There's still a week until my new book, The Secret Lives of Baked Goods: Sweet Stories & Recipes for America's Favorite Desserts, is released, and I just know that you are dying--absolutely dying--to buy it or see me on book tour (those dates, btw, can conveniently be found running on the left side bar of this site - just look to your left! <-------).

Well, I can't make May 7 come any sooner, but I can reveal a secret or two about the book, I suppose!

How about giving you a preview of the art that will be inside of its lovely pages?

This book is quite different from my first, and as such, a different style of illustration seemed appropriate. So in this book, it's all more bold and linear pen and ink illustrations. It's certainly not my usual style! But that was actually kind of fun - challenging myself to a different style of artwork. Doing all of those little shading and cross-hatchy bits brought me back to art school, and in a positive way. I found it meditative to do them while watching Gossip Girl.

I hope you like this different style--here's a peek at some of the illustrations which were used as spot illustrations in the book!