Terri Libenson's Blog, page 10

BRIANNA’s Book Birthday!!

BECOMING BRIANNA hits the (virtual) shelves TODAY!

Becoming Brianna is the fourth book in the best-selling Emmie & Friends series. The story brings Brianna from Positively Izzy back into the limelight, in a way she never thought possible. She must overcome all kinds of frustrating challenges, all the while trying to answer the biggest question of all: What do I believe?

This book is perfect for anyone who loves humor, heart, and of course, funny drawings to highlight all of it! Ages 8-12.

Click here to order a hardcover, paperback, or audio!

North Texas Teen Book Festival and C2E2 in Chicago!

If you’re visiting this site, you’re most likely here for the comic strip. But I have another full-time job, too, as a kids’ book author. I won’t go into details in this post, but you can read all about it on my author website, here.

I do many speaking gigs for Pajama Diaries, near and far, but the books are now taking me to places I’ve never ventured before: namely, bigtime book festivals and comic cons (the latter I’ve actively avoided until now). 

But these…these are major! If you have time, scroll through the lists of all the authors, creators, and entertainers. Wow.

I’m so excited to be among such an amazing lineup of authors at the North Texas Teen Book Festival in Irving, TX and the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) in Chicago, IL. I’ll be in Texas March 22-23 and Chicago March 24. 

Click here for details about my appearance at NTTBF.

Click  for details about my appearance at C2E2.

Whether you’re a fan of the strip or books (or both), come say hello!

Website back up!

Hey, everyone. Sorry about all the technical issues. My syndicate has been doing updates, which seemed to be affecting this site. Everything looks to be in working order again (fingers crossed). 

I’ll be blogging again, too, soon. Stay tuned for some exciting spring info and events!

I’m back…

Many apologies for the hiatus. I’ve been a bad blogger. It’s been an incredibly busy fall and early winter with little breathing room. I was illustrating my third middle grade book, which means I basically turned into an office troll for three months. Not pretty.

Now that it’s over and I’m emerging from the shadows, I can finally post. Thought I’d do something light and breezy by offering a few comic strip highlights from recent months.

In November, I did a short storyline on Lisa’s emerging menopause. As a *cough* woman of a certain age, I have many friends and family members who are starting this very special time in their lives. Funsies. I’m just glad it’s not such a taboo subject anymore, and I’m happy to help the cause. Here are some strips from that week:

 

Let’s see, what else. Oh yeah, that Thanksgiving storyline. You know, the one where Jill and Rob inadvertently poison their entire family. Here’s a little secret: one of the reasons I did that was so I could have the entire extended Kaplan family together without having to draw them. Don’t tell my syndicate.

An odd coincidence: when this series ran, the romaine lettuce outbreak was occurring. Oops. Not my fault, people — I write months in advance and have no precognition (that I’m aware of).

My latest storyline was a fun one. This had Jill going to a plastic surgeon consultation for a mole removal, and ended with her musing about a boob lift. Spoiler: she doesn’t go through with it. And if you are wondering if this in some way relates to me…

…Thelma and Louise are perfect. PERFECT. Got it? 

(ahem) Here are some strips from said storyline:

I leave you with that. Actually, no. I leave you with this one from today:

Enjoy the holiday, have a wonderful New Year, and see you in 2019!

 

 

Emptier Nest

If you follow Pajama Diaries, of course you know that Amy has flown the coop. She hasn’t flown far, thankfully — only about an hour away — to the fictional liberal arts school, Waverly University.

I try to stay 5-6 months ahead of my deadlines. This keeps me relatively sane and allows me to get sick, go on vacations, or write a kids’ book or two. This also means I have to project how I (or Jill) will feel in 5-6-months’ time, which can get very tricky if the strip deals with a milestone like a bat mitzvah, prom, or yes…a kid going off to college.

Most of the time I can project pretty accurately…or close enough. This time was another story. Sure, I knew I’d be sad about my older daughter leaving for college. What I wasn’t prepared for — and wasn’t reflected in the strip — was HOW sad I’d be. The drive home from my daughter’s move-in day required a few (thousand pounds of) tissues.

