THE EVE TO BELIEVE
Written & Illustrated by Mark Schaeffer. (August 2012)
In 2010, I had taken time off from work during the Christmas break. I was planning to use some of the time to design a website for a freelance client, but the dates were shifted. So, there I was, cleaning my studio and I came across many Christmas illustrations I had done over the years for different reasons. Some of these illustrations were from as far back as 1988.
I also came across Christmas scenes I had final pencil drawings for on watercolor paper, ready to paint. There were five of them which featured characters I had developed in my sketch book sometime in 1989, but for some reason, I never did anything more with them. I had well defined character outlines on each of them and (at the time) I called them Papa, Mama, Peter and Jayson Ellis (later reenamed the Brickels). There were two dogs—a big, blue hound dog named Newman, and a little light brown Terrier named Nealie.
Since it was the Christmas season, I felt inspired to attempt to figure out what to do with these Illustrations. So I started to lay them out on the floor in a visual chronological order that made sense, and I began writing a story.
In late 2011, the book really started to take shape. I was finishing up the illustrations early in 2012, designing the book layout, editing, and rewriting parts of the story and by August, I self-published The Eve to Believe.
All of the illustrations below are created with acrylics and color pencil on watercolor paper.
ORDER THE EVE TO BELIEVE:
HARDCOVER $28.99 from Lulu.com
SOFTCOVER $15.99 from Amazon
IPAD $9.99 from Apple
KINDLE $9.99 from Amazon
Narrated Audiobook, AMAZON, APPLE, or AUDIBLE.COM
© 2012 Mark Schaeffer. All Rights Reserved.
The Eve to Believe - Front Cover. (May 2012)
Santa and Elves in the Workshop. (1988) 7” x 9.5”
Meet the Helpers: Elf Walter. (1988) 7.5” x 10.25”
Meet the Helpers: Elf Karl. (1988) 7.5” x 10.25”
Meet the Helpers: Elf Alexander. (1988) 7.5” x 10.25”
The Helpers’ Little Helpers. (March 2012) 7.75” x 10.25”
Elf Karl and Santa's Reindeer. (1988) 7” x 9.5”
Santa Circling Sleigh Over the Little Old Town of Bishop Hollow. (1988) 7” x 9.5”
A Tight Squeeze for Santa. (1988) 7” x 9.5”
Newman Can’t Figure Out What He Heard. (July 2010) 7.75” x 10.25”
Mama and Papa by the Fireplace. (July 2010) 7.75” x 10.25”
Peter and Jayson Hear a Bump. (July 2011) 7.75” x 10.25”
The Eve to Believe - Full Cover Wrap. (May 2012)
Here is the entire illustration for the cover wrap. I picked the gold and bright green because I thought it would stand out on a bookshelf in a store. Here is the family I created. Papa and Mama Brickel, their grandchildren, Peter and Jayson Brickel, Papa’s big, blue hound dog named Newman, Peter and Jayson’s little Terrier named Nealie, and all of Mama’s Cats.
Acrylic and Color Pencil on Watercolor Paper. 22” x 13.5”
The Eve to Believe - Narrated Video. (May 2012)
The story begins at the North Pole where Santa and the elves are working feverishly to get ready for another Christmas. We see right into Santa's workshop, meet the elves and see how hard the talented crew works to get ready for the big night. The workload has grown so much, the elves had to figure out and implement a new strategy just to complete the work. Santa doesn't know about this and the elves know he will NOT approve of this change. On Christmas Eve, we follow Santa on his journey as he descends upon one small, old town of Bishop Hollow—the hometown of the Brickels. We meet and get to know the Brickels as well as spend Christmas with all of them—well, almost all of them. There are two brothers named Peter and Jayson and they have a little dog Nealie. Their mom and dad cannot spend Christmas with them, so the boys spend Christmas with their lovable grandparents—Mama and Papa Brickel, along with Papa's hound dog, Newman, and all of Mama's cats.
© 2012 Mark Schaeffer. All Rights Reserved.