New Picture Book in the Works

 

Well, I'm trying my best to stay productive... But it hasn't been easy, since I've received a couple rejection letters in regard to my latest project which Abi sent out into the world. 

Part of me wants to just focus on THE STEPHEN KING BOOK CLUB... since it offers instant gratification. Each video I do gets at least 1000 views (which I know isn't much, but the audience leaves a lot of encouraging comments). And some do quite a bit more... 

Still, deep down, I know that whatever I do with the SKBC, it's just derivative of another man's literary work. And as much fun as it is, if I spent the next ten years doing nothing but Stephen King videos, I'm not sure I would look back on that and feel fulfilled. That's not to say that I don't want to work on these videos over the course of the next decade... I wanna keep making them (at least for now) because they are a lot of fun. But I don't feel like it's my "Great Purpose," if that makes any sense. 

I'm not sure writing books for children is all that GREAT of a PURPOSE... but at least it's more original (or attempts to be). 

All that said, I have finally gotten to work on something that might show promise. I just finished the first draft... and I think it'll need one or two more drafts before it's ready to send to Abi. I'm not sure it overcomes the SO WHAT obstacle... It's sort of a smaller, sweeter story than the Mr Complain / Mr Snore variety... but I think it's kinda cute. 

I'll let you know how it goes!   

Summer Time!!!

 Well, it's that time of year again... The semester is over. The essays are all graded. And now I have 88 days until the first day of school. 

Which means I have a little bit of spare time to work on new projects. 

I have no idea what I'm going to write yet... But hopefully something will spark my interest soon. 

Actually, there was an idea I had been kicking around... But I recently found out that a TV show called the Curse basically had the same idea. Darn. 

Anyway, I'll at least be blogging a bit more often, I think. So thanks for stopping by! 

What will you be doing with your summer break? 

I'm up in Washington state visiting my mom... and she's turned me into her gardening assistant. 

Tinkering with Stephen King Videos...

 Well, I guess you could say I've gone ALL-IN on my Stephen King YouTube channel... It has absorbed most of my creative energies for about a year now... This is in no small part due to the fact that the videos are popular (in comparison to my Wade Bradford channel)... and the money has started to trickle in each month, just about enough to make a monthly payment on the kids' student loans. 

And they are a LOT of fun to make. 

If there is any downside, it's only that I know I'm dedicating a lot of time and energy into material that is derivative. I don't mean that as a slam against myself... I just mean that I'm playing around with another artist's work -- and so it's not going to be much more than a combination of fan-fiction and light literary analysis. 

But for now, I'm not sure about my next step as a writer of original works... I wouldn't say that the well has run dry... but it certainly seems like my middle grade adventures don't really have an audience... 

So, I'm waiting to be struck by the next brilliant idea for a picture book... But those moments of brilliance don't come often for me. 

Ugh -- I didn't mean to make another blog post whining about my writing -- but that's my favorite journal topic; I couldn't resist. Anyways... here is the latest Stephen King video. It's based upon his short story "Dolan's Cadillac." Enjoy! 

Happy Halloween! 2023

 Wow -- it has been a little while, blog. Sorry I've been away so long!

Here's a fun video promo for Horton Hears a Boo! It's in so many bookstores, even Barnes and Noble is carrying it. 

A big thank you to anyone and everyone who reads these blogposts. As 2023 winds down, I'm not sure what I'll be working on next, but I can't wait to find out. 

Horton Has Arrived!

 

Yesterday, I received my author copies of Horton Hears a Boo! 

Needless to say, we're having a Who-bilation here at the Bradford house. 

It arrives in bookstores this August!

Working on a New Stephen King Video...

 And I've been playing with crayons... Can you guess which Stephen King story I'll be bringing to life? 

Horton Hears a Boo!

 

This blog is way overdue for a cover reveal of my latest book: 

To say writing a new Dr. Seuss book is a "dream come true" is an understatement. I still can't believe I was chosen to write a new Horton story... like millions of other children, I learned to read, thanks to Dr. Seuss. I fell in love with books because of Dr. Seuss. It's hard to say just how much this artist's shaped my imagination... 

So, to be asked to continue the story of this loyal elephant, this defender of the little guy... all I can say is that I'm grateful.