Drawing for The Garden Intrigue

Emma, Grand Inquisitor for Poetic Excellence from The Garden Intrigue

One of my favorite authors (Lauren Willig) is having a contest in order to pass out ARC (advanced reader's copy) for her newest book The Garden Intrigue, that isn't actually due out until February. Naturally, I want my grubby little hands on a copy because I've been dying to read it since the second I finished reading The Orchid Affair.


The contest was to create something that could be sold in the Pink Store. Initially, I wanted to recruit a guy in our ward who is an illustrator. I had this idea in mind, that would have gone perfect with the types of illustrations he draws, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to try my hand.

I've always been jealous of my cousin Camille's creative ability. She paints. She photographs. She's just always been better at crafts and artistic expression. I remember being a little girl and her telling me it was just because she had more experience. The truth is, she has more experience, more training and more talent. But every once and a while, I am a little bit pleased with what gets churned out when I try to be creative.

I'm not saying that the above sketch is a work of art, because it isn't. And if I had photoshop, I know it would look BETTER, but I have to work with what I have, and that leaves a lot of things to be desired sometimes. So aside from the fact that you can't really read the writing, and there are a lot of scan marks that I couldn't get out, I am pretty pleased with Emma from The Garden Intrigue, the Grand Inquisitor for Poetic Excellence. I can't wait to read what she does with Augustus.

When I emailed it to Lauren, she sent me a quick reply back.

I love it!  That's gorgeous-- and so very, very Emma!

All best,Lauren

So there you go! Some validation from the author, herself!