Patricia Keeler illustrator

Welcome to the 

MEET  MY  CHARACTER  BLOG   TOUR

First, thank-you to Annina Luck Wildermuth for tagging me to join the tour! Aninna and I met in Monica Wellington’s class at the School of Visual Arts. I was drawn to her interest in writing and illustrating about Byzantine empresses and princesses. Annina is to my left at BookExpoAmerica.
https://allmycharacters.wordpress.com/author/allmycharacters 

(Donna Miskend is far left. Read more about Donna below.) 

What is the name of your character?

Tara is the heroine of WISH, my picture book dummy. She has short, wiry red hair and an ice cream build. She is her own superhero. She wins every watermelon seed-spitting contest. She can blow up a balloon. In her kindergarten class, she has only one archenemy - Archie.

 When and where is the story set?

WISH takes place in Tara’s kindergarten class.

 What should we know about her?

Tara takes her pet turtle, Flash, and a cake to school. Miss Hill crowns her the birthday girl. It’s Tara’s big day!

 What messes up her life?

It’s Archie’s birthday, too. Who knew? His cake is bigger. He gets the red balloon. They tussle over the ball at recess. Tara looses the ball when she trips over her pal, Ava. Tara explains her unhappy birthday to Ava, but her pal is only impressed by the two birthday cakes, two balloons and two animals at Show and Tell. They sing the double, double birthday song and laugh. But it’s not funny when Archie can’t find his crown.

What is the personal goal of your character?

To mess with Archie’s birthday, like he’s messed with hers. Well, no, not really . . .

Is there more we can read about WISH?

Definitely, visit my website, www.patriciakeeler-author-illustrator.com, for more images from WISH, and notes from the text.

Below are three of my most amazing author/illustrator friends that I wanted to tag for this tour. Ginger, Donna, and Mackenzie are uniquely talented artists and story tellers whose books I own and love. Check out their Character Tours on their blogs coming Monday, October 20! 

 http://www.gingerpixels.blogspot.com

Ginger Nielson is a full time Picture Book author/illustrator. She lives at the top of a hill, near the edge of a forest in semi rural New Hampshire. There is a magic wand on her desk and a dragon in her basement. Everything else is nearly normal.  You can view her work at: www.gingernielson.com

Donna Miskend is a member of the Society of Children's Book Illustrators and Writers (SCBWI) and the Children's Book Illustrators Group (CBIG) as an author/illustrator. She is also an independent curator, guest judge for art organizations, a teaching artist for children and adults, and a freelance illustrator/designer. Her work is often exhibited throughout the U.S. For up to date personal news and events visit: www.donnamiskend.blogspot.com and to see a selection of art visit:  www.DonnaMiskend.com and to read interviews with people in the arts visit her conversations blog at www.conversationswithdonnamiskend.blogspot.com

Mackenzie Reide is a mechanical engineer, adventurer, and writer. She also dabbles in aerospace and likes to figure things out the hard way. Back when Mackenzie was 8 years old, she was reading everything in sight and got very frustrated with the lack of strong female characters. So, she started writing her own stories where the girls went exploring. This lead to the creation of a new adventure-mystery trilogy called The Adventurers. 

When she is not out exploring the outdoors herself or puzzling out problems, Mackenzie is busy traveling back and forth between Vancouver, BC and New York City; writing and working, and occasionally crawling through dark tunnels and hanging off the side of cliffs.

Learn more about Mackenzie and The Adventurers at www.theadventurers.com.