Congratulations to writer and illustrator Sue Eastland

Sue Eastland writes:

A Very Top Secret Mission is the first picture book that I have both authored and illustrated. Previously I have only illustrated picture books so it was both exciting and a challenge to write a story. 



The idea started out as an illustrated character with an outline story and developed from there. The publisher wanted to introduce a large element of interaction into the narrative,  so in the end the character was completely transformed and a brand new story written. This part was a collaborative effort, which led to some amusing meetings with the art editors as we plotted various scenarios for the cat detective to solve. It took about a year from initial concept to the final launch date of the picture book, so by the time it was released I was very happy to get a copy to see how the actual physical book had turned out. No matter how many mock-ups you make, it is never the same as having hold of the real thing. However, having said that, I then scrutinise every detail to see how many things I could have done better! I thoroughly enjoyed the holistic experience of writing and illustrating combined. My future plans are to continue to do more of the same and even progress to chapter books.