Kevenn T. Smith 6/21/18 Kevenn T. Smith 6/21/18

My Husband is Not a Rainbow - Kindle Edition

Kelley Lynn's Best-Selling book My Husband is Not a Rainbow that I illustrated for and edited is now available on Kindle for only $5.99, and available to Amazon Prime members to read for FREE! Also, if you bought the paperback edition, you can buy the Kindle edition of on 99 cents! You can buy this book by clicking on the picture below, which will take you directly to the book's Kindle listing on Amazon.com.

Cover art by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
Book ©Kelley Lynn 2018

Kevenn T. Smith 6/10/18 Kevenn T. Smith 6/10/18

My Husband is Not a Rainbow

I've been working on a book with its author for nearly five years. It's a grief book, only it's funny. And heartbreaking. And inspiring. And provoking. And uplifting. And moving. I illustrated the cover for it, and I also created five black and white illustrations for the interior that are meant to be colored by the reader (I suggest Prismacolor color pencils. They are the BEST!). I also served as the book's editor (and I'm still working on the Kindle edition as I type this). The book is by the HILARIOUS comedian and writer, Kelley Lynn who is writing the book under the name Kelley Lynn Shepherd. The journey of love, life, loss, pain, and empowerment that she goes through this book is so massively powerful.

We had a really successful crowd funding campaign to finance the book. Kelley announced that the book was published and up for sale on her Facebook page in alive video on Friday night, and by Saturday evening, it became the #1 Best Selling Grief & Bereavement book on Amazon.com!!! This book is a great book for anyone who has lost a spouse or loved one. It's is a real and honestly written look at grief, and not full of platitudes like other books that Kelley found when she was looking for books to try to deal with the sudden death of her husband, Don Shepherd. I haven't lost a spouse, but this book was helpful for me in learning how to be more empathetic to others who are experiencing loss.

While I was editing this book, my dog, Carter, died suddenly, and this book was a huge help in dealing with my own grief over that situation. In working on this book and experiencing Kelley's writing on grief, I've learned that the healthiest thing that you can do is acknowledge your loss and your feelings and keep talking about them, post them on your social media, EXPRESS THEM any way that you can and need to. Don't pay attention to anyone who thinks that you should "get over it." Their invalidation of your feelings is about their discomfort in dealing with harder parts of life.

I am so very proud of this book and beyond honored to be a part of its creation. The Kindle edition is coming soon, but in the meantime, you can order a paperback copy on Amazon.com for only $25.95, which makes it eligible for free shipping. Click on the hyperlink text above, or just click on the picture of the cover to go to Amazon and order your copy now. And THANK YOU to everyone who has supported this book and its creation.

Cover art by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
Book ©Kelley Lynn 2018

Kevenn T. Smith 7/13/14 Kevenn T. Smith 7/13/14

The 3rd Annual Pay It Forward For Don Shepherd Day

Today is the 3rd Annual "Pay It Forward For Don Shepherd Day." Don Shepherd was an amazing man who spent his life helping others. He was a veteran. He was an EMS professional and saved countless human lives. He volunteered many of his off-work hours helping with homeless cats and animals. Don was the husband of my friend, comedian, actor, teacher, and writer, Kelley Lynn, who died suddenly this day three years ago. Since then, every day this year, Kelley has worked to get people to do something nice for someone else on this day in rememberance of her wonderful husband. She asks you to do something, and then e-mail her to tell her about it.

The reason that I'm mentioning this here, is because Kelley is also writing a book about her husband and her life after his death using her unique brand of humor to deal with what is normally a subject of despair. You can get a sneak peek at some of the content of her book by reading her blog: R.I.P. the Life I Knew. I am providing the cover to her book, which is scheduled to be published later this year. However, Kelley is a widow who is struggling to live on a single income now that her husband has died, and extra money for publishing a book is not easy for her to come by.

That's why there is an IndieGoGo campaign to raise money for the book. If you would like to donate, please head on over to the IndieGoGo page for her book. It would make a great contribution for Pay It Forward For Don Shepherd Day. When you contribute, you can see a preview of my artwork for the book cover in the Updates section of the campaign page. And here you can get a sample of some of Kelley's outstanding comedy where she turns pain into something to laugh at:

Kevenn T. Smith 10/9/10 Kevenn T. Smith 10/9/10

Lava-Roid Pin-Up by Kevenn T. Smith

This is the pin-up I did for the 2010 New York Comic Con edition of Kevin Conn's Lava-Roid comic book. One of my favorite things about the character is that he can shoot fire out of his butt, so it was of the utmost importance to me that I showcase that in this piece.

He is also depicted with all the enemies that he faced or mentioned in the first issue of the Lava-Roid comic book. The bottom-left characters are based on the actors who play them in the Lava-Roid live-action web series. Ruggar is based on Jon Hoche, and Ms Pantalera is based on the amazingly talented comedian and actor, Kelley Lynn.

This piece was also featured in the Beck Center for the Arts Student art Show in the summer of 2010. For those of you who are not able to go to New York Comic Con, have no fear. I am told the edition will be for sale online after the convention!

11.5 x 8 inches Bristol Board.

Pencil, ink, & Prismacolor pencil.

Image ©Kevenn T. Smith 2011