THE new illustration style =)

Real quick, I just received this tonight... *much anticipated*... I saw the model sheets of the sport princess characters from this illustrator, Kristin Abbott, earlier this week, and loved them right away. You can see more of her portfolio at http://www.abbottillustration.com/. I wanted to post this full illustration so you can see the new style we are most likely going with for the Sport Princess series! We will have an official decision by Leo Publishing Works next week, and then after some minor tweaks to the characters themselves, new BIO pictures and style on here, soon.

More details to be continued...

UPDATE: it's official, Kristin Abbott is the new illustrator! We will have new character bios and images up as soon as they are completed... finalizing now!

3 days left for the Sport Princess photo contest!

In good faith, we are still doing the Sport Princess photo contest even though the publication date of the first book has been pushed out while it is being illustrated again! Click on the Sport Princess Photo Contest link at the top of the page for full details... You have until May 31st midnight to email a photo!! There aren't many entries so far, so that's good for you... Your chances to win are very high! We have received some super cute sporty pictures that will be posted On June 1st. There are two grand prizes... And two ways to win. One is completely random, we will use random.org to pick the winner! Everyone has an even chance. The second way to win will be by voting all next week during the contest period! Could be an easy way to pick up some quick cash and some fun sporty princess gear:) Send a cute sport picture you already have, or pull out your cameras this Memorial Weekend! Spread the word if you have a friend that has a little girl and could use the money rift now! Cheers:)

The many faces of The Soccer Princess "Jo"

I don't know why I've put this off... because from what I've heard so far, this news I'm about to share has been received enthusiastically. And now that I'm looking through older illustration examples again, I'm getting a kick out of this thing called starting over. Since getting signed with my lovely Irish Literary Agents... and in talking to several overseas publishers and marketing companies at the London Book Fair, I heard a consistent message:

"LOVE the idea. Illustrations look a little old or off for the younger target audience though. Change that and you have something that could go international, too"

And then it hits me, too, as so apparently obvious that I don't know why we didn't see it sooner. So with the big picture in mind, and what's best to get all our little girls to love sport princesses and spread the idea... we all agreed to push off the first publication date of The Soccer Princess, (still in 2010!) while we start over on the illustrations! It was perfect - blessed - timing at the Book Fair, because my publisher had just received the proof sample from the printer in Minnesota, and we were at that point to either plow forward with the printing, or make any revisions.

I'm waiting for a new sample illustration from a fantastic agented illustrator right now that we've been in negotiations with, and my publisher will be able to make that decision by the end of next week. In the meantime though, I want to show you several of the faces of Josephina that I've received since the beginning from different freelance illustrators!! The first two (uper-amatear) drawings are my own... how I initially pictured Jo. The rest are several different styles and mediums based on different artist perspectives!

Have fun looking through all these examples!! I would LOVE your feedback and opinion. Several of these are obviously not her exactly, but some are closer than I originally considered... is there a style here that you love for little girls? Is there one that you think is close? Or right on? Have your daughters look through it with you too!

Stay tuned as we continue the search for the right match......

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

G.

H.

I.

J.

K.

L.

M.

Sporty surf-style clothing line... ATHLETA!

Have you seen this new magazine for women's clothing yet? I have fallen in love with it! I receive nothing from ATHLETA for making this pitch... I genuinely highly recommend ATHLETA! Here is their motto from the Design Director:

"Everything that makes its way into the Athleta assortment comes from our own personal love for both fashion and sport ... Our design team is made up of women athletes and we have pretty much every sport you can imagine represented by a member of our staff"

The have loads of beautiful sun dresses... knee length shorts, skirts, beach cover ups, swimsuits. And as far as online shopping goes, it's the same shipping as with Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic etc:) You can shop by sport categories:

Yoga/Studio
Run/Walk
Hike/Explore
Gym/Training
Adventure Travel
Swim/Surf/Paddle
Golf
Tennis
Cycling
Triathlon

Check it out! http://www.athleta.com/
And lots of sporty tips and stories on their blog at http://www.athleta.net/chi/

Go Irish! A Literary Agent Tale

London Book Fair, day one, April 19th.

