Pawsome reader reviews on my new cartoon book!

Pawsome reader reviews on my new cartoon book!

Minnie The Westie - Sailor Dog Vacation: The Adventures Of A West Highland Terrier Cartoon Dog At Sea!Thank you so much for all the pawsome reader reviews I’ve received on my new cartoon book!

It looks like ‘Minnie The Westie – Sailor Dog Vacation’ is quite the sensation – thanks to you!

I’ve had a number of wuffly emails, and best of all, there are some pawsome reviews on Amazon.

So if you haven’t yet grabbed a copy of my new book, the reviews give you an idea of what to expect:

Reviews on Amazon.com:

amazon-reviews-Oct13

Amazon.co.uk:

amazon-uk-review-Oct13

5 stars reviews all round…. That is totally pawsome! Thank you, lovely Minnie fans! *crazy fast tail wagging*

Please do leave a review if you haven’t yet done so… even if it’s just a couple of sentences, it helps other readers to find my books and make a decision whether they’d like it or not. Thanks! 🙂

That’s not all!

My cartoon book also got featured in Boating New Zealand magazine – an otherwise strange place for a cartoon dog to appear, but pawfect for a sailor dog!

boating-nz-oct13

Where can you get Minnie The Westie’s cartoon books?

My new cartoon book is in paperback format, and is currently available from Amazon.com andAmazon.co.uk.

Wags ‘n’ nose licks,

Minnie x

To link to this post, use: https://www.minniethewestie.com/pawsome-reader-reviews-on-my-new-cartoon-book

 


 

Do you enjoy Minnie the Westie cartoons?

Treat yourself (or a loved one) to a book full of smiles!

Go on, buy someone a smile today! 🙂

Announcing my new cartoon dog book “Minnie The Westie – Sailor Dog Vacation”

Announcing my new cartoon dog book “Minnie The Westie – Sailor Dog Vacation”

Woofings!

I am pawleased to announce the launch of my second cartoon dog book. It is called:

Minnie The Westie – Sailor Dog Vacation

The Adventures Of A West Highland Terrier Cartoon Dog At Sea!

Minnie The Westie - Sailor Dog Vacation: The Adventures Of A West Highland Terrier Cartoon Dog At Sea!

This is my new book, it’s called: Minnie The Westie – Sailor Dog Vacation: The Adventures Of A West Highland Terrier Cartoon Dog At Sea!

 

Mum and I started work on this about two years ago, so we’ve been working towards this launch for a long time now. It’s been a lot of work! (Mostly for mum!)

The cartoons are based on my real life sailing adventures…

Cornelia Luethi, author of the Minnie The Westie books, pictured with the real life Minnie.

Cornelia Luethi, author of the Minnie The Westie books, pictured with the real life Minnie.

Regular readers of my blog will have seen lots of photos of me sailing.

My mum and dad have a small sailboat, and we go cruising on it every summer for two or three weeks. (We also race the boat every two weeks, so yeah, I’m an experienced sailor dog!)

As you can imagine, I have some pawsome adventures when we’re cruising – on the boat, and on land.

So come and join me on my adventures at sea… don’t worry if you’ve never been on a boat before, I’m an experienced sailor dog, so you’re in good paws!

Note: some of the cartoons are based on real life adventures, others are figments of mum’s imagination… I’ll let you decide what’s real and what’s just for giggles! 😉

Details of Minnie’s new cartoon dog book…

The book is in paperback format, and is currently available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Other online bookstores will also be selling it, from end September/early October 2013 onwards.

Come and join me on my adventures at sea!

Come and join me on my adventures at sea!

Title: Minnie The Westie – Sailor Dog Vacation: The Adventures Of A Cartoon West Highland Terrier Cartoon Dog At Sea!

Author: Cornelia Luethi

ISBN: 978-0473246723

Publisher: FX Marketing Limited

Format: Paperback (6 x 9″), 94 pages

Language: English

Contains 85 black-and-white cartoons.

Go to Amazon.com Go to Amazon.co.uk

Coming soon…

Kindle eBook: A Kindle edition is planned for later in the year; this will most likely be available from October 2013.

New Minnie Merchandise designs: There will be some new Minnie Merchandise designs available soon, too! So much MinnieMania!!

