The illustrator, Ron Rogers, of the Neversays: 25 Phrases You Should Never Ever Say To Keep Your Job and Friends recently and unexpectedly passed away. I was in the middle of writing the book when I realized that I needed to change my approach. The topics of discrimination, racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, etc. are tough for all of us to discuss; consequently most of us avoid thinking or talking about it. I wanted to write a book that was approachable. I wanted to write a book that could help people learn and realize some of the communication mistakes they made without feeling attacked. So, I decided that I needed to add cartoons to the book-- cartoons that illustrated my words. My publisher presented a few artists to me. I found Ron. I saw his work online; and knew that he was the right illustrator for Neversays. We hired him; and he became my friend almost immediately. He not only understood my vision; he was excited about my vision and executed my vision perfectly. He told me that he was proud of me. I was proud of us. We were working on book 2.
I'm going to miss my friend. I'd love to see the pictures he's drawing of heaven.