The iceland volcano Eyjafjallajokull (I didn't make that up) impacted the book fair, to say the least! Empty booths and holes in once-filled schedules presented an opportunity I didn't expect.

While I went to London to attend the fair as a spectator... to learn what goes into the UK and other foreign markets, to understand "rights" and contracts and see if there is a market for Sport Princesses outside the U.S... in one of those not-so-coincidental-chance-meetings... I found my literary agent match overseas! Two agents, actually, who work together. I love them immediately, but how can you not, with that Irish accent and charm?

I was sitting on an aisle bench at the end of the day... weary... looking through old Sport Princess illustrations on my new Ipad, wondering if I change the style? When they each plopped on each side of me, delighted, asking if this is really the Ipad and could they please have a look? Turns out the Ipad is not available in Europe yet (so this wasn't my first Ipad demonstration) These gals are so witty and fun and they're asking about the illustrations and I'm showing them the book and sharing laughs before I even look at their nametags and see that they are Literary Agents. The rest clicked right away. They weren't even on my radar - and they weren't there to sign any more authors - and on their webpage they aren't even accepting manuscripts right now ... it was just meant to be. *aww*

The lovely Prizeman Kinsella gals are my new Irish go-tos, and I couldn't be more escatic about them! To be continue.

NFL Football Draft...

So the 2010 NFL Football Draft 7th round came to an end on Saturday April 24th! ... with a few more "undrafted free agents" getting signed to teams after it was all over. Dennis Pitta from BYU went in the 4th round (pick 114 overall) to the Baltimore Ravens! Hopefully we get to see him play this year... they picked other great Tight End talent in the draft as well. Hey, John Beck is also a reserve quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens! He was the quarterback for BYU before Max Hall... Beck was initially drafted to the Miami Dolphins, but hasn't seen enough action yet and is now waiting with the Ravens.

After all 7 rounds were finished, Max Hall signed an undrafted free agent rookie deal with the Arizona Cardinals. What does that mean, anyway? Well, at least he still has a shot of playing in the NFL. Anyone not drafted can then choose to become a free agent and pick a team to play on, if they are interested in them. He won't make nearly as much money as a normal drafted player... but it's not about the money! It's about the love of football!

Ladies Gaelic Football!!

I am still visiting the London Book Fair... (and am still quite befuddled I made it here the day before the Icelandic volcano that has had European flights grounded ever since... ask me if I'm coming home on Thursday or not? Ask me again on Wednesday!)

But yesterday I met two absolutely charming Irish Literary Agents, who introduced me to a new sport: Gaelic Football! It's the most popular sport in Ireland, (yet one of the oldest world sports still played today)... ladies have their own division and play too, and it is growing in international popularity. Of course I googled it... and have been hopping ever since. Check this out: it's sort of a mix between american soccer (European football) and rugby!

The ball used is slightly smaller, and heavier than a soccer ball... similar to a volleyball in appearance.

You can pick the ball up from the ground and run with it, passing it between hands (ladies only. Men cannot pick it up, they have to kick it up, and cannot pass between hands)

You can kick the ball (like soccer)

And you can hand pass or "strike" the ball to pass it to a teammate. You can't throw it... a hand pass is not a punch but rather a strike of the ball with the side of the closed fist, using the knuckle of the thumb!

It's an aggressive contact sport too though! Not as brutal as rugby, but definitely more so than soccer. Here are more technical fouls of the game first though:

Going four steps without releasing, bouncing or soloing the ball. (Soloing involves kicking the ball into one's own hands)
Bouncing the ball twice in a row (It may be soloed continuously)
Hand passing a goal (the ball may be punched into the goal from up in the air, however)

The field is rectangular, similar to soccer... but in Australia they play on an oval field.

