Mars Explorers NEW

I saw a NOVA documentary the other day on the Mars Rover, which reminded me I had these space characters waiting to find a story. That will come one day. In the mean time, here is a new piece.

Here was the piece I did last year.

Dream Come True: My Creative Journey

My work was first published in the Hong Kong newspaper when I was two.

"Fish", Age 2.
First published work. Milestone!

Over the years, I continued to submit work to the newspaper. I get to draw AND receive presents from the newspaper? Bliss!

"Children's Library", Age 5.
I was a library fan since childhood.

"Underwater Tunnel", Age 5.
The idea that cars could travel in a tunnel below water fascinated me.

With both parents as art majors and educators, my sister and I enjoyed participating in art activities. This 4-panel comic was for a Hong Kong school competition. I won third place for the primary school category. My lovely sister won first place for the high school category!

Civic Education Comic Competition, Age 10.

The creative journey continued when I moved to Los Angeles at age 11. Here is a snapshot of my comic for the middle school's publication.

Middle School's Publication "In Our Own Words", Age 13.

And in college, I was an editorial and comic illustrator for the college newspaper.

My comic column "The Leaf", Age 21.

In late 2011, I decided to pursue my dream as a full-time author-illustrator. Today, I am very excited to announce that my first written and illustrated picture book, MY LITTLE SISTER AND ME, will be published by HarperCollins!

An in-process art piece for my first book
"My Little Sister and Me", Age ♥.

A wholehearted thank you to my agent Joanna Volpe, my editor Nancy Inteli, my art director Martha Rago and Dana Fritts, and to everyone who supported and believed in me! Special thanks to my Dad, my Mom, and my big sister Denise! I love you all!

The Writing Process: Author/Illustrator Blog Tour

I got tagged by the extremely talented author-illustrator friend Lisa Anchin.  I first met Lisa at the 2012 SCBWI Summer Conference, where we both won a Portfolio Showcase Mentorship Award.  Her adorable, whimsical and lively characters always inspire me and make my day!  Check them out here on her blog!  I absolutely look forward to A Penguin Named Patience, a picture book illustrated by Lisa, written by Suzanne Lewis, and published by Sleeping Bear Press.  The book will be out February 2015.  Yay~!

By Lisa Anchin

And here is my Q&A for the Author/Illustrator Blog Tour:

1.  What am I currently working on?

I recently finished illustrating a picture book called Two Girls Want a Puppy (written by Ryan and Evie Cordell, published by HarperCollins), which will come out Summer 2015.  At the moment, I am putting together my portfolio for the upcoming SCBWI Summer Conference.  I am also working closely with my wonderful agent Joanna Volpe (New Leaf Literary & Media) on several book project ideas and dummies.

2.  Why do I write what I write?

I tend to write stories for my younger-self –– stories I know I would love as a child.  I like something light, with a sense of fun and adventure.  I also like history, so I try to integrate that into some of my stories.

3.  How does my writing/illustrating process work?

I doodle and sketch daily.  These drawings form a basis for potential characters for upcoming stories.

My KidLitArtists Post

My KidLitArtists post on "Measuring Your Goals":
http://kidlitartists.blogspot.com/2013/10/measuring-your-goals.html

The Panda Adventure -- A Process Post

"I think I will embark upon an adventure today."

Today, I would like to share a little "behind-the-scene" –– my work process.

Dummy Weekend 2013

The cabin we stayed in was wonderful.

I just came back from a wonderful creative retreat in Big Bear, California.  Thanks, Erin O'Shea, for the invite!

Friday was all sunshine.  I had a moment of panic when the road turned extremely narrow up the mountain.  Cars continued to zoom pass mine, as if plummeting 5000ft down a mountain was no big deal.  Nevertheless, I arrived safe and sound.  Let the work began!  Let the fun began!  Let the work be more fun than fun!

That night, we shared in the living room our goals for the long weekend.  My personal goal is to complete a couple pieces for my dummy on a piglets story, and to wrap up my dummy on an elephant story.

I wanted to bring a couple pieces into finals for my piglets story.

We woke early (relatively) to make breakfast and dived straight into work.  As illustrators, we tend to be very lonely creatures, working like hermits locked inside our studio caves.  But this way of working was fantastic.  There was no computer to distract me, and because everyone was working, the peer pressure was ON!  I was very focused and was able to get things done very quickly.  High fives!

Everyone at work mode!

Piglets final piece 1

Piglets final piece 2

That was the dynamic of the weekend: Prepare for food, eat, BACK TO WORK.  Repeat for lunch and dinner.  Critiques at night.  Chill.  Smores.  Goodnight moon.

Did I mention snow started dumping Sunday night?  We had FUN in the snow!  Being kidults are the best!

(From left to right: Rodolfo Montalvo, Renée Montalvo, Julia Shahin Collard, Talia Wabnig, Maple Lam, Erin O'Shea).  Photo courtesy of Rodolfo Montalvo.

Came Monday morning and it was time to say goodbye.  None of the kidults brought snow chains, so the icy-road condition made us go "ugggghhhh.... help.... stuuuuccckkk...."  Lucky for us, the sun rose bright and shinny, and we were able to go down the mountain via the long route.

"Snow blanket on my car!!!" exclaimed the SoCal kidult.

And now I am back, refreshed and charged.  Thank you again, dear illustrators and storytellers whom I have met during Dummy Weekend.  You guys rock!

Illustrators at Dummy Weekend:
Erin O'Shea
Rodolfo Montalvo
Renée Montalvo
Jennifer Gray Olson
Julia Shahin Collard
Talia Wabnig
and me, Maple Lam~

A New Year to Look Forward To

I am very excited to embark upon a trip up the snowy mountain this coming weekend, along with a group of talented children's book illustrator friends.  It's a Book Dummy Weekend, in which we plan to do nothing but lock ourselves in a cabin and work super hard to finish our ongoing dummy(s).  I cannot wait to read my friends' stories!  Thanks, Erin O'Shea, for making this weekend happen!  (I will follow up on this event in another blogpost, for sure!)

Personally, I have several dummies in process, and I especially hope to finish up the one about elephants.  That particular story has been brewing for a while, and this weekend is THE weekend to wrap it up! 

Another event I look forward to is the New York SCBWI conference at the beginning of February!  I have never attended the New York conference and simply can't wait to meet up with old friends and make new ones!  Whoohoo New York!

Happy 2013, everyone!

Shhhh... Let's Sneak Out!

My rough on a post-it note.

 
The final drawing.


This week, I continue to play around with compositions, lights, and characters. 

A few nights ago, I had a sudden image of several kids sneaking out of the house.  I quickly jotted down the image on a post-it note (as shown).  When I woke up the next day and looked at the post-it, I thought it was a fun piece, so I decided to translate it into a final drawing.

As a kid, I lived in a relatively small apartment.  There was no way my friends and I could sneak out of the house without our parents noticing.  Plus, our parents seemed to have minds sharper than Holmes; whatever it was we attempted to do behind their backs, they could sniff it out.  Operation failed, always.

Either my parents were born-detectives, or that I simply made horrible cover-ups.

Picture Book: The Secret of Babylon

As I revamp my portfolio, I am keeping several things in mind, many of which were advises given by my mentors, fellow mentees, agents, keynote speakers, etc.  I cannot begin to express my gratitude to SCBWI, which helps me tremendously on becoming a better storyteller and artist as I embark upon the journey of children's book writer/illustrator.