fiction

The Odessa Chronicles: My Art on the Cover of a Book!

/ Jodi / 85 Comments

The Odessa Chronicles.

What an honor it is to see my original watercolor art on the cover of a book!

A sweet blogging friend, Carolyn Shelton,  challenged me a while back to create a painting of the one of the characters she and and her writing “partner in crime” (and partner in humor and heart and spirit), Colin Chappell created in their ongoing collaborative fictional story that was being shared on Carolyn’s blog.  When I painted Odessa the barn owl as a special gift to Carolyn, she loved it.  So I decided to paint the other characters that lived on Moonbeam Farm as well.

As the story grew, Carolyn and Colin decided to publish their series into a book, and they asked if they could use my art for the cover and inside the book.  I happily agreed, and now Carolyn’s dream has finally come to fruition!

Odessa is a barn owl with an attitude who befriended Jaxon, a magical jackalope.  The two of them met Dewy, a cat who desired a life of luxury, and the three of them moved into an empty farm.

Joshua Jeremiah Jonathan Jacob Jackson Pebblestone bought his dream farm.  His life was going to be spent immersed in the peace and quiet of rural life… until he discovered three lodgers had already moved in!

The Odessa Chronicles is a 290-page collection of adventure stories about the friendship and antics of Odessa, Jaxon, Dewey, and the Man Servant at Moonbean Farm that is fun for children of all ages.


Thank you Carolyn and Colin for allowing me to be a small part of this adventure!

If you would like to purchase a copy of The Odessa Chronicles, you can purchase it here.

I have also written and illustrated a small book of silly rhymes and tales you may be interested in called Klaus the Mouse and other Silly Animal Tales. It is available on Amazon here.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

The “Man-Servant” of Moonbeam Farm

/ Jodi / 53 Comments

The “Man-Servant” of Moonbeam Farm.

Another character from Moonbeam Farm has come to life!

Please allow me to introduce you to the “Man-Servant” who lives with his animal friends Odessa, Dewey, and Jaxon.

You may recall me introducing you to his friends this past week, beginning with a “just for fun” stab I took at painting Odessa the owl in watercolor at the urging of my blogging friend Carolyn at Nuggets of Gold, who is collaborating with Colin at A Dog’s Life on a children’s book.

Carolyn and Colin were so pleased with the painting of Odessa, they asked if it could be used as the cover photo for their first book, “The Odessa Chronicles.”  I am honored to do so, and I must admit quite flattered and thrilled!  I was then encouraged to paint Dewey and Jaxon, which they ended up loving too.

Then I needed to create the Man-Servant.  Unlike the others, which I created on a first-try, Man-Servant took four iterations before we all decided he was the one.  At first, I was a bit frustrated, but I grew to love creating this character.   The Man-Servant is a human in the senior years of his life, who actually believes he runs Moonbeam Farm.

It’s been fun bringing these characters to life.  I’m now going to venture into creating more to be included in the book.  It’s a fun journey, and I hope you’ll enjoy it with us.

 

 

 

 

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Longing for a Happy Ending

/ Jodi / 11 Comments

love

#Writing101 Challenge Day 5:  Be Brief

You discover a letter on a path that affects you deeply. Today, write about this encounter. And your twist? Be as succinct as possible.

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Well – of course its a love letter 🙂 …………
Bear with me, friends, on a fiction challenge.

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It was just like any other Friday morning in September.

Mikey and I were on our morning walk.

The sun was bright, the breeze light, the air crisp, and the crickets chirped their Autumn lullaby.

Mikey saw it first – or most likely smelled it first, and he tugged on the leash I was leisurely holding.

“What now,” I thought.

Then I saw it.

I couldn’t resist picking it up.

I unfolded the tattered composition paper that was tucked into the torn and faded yellowing envelope.

“My Dearest Love,” it began.

“I miss you more than the number of stars in the sky.  I miss you deeper than the depths of the sea.  The only thing that makes this time away from you bearable, is knowing that you are there, waiting for me, praying for me, longing for me – as I long for you.  I am the most fortunate man in the entire universe, because I know in my heart that you are…..”

The page was torn.  The rest of the story is lost – – – lost in time, lost in space.

Maybe it belongs to one of our neighbors.

Or maybe it has traveled for hundreds or thousands of miles – floating through the winds of time.

Mikey and I will never know.

He trudges ahead, sniffing and searching for the next treasure.

I smile and wonder…. imagining…. dreaming…. hoping….  longing…. for a happy ending.

love 2

(The card pictured here was designed for The Pals Paper Arts Color Challenge PPA213.  The challenge was to use:  Blackberry Bliss, Brown Sugar, Cajun Craze, and Always Artichoke.)

The thing I love most about it is the tiny gold embossed hearts amidst the plethora of random dots.  It’s like the hidden treasure – in the mass of chaos.

Kind of like life…

pp213

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi