM Waterhouse. And he deserves to be corrected on account of his wistful, melancholic paintings. The Lady of Shalott reminds of Anne of Green Gables, when Anne floats off in a dingy, reciting Tennyson (and sinks!). Kate and I watched an old BBC series back in the 70’s. To this day we call our mother “Marilla”!
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Thank you so much for visiting my blog! What a treat. 🙂 My girls have truly loved your books and we have two home now from the library that I’m going to incorporate into some homeschool activites for my kindergartener. Congratulations on book 10! (I don’t know if you or your publisher send out copies for review, but I would LOVE to promote it on my blog if you would like!)
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Oops! Sorry!
J W Waterhouse
J W Waterhouse
J W Waterhouse… -
Hi Stephanie, Lovely to be in touch electronically. I was so touched to discover your kind words about Katie and I’m really thrilled to hear of the books being used and enjoyed in this way.And I love your blog, by the way, full of interesting things. I’ll mention you to Orchard when review copies are sent out (not for about a year I’m afraid!). if they won’t send you one, I will!
Some of the more recent titles have not been published in the US, so you may not have found them. See if you spot any titles you don’t recognise, and let me know!Best wishes,
J -
I loved looking at your watercolours, as they inspire me so much. I also like to see how another illustrator works. Fabulous!
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Thanks Trish, that’s very kind. It really IS interesting to see how others work…but I usually end up hating my own work! I’m always wishing I was someone else. I suppose that’s why I enjoy the Katie books. I get to be Monet, Turner, Renoir, Leonardo da Vinci – for a few days. You learn so much from studying their paintings in such detail. Inspiring but humbling.
Events
Peter & the Wolf at Ipswich Book Festival- 3 October 2026
- Ipswich
Peter And The Wolf at Saffron Hall- 4 October 2026
- Saffron Walden
Peter & The Wolf Book Launch at FuzzypegFolk- 9 October 2026
- Bungay
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