The goal itself... looks like a soccer net at the bottom, with two upright poles coming up on the top! If the ball is passed (punched, not thrown) or kicked between the uprights on top of the goal, you are scored 1 point! If the ball is kicked into the bottom net part, you score 3 points. The ball cannot be passed by hand into the lower net part.

The level of tackling allowed is more robust than in soccer (football), but less than rugby:
Shoulder to shoulder contact and slapping the ball out of an opponent's hand are permitted, but the following are all fouls:
Using both hands to tackle
Pushing an opponent
Striking an opponent
Pulling an opponent's jersey
Blocking a shot with the foot
Sliding tackles
Tripping
Touching the goalkeeper when he/she is inside the small rectangle
Wrestling the ball from an opponent's hands

Girls of all ages play gaelic football in Ireland! I've seen pictures of girls of primary age playing! Outside of Ireland, there are also teams in Canada, all over Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Asia, and the U.S.... there is one team in the U.S. which happens to be in Seattle! The "Seattle Gaels"! They are looking for recruits:) http://womensfootball.seattlegaels.com/

I will absolutely be checking it out.

Here are more links for pictures and history on Gaelic Football!

http://www.ladiesgaelic.ie/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladies%27_Gaelic_football

You better believe there will be a Gaelic Football Princess added. This is a contact sport for women in it's finest. Irish women are hardcore! If I get stuck in London due to the flight restrictions, maybe I'll hop a ferry over to Ireland to see more....

Girlie girl pink princess fairy store in London

Wait, did I fail to mention pink and girlie?

I came upon this Mystical Fairies pink princessy shop yesterday in the village of Hampstead, London. And even though this kind of store is everything that I am NOT, I couldn't help but go inside! I thought of Avery, mostly, and ... okay... basically every little girl in the history of mankind. I have to say I was awe-struck at once, and wish I could show you a picture of the intricately princess'd inside (Trust me, I tried and was almost taken out by a pink tutu'd glitter employee)

The shop itself wasn't that large, but wall to wall tea sets, dolls, ballet girlness, gowns, glitter, fairydust makeup, hair accessories, princess jewelry, purses, sequins, canopies, etc ... and even hanging from the ceiling were glittery branches holding fairies, butterflies and girl wonder-ness.

My mum bought a new fairy teaset for the girls, and invitations to a teaparty. The checkout employee had ringlets, tiara, and a tutu.

So if you know me ... it wasn't long before I started feeling claustrophic as the walls of pink and frilly started crashing in on me... my breathing quickened and I had to go back outside into the fresh air. I felt like I needed something to redeem myself... like... find a sport store and buy a new jersey, or drop down in that village alley and start doing pushups. I wonder if this is how dads feel when in this same situation? Where did my girlie girl gene go? Did my sister get double? All I know is ... we do things for our girlie daughters because we love them, and we know they love the pink girlie princesses, so of course we oblige! But I would openly embrace it, love it, delight in it TOO if it had more of a tomboy edge on it.

This is what it would look like:

HOT pink and brown

glitter football stripe sticks

pink sporting goods, cleats, socks, bats, balls,

vintage pictures of Sport Princesses on the walls... and sport pennants... and framed jerseys... and merchandise

Green turf floor with white 10 yard lines on it

The jewelry would be sport wristbands, headbands, leatherbands, soccer ball earrings

Princess gowns next to the sport jerseys and crinoline

and a high def tv on the wall playing sporting games so the dads would still feel manly and embrace going in, too.

Sport Princess Football Referee Signals... Videos!

Want to learn different football referee signals from 3 year old Football Princesses? Watch these super cute videos below! The youtube link is pasted above each video so you can share with your friends and family! Send me your cute girl sport videos and we'll share on the blog!