Facebook-pawBe sure to “like” my Facebook Page as well… Whilst Minnie Mail goes out once a month, I’m updating my Facebook Page several times a week!

Thank you for your interest in my cartoons!

Wags ‘n’ nose licks,

Minnie x

To link to this post, use: https://www.minniethewestie.com/announcing-my-new-cartoon-dog-book-minnie-the-westie-sailor-dog-vacation

 


 

Do you enjoy Minnie the Westie cartoons?

Treat yourself (or a loved one) to a book full of smiles!

Go on, buy someone a smile today! 🙂

Book release: Sailor dog vacation – cartoon book for dog lovers of all ages

Book release: Sailor dog vacation – cartoon book for dog lovers of all ages

Auckland author Cornelia Luethi is launching her second cartoon book, “Minnie The Westie: Sailor Dog Vacation – The Adventures Of A West Highland Terrier Cartoon Dog At Sea!” on 2 September 2013. The cartoons are based on Cornelia’s real-life dog, Minnie, a West Highland White Terrier, who enjoys sailing.

Minnie The Westie - sailor dog vacation cartoon book

Announcing Minnie The Westie’s second cartoon book.

Minnie The Westie lives in Auckland, New Zealand – a place known as “The City Of Sails”. Minnie goes cruising on her owners’ sailboat for her summer vacation, and the cartoons depict the adventures through a dog’s eyes.

Like the first Minnie The Westie book, the cartoons appeal to dog lovers of all ages. “I get fan emails from seven year-old children, right through to mature-aged people,” says author Cornelia Luethi.

“Minnie The Westie has a broad appeal, much like Snoopy or Garfield.”

Minnie The Westie has a particularly strong following in the US and UK, especially on Facebook and Twitter, where the cartoon dog enjoys a loyal following.

“Dogs have the ability to charm people and make them feel good about themselves, and it’s those feel-good qualities I wanted to convey in the cartoons. But dogs can be naughty, too, so there’s definitely some of that in the Minnie The Westie cartoons as well,” says Cornelia Luethi.

“Minnie The Westie: Sailor Dog Vacation – The Adventures Of A West Highland Terrier Cartoon Dog At Sea!” is available as a paperback from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk from 2 September 2013 (ISBN 978-0-473-24672-3).

A Kindle eBook will be available from October 2013.

ENDS

For more information please contact:

Cornelia Luethi (Author and Publisher)

Email: [email protected]

Photographs and cartons: high-resolution photographs and cartoons are available on request.

Website: www.MinnieTheWestie.com

Note to Editors

About Minnie, the real-life West Highland Terrier

Cornelia Luethi, author of the Minnie The Westie books, pictured with the real life Minnie.

Cornelia Luethi, author of the Minnie The Westie books, pictured with the real life Minnie.

Minnie is a pedigree West Highland White Terrier living in Auckland, New Zealand… known as the “City of Sails”. Minnie sails regularly, participating in fortnightly Richmond Yacht Club races (snoozing in the cabin) all year round. In summer Minnie goes cruising around the Hauraki Gulf with her owners on their Elliott 7.9m keelboat, called “FX”.

About Cornelia Luethi

Swiss-born Cornelia Luethi has emigrated twice in her life: first to England, where she was educated, then later she moved to Auckland, New Zealand. Auckland has been her home for over ten years, where Cornelia enjoys sailing.

Minnie The Westie - cartoon westie book

This is the first Minnie The Westie cartoon book, which enjoys 5-star reviews on Amazon.com.

Although Cornelia enjoyed drawing at school, she only picked up her sketchbook again in 2010, which is when she created the Minnie The Westie cartoon character.

Cornelia is a self-employed author, copywriter and marketing consultant.

The first Minnie The Westie book was launched in September 2011, entitled “Minnie The Westie – The Adventures Of A West Highland Terrier Cartoon Dog” (ISBN 978-0-473-19504-5).

This first book enjoys positive reviews and a 5-star rating on Amazon.com.

Reviews for Minnie The Westie

 

To link to this post, use: https://www.minniethewestie.com/book-release-sailor-dog-vacation-cartoon-book-for-dog-lovers-of-all-ages

Pawsome book cover reveal!

Pawsome book cover reveal!

