Hey guys! I'm going to be AFK from June 10th to July 10th to live in the woods and do musical theater (HOORAY)! This is a much needed break that I've been planning all year... but now that snowbird is taking longer than expected... my commitments clash and collide! I'd like to keep the updates rolling during the time that I'm away with some GUEST ART on SNOWBIRDCOMIC.COM...! If you or anyone you know would like to send me some art, I"ll lovingly post it on SNOWBIRDCOMIC.COM, ERINKWILSON.TUMBLR.COM, and I'll print it in the 'extras' section of the book when it is completed!

Doodles and all forms of satire accepted!

I'm also down for trades!

Friends, supporters, sweethearts. I have just completed the last page of chapter one! It will be posted Next Wed (i hope you like it!) And as I sit here, preparing to begin penciling in Chapter Two... I feel like i need to check in with you, my loving backers.

(first check out this SWEET page I did!!! Just thought I'd throw a drawing in before I get down to business)

I want to let you all know that I've had a major revelation. It does not take three months to write a fully realized, emotionally complex, personally revealing, and well drawn book. It takes a year. I am going to have this book done by December 31, 2012. One year after I got this whole kickstarter bug in my brain.

I'm sorry I mislead you into thinking I could do it in four months. Or even SIX months.No, friends... it will take a full 12. But a good friend of mine said something really important to me when I was freaking out about this very fact the other week...

I have learned so much, friends, since I got started. I have had to completely re-write the script more than once, learn new comic book techniques, and conquer a huge (seemingly insurmountable) monster of a self esteem problem that I had NO IDEA I'd have to tackle in this process.

I know you haven't seen much from me, but I've been learning what it really means to write a book. 

I also have hit some real set-backs since the last time we spoke. Here are somethings that happened to me...

1. OH NO! BICYCLE ACCIDENT!

2. I WASN'T ABLE TO QUIT MY JOB BECAUSE IT'S GONNA TAKE ME WAY LONGER THAN PLANNED TO FINISH THE BOOK

3. I MOVED INTO A LEGIT STUDIO

Anyways... that is what is up! I really hope you trust me when I say that I'm going to make you something beautiful. And if you don't believe me, CHECK OUT CHAPTER ONE! www.SNOWBIRDCOMIC.com !

If you have any feedback, thoughts, or questions.. please contact me!! I'm in a really amazing situation where I'm open for feedback while I'm writing! Cool!

Fondly, sincerely, humbly, ERIN.

Hey guys! Here it goes!

SNOWBIRDCOMIC.COM is launched! You can officially read the comic as I post it online! I update every Mon, Wed, and Fri until it's finished.

So what's up, Miss Erin? Hows the project going?

Let me tell you! Guess who completely overestimated herself? Complete a 100+ page comic book in three months? That's crazy! But I didn't know it was crazy until I got started. The truth is that the book won't be available for mailing and sending out until August! Yikes! Oh, Erin. I bet the only person seriously suprised by this is me! 

I hope y'all won't judge me too harshly, and trust that the extra time this is going to take has everything to do with writing a good, well-rounded, quality book.

I also decided to un-lock the comic for EVERYONE to read. A password-only site was in the works, but I realized that I want folks to read the book even if they don't want to pay for it. 

so check it out! Snowbirdcomic.com !

Anyways, currently the book is zipping through the backstory of my life before we get into the events in New Orleans. I didn't realize I was going to be writing this so candidly... but I'm telling all, dear readers. I'm putting my vulnerabilities and heart out on the table... hopefully folks appreciate it. It's important for you to understand where/why/how I did things I did... and what led me to make those choices. Even if it's very nerve-wracking to write about.

If you have any critiques or comments... please send them to me! I'd like to hear all about it. Anyways, here's a sneak peek from the most recent page (page 13) and in the context of this update, it visually shows you how scary it is to publish your secrets..! 

Check out my insides, world.

LOVE, ERIN. (don't forget...! snowbirdcomic.com!)

Hey guys!

It's MARDI GRAS TIME! Yahooo!! And when it's Mardi Gras- you gotta get ready for the Mardi Gras Indians! I live in the 7th ward, and we've got a super youngtribe of indians here. They are called The Red Flame Hunters and they need support! Check out their kickstarter to help provide feathers and beads for the kids!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/631393077/the-red-flame-hunters-mardi-gras-indian-tribe

Here's a little more about them...!

"The Red Flame Hunters, a traditional Mardi Gras Indian tribe in New Orleans, is comprised of teens from our neighborhood working with family and community to hand sew suits for our second consecutive year. The Seventh Ward is a centuries-old Creole neighborhood that has suffered systematic neglect and oppression for decades proceeding Hurricane Katrina. Continuing this tradition in our neighborhood with young people is a way of celebrating resilience and empowerment in the face of oppression and catastrophe."

Help them out! I'm going to. And I'll see them (with your help) on Mardi Gras morning!

LOVE, ERIN!!

Hey there friends and donors! How are you? Actually, if you wanna send me a message to let me know how you are... that'd be neat. I've been meeting a lot of my New Orleans backers recently, and it's been great! I can't tell it how good it feels to hear a person you don't know tell you that they support you. It's been a pleasure to get the chance to actually give folks an in-person hug and thank you.

THANK YOU.

"So what's up, Erin? We haven't heard from you...!" You might be saying. And yes, I've been radio silent for a quite a while! There was so much work to do as soon as the kickstarter was funded. Setting up my studio, giving notice to my job, and re-writing the entire script has taken a lot out of me! 

Why re-write the script? Well... here's the thing. Ever since the kickstarter launched I have received an OUTPOURING of communication from all kinds of people! I've spent a huge amount of time having lots and lots of conversations about the project. Some people are hugely supportive, some people thank me, and tell me that they are looking forward to reading it and processing their emotions about loss. But also some people have strong critiques and concerns about my story's subject matter, which was a time of community trauma here in NOLA. There are big questions about appropriation, the role of art in conversations about grief, and personal stories being shared with me about some folk's personal experiences during last Winter.

After all these conversations, my story has completed changed. It's going to be a MUCH better graphic novel now. If I had written this book all alone and in secret, it would be a lot less well rounded. Thank you, again, kickstarter.

It's been a super emotional time of research, which is appropriate for any project that spends time representing a community in any way. It is  a lesson I learned from the organization I have been participating in for years, The Beehive Design Collective (beehivecollective.org). All of their projects are based on in-person  research, and I think it's a pretty great idea. 

So anyways, check out this drawing I did about how I'm feeling! Also, the snowbird website and online comic viewer will be up within the next week! HOORAY!

LOVE, ERIN!