Just a quick announcement for anyone interested: if you’d like to read some of Emily Fiegenschuh’s notes and stories about her methods, creative process, and particular joys & challenges in illustrating “The Star Shard,” there is what amounts to a sort of informal interview on Cricket‘s website. I asked Emily several questions, and she answered them in two replies at the end of her Q & A page. To get there, follow this procedure:

Go to www.cricketmagkids.com. Once there, click on “Cricket League.” At the bottom of that page, you can click on a link for “Authors’ and Artists’ Corner.” When you get there, click on “Emily Fiegenschuh” and scroll down through all the correspondence to the bottom, where in the last few letters, you can find my questions and her responses.

While you’re there, be sure not to miss the young readers’ fan art for “The Star Shard”! At the top of Emily’s page, you can click on an icon labeled “Send Us Your Artwork,” and then there’s a “Here” to click if you want to view what’s already been sent. As of this writing, there are six amazing pictures!