Exciting news! The cartoons for my second book are all finished, and I am waiting for the book proof to arrive from the printer!

I can reveal that the new book will be called:

Minnie The Westie: Sailor Dog Vacation – The Adventures Of a West Highland Terrier Cartoon Dog At Sea!

(Yes, they are cartoons based on my real life sailing adventures! Oh, the fun I have…!)

I did want to show you the book cover, but clumsy ol’ me dropped a load of bones on it! (It’s tough sometimes having paws rather than thumbs!)

Oh no, I've dropped bones all over the cover of my new book! *nom nom nom*

So I will nom my way through the bones, and will repawt back on progress on my Facebook Page.

You’ll see a bit more of my new book cover every few days or so… I have to pace myself, or I’ll get indogestion!

Head on over to my Facebook Page, and click “Like”, and see my updates!

Love ‘n’ nose licks,

Minnie x

To link to this post, use: https://www.minniethewestie.com/pawsome-book-cover-reveal

 


 

Do you enjoy Minnie the Westie cartoons?

Treat yourself (or a loved one) to a book full of smiles!

Go on, buy someone a smile today! 🙂

New pencils for cartooning!

New pencils for cartooning!

I recently repawted that mum’s working hard on my second cartoon book… in fact, she’s been working so hard she has worn her sketching pencils down to a stub! The pencils are now so tiny she can’t hold them!

Thankfully mum has now got a whole bunch of new sketching pencils, so she can carry on cartooning… phew!

3 old pencils and 3 new pencils for cartooning!

3 old pencils and 3 new pencils for cartooning!

 

Mum’s favourite sketching pencils are Staedtler (Mars Lumograph) 3B. They are quite soft, so the sketching is easy to erase, and the lead doesn’t etch or scratch the paper.

(If you’re wondering how my cartoons are drawn, you can read about the 4-step cartooning process here.)

This is the first Minnie The Westie book... I wonder what the cover of the new one will look like?!

This is the first Minnie The Westie book… I wonder what the cover of the new book will look like?!

Not seen my first cartoon dog book? (Gasp! Shock!) Here it is! 🙂

And to make sure you’re amongst the first to know about my new cartoon book, make sure you’re on the list for Minnie Mail!

Till next time!

Love ‘n’ licks,

Minnie x

 

To link to this post, use: https://www.minniethewestie.com/new-pencils-for-cartooning

 

 

The cartoons are underway for my 2nd cartoon dog book!

The cartoons are underway for my 2nd cartoon dog book!

I’m happy to woof with you that mum is making good progress on the cartoons for my second cartoon dog book!

Yes, there are more Minnie The Westie adventures on the way! *wags*

In the second Minnie The Westie book you’ll be reacquainted with old friends… and you’ll meet some new friends Minnie makes too. It’s all pawsomely exciting!

Here’s just a small selection of the inked cartoons for my 2nd cartoon dog book:

cartoon-tracings

 

(If you’re wondering how my cartoons are drawn, you can read about the 4-step cartooning process here.)

My second book will have just as many cartoons as the first, and the cover is being designed already as well.

This is the first Minnie The Westie book... I wonder what the cover of the new one will look like?!

This is the first Minnie The Westie book… I wonder what the cover of the new one will look like?!

Not seen my first cartoon dog book? (Gasp! Shock!) Here it is! 🙂

And to make sure you’re amongst the first to know about my new cartoon book, make sure you’re on the list for Minnie Mail!

Till next time!

Love ‘n’ licks,

Minnie x

 

To link to this post, use: https://www.minniethewestie.com/cartoons-underway-for-2nd-cartoon-dog-book

 

Meet the compawtition winners!

Meet the compawtition winners!

Thank you to efurryone who entered my compawtition!

I loved reading all your doggies’ names… you can see the list of Westie names here.

(And the list with the non-Westie names will be on my blog soon, so watch this space!)

The most popular Westie names were Max (for boy Westies) and Maggie-Mae (for girl Westies). The westie dog name that made me laugh the most (and drool the most) was “Bacon”! BOL!

Here are the winners…

Both of the compawtition winners live in the USA! (It is so pawsome to have furiends all over the world!)

Another thing that both winning doggies have in common is that they are very stylish!

Meet Sebastian…

Sebastian is one very stylish Westie in his hat!