Luckily I got over that and somehow I’m managing to lead a productive life without her. Yeah, okay, so I may text her a few (thousand) times a day, but that’s also another story.

Emotions aside, when I came up with this storyline during my daughter’s senior year, I wrote mainly from Amy’s perspective and largely ignored the devastating effects of her departure. Maybe it was subconscious avoidance or just plain ignorance (I haven’t done the deep-rooted self analysis yet). Either way, I think this was a missed opportunity to see how deeply Jill, Rob, Amy, and even Jess are affected. If/when Jess heads off to school, I think you’ll see the family having an even stronger reaction.

From what I’ve heard from other parents, it’s more affecting when the last child leaves, which makes sense. It’ll definitely be a great opportunity for Jill and Rob to explore their new lives without kids in tow.

I’m sometimes asked what I’ll do about the strip when both kids leave. Honestly, I don’t know. I write so organically, my characters tend to surprise me. I do think that the strip will continue to evolve. I just don’t know in what ways. 

One thing I know for sure: just because the characters grow older doesn’t mean they’ll stop having stories or being part of a family. And just because Jill and Rob approach empty nest-hood doesn’t mean their lives will be less relevant. 

You’ll just have to wait and see…like me.

Happy Father’s Day

Apologies for the delay in posting. It’s been a busy, busy season. I was away for about half of it. 

I’m back now, (happily) chained to my desk, and ready to start a new entry. In honor of Father’s Day, I’d like to make it all about Rob. He’s Jill’s rock, glue, and straight man to her escapades. Poor guy puts up with a lot.

Here’s a fun then/now. My very first Father’s Day strip from 2006. (Yes…I cringe.)

This was based on a true event. Back when I was nine months pregnant with my older daughter, my husband had appendicitis. I took him to the hospital, and of course everyone thought we were there because of ME. Mike was pale as a sheet and in horrible pain, and nurses were asking what I needed. 

That one kinda wrote itself. But it sums up Mike’s — and Rob’s — life as a dad ever since: always being upstaged. And taking it with grace and humor.

Back to the strips — I’d like to think my writing and art skills have improved since that first one. Here’s today’s feature:

Also based on true events, but more self explanatory. 

I’d like to add one more from last year:

I’m including this one because it’s also 100% based on my husband, who is happy just to relax and enjoy some quiet time at home. He’d rather be out of the spotlight than deal with a big fuss. So frustrating! 

If you’re wondering, yes — Rob is essentially my husband, but with notable differences. Rob is a logical, practical IT guy, who tries to keep Jill’s head out of the clouds and her feet on the ground. That’s also true about Mike. However, Rob tends to be the straight man in my strip. In reality, my husband is more extroverted, talkative, and “the funny one” in person (not always intentionally). 

He is also extremely proud of his family, and lets everyone know it. Same as Rob.

So here’s to Mike, Rob, and all the other extraordinary dads out there, fictional and real. Happy Father’s Day!

 

 

 

Ohioana Festival

So excited to be part of this year’s acclaimed Ohioana Book Festival on Saturday, April 14 in Columbus, OH. Click here for detailed info and here for festival authors.

Besides signing copies of Invisible Emmie and Pajama Diaries books, I’ll also be part of a panel for tween/teen readers:

1:00 pm – 1:45 pm: Learn from an expert panel of illustrators as they discuss all things connected to creating pictures for books – Joe Sutphin, Mark and Mary Willenbrink, Christina Wald, Terri Libenson (graphic artist)

Hope to see you there!

Recent Faves

It’s been a while since my last post…apologies. Been busy writing, traveling, and taking frequent trips to the fridge. Stuffing my face is an important pastime here.

Just for kicks, I thought I’d highlight some of my favorite strips from the past month or so, and provide some insight into their inspiration.

Here’s a Sunday strip from February that I call one of my “love letters” to freelance artists and designers.

Jill is a self-employed graphic designer who sometimes has to take a few, um, liberties in order to scratch out a living. Been there, done that (as a freelance illustrator). So these little white lies are just a way of surviving. Maybe not always moral, but justifiable. 

This next one makes me giggle.

Yeah, okay, it’s a nervous giggle. It hits a little too close to home. No explanation necessary.

