For Green With Envy, I researched for several months to find my illustrator, Pei Jen. Once I narrowed it down to my top 8 choices, I contacted each of them for rates and availability. Then I chose my top 4 and commissioned each of them to create a sample of Blade and Augustine.

The main thing that won me over about Pei Jen was her attention to detail, and how she knew she would need to create this world beyond just two blades of grass. She added different angles and details like dandelions, snails, and a creative use of leaves throughout the book.  I didn’t give Pei Jen much art direction. Instead, I relied on her skill to come up with the perfect complement to my text. I especially love the expressions she gave each of the two main characters. You really are rooting for Blade. (pun intended)

Pei Jen also did the book design and cover, as well as her illustrator bio pic, which is really cool. She was great to work with, and I am a fan of her other books, including The Lonely Cloud, When the Clock Strikes series, and Crackodile.

Pei Jen lives in Malaysia, and I live in Texas, USA. Communication was easy in this age of technology, email, and Google Slides. I look forward to working with her again on a future book.