Sebastian is one very stylish Westie in his hat!

Meet Jadis…

Jadis is wearing "doggles" dog sunglasses... too cute!

Jadis is wearing "doggles" dog sunglasses... too cute!

 

The pawrize…

Jadis and Sebastian each won a pawtographed copy of my cartoon “Minnie The Westie” book.

Here I am, checking the pawcel before mum took it to the Pawst Office:

Minnie The Westie gives the pawcel her stamp of approval!

Minnie The Westie gives the pawcel her stamp of approval!

 

I hope that Sebastian and Jadis have a pawsome time reading about my adventures!

And thank you to efurryone who entered, it was wuffly to get your entry peemails and read your doggies’ names.

You are pawsome!

Wags and nose licks,

 

PS. Didn’t win a pawrize, but would still like a copy of my cartoon westie book?

Minnie The Westie’s cartoon book makes a great gift or stocking filler, and is suitable for dog lovers of all ages. Minnie’s fans range from 6 years old to 66 years old (or older – it’s rude to ask!)

Here are the links to some of the most popular online bookstores:

My cartoon book has had pawsome reviews on Amazon.com!

Minnie The Westie book - reviews on Amazon.com

 

If you go to Amazon.com you can choose “look inside” to see a sample of the book and westie cartoons. 🙂

 

To link to this post use: https://www.minniethewestie.com/meet-the-compawtition-winners

 

Compawtition! Win a pawtographed Minnie The Westie book!

Compawtition! Win a pawtographed Minnie The Westie book!

Minnie The Westie - book cover

Win a pawtographed paperback copy of my book!

To mark the one-year birthday of my cartoon book, I’m running my first ever compawtition! *super-fast tail-wags*

Sorry, this compawtition is now closed. If you’d like email updates (cartoons, offers, dog jokes and other fun Minnie The Westie stuff), please sign up for Minnie Mail! *wags*

The prizes:

There are 2 pawtographed copies of my paperback ‘Minnie The Westie’ cartoon book to be won. The books will be mailed to wherever in the world you live.

One book is for existing Minnie Mail subscribers who enter this compawtition; the other copy is for new Minnie Mail subscribers who sign up as a result of this compawtition.

Entering is easy:

Step 1: Tell me your dog’s name!

I’d love to know your dogs’ names!

You see, I’m going to compile a list of Westie dog names, and for that I need your help.

(I think it’s very cute to have a list of all of your names! And think how helpful that will be for anyone thinking of getting a Westie!)

Note: If you don’t have a dog, you can still enter the compawtition.

Step 2: Get Minnie Mail (it’s free and fun!)

Minnie Mail is fun! Each month I send an email with my Cartoon of the Month, some dog jokes, and my other news and announcements.

Your details are kept secure, and won’t be passed onto anyone else: I value you pawrivacy. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of each issue of Minnie Mail.

Pawsome CompawtitionCompawtition entry form instructions

Just fill in the form below… when you click “Submit” you’ll be directed to a Minnie Mail sign up form. Add your details, and then verify your sign up by clicking the verification link in the email you’ll receive. (This is an anti-spam measure.)

Already on the Minnie Mail list? No need to sign up again, you’re good to go! (If in doubt, you can try signing up again – my robots will tell you if you’re already on the list!)

Terms and Conditions: are at the bottom of this page; scroll down to read them.

Sorry, this compawtition is now closed. If you’d like email updates (cartoons, offers, dog jokes and other fun Minnie The Westie stuff), please sign up for Minnie Mail! *wags*

Good luck in the compawtition, my furiend!

Wags ‘n’ nose licks,

Minnie x

 

Terms and Conditions

The prize consists of two pawtographed paperback copies of my Minnie The Westie cartoon book:

  • One book is for existing Minnie Mail subscribers (as at 29 September 2012) who enter this competition. There is a separate prize for these people as a ‘thank you’ for your loyal readership. (And that way you can tell your furiends about the compawtition without it affecting your own chances of winning!)
  • The second book is for new, verified Minnie Mail subscribers who enter this competition.

The same email address must be used for the entry form and for Minnie Mail; otherwise I won’t be able to match up your entries!

