Daisy--character development

The Giving Tree meets The Velveteen Rabbit

And now for something completely different. A little break from the whole artificial intelligence thing.

I have 5 granddaughters. But before they came along I had one daughter and I would tell her stories.

Sometimes I would read someone else’s story to her before bed. But most of the time I would make up stories off the top of my head. As you’d expect, usually they we quickly forgotten, but one stuck with me and I thought it had potential.

Years later I recovered it from memory and wrote it down. Then I honed and fashioned it to the point that I felt like I could get it published somewhere.

Early on I thought someone else should illustrate it. But my literary agent talked me into illustrating it myself. And ever since I’ve been working on character development.

The most important character to develop is the protagonist, of course. I’ve been at it for years, and because I think I’ve finally arrived, here are a couple of early iterations, along with what I believe is the final version.

This is a pen and ink early look at Daisy. There are a number of things I like about it, but it is a little too mature for the intended audience, which is little girls aged 4-8 or so. I just didn’t think they’d connect with her the way I’d like.

Here’s something more recent, and up to just a few weeks ago I was going to settle for it. But again, it lacks the heart-string tug I’m looking for. So, I kept at it.

But here is now what I believe to be the final version. My granddaughters have seen it and approved. The special reveal is for paying subscribers. (Sorry, but they really do deserve content just for them on occasion.) In case you’re wondering, I’m hoping the book will be available in the spring of 2026.