I published a my own roller derby coloring book (and you could too!)

In February of 2020, I Released a coloring book.

I published my own coloring book and made a childhood dream come true. It’s probably one of the things I’ve put out into the world that I’m so proud of it, because I did not think it would be possible for a small artist like myself. Honestly, I didn’t really know what all was involved in publishing a book of any kind. I thought I had to work with a company and would have to invest a bunch of money, figure out where to keep inventory, figure out how to ship etc. And perhaps that’s the way some people still do it, but then I found out that I didn’t need a publisher and I didn’t even have to pay anything upfront to make it happen.

You can get a copy of my coloring book here https://amzn.to/448jBSP

Please note that this is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Here’s a picture of my Goddaughter coloring her copy of the book. She’s become quite the artist and I’ve really loved seeing her creativity blossom.

I’m sure it’s not a surprise to hear me say that as a creative person, I LOVED coloring books as a kid! Sometimes I would be so obsessed with looking at the art that I wouldn’t color certain pages because I didn’t want to "mess up the art”. BTW, if you’re one of those people, I want to encourage you to COLOR IN. MESS IT UP. Don’t worry about it being perfect. :) Have fun with it. I find the actual process of coloring is quite therapeutic. Don’t overthink it, just go for it!

There are quite a few drawings in this book that are based on skaters I’ve had the chance to share the track with.

This is a page I colored using markers, prisma color pencils and a white gel pen.

One day a video popped up Youtube about publishing coloring book. I thought, oh, that would be really cool if I could do this…I kept watching and then I realized, wait, I CAN do this. Don’t overthink it, just go for it! I’ve had quite a few roller derby drawings I’ve made over the years, so why not compile them into a book?

OKAY, we got it, so spill the beans!! How did you publish this thing??

I did it through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (Amazon KDP). I had my artwork ready, then I laid it all out into a book format, then uploaded it and published it all through Amazon KDP. You can set how much you want your book to cost (this allows you to adjust how much profit you’d like to make per book sold) . Once the book is published, all you have to do it send the link to someone and they can order a copy and it gets sent right to their door or mailbox. The books get printed as they are ordered and you don’t have to keep inventory or pay anything up front. Once you meet the payment threshold, you’ll get a check from Amazon for the royalties.

As of the day I am writing this, I have sold 386 copies of this book (mostly in the US but also Canada, the UK, Germany, and Australia!) and it still makes me really happy to know that people have some of my art in their homes.

Here’s an old screenshot I found! :) I love seeing how other people colored in the skaters to fit their own team colors.

I adore this version! So fun. Thanks Pslay <3

If you want to know more about this coloring book, I made a Youtube video about it in 2020. https://youtu.be/HhMLz_JRKGQ

Let me know if you have a copy of this book! Or are you someone who’s thought about publishing your own book? Do you want to know more about Amazon KDP? Leave a comment :D

Thanks for reading!

July Recap

While we were waiting on our house to be finished, we stayed with my parents in Magnolia, Tx. I’m going to be honest, I was really struggling during this move. Walks in nature definitely help me clear my mind. There’s a lake in their neighborhood that is just lovely and I really enjoy walking by it.

Trampoline park! My husband and 9 year old are up there. :)

I doodled a little bit while they climbed and bounced around.

Ya’ll, this summer has been BRUTAL in Texas. I mean, I grew up in Houston so I am “used” to humidity and heat, but I remember it being triple digits in August, not the end of May. Now we’re in Killeen and it is also very humid and hot here 🥵. So we’ve been finding ways to stay cool because it’s been close to or over 100 a majority of this summer.

Bubble Tea has been summer staple for me. This place also has yummy food!

This is from another place I got Bubble tea from, I love the drawings they’ve posted on the walls. Hehe! Someone else has been watching Demon Slayer.

So we were originally scheduled to close on this house at the end of June, and that did not happen. This just made things a little more complicated (we had furniture to be delivered, we had a storage unit we now had to pay an extra month on, we were told we would close on the 11th, then it got pushed back a few more days, and our hotel was booked so we had to find another hotel 30 minutes away T____T; I was stressing, so were our kitties and turtles who were with us ), and it ended up costing us like 2K to close instead of getting money back etc. Haha, I am on the other side of this now but it’s hard not to get worked up again just thinking about it!

Walkthrough time.

Hey from my [soon to be] bathroom!

While trying my best to be flexible with these changes, I thought I’d explore the area. I noticed some really awesome murals and even found a sweet little trail on the college campus that was open. Art and nature were the things that kept me grounded through this whole thing and I’m super grateful for that.

Check out this mural by JPerezartwork! I found him on Instagram, he’s a cool dude. He’s done a few murals around Killeen and has work all around central Texas. PS I just watched the Swordsmith Village Arc of Demon Slayer last month… SO GOOD.

So dope!

I loooooove this one. I believe it’s by Mike Johnston Artist out of Austin.

Sorry I couldn’t figure out the artist behind this one.

A Filipino food store! This made me so happy!

The artists behind Lace and Found did these fun murals!

Halfway through the month and we FINALLY CLOSED ON THE HOUSE! I cannot tell you how stressful it was to be technically homeless for ~6 weeks, but we could finally breath a sigh of relief. It’s ours.

We splurged on a new couch (btw our old couches got messed up during the move because the trailer went out on the Uhaul and whipped a bunch of stuff inside the truck around. After the tire got fixed, a few minutes later we found out the trailer was reported stolen and police had to come… I’m not joking, this whole move has been a JOURNEY lol) and it’s THE BEST.

Morning hike

Nature nurtures my body and soul.

I 💚 this prickly pear

We’ve moved in, emptied out the storage unit, unpacked like 70% of the boxes and that’s where we are today. I still have most of my art supplies in boxes and I don’t have a desk to setup my computer, but I’m making it work. I feel like that’s just how I operate most of the time anyway. I am slowly getting back into working out, roller skating and making as much art as I can.

I’ve seen so many of these sunflowers growing around where I live. I’m glad I got to see so many of them. They’ll be gone soon… Many of these lots of lands are going to be cleared to build new homes.

These things really grow in a tiny amount of soil.

Ducks at Marble Falls Lake.

Marble Falls Lake

FryMail! Got this from a Manifriendo (we’re part of a Streetlight Manifesto group in FB)

Post roller derby practice with Rocking City Roller Derby. I was DEAD to the world the rest of the day after this lol

That’s all I have for now. Thank you for taking the time to read my little blog and take a peek into my life. :) Take care!

This sh*t is bananas

Howdy folx! I’m starting a blog. I have actually attempted a few blogs before in the past and here I go again! I really want to be able to create a catalog of information that’s easy for me (and eventually, many of you!) find in a nice format.

I may use this as a space to share updates on my life in a longer, more thought out format. I’ll be honest, I find sharing life details on IG or FB isn’t my favorite and I get overwhelmed with updating it on the reg. ^_^; I just typed out that emote, because I haven’t figured out how to add emojis yet. Haha, but that’s what life looks like when you’re trying to promote yourself or your art or products. Anyways, it’s my blog so I’m gonna do what I want! Here’s a silly picture I took today (amazing jumpsuit from mixedbynasrin.com! Not sponsored, I just love it so much). That’s gonna be the vibe of this blog I think. :) Thanks for being here!