The books will be pawtographed by the author (i.e. my mum, Cornelia Luethi) as well as by me (with a bit of help from mum!). The prize includes posting the book to you, wherever you are in the world. Delivery times of the prizes are at the mercy of the global mail delivery networks, and no promises or guarantees are made in regard to delivery times. No responsibility is accepted for damaged or undelivered prizes. The prizes aren’t transferable nor exchangeable.

Closing date for entries: 11.59pm on Monday 5th November 2012 (GMT/UTC)… so remember remember the fifth of November! 😉

The winners will be drawn at random from all complete entries, who are active, verified subscribers on the Minnie Mail email subscription list at the time the draw is made. The winner will be drawn and will be notified by email within 3 days of the closing date.

When I email the prize winner, you’ll be asked to supply your mailing address and if you would like the pawtograph to be made out to a specific name. You will also be asked if you would like to email me a photograph of your dog (if you have one) that I can use on this website and on my Facebook page. You are under no obligation to email me a photograph, but it would be really nice if you could send me one. 🙂 Whether I use the photograph or not will be at my discretion. (Hint: if it’s a nice photo, I’ll use it! If it’s blurred or inappropriate, it won’t be used.)

If this information is not obtained from a prize winner within 7 days, the winner forfeits the prize and it will be re-drawn until a winner is found. The promoter accepts no responsibility for lost entries or missing emails.

By entering this competition, you agree to (a) let me publish your dog’s name (if you have a dog), and (b) let me publish your name as the winner of this competition. And if you supply a photograph, to let me publish it (you retain the copyright). These items may be published on this website; in Minnie Mail; Facebook; Twitter; Pinterest; and other social media channels. No responsibility is accepted for other people sharing, downloading or otherwise using these items.

Although only Westie names will be published on this website, this competition is open to everyone. If you have more dogs than the entry form allows, you may email me additional names at [email protected]. Please indicate if these dogs are Westies or not, and if they’re male or female. Irrespective of how many dog names you enter, only one entry per email address is accepted.

The Promoter of this competition is FX Marketing Limited (New Zealand). These terms and conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of New Zealand.

The Promoter is not responsible for and entrants release and hold the Promoter harmless for: (i) technical failures of any kind, including but not limited to the malfunctioning of any computer, cable, network, hardware or software; (ii) the unavailability or inaccessibility of any transmissions or telephone or Internet service; (iii) unauthorised human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Promotion; (iv) electronic or human error which may occur in the administration of the Promotion or the processing of entries; or (v) any injury or damage to persons or property, including but not limited to entrant’s computer, hardware or software, which injury or damage may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrant’s participation in the Promotion.

By entering this competition, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions.

PS. Tell your friends about this compawtition!

I will give you extra sloppy nose licks and tail wags if you tell your furiends about this compawtition!

Just use the links below to send a peemail, or use your favourite social media channel.

 

To link to this page, use: https://www.minniethewestie.com/compawtition-win-a-pawtographed-minnie-the-westie-book

 

{The cartooning process} 1. Materials + rough sketches

{The cartooning process} 1. Materials + rough sketches

Woofings!

Things have been busy here, especially as mum is busy with drawing the cartoons for my second book!

We often get asked what’s involved in drawing the cartoons, so I have convinced mum to show you how she does it.

There are various stages, so we will blog about each stage separately.

Making sure you have the right materials

The very first thing you need to do when cartooning is to make sure you have the right materials. And it can take a little bit of trial and error to find out what suits your own style.

Mum likes to draw the cartoons on holiday or when she’s out and about. Other cartoonists may do all their work at the compawter, but mum doesn’t want to do that, she enjoys hand-drawing.

Here’s what mum uses for the hand-drawing:

Cartooning materials for Minnie The Westie cartoons

Cartooning materials for Minnie The Westie cartoons

  • Pad: mum uses an A5 spiral-bound drawing pad. Why A5 size? It fits into her handbag. 😉 She likes the texture of the paper of these particular pads from her local art shop.
  • Pencils: mum uses a 3B pencil for sketching. That’s a reasonably soft pencil, so it’s easy to erase if needed. (Hard pencils can score lines into the surface of the paper, and that really bugs mum!)
  • Eraser: not all erasers are created equal, apparently. Mum likes this Staedtler Rasoplast eraser.
  • Pencil sharpener: one which catches all the shavings to avoid making a mess!
  • Tracing paper: later on in the cartooning process, mum uses tracing paper. It is impawtant that the tracing paper is reasonably thick, as thinner papers tend to wrinkle. These wrinkles show up on the compawter scans… not ideal!
  • Pens: it is impawtant that the outlining pens do not smudge on the tracing paper – they need to use Indian Ink. Mum uses a variety of pen thicknesses, from 0.1mm to 1.0mm. She is really enjoying these Staedtler pigment liner pens.
  • Fold-back clips (not in photograph): impawtant for keeping the tracing paper in place at the outlining stage.

