| The story of a book... ...about a seagull |
When Eric Armstrong went to Ocean City, Md. one year,
he came back home with something. But it wasn't a seashell
or some other souvenir. It was an idea for a kids' book. So
began the making of Skyler C. Gull.
While at the beach, Eric took a long walk in the surf,
reflecting on the power of the tide. His thoughts turned to a
picture book and he imagined a foolish character ordering all
the animals at the beach to build him a castle, despite their
warnings that the tide would wash the castle away. The
character was a seagull. And it wasn't just any seagull -- it
was the king of the seagulls! Who else could order all the
animals to build him a castle?
Eric began writing the book as soon as he got home, but he didn't finish it and put it
away in a drawer. A year later, while having difficulty writing another book for an
adult audience, he went back to the seagull book, thinking he should start out with a
kids' book and then come back to the other book once the kids' book was finished.
Needless to say, Eric never went back to his other book and spent about five years
bringing Skyler C. Gull to life.
There were many obstacles. The character didn't work. As a king ordering other
characters around, the seagull just wasn't likable. Other incarnations resulted in a
shallow character. But finally, inspiration struck and Eric crafted a new seagull
character -- naive, but a problem-solver. This character became Skyler C. Gull. But
Eric's difficulties weren't over. All his life, Eric loved cartooning. And he wanted to
illustrate his kids' book rather than handing it off to some other artist. But cartooning
a seagull was easier said than done. After multiple attempts over a period of years,
Eric finally was able to find a design that worked, one that combined realism with
caricature in a fun way.
Finally, in 2008, Skyler C. Gull was published. The story, which tells the story of an
enterprising yet naive seagull on the hunt for the sandcastle thief will delight children
of all ages.
