Watts and Whiskerton: Buried Bones and Troublesome Treasure

My new book, Watts and Whiskerton: Buried Bones and Troublesome Treasure, published last month. It's been really nice to see copies of it out and about in the world but I'm in the middle of illustrating Watts and Pearl's next adventure so I haven't really taken a moment to stop and properly appreciate that book one is out in the world. 

So let's a little look at the insides.

Watts is sent to Whsiskerton Manor for a holiday. There he meets his soon-to-be new best friend, Pearl Whiskerton.

Pearl gives Watts a tour of Whiskerton Manor. This was a fun spread to draw.

But soon a mysterious series of events occur and Watts and Pearl find themselves with four mysteries to solve.

    Are these four mysterious cases connected?

Let's have a look at the suspects.

 

Can you help Watts and Pearl solve the case?

Available now at lovely local bookshops or wherever else you like to buy books.

Why not try Rocketship Bookshop or Storytellers Inc

The Week Junior Book Awards - Shorlist

 Today I was excited to discover that Wee Unicorn has been shortlisted for The Week Junior Book Awards 2024 in the picture book category.

Very exciting

I'm in very good company too.  I admire so many of the other authors and illustrators. Here's the short list:

You can see the full shortlist for every category by clicking here. 

Wee Unicorn is available wherever you buy your books. Hopefully a lovely local indie bookshop. But if you don't have a local bookshop then you can buy it here.

Life Is Magic - Cover

If anyone is counting (which I'm obviously not) then you'll be aware that my first picture book is published in March 2016 - which is still so far away!!!

The lovely Booksniffer did a cover reveal a few weeks back and I thought it was about time I put the cover up here.  So here it is in all its glory.

As you can see, it's published by the lovely people at Andersen Press who were very kind and let me draw on every available surface.  I can't show much more for now but I will say that the back cover is pretty sweet, and the super secret cover beneath this cover for the hardback is my absolute favourite.

Below are some of the cover sketches.  

This is a page of early sketches sent to my editor and art director.  We really brightened it up and added a few more mischievous rabbits but the overall idea isn't that far removed from the final image.    

There is a lot of hand lettering in the book.  Once the first page was finished I think I realised how important the lettering was, it really informed the look of the book for me so we wanted to carry that over onto the cover.  

Evidence that I'm left handed and have not yet learned how not to smudge an image

Favourite cover bunny

These bunnies do incredible work...or so we tell them

I haven't chronicled my epic star drawing yet but believe me I drew a lot of them.  Last count was something in the region of...65392...that's a lie, but there were a bunch.

You can pre-order Life Is Magic here or you can be very, very patient and buy it in a lovely bookshop.

Christmas Print Shop - Now Open

Seasons greetings...well almost.  With Christmas just about upon us I've opened a small print shop selling handprinted cards.  You can find them all here: click to enter shop

Each card is printed by me and they're available nowhere else.  There's also gift wrap.  What more could you need?  So if you're looking for something a little different this Christmas then these could be just the thing.

This card highlights the joys of proud winter waiting staff.  

Eager to please and highly professional, these penguins deliver puddings with pride.  Approximately every third Christmas one of the waiting staff loses his or her temper, and puddings have been thrown.

Days without incident 1067...

Nature documentaries may have convinced you that penguins are naturally suited to warm weather but my lack of research tells me otherwise.  They are known to wear scarves year round, and extra long scarves towards December.  The penguins bearing banners run throughout the land spreading the news that winter is coming and that it is time to reach for the extra long scarves once more.

See above for the plight of the penguins.  Thankfully polar bears love to knit and due to their complete lack of a sense of scale their scarves veer towards the extra long.  Sadly since penguins and polar bears live so far apart the postal fees are extortionate. 

More prints, less seasonal, coming soon...

James and the Giant Peach

Just a little update.  In the midst of drawing many a ridiculous thing, I did this as a Daily__Doodle the other other day.  I particularly enjoy the randomness of the subject matters they present.  I end up drawing things I'd never even consider.  This is one I might return to.  

Think big

This is my latest screen print for Little Carousel Gallery

I just like drawing seals and elephants.

Think big

It is a small run of 10 prints available here

http://www.littlecarouselgallery.com/#!product/prd1/1413431551/think-big-by-meg-mclaren

Caught!

Some new panda work I've finally gotten round to posting.

This fellow below was posted previously but I've now had time to screen print him.

Same with these penguins.  Photoshop no more!  Look how proud they are to be hand printed.

A panda or two

 A panda I've been playing with.  I can't wait to actually screen print them properly.  These are digital dopplegangers for the moment.  I'm currently sketchbooking like a fiend and trying to work out if this will be best suited to a picturebook or a comic..  

If you hadn't already realised it he's a master of disguise.

Seagull photo booth

A little something I printed yesterday.  Apologies for the massiveness of it but it's all the better to see it with.

So long

So I am returned from Bologna with two fantastic new books (the purse strings were tightened this year), a Simone Rea poster which he actually painted on and signed hence is now my most treasured possession (and which I subsequently smudged with my thumb), a cold, and a body mass of 90% pizza.

Alas I have no new work but here are some seagulls from before I went.

The gelato thief

  We're off to the Bologna book fair this week and this is pretty much how I plan to look whilst I'm there.

             Just imagine me stealing gelato from an unsuspecting passer-by.

You can also see the excellent work of the Cambridge School of Art, Children's Book Illustration students at the fair so come see us.

A

a is for...avalanche and adventure.  

My s is coming along swimmingly (could that be a clue?) and should be finished this week. 

L is for?

The alphabet continues.  My friend Lara ( lararobinsonillustrates.blogspot.co.uk ) has complained that L is always a bit rubbish in alphabet books so I've tried to make something particularly swish on her behalf.

L is for...?

Claude

So with our MA show done and dusted (you can still see everyone's work at cambridgemashow.com) I have been doodling.  I'm hoping to print two more letters of my alphabet tomorrow but until then I give you Claude.  Lobster waiter.  Well he's more of a maître d I guess.  He would disapprove of this publicity thoroughly.

B is for...?

In the tradition of my much jumbled alphabet today is sponsored by the letter B.  You'll have to excuse the garish colour on this one as my scanner is feeling flamboyant. 

Birds and blankets, bookshelves and books, bunnies, balls and bears.  What else?

Just a reminder you can see all this work and much much more in Foyles this week for our MA exhibition.  cambridgemashow.com

You can also see http://lararobinsonillustrates.blogspot.co.uk/

http://hannahhutchingsart.blogspot.co.uk/

http://tamsingilbert.wordpress.com/

                                                              and many many more.

Hi!

Hi!

After avoiding eye contact with my laptop for several days it has finally coaxed me into attempting a blog.  In the past technology and I have kept a safe distance from one another so hopefully this foray back into it won't somehow label me as 'the girl who broke the internet.'  


Here's hoping!

This is from a new series of lino cuts which will hopefully make up my new book.  It's based on the legend of the thorn bird.

And these are the screen prints (the right way round cos I'm a bad lino cutter and don't do it like I ought to).  Imagine the above a little greener if you will...