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Waaaay back in July, I learned that Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody were going to start a podcast called "Don't Listen To Us" with their son Gideon. I emailed a listener question into the show, got the standard "thanks" back, and kind of forgot about it. Yesterday, I was checking emails and saw that not only did I have the proof to approve for my new little book The Grumpy Cactus, I also had an email from the Grody-Patinkin team! They'd accepted my submission!
I watched Mandy, Kathryn, and Gideon reply to my question with thoughtful answers. You can click the Youtube video below to watch the longer podcast episode. Here's what I submitted: My dad was diagnosed with cancer right before Christmas in 2024. At the time of his diagnosis I was five months pregnant. He kept wanting to know if I’d had dreams or premonitions. He felt like maybe I was more sensitive during that time. The week he died, in March of 2025, when I was eight months pregnant I had a dream about his mother. She died in 2003. In my dream, she didn’t say anything to me. She just was there, waiting. I had the feeling she was waiting for her baby (my dad) like I was waiting for mine - and that both of our children were in this in-between space: hers exiting this world and mine about to come into it. I told him about my dream and he said nothing, just listened. He declined days later. I cried a lot in the week following that dream - and as my fathered entered ICU, then palliative care, then hospice I was not surprised. Because I had seen my grandmother, and I knew that she was waiting and that when he did end his journey here he would not go to that next place alone. What do you think happens when we die?
I hope that you give the podcast a listen.
It was a great email day to read about the acceptance of that submission and to look at the proof for Grumpy Cactus. My son actually inspired this little book - he loves Grumpy Cacti. I'm looking forward to seeing it in print - and you can keep up with what's happening with this little story on my books page! 
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When I opened my Procreate app this week the apps tarted an automatic download. I hoped there would be some new brushes - and there were! An entire library of new brushes! Just as so many of us write our names with new pens, I remember my art mentor, Katherine Pittman, happily testing new colors. Whenever she chose a new watercolor brand or color, Katherine would sample the paint and write the color on it. I found myself doing the same thing with the Procreate watercolor brushes, but writing the names of the brushes.
But, the new Procreate brushes feel more realistic than the Art Junky brushes. I liked the way they looked on my test page and I couldn't want to make some piece of art with them to really get a better feel for the way they would work in the app. I did not want to use the brushes in my works-in-progress because I did not want to change the feeling or look of ongoing work, so I knew that it would need to be a stand-alone project. I considered working on a butterfly; the monarchs are migrating through my area and they've been so lovely. I settled on a flower. I decided to work on an Iris. My grandmother loved Irises and she had beautiful Irises in her yard.
I look forward to creating other pieces of art with these new brushes and continuing to discover what they can do and testing the limitations with my style. They were a delightful discovery and a wonderful way to spend my evening.
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AuthorHeather Wylie has been making art for over eighteen years. Archives
October 2025
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