How I Met the Illustrator - Melissa Bailey

The illustrator and editor for my book was the wonderfully talented Melissa Bailey. Melissa is a free-lance artist who has illustrated over 50 children’s books. If you would like to find out more about Melissa, I encourage you to visit her fun website at http://www.melissabaileyillustrates.com/

I had been looking a various free-lance artists work on various websites like Upwork, Fiverr, PeoplePerHour, etc. I saw Melissa’s work and was drawn to her style and artistic ability. I don’t know how to describe it, but when looking at her work, I just felt like I could see and feel her joy in what she did. I finally decided I needed to quit looking at other people’s work, because I kept going back to see what Melissa was up to. She has Facebook and Instagram links on her website and she is always showing what she is up to. I finally contacted Melissa and knew I had contacted the right person. Her knowledge of chldren’s books was so helpful and before illustrating the book, she was the editor of the book. Her suggestions for changes in phrasing, wording, etc. were spot on every time. I thought her editing was good and then she sent me the first sketches and it made me fall further in love with my own book. Her illustrations of the story are so meticulous and so fun! The illustrations clearly capture the tone of the book I had in my head when I began writing it. Needless to say, Melissa is a awesome illustrator, but she’s an even better person. I could never fully describe how much her encouragement and assistance meant to me.

Of course, I’m not the only person who thinks Melissa is a wonderful illustrator. In January, Kids’ Book Review posted an interview with Melissa in their “Meet the Illustrator” segment. There is a great picture of her and her two dogs. Oh, I forgot to mention earlier that she is also a dog lover. I mean, the amazing qualities just keep adding up. I really enjoyed reading the interview and wanted to share it with everyone. http://www.kids-bookreview.com/2019/01/meet-illustrator-melissa-bailey.html