After the hand-drawing stages are complete, some of the work is carried out on a compawter. We’ll talk about compawter resources later in this series, we’ll just look at the hand-drawing work to begin with. And the first hand-drawing step is to make some rough sketches.

Step 1: Rough sketches

Mum says that doing these rough sketches is one of the hardest part of the cartooning. She has to:

  • Figure out how many frames (or ‘boxes’) are needed for each page of cartoons. Ideally, a gag should fit all onto one page – unless it’s part of a story sequence. Some of my cartoons are one-page gags; others are sequences.
  • Figure out how large each frame needs to be. The amount of text can be a deciding factor, so mum often begins by writing the text first, and then figuring out the rest.
  • Decide on the composition of each frame. Making sure that each frame is well-composed is important.

Examples of a rough cartoon sketch

Here’s an example of one of mum’s rough sketches. And as you can see, some of it is very “ruff” indeed – and also very faint. The faintness is on purpose; the sketch will be improved upon later in Step 2 of the cartooning process.

Step 1 of the cartooning process for Minnie The Westie cartoons: the rough sketch.

Step 1 of the cartooning process for Minnie The Westie cartoons: the rough sketch.

We’ll watch this particular cartoon (for my new book!) evolve. The next blog post in this mini-series will look at the next step: fine sketches.

Do come back and see how the cartoon takes shape!

Love ‘n’ licks,

Minnie x

 

To link to this post, use: https://www.minniethewestie.com/the-cartooning-process-1-materials-rough-sketches

 

{The cartooning process} 2. Fine sketches

{The cartooning process} 2. Fine sketches

Woofings and welcome back to my mini-series on how mum draws my cartoons!

Last time we looked at the materials mum uses, and the rough sketches she makes.

This time we’ll look at the next stage in the process: turning those rough sketches into finer sketches.

Step 2: Fine sketches

The purpose of the rough sketch was to make sure that everything fits onto the page in a pleasing way. But many aspects of the sketch are just too rough and need to be improved up. That’s what happens next.

Now, many of the things mum has to draw are things she’s never drawn before. That can be challenging! This is why she often does practice sketches.

Practice sketches

When mum has to draw something she’s never drawn before, first of all she finds reference drawings on the internet (Google Images is a great tool). Then mum practices sketching them, and adds her own touch, to make the sketch unique. Mum often draws pages and pages of practice sketches before working on the actual cartoon.

Mum's practice sketches of a moo-moo (yes, there will be moo-moos in my next book!). Notice how she is practicing the body shapes and also the facial expressions. Mum also writes notes about what she likes and doesn't like in the sketches.

Mum’s practice sketches of a moo-moo (yes, there will be moo-moos in my next book!). Notice how she is practicing the body shapes and also the facial expressions. Mum also writes notes about what she likes and doesn’t like in the sketches.

Example of a fine sketch

Once mum is happy that she knows how to draw everything in the cartoon, she can get on with fining up the cartoon.

Here’s the rough sketch from last time, tidied up. Mum had never drawn a person swimming before so she found reference photographs to help her draw that.

Step 2 of the cartooning process for Minnie The Westie cartoons: the fine sketch.

Step 2 of the cartooning process for Minnie The Westie cartoons: the fine sketch.

 

The cartoon is looking much more presentable now! But the hand-drawing isn’t over. The next job will be for mum to ink the outline in a black pen, so that it’s suitable for scanning onto the compawter.

We’ll look at the outlining and inking stage next time.

Do come back and see how the cartoon takes shape!

Love ‘n’ licks,

Minnie x

 

To link to this post, use:  https://www.minniethewestie.com/the-cartooning-process-2-fine-sketches