With the second book in the ‘PLEASE RETURN TO’ series on its way (MARCH 27), the illustrations are starting to roll in. I can’t lie. This is my favorite part of the process. Nothing makes me smile faster than seeing how another talented artist can capture the essence of characters I dreamed up in my head.

Most times, I find illustrators are able to add that little something extra to a character or a scene that had, up to that point, only been expressed in words. That has definitely been the case with the illustrations for PLEASE RETURN TO: TOBY SOLANO. Illustrator Alexandra Frey is back from the first book in the series, but this time she was charged with illustrating through the eyes of a completely new narrator. The results…well, they’ve been awesome. Enjoy a brief look at a few of my early favorites: