Announcing a new book: Murielle et le mystère

My first author-illustrator picture book!!!!!!

On April 13th, 2023, lying in bed in a bout of Covid-induced fever, I typed out the first draft of a picture book manuscript about a little shrew set in her ways who is faced with a disruptive mystery. I titled the file “Murielle et le mystère” (Muriel and the mystery) and fell asleep. When I read it again the next day, I felt like there was a book there.

There was! Murielle et le mystère, my first author-illustrator picture book, is coming out (in French) next month. I can’t wait for readers to meet Murielle. Here is the cover:

It tells the story of a shrew who leads a well-ordered life in a forest that she knows by heart. One day, her routine is disrupted by the presence of a mystery. As the mystery grows and takes root in her forest, Murielle must learn to make room for the unknown.

Murielle noticing the mystery for the first time

I like this book a lot - it feels like the kind of picture book I want to be making. It’s an unassuming, weird, and open-ended story that means a lot to me.

I received an advanced copy right before the New Year. I am so pleased with how it turned out! The colors came out very nicely, and the small trim size fits the world and the story perfectly (in addition to being super cute). It’s a nice little object.

My advanced copy!

You can preorder the book in French here (thank you!!!):

Murielle: The Process

I debated whether or not to write a series of posts about my process for this book (like I did for Milo the Knight) on The Rustle now, in English, considering that there won’t be an English version of Murielle available for a while still¹ and that many of you probably won’t be reading the French version that’s coming out now - it’s not a super savvy book promo move on my part. But I’ve found that I love to write about craft and process, and I’m excited about this book! I really want to take the time to reflect on this project and share my thoughts with you while the whole thing is still somewhat fresh in my mind.

So… expect sporadic “Murielle: The Process” posts in the coming weeks! I will be a little looser than usual with scheduling - let’s just say having a newborn at home is not unlike learning to live with a mystery.

My mysterious MURIELLE sketchbook

The first post in this series will focus on where ideas for this story came from and how they coalesced to become Murielle et le mystère. Subscribe so you don’t miss it!

Let me know if there is anything specific you’d like to know about this book! I’d love to answer your questions in the next posts.

Thank you for being here 🐌 !

1. I did write an English version (tentatively titled MURIEL AND THE MYSTERY), and it went on sub recently, thanks to my new wonderful agent, Jenn Laughran!