hello, hello, paris

^^ I must have the best publicist ever because my HELLO, PARIS book is featured in Parents & Newborns magazine this month. And it's the biggest honor to be featured next to a Babylit book, only my favorite board book series. I honestly feel like someone else wrote these books and I'm just their No.1 fan because this couldn't possibly be something that I did. Will the real author please stand up, because this would make a lot more sense in my head? ^^

open sesame! book deal

I feel incredibly lucky to announce that I've sold another book, Open Sesame!, in a two-book deal to Penguin/Grosset & Dunlap. Think Press Here, but with magic tricks! I have to give a big thank you to my little brother, Jett, who helped inspire this book. We read all the Harry Potter books together earlier this year and called each other every night to talk about them--our own personal book club! It was through these chats that the idea for this book came to be. And Thank you to my wonderful agent, Michelle Witte, and my once-again editor, Eve Adler.

illustration rejects

I have FINISHED editing my very last book--hooray!!! There were, I swear, a hundred outtakes for each book and lots of illustrations were sadly cut. But I've kept them all and am posting a few of the rejects here. To see more illustrations, head over to my website, ashleyevanson.com.

To pre-order the Hello, World books, click here.

is this the real life? is this just fantasy?

^^ Can it be true?! Are these books really on Amazon for pre-order?! My HELLO, WORLD book series will be released October 20 from Penguin and I'm having an out-of-body experience over here. They're releasing four books in one season: Paris, London, San Francisco, and New York, and in the words of my agent Michelle, "The crashing noise you just heard was Ashley collapsing from exhaustion." Haha it's slightly true, but I wouldn't trade it for the world! 

P.S. A big thanks to Johnny, my momma, and my babies for being so forgiving while I work. I hope their early memories of me are of us reading these books together and not me hunched over a computer in my smelly sweats with dirty dishes piled up around me. (It's a very glamorous lifestyle.) ^^

new york, new york

New York, New York

I go through a lot of drafts working on my children's book series, which is normal with any editing process. But it's still hard because I really like some of the art and it will never get used. This piece was a draft for the NYC Colors book and I thought I'd share it as a sort of preview to the books coming out this fall. (Unless, of course, this is against the rules and my agent has me take it down...)

© 2015 Ashley Evanson, All Rights Reserved

new illustration website!

^^ Thank you to everyone for the love and congrats on my upcoming books. I have such rockstar friends that sure know how to make a person feel good.

So, in addition to my children's books, I've been illustrating in my free time (and nap time, and breakfast, lunch, and dinner time), and finally have something to show for it--my new illustration website! My agent suggested I create one, making this whole publishing process even crazier and exciting. After hours of trying to figure out how to create a website and wanting to pull my hair out, it's finally up and live. And now that it is, I'm kind of horrified that someone will look at it and actually contact me. I still have no idea what I'm doing and I'm scared people will figure that out, too. I need my safety blanket of anonymity! ^^

Take a looksie at ashleyevanson.com

some very big news!

^^ I have been keeping a secret for some time now and I'm so excited to finally be sharing it! I feel so lucky to announce that I will be publishing a children's book series with Penguin Random House! There's not a set release date, but we predict they'll hit bookshelves by winter 2015. 

I feel so grateful for my husband, Johnny, who has come home many times to a disastrous house, no food, piles of laundry, and found me glued to the computer working on my books. Not to mention our poor kids who have learned quite well to fend for themselves. [On a side note: my neglect has produced some fantastic photos for my "what motherhood is REALLY like" posts.]

I feel like I've been guided through this whole process and kind of stumbled upon the right websites, emailed the right people at the right time, and really lucked out with finding the perfect agency who helped me land this book deal. I don't typically get spiritual on my blog, but I would be wrong not to acknowledge my Heavenly Fathered who I know had a hand in this and I feel so grateful for his love and guidance.

Anyway, I'll continue to update my blog on the progress of my books, and I've actually got another project in the works that I hope I'll be announcing later next week. Good things are happening! ^^

that one time i tried to do a photo shoot

I saw this adorable book picture below on Pinterest and I thought "piece of cake." 

Ever heard of Pinterest fail? I set up a neat pile of hand-selected books that make me feel like my children are smarter just for owning them (humble, right?), and this is how it turned out...

Baby Girl knocked the pile of books over in two seconds flat and then proceeded to man handle poor Pipsqueak. Dreams were crushed, my friends. I got a few candid shots that made the shoot not a total disaster, but that's the last time I pretend to be a photographer.

DIY quiet book

Sometimes I get an idea in my head and I can't stop until it's done, even if it means getting basically nothing else done. Making Baby Girl a quiet book was one of these ideas. I found some cute ideas on Pinterest and then went to town. I love how it turned out and will probably have to make another one (that is, if Johnny lets me).

a cure for downton abbey withdrawals

I don't even want to think about the fact that Downton Abbey is almost a year out from airing in the U.S. It makes me want to cry. HOWEVER, yesterday I started reading a book I bought last year called Fall of Giants by Ken Follet and it's like reading Downton Abbey!!! There's even a gay footman who has an escapade with one of the male guests. Seriously.

Disclaimer: I'm only on page 101 of 985, so it could turn out to not be like my beloved miniseries after all, but in the meantime, it's helping with me my withdrawals of Lady Mary and Matthew Crawly.

under open skies

My aunt has recently published a children's book that is quite beautiful and perfect for any home library. You can order it here from Amazon.com. Enjoy!

Keeli McClintick and her husband Rick raise their two daughters, Chloe and Kinzie, on a third generation potato farm nestled among the Nevada Mountains in the Quinn River Valley. She has taught elementary school for more than 20 years, has an English Lab named Tiko, and loves peanut butter.