You may have noticed there was no creature yesterday. I wasn’t up to drawing.

For the past 3 years I have been starting my days with a IM chat with my co-author and sister-friend, Trudy Herring.

After the wheels of publishing made it possible for Rabbit’s Song to become a picture book is when Trudy and I met. Since we live in different states, we actually met online months before we met at the first signing for our picture book. It was as if we had always known each other. Daily conversations about everything under the sun ensued.

Trudy passed away Wednesday afternoon. I am still reeling from the news and even as I type this my eyes are again filling with tears.

For those of you in publishing, I don’t have to tell you how rare it is for an author and an illustrator to even have any contact, let alone become fast friends.

But Trudy was like that. Her heart was so big it encompassed anyone who came near her. She was the community storyteller, the community secret keeper, the community anchor. She will  be missed by so many. It’s impossible to count the ways she touch people’s lives. People who never knew her are also mourning her passing.

Words fail me in saying how much I shall miss her and how huge the hole in my life will be without our morning conversations. No matter how bad I was feeling — physically or emotionally — the hour or so at my keyboard with Trudy always had me smiling before breakfast. Mornings are going to be very hard for a while.