Big Top Otto Has Arrived!

It's been a week of excitement on the Otto front. My advance copies of Big Top Otto, the second in the Elephants Never Forget series, arrived on my doorstep this week. Yea! Although not available in bookstores until mid-July or so (the publishing date is August 1, but copies are usually available before then) at least I have one copy in my hot little hands.
Here's what it looks like:

Jealous?

At 88 pages it's a bit longer than Book 1, Big City Otto. This time the boys go on a road trip through the American south in pursuit of Georgie.

Thumbnails for Book 3 Done!

Also this week I finished and sent off the thumbnails for Book 3, currently being done under the working title of Big Star Otto. This is the culmination of a couple of months work, breaking down the manuscript page by page and figuring out what I want in each frame. I feel that pacing and story flow are something I'm getting better at as I begin work on the third of the series, and it has given me a new appreciation for all of those who practice the arcane art of comic book making.
Now the thumbs are packed off to my editor, Stacey Roderick, for her feedback, so I'm on a brief hiatus before the gruelling twelve month marathon of drawing, inking and colouring that will see this book (and series) through to the conclusion.

Not wanting to give too much away, here are my thumbnails for pages 4 and 5 of Big Star Otto.