CUPIG: THE VALENTINE'S DAY PIG (Part 1)
How a pig was born out of love, collaboration and a lot of giggles.
My latest release, CUPIG: THE VALENTINE’S DAY PIG, is a picture book like no other I have ever worked on. The creative process, the behind-the-scenes collaboration from start to finish, and general excitement for a book that started as the silliest of ideas and doodles were all something that not only proved to me that the love and admiration of a simple character is all it takes to start the journey of a new picture book project.
Cupig’s story began on February 13th, 2022. For every holiday and celebration since I met my wife, I draw her a card in which I write a loving note. It’s been a tradition that we both look forward to every holiday and for Valentine’s Day 2022, I may have waited a little bit at the last minute. Struggling to develop an idea for the card, I began playing with the word CUPID in my head and my sketchbook. As a lover of animals that talk, I started thinking of silly animal versions of the classic Valentine’s Day hero until the little thumbnail images below emerged. As a lover of wordplay, the thought of something called CU-PIG made me giggle, but also the old saying “When pigs fly,” and this would be a pig that flew made it over the moon for me. From being carried by heart balloons to the tiniest of wings on the roundest of bodies, I was already pretty enamored with this pig, even if it was a very poor sketch.
With time not on my side, I decided to go with the more traditional Cupid look and went right to paint. When working, I constantly ask myself, “But how could this be funnier?” Or “What’s the joke inside the bigger joke?” I think it is essential for every creative person to ask themselves how they can constantly push things further. Honestly, I could have been content with just the wordplay of CUPIG due to the time, but I think my next decision is really what sold the character. While painting Cupig’s bottoms, I quickly realized that this has the chance to look like a diaper, which I thought was a little old-fashioned and not funny. I thought to myself, what’s funnier than diapers for Valentine’s Day? That is when Cupig’s signature heart undies were born, which I believe ultimately made the character even more unique and loving.
With the card art completed, I wrote my heartfelt note to my wife and left the card on our kitchen table for her to see when she grabbed her coffee in the morning. I thought nothing of it after she received her card other than that my wife enjoyed this year’s tradition. She loved it so much that I decided it could be cute to post on Instagram for Valentine’s Day. With the simple caption of “CUPIG” and a “Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone,” I hit the post in the app and went back about my day.
Now, this is where having a fantastic agent makes all the difference in the world to your career. My superstar agent, Christy Ewers, saw the post and immediately felt it needed to be a book. We talked over the next few days and decided to show our friends at Flamingo Books/ Penguin Random House. We were already working with Flamingo Books on I’M NOT SCARED, YOUR SCARED by Seth Meyers and the soon-to-be-released PROPER BADGER WOULD NEVER! by Lauren Glattly (April 2024.) It turned out they loved the idea, too, and asked if I had anything as far as a story. Usually, I would say if you are ever asked this question, you should always say, “Not yet” or “Of course I do!” And get to work immediately, but for this case, I honestly had nothing beyond the silly image of a pig as Cupid. My agent and I knew it, and we talked a lot about it. I was a little crushed as I knew these opportunities don’t come along very often, as we all know, but my agent, being the incredible person that she is, reassured me that this is still going to be a book and we should work with Penguin to make it so.
Honestly, at this point, I was nervous that it would be the end of CUPIG as we knew it. Christy and I went back to Flamingo/Penguin, and they agreed it needed to be a great story, so they will work on “possibly” finding an author for the potential book. Needless to say, this took time, and for a while, I thought nothing of it, that this was just as far as CUPIG would go until about four months later, I received a note from my editor at Flamingo, Cheryl with a sample manuscript for CUPIG from none other than Claire Tattersfield, my editor on my upcoming book PROPER BADGER WOULD NEVER! She always struck me as a super-funny, quick-witted, charismatic person at the time, and I am so happy I get to call her a colleague now and, more importantly, a friend. I squealed with excitement as I read the manuscript to my wife, who now takes all the credit for CUPIG being born. We both knew that this was it. The fact that it was not only an adorable story but also someone I knew and loved working with made it extra special to be a part of. Little did I know that this was only the beginning. Claire turned my half-baked idea into a real-breathing character and story that is quite hard not to fall in love with. Without her, there would be no CUPIG, and definitely, there would not be a book. I can’t thank her enough for giving CUPIG her literary wings.
From start to finish, this book proved that collaboration and teamwork are the true marks of a great book, and I wish everyone who worked on it could be listed on the cover with Claire and me. Cupig wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for my wife, if it wasn’t for my agent, if it wasn’t for Claire’s fantastic story, and if it wasn’t for Flamingo books. For many people, these instances might seem like hurdles in the creative process, but ultimately, each instance made the character and book better and better with each person, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that. On top of that, the critics agreed. Here is what they have to say about CUPIG: THE VALENTINE’S DAY PIG.
“Sure to be a hit with the picture book crowd.”-The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Move over, Cupid—a pink piggy competitor takes a shot at creating love matches in this mixed-up Valentine’s Day outing.” --Publishers Weekly
“Sure to steal readers’ hearts.”--Kirkus reviews
This book taught me so much about myself and working with others, but it also gave me back so much more. It gave me a new writing partner in Claire, and we are now scheduled to work on two more books together. It gave me a new way to think about the book process. But, most importantly, it reaffirmed for me that love should be involved in everything we do, and when love is in the heart of something, it can’t fail, no matter the obstacles.
In my next post, I’ll share some sketches and process images in Part 2, featuring more about CUPIG: THE VALENTINE’S DAY PIG.
Stay tuned!
If you would like to purchase CUPIG: THE VALENTINE’S DAY PIG, please visit your local bookstore or Barnes and Noble for an exclusive version (with pop-out cards!) or bookshop.org.
Thank you so much for sharing your process.
Love the origin story! I have made cards for my wife as well for holidays & birthdays as nothing can be more personal. I also know the feeling of waiting too long to get the card moving but I really love the initial sketch of Cupig. Look forward to checking out the book and seeing more of the backstory!