Part 1: Mackayla: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVi0f4ZajUI&feature

Part 2: Avery: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfHU71L0Mh8

Take me out to the ball game

And Baseball season is off and running with a bang! Did you see the Major League Baseball game opener on Easter Sunday? New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox? What a game! Hottie Dustin Pedroia saved the day in the 7th inning when he hit a homerun with a man on base, tying the game at 7-7! The Red Sox went on to win 9-7 over the Yankees. What a night... how can you compare a classic Red Sox and Yankees rivalry at Fenway park?

What's in a Sport Princess?

She's not afraid to get dirty...

She prefers to be outside whether it's rain or shine... running, playing...

She's determined and competitive,

Brave and adventurous,

More likely to pick a fight and stand up for what she believes in than sit and watch the world go by!

She'll wear glitter and ribbons with her football jersey...

Pink and ruffles with her soccer cleats...

Bubble gum and curls with her baseball hat and bat.

And her daddy's favorite sport team shirts... with flowers in her hair.

She would rather camp in a tent than sleep on fluffy mattresses in a luxurious bed,

Would choose a ponytail anyday,

And prefers running around with the boys than sitting inside with the girly girls!

A Sport Princess is glamorous, fancy, and girly.... yet hardcore, adventurous and outgoing!

Photo Contest - 2 prizes and 2 ways to win!

The Sport Princess photo contest continues... contest runs through May 31st, with winners announced on June 11th! To enter, send me a picture of your darling ... rugged little Sport Princess and we'll share her on the blog. Does she wear daddy's favorite football jersey and pom poms on game day? Does she get muddy in her dress in the backyard and not mind?

Does she wear a skirt for soccer?

Because check out these prizes!
There will be two grand prizes (and two ways to win!):
$250 dollars, plus Josephina custom princess gown,
The Soccer Princess book,
pink soccer socks and soccer ball!

For more details click on the Sport Princess Photo Contest link

at the top of the blog.

I wish I had my camera on me today. That... or remember that my cell phone has a camera in it. :) My little Mack insisted on wearing her gloves to the park - which just happen to be her *Baseball Princess SAM fingerless gloves* I bought for her. She bounces through the dandelions in her ruffled skirt, ribboned hair, tennis shoes, green sporty shirt (Happy St Patrick's Day!) and fingerless baseball gloves. You would have thought she was wearing long ... elegant... princess ball gloves for how beautiful she felt and acted and showed off her hands to everyone within sight.

*beaming and can't wait to see other little girls randomly wearing baseball gloves... football stripes... and soccer socks with their dresses*

A Sport Princess beginning

I used to flinch at the word "princess".

My sister teased me when I made my own onesies for my daughter when she was newborn... I wasn't finding much neutral colored clothes for so young, and when I put Mackayla in boy onesies... yellow or blue or green, everyone thought she was a boy... and that just wasn't fair to my sweet little baby.

So I bought pink plain onesies, and sport patches from a craft store, and made my own! I'd put on a sport ball patch, a number or two, and sometimes put her name "Mack" across the back. I didn't think much about it back then, but now I realize it was the start of the Sport Princess concept.

My sister teased me again after she taught Mackayla all the mainstream princess names and got her into dress-up gowns. See, she had a baby girl just 9 days after I did! Sweet little Avery, who is the girly-girl-princess of them all. I was no competition at first... Mackayla started requesting a dress everyday. So I compromised and bought her new flouncy skirts to twirl in, but sport shirts to go with it... and eventually... her own mini football jerseys. She loved it! As long as she had some girly twist to go along with the rugged sports, she was thrilled.

Ringlets... glittery stripes... puffy crinoline under her skirt...

It wasn't until after I created Sport Princess characters, pictures, and stories that she really got hooked though. She started asking me to call her "Jo" and wore her pink soccer socks and cleats through the house and to preschool! She made me cut out paper dolls and characters and act out the stories with her at night. She has colored and painted countless Sport Princess pictures by my side at night. She is both my biggest fan and inspiration.

