When lifelong artist Candace Rowe and her husband found themselves weathering part of the pandemic at a remote cabin in Montana, Rowe realized, "I needed a pandemic project... something to entertain myself."
And so while her husband fished, Rowe decided to try her hand at writing a children's book. "I just kind of mocked something up and started doing the paintings, and I thought even if this is just a vanity project or something that I self-publish, it would still be a worthwhile thing and fun to do."
And that's how Rami's Snow Day, her first children's book, was born. "[Rami's] a real little boy. He's my muse," she says of her godson, who lives in Seattle.
Rowe both wrote and illustrated the book, which recounts Rami and his parents' joyful day reveling in a new snowfall. "The children's books that I loved had beautiful illustrations and they just had a feeling — just like a mood — and that's what I was going for," says Rowe. "Since I was writing it and illustrating it, I could really get the mood that I wanted."
A friend who'd published children's books introduced Rowe to her publisher. "I sent it in, and I didn't hear anything for a long time. It turned out they had responded and it went to my junk mail!" she says. No matter, because the publisher loved it. "I actually got it published by the first person I sent it to, which never happens."
Rowe has another children's book in the works, and in addition to doing commissioned paintings, she can also be found helping others experience the satisfaction of creating art as an instructor at Spokane's Pinot's Palette.
Rami's Snow Day will be available starting Oct. 25 at major retailers, in hardback ($17) and paperback ($10).
