Friday, May 25, 2007

I [heart] librarians.


Last night Jim and I drove up to Tacoma, Washington to hang out with school librarians. To be more precise, the Tacoma chapter of the Washington Library Media Association invited us to speak, eat dinner and sign advance copies of Blackbringer that Putnam had sent them. How cool is that? It was a wonderful event -- we had so much fun (and the food was great!). On the way there we stopped at Radio Shack and bought a digital voice recorder and we recorded our talks, and this weekend Jim is going to figure out how to post a podcast so anyone who wants to can hear me talk about struggling with perfectionism, my teenage yearnings to be a tormented "artiste," the Millenium Falcon, and more, and hear Jim talk about doing the art for the book, and also about the first time he ever used a microphone (hint: it was at K-Mart).

Can I just say: I love signing my book. Love it. And I love speaking to groups of librarians -- they totally laugh at my jokes! Oh -- and the librarian who had organized the dinner asked me in an email if I would be wearing polka dots (could I be getting a polka-dotted reputation?), and so I did. Remember these? They were a hit!

Now -- I have a question for you. What do you think of this Laini's Lady design?

Be absolutely honest. The cat head, the human hand, the look of the cat, everything: like? Don't like? Please, even if you don't usually leave comments, I'd love to know. Thank you!!

21 comments:

Sam said...

Ok, since you seem sincere in asking for opinion...

The hand doesn't bother me, but the cat has ummmm breasts. That looks just a little wierd.

staceyfike said...

if i were a cat person, i would love it

kelly rae said...

you are on fire with all the goodness that is in your life right now! yay! i'm so endlessly proud of you both!

as for the cat, my VERY first impression: scary. i think it's the cat's eyes. she looks sort of mean. is there a way to make a cat look more stuck up and less mean???

you're brilliant...
xo

Tinker said...

I don't know if you've ever looked at my art album on my blog, but if you did, you'd know how I feel about animals in clothing :-)
However, I have to say she is a bit chesty for a feline, though otherwise quite intriguing -
perhaps more Cleocatra-like costuming to go with the quote?

On the scary synchronistic side (for me) - DARN!! Why didn't I grab that idea when it floated past and run with it! But chances are it will probably find a better home with you...sigh...

Tinker said...

Aack! I hope that didn't come out too weird! I think clothed animals with quotes is a great idea.

Rhonda the Stitchingnut said...

I'm not too kean on the cat lady. It's not quite right. Something about it ... maybe it's the angle & too much in the chest area. The tail coming out from under the dress? ;-)

Laurel said...

Lainie,

I just found you via jacketflap (I'm about to ahve my first book out in 2008 and I'm trying to learn the ropes) and I LOVE your ladies.

I totally like the cat, but maybe she seems les.... marketable? I like her *because* she's weird, but maybe that makes her less sell-able. Dunno.

But wow, really great work!

xoLaurel
http://kidliterary.blogspot.com

Courtney Pippin-Mathur said...

Hi Liani,

I also found you on jacketflap. Love your ladies, so swirly and fun. The chest on your cat doesn't bug me but the human hand is just a little weird. Congrats on all of your success and love those polka-dot shoes!

Heather said...

I think it's GREAT! It makes that whole Egyptian cat-worshipping thing come to life. I don't care if the cat has breasts or a human hand - it works!

[a} said...

Awesome as usual, but you could also have done like some exotic, Egyptian-style dress. And one leg before the other, like in those ancient Egyptian paintings.

['Tis a super quote, btw, did you make it up?]


Also, I am SUCH a cat person.

Goddess Leonie * GoddessGuidebook.com said...

hey luscious laini!

i love the quote...
but then felt freaked out when i saw the cat's head on the body.

what could be cuter...
a normal lady, words on her dress, with a cat wandering around her legs, tail twining upwards?

blessings,
luscious leonie

Unknown said...

well, since you really want my humble opinion...I think it would be kind of cool if she had a human head with some kind of cat-like qualitiy to it, but the tail still peeking out...like she's got a little secret.

and oh, my goodness, those shoes! I lOOOVe them! I want to be fun like you.

xo

Anonymous said...

I like the idea and the quote. Perhaps, though, hand in pocket and no bust line.

Anonymous said...

By the way, glad to see others have found you on jacketflap. I didn't ask you before I put your feed into the list, but I figured it would be okay!

Anonymous said...

I love your ladies, and I love cats, but not this cat head, on this butterfly fairy lady, it did not work for me. Sorry.

L.

Unknown said...

I love it, mostly...the bust does not bother me, since the whole thing is obviously a sort of anthropomorphism. I adore the tail coming out from the dress. The head of the cat does seem a little off to me, though...maybe show a bit of the neck coming out of the collar? But in all I really think it's cool.

Amber Lough said...

I agree with all the comments about making it more Egyptian-style. I didn't even notice the bust until someone mentioned it, but the hand bothers me a little. I think animals in clothes are fine, as long as they're all-animal.

The quote is perfect, by the way. So true. (Especially for Siamese cats.)

Anna Bartlett said...

No, too wierd. Can you tuck a cat under her arm (and give her a human head?) - you could still leave the tail tho. Colours are great!

madelyn said...

I would love anyone that laughs at my jokes
as well!

luckyzmom said...

I love it. I can see a paw instead of a hand maybe.

Anonymous said...

Either change to a cat paw in lieu of the human hand or remove the cat head & tail and put a woman in the dress with a cat at her feet. Also, the colors are wrong for a reference to Egypt. Try reds, gold, black and sienna. Good luck with your new book!