Written by Barbara Perez Marquez with art by Amalas Rosa and part of the anthology Tell Them of Us from Dauntless Stories, Sower’s Requiem is a reflective narrative that follows Nela, a woman at the end of her journey. She walks through a wheat field and contemplates the pivotal moments of her life. The story weaves together moments of love and community while deftly navigating themes of noble creation, woeful destruction, the sublime search for meaning, the substantiation of purpose, and the desire for legacy in context to the totality of one's existence when confronting an inevitable end.

For this anthology, the stories were meant to explore the last recorded voices of human civilization, so I knew early on that it had to feel both finite and hopeful. As we are wont to do, as creators and just plain humans, we always hope that whatever tracks we leave mean something later on. That's what we hoped to capture in this story.

Part of the Girls Survive Graphic Novel series, Paulina and the Disaster at Pompeii brings a defining historical event to life: Twelve-year-old Paulina is delivering bread to her new friend Fabia’s home when the air begins to fill with smoke and ash. Mount Vesuvius is erupting! Fabia’s father leaves to help fellow Pompeii residents evacuate, telling the girls to make their way to the port where they can board boats to escape. But Paulina cannot leave her family behind. The two girls make their way through the city, helping others where they can. Will they escape the volcano disaster and be reunited with their loved ones?

When writing this story, it was great to be able to use my Art History background as a way to strengthen the storytelling and ensure that there was enough points for readers to look into further down the line.

Learn more about this book HERE.

Mikey's excited to volunteer at the shelter today! That is, until he realizes that Bell has already done most of the chores. It's a good thing that there are some jobs that only Mikey can do. You can find the story in print as part of Animal Rescue Friends: Learning New Tricks! 

When creating this story, I wanted to ensure to include bilingual dialogue to help bring out Mikey's Hispanic heritage to the page.

Buy a copy of the book HERE