New Book Cover Reveal

Taro: Jenn! Jenn! Did you see the new cover? It’s so me!

Jenn: Yes, I did see it, and yes, that’s your big booty on the front page. Well, an artist’s interpretation, anyway. I never told you how that cover came about, did I?

Taro: Are you saying that cover makes my butt look big?

Jenn: Stop! No! Alberto Soriano is the master watercolorist who painted it just for us. His studio is here in Cuenca. I had this idea in my mind of what I wanted. He only spoke Spanish and so I had to translate this vision I had from my English brain to his Spanish brain. And then it had to make sense to him enough to translate the information down his arm, through his brushes, and onto the paper. It was quite a process and took many iterations. Many.

Taro: Oh, I see. So the idea went from your brain to his brain, down his arm, through the brushes and onto the paper on his easel.

Jenn: Yes, it went pretty much like that over several months. But you make it sound so easy. It took time. The hardest part was the language barrier.

Taro: Would everything have been easier if you had both spoken the same language?

Jenn: Of course. The language was the biggest barrier for me.

Taro: Oh. Well, we don’t have any language differences, do we, Jenn? No barriers that way?

Jenn: No, our communication is straightforward.

Taro: OK, then I have an idea in my mind of what I want. My vision is a whitefish cat snack. And this makes perfect sense to you because we speak the same language. You understand me right away. No translation is needed. You go to the kitchen and my idea runs down your arm as you open the cupboard door. Your fingers grab the whitefish pouch. You tear the top open. The spoon goes through the snack as you scoop it onto my plate. Vision realized immediately. No iterations necessary.

Jenn: Excuse me?

Taro: Stop stalling, Jenn. I know you brought six whitefish cat snack pouches back from the market this morning. I saw them!