11/23/25 - Finishing a huge project and working in my sketchbook a bit

Hello friends,

Last time I wrote, I was in the middle of trying to figure out how to format my book and I was a bit stressed out about it so I didn’t have the energy to write a proper post. I underestimated how long it would take me and the learning curve of the software itself kind of threw me for a loop a bit (I used the new version of Affinity). Also, I had never submitted anything to Amazon KDP before, so I was unsure of the process.

I ended up getting through all the tasks of formatting the interior, cover, and submitting the manuscript by Sunday evening. I even bought my own ISBN. I felt so relieved that I had actually done it and I ordered a proof copy right away. The Amazon guidelines stated that it took up to 72 hours for review before the book went live, so all I had to do was wait.

On Wednesday morning, I was so disappointed when I received an email that my book was blocked on Amazon because it did not meet their guidelines and would “result in a poor customer experience.” The email included a link to the terms and conditions, but I was unable to tell what was the problem. Of course I replied to the email to ask and then I got another email back a few minutes later saying that they were upholding their decision with no further details.

A part of me thought I should reach out again so I sent a follow up email a little later, but I didn’t hear back all day. I thought that was it. I was busy at work, but this was just a nagging thought in the back of my mind all day. I even thought I should start looking into another way to publish it.

That day, my proof copy arrived in the mail and the book looked so good, but it made me even more sad. I was so embarrassed to have to explain the situation to my daughter and husband. Then, a little while later, I randomly got another email from Amazon that they had approved it and it would be put on sale shortly. I was so miserable and feeling dejected, and then all of the sudden relieved and excited.

I am not sure why the first person denied it. When I was reading through the policy, it seems that it can be quite arbitrary. Regardless of the ups and downs, I am so relieved that it is finished.

My coloring book is now available for sale on Amazon. It represents six months of work—sketching and inking fifty pages of different flowers from my photo archives and pairing them with individual scriptures. I am still working on the A+ content for the Amazon listing, but that should be finished within a few days.

I realize that this topic is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it means a lot to me and I hope you would consider purchasing a copy if you are so inclined.

I submitted the copyright registration this weekend and it struck me that this was the first time I completed such a large project and it really stretched my skills in a lot of ways. I’m so proud of myself for finishing it. It is not perfect by any means, but nothing ever can be truly perfect, and as the saying goes, done is better than perfect.

Another thing that happened this week is that I was cleaning my studio and I found a set of watercolors that I had bought years ago but never opened. I think I had intended to give it as a gift to my daughter, but I must have misplaced it. Now, she would not be interested anymore.

So, I decided to keep them for myself. It is the Woodlands set from Prima Marketing. It’s not artist grade paint, but it comes in a cute little tin and it would be good for my sketchbook. I also have the Tropical set which I still use from time to time. The colors in this set are not really what I would describe as woodland themed, but it was fun painting the swatch card.

I painted this page in my sketchbook with the new paints. I used the sand color in the petals and it is slightly opaque. This flower, the abutilon, is one of the species I drew in my coloring book. The leaves are very interesting because they are highly speckled and look like someone spattered paint on them.

Interesting Links:

I really enjoyed this short film about botanical illustrator Billy Showell.

Trejayne had such a great response to “glass” AI food videos by creating replicas out of real glass. She made a stack of pancakes (part 1 and part 2) and a cheeseburger.

That is all for this time. If you are in the US, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving next week. I am looking forward to it.

Take care,