Writer of Kidlit & Weird Stuff
Here's my latest song to be published in Ladybug, "Oo La Lee," from the March 2020 issue, with art by Sairom Moon.
This was a song that hit me out of nowhere while I was messing around on my acoustic guitar. I got so super-excited about it that I quickly wrote it into sheet music and immediately sent it out to Ladybug. A few days later, I went back to the song and did a pacepalm: "What was I thinking? This isn't good at all! Why did I send even send this?" Whenever I finish a project--a poem, story, song, whatever--I generally like to let it sit and stew a bit so I can avoid these awkward situations. However, after waiting a month or so for the rejection I just knew was coming, I revisited the song once again, and... well, it still wasn't the genius bit of writing I'd originally thought it was, but it also wasn't as bad as I thought the last time I looked at it. Still, I was quite surprised by the acceptance email. As it was, though, I ended up rewriting half the lyrics in revision, much to the song's benefit. The moral of the story is: the writer never really knows. Now part of the fun in having a piece of writing accepted for one of the kidlit mags is looking forward to how an illustrator will interpret your piece and add to the overall aesthetic. How, I wondered, could an illustrator possibly illustrate the song? Well, Sairom Moon did it by throwing a party. Couldn't have been better. Ladybug's March 2020 issue: http://shop.cricketmedia.com/most-recent-kids-magazines/LADYBUG-Magazine-March-2020.html Sairom Moon's website: http://www.sairommoon.com/
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AboutHi, I'm Brian. I write children's and speculative works. I live in the greater Seattle area with my wife, two kids, and a demon cat named Pharaoh. Archives
April 2021
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