Speaking of hitting close to home…

This is so me, it’s terrifying. For every one or two nice shots of myself, I probably delete ten. Which means I sometimes force my husband to take a dozen photos. Yes, I am that vain. Or self-loathing. Or just over 40.

This next strip is my love letter (one of so many) to other women, especially moms.

Emotional labor is a huge buzzword these days — as it should be. It describes (and I’m making a huge blanket statement here) what we women do and feel all the time. As Jill exclaims at the end, it’s so dang exhausting. In fact, it’s too exhausting to ponder right now. Besides, I have to go clean the produce drawer and make about ten appointments. So let’s move on.

This final set of strips just ran last week. Completely inspired by my kids, those little dears.

  

I went through a short period where I felt completely unappreciated by my darling daughters. (A parent of teens going through that, imagine!) I guess I was just fed up. So I wrote about it. And yes, I had a talk with them. No wait, my husband did. I chickened out. But I’ll show them the strips someday when they’re parents, too. …And rub it in.

In the meantime, feel free to bring up any of your favorite PD strips from days gone by. Till next time. I’ll be in the kitchen.

 

 

Au Revoir, Grandma Sophie

It’s been a good run, Sophie.

You may ask: why oh why did I kill off that sweet-and-salty, adorable kvetcher? Well, simply put…it was time.

Sophie was modeled (loosely) after my husband’s late grandmother. On one hand, she could be very sweet. On the other, she had a habit of nitpicking me behind my back. It was clear that I did not measure up to her domestic standards. I didn’t cook enough, I worked too much, etc. Basically, she was the stereotypical mother-in-law I never had (my actual MIL is low maintenance).

My ultimate revenge was to turn this woman into a cartoon character. 

Writing for Sophie, however, was a joy. She was a little one-dimensional at first, but I like to think I rounded out her personality over the years. Like my real GIL, she had two dominant sides: the worrier and the complainer. Often they overlapped.

But, really, both were sweet at heart and only wanted the very best for their loved ones. In my GIL’s case, she lost most of her immediate family in the Holocaust. So no one could really blame her for that whole worrywart thing.

As you may know, much of my writing reflects my life. Not necessarily anything verbatim, just the typical day-to-day stuff. And if you’re a regular reader, you also know that my characters age in real time. So having a strip that has roots in reality and where people age…well, it makes sense that people also eventually die (don’t worry, no plans for anyone else…yet).

So that’s the long and short of it. It was Sophie’s time, simply put. She will be back in memories and flashbacks, I’m sure.

In the meantime, I thought it would be fitting to eulogize Sophie in pictorial format. Below are some of my favorite Sophie strips spanning the years.

RIP, Grandma!

 

 

 

2017: a (slightly edited) look back.

This strip is from January 1, 2014, a little peek back at more boring times. In the grand scheme of things, how I miss “boring.”

Ah, 2017. What can I say? Well, I do have a few choice words, but I’ll keep ’em off this blog.

If anything, it was topsy-turvy. From a purely personal and professional standpoint, it happened to be one of the best years of my life. Pajama Diaries got nominated for a Reuben Award, Invisible Emmie made the best sellers list and continues to sell like hotcakes, I finished Book 2, and Pajama Diaries has been turned into greeting cards. 

I got to travel a bit, too. Went on a book tour, visited many cities in the US (some with my daughter for college visits), and even toured Italy with my husband for our 20th anniversary.

On the health front, I’ve been fortunate enough to have gotten on a good drug that’s used to control my platelet count. It’s helped tremendously, and I’m hopeful I’ll continue feeling this good for a loooong time. 

So, yeah, personally it’s been great. 

On the flip side, I’m pretty upset/terrified/p.o.ed about everything going on in our country, and — frankly — the world. I promise I won’t dive into politics here (I do it occasionally on Facebook and that’s enough), but I do want it known that just because things have gone well personally — jinx, jinx! — doesn’t mean I’ve been immune to everything else. From politics to natural disasters, it’s just overwhelming. And of course, we should never normalize this.

*sigh* Anyway, here’s to 2017. On one hand, thank you.

On the other, well…

…you know where you can shove it.