The real eye-opener was when we hooked Avery, too.

I have rarely seen anything as beautiful as a rugged sport shirt or jersey over a flouncy skirt, coupled with tennis shoes or cleats, skipping off to preschool and singing a sport tune.

"J J! na-na-na-na-na.....na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na... na-na... na-na"

Will you help me share it with others who might feel the same?

Saturday for sports and why I can't let Football season go just yet...

My first thought this morning when I woke up was... "it's Saturday! College Football day!" and then I wake up a little more and remember that we're months past that already... I automatically go to the closet anyway and try to decide on a football jersey (I have a whole collection!)to decide which team I want to represent today ... I think I still feel like it's football season since there's so much of the NFL Draft on the news right now. I keep perking up my ears to hear if there are rumors of Dennis Pitta, BYU tight end, and where he ends up getting drafted! It has just been so much fun watching Austin Collie rock it as a young rookie on the Indy Colts this year that I can't wait to see what Pitta can bring next year to the NFL too. But the official NFL draft isn't until late April... so I put my football jersey back in the closet, and choose a baseball jersey with my jeans instead.

Is it wrong that I would rather wear a sport shirt or jersey and jeans every single day? That I'll sometimes put a red sox t shirt under my suit jacket if I have to get dressed up for work because that's the only way I still feel like "me"? I asked Ben just this last week... (super rugged outdoor hunter of a husband. don't tell him I told you but when he's NOT hunting though he makes the meanest strawberry freezer jam!!) I asked him if it ever bothered him that I have more sport clothes than anything else and choose to dress like a tomboy but then put glitter eyeliner on. He just said "of course not!" and I remember how lucky I am to be married to my best friend who lets me really be me.

My little Mack wanted to wear a dress and tights to the park this morning, which of course I let her, because she tells me "this is a sport dress, mom, and I want to play sports at the park AND be a princess". How can I argue with that?

Go seahawks

We did a girl's roadtrip last fall with my sisters and I took my little football princess Mackayla to a college BYU Cougar game. She loved getting all "football'd and glitter'd up" but once we got in the stands and everyone started cheering, she jumped up on the chair and kept yelling "GO SEAHAWKS!" Everyone within earshot started laughing and soon others were cheering the same along with her... Go Seahawks! Oh well, at least she got the sport right! I've created a sports fan who loves to watch with me. She loves a lot of different teams... sometimes she'll ask me who to cheer for "Mommy are we going for the white ones or the blue ones?" But other times she'll defiantly tell me which ones she wants to win. "Nope, I'm going for the red ones" She's only three!

Share our blog and get a free book!

For the first 50 bloggers that follow our blog site by sharing it on their blog - you will receive a free Soccer Princess hardcover book on the publication date of June 10, 2010! Once you have our blog linked on your site, email us to check it out and get you on the list. Thank you for helping us share the Sport Princesses with everyone that needs more princess options and loves sports!

Photo Contest!

Today marks the opening of the Sport Princess™ Photo Contest! Click the contest link at the top of the page for details! Contest runs through May 31st, 2010, with fun prizes! Please share our blog, story, and contest with any moms or dads with their own little sporty girl in their life. We need your help spreading the word and sooo appreciate it:)

My Dream

"My Dream is to see little girls run around with football jerseys over their dresses... and glittery football stripes under their eyes. Don't laugh, I'm not kidding!" (to husband, Ben)

Created by Bethany Hegerhorst, together with Leo Publishing Works, and an amazing illustrator, the SPORT PRINCESS™ Adventure Series of Children's Books launches soon! This Blog will soon be updated with the Princess illustrations and Bios... a Sport Princess picture contest with prestigious prizes... and information on the upcoming books, merchandise, and media!

With the World Soccer Cup happening this year in June in Africa, our first book launch will be Josephina ("Jo") the Soccer Princess™.

Check back soon!