Meet the Family

Working with Jon Kalvin

Before we meet the family, it is very important to announce that I have signed on to work with my incredible illustrator, Jon Kalvin.

Finding Jon was a bit of an accident. I was deep in research mode, looking into self-publishing and everything that comes with it, and I came across a list of illustrators. I wasn’t even really planning to choose someone that day. If anything, I was avoiding doing any actual work; surfing, as it were.

But I opened his website… and I physically exhaled.

It was one of those immediate, full-body reactions where you just know. I realized in that moment that I had been looking for the kind of art I like to hang in my home, not the art this book actually needed. And Jon’s work, I quickly realized, was EXACTLY what my book needed. SIDENOTE: Those who know me, know that I “feel” my way through the world, so here goes…. He is Toronto based (check!) AND in his headshot he is wearing a Dolly Parton shirt. Enough said. Moving on…

I reached out to Jon right away, hoping to find someone who would embrace this project with me. What I didn’t expect was how quickly it would feel like I was talking to someone I already knew. From very first Zoom call, it just felt easy. I trust him completely with these characters and with this story, which is not something I say lightly.

If you want to see his work, you can check out his website imjonk.ca .

So… this is happening. Meet the family.

Well… this felt like the right time to finally share. For a long time now, this book has lived in my head, on my desk, and in a million little notes and ideas.

And then on February 5th, I opened my email and saw the characters for the first time. I actually gasped.

I could not get over how bang on they were. I squealed (out loud) when I saw the mom’s rainbow shirt. And then I just sat there for a second because… the older boy looked so much like my own son at that age it completely caught me off guard.

It was surreal, emotional, a little terrifying, and very much an “oh wow, this is actually happening” moment.

I immediately dropped the image into our family group chat — and of course, everyone saw it too. The resemblance in the older boy was not subtle. (Possible future post alert!)

This is the family that has been living in my head for a long time - and now they’re real.

The mom is exactly who I hoped she would be. She’s full of love, full of energy, and completely swept up in whatever moment she’s in. She’s real. She’s not trying to be perfect, she’s just trying to be present.

The older child (our narrator) made me laugh right away. There’s something a little cheeky about him, like he’s quietly observing everything and maybe keeping his mom just slightly in line. Jon absolutely nailed this and I still can’t get over how much he feels like my own son at that age.

The little brother (Joe) is the only one we adjusted from that first sketch. The original version was sweet, but his hair felt a little too… put together and that just wasn’t him. He needed to feel like that slightly dopey little brother who tags along, a little undone, a little unpredictable. The updated version just clicked. He finally felt right.

The dog (FRED)… okay, the dog is fantastic. I told Jon that my dog is white with a black head, a poodle cross gone wrong but what he captured wasn’t just how the dog looks. He captured the personality. Slightly dorky. Fully part of the family. Honestly, he might be my favourite.

And then there’s the dad. He plays a quieter role, but it mattered to me that he felt warm and solid. Also… his hairy legs and feet make me laugh every time. I don’t know why, but they do.

Where we are now

We have finalized our contract and illustration is officially underway!! The characters are approved, the manuscript is paginated, and Jon is now working through the scenes. I’ll be sharing some of those as we go.

This stage is… a little terrifying, if I’m honest. Writing it felt like home. I knew what I was doing there. This part? I’m learning as I go.

It’s also incredibly exciting, seeing something that used to live only in my head start to take shape is a very cool thing.

Timeline (real talk)

Originally, I said early summer. That was… optimistic.

In talking this through properly, we’re now looking at a fall release, which feels much more reasonable. It gives us the time to do this properly giving me the time to learn everything I need to learn to get this book out into the world the way it deserves.

Come along for the ride

If you’ve made it this far — thank you for being here.

If you follow this journey, I hope you see yourself in the book a little bit. I hope it makes you laugh, and makes you a little kinder to yourself in the process.

And if you’re curious to see how this all comes together, you can come along for the ride by joining The F Bomb Files.

That’s where I’ll be sharing more character sneak peeks, all the behind-the-scenes fun and updates as we move toward preorders in the next little while.

I’m really glad you’re here at the beginning of this.
-Cathy