Blog

Regina shares her remarks for the 2025 New England Book Awards
It's been a tough time for many many people in the U.S., and being in the book industry where authors, illustrators, publishers, bookstores, libraries and librarians, schools and teachers, I've seen how they have been targeted for censorship by small but organized groups with extreme political ideologies that do not reflect the opinion of the majority of Americans across the country. I recently attended the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA) conference, where Big Enough was recognized with the 2025 New England Book Award for the picture book category. Knowing I... Read more...
Regina unpacks her favorite illustration from BIG ENOUGH
I had the chance to share with Victoria Stapleton, VP and Executive Director of School and Library Marketing for Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, about my favorite illustration from Big Enough a few months ago. We talk through color palette, composition, technique, and more to support visual storytelling. And I shared how it tied back to traditional gongbi painting concepts in a bridge from ancient to modern. Let me know what you think!     Read more...
Sneak peak at BIG ENOUGH
Get the first look at some of my favorite illustrated spreads from the next Oxherd Boy book, BIG ENOUGH. BIG ENOUGH comes out April 1, 2025. You can pre-order the book now and get a free digital download pack as a token of my appreciation.   Read more...
Sharing the cover of BIG ENOUGH
Regina reveals for the first time the book jacket cover for BIG ENOUGH the first Oxherd Boy book for children! Read more...
Art exhibition and online auction now open through July 31
A month-long art exhibition featuring a curated selection from The Oxherd Boy body of work and behind-the-scenes material from its creation from online to print is now on display at the Hoxie Gallery in Westerly Library from July 1-31, 2024. Join the creator Regina Linke in an intimate armchair interview where the author-illustrator will share more about her creative process, her outlook on life, and the remarkable ways she has found meaning in the work and its influence on her as a parent to a young child in the modern... Read more...
Happy book birthday to "The Oxherd Boy"
It's been a big relief for me to have the book reach you, and I've felt so lucky to receive your messages and pictures of the book out in the world, on your bookshelves and bedside tables, in bookstores and museum gift shops, in your very hands. There's something about having it resting in your hands, these visceral antennae of being, that gives us another point for connection . . . as Charles Bukowski said, "And remember this: the page you are looking at now, I once typed the words... Read more...
Happy Year of the Dragon
February 12 marks the start of the new lunar year, which begins with the second new moon after the winter solstice. It's also the new moon that is closest to the beginning of spring, thereby giving it the name of Spring Festival -- heralding the imminent arrival of spring and the earth's return to life after months of dormancy. To celebrate this year with you, I put together three downloadables of my oxherd boy and dragon painting for: Mobile wallpaper Coloring sheet Postcard You can find them all here: 2024... Read more...
Fields of Freedom and MSF Receive Store Proceeds
The year 2023 saw The Oxherd Boy shop generate around US$3,000 in income. As with last year, I reflected on what this amount signifies to the difference it makes in my life versus where it can be placed elsewhere, and came to the same conclusion. There are many more people and organizations in need of these funds than I myself could use for my personal efforts. Thank you all for sharing the causes that you care for and for nominating so many that are worthy of that support. Once again,... Read more...
First Look at the Book
The first Oxherd Boy book is coming out in a few months on March 12, 2024. Just before the holidays, I received a few advance copies from my publisher, and am happy to share the experience of holding the book for the first time. I hope you enjoy this little video: Read more...
Don't buy this book!
Here in the US, we're coming up fast on a huge consumer season with end-of-year sales in the run up to the holidays marked with gift-giving traditions. Ever the action-oriented and action-conscious one, the rabbit has an important message to share on my behalf. All humor aside, creating for you has been a dream and a joy, but I also know that creating costs this earth something. As we approach Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, I want to say this: I would love for you to buy... Read more...
Our Third Birthday
This November The Oxherd Boy completes its third trip around our beautiful, life-giving sun. Though I'm often too caught up in what I'm working on sit and reflect on the past, this anniversary feels like a good time to just reflect on the last year in a few numbers as compared to 2022: 2022 2023 New Comics 46 28 Book Manuscripts 1 1 Book Illustrations 109 30 Donations US$ 0  US$ 2,400   This past year definitely felt lighter in terms of delivery. 2022 was spent working largely independently churning... Read more...
Pause on New Comics
With only about six weeks before I'm scheduled to deliver the first picture book to my editor at Little Brown, I've been well in the thick of painting and playing with my son in these last few weeks of summer break. He's been keeping me busy with increasingly challenging LEGO engineering projects. So far we've built: City with streets, skyscrapers, houses, power plant, and stadium Camper van/RV Empire State Building Fire station (x2) Garbage truck that can lift and empty a dumpster Everything else Oxherd Boy related has pretty much... Read more...
Caught in the Middle
Lately, I've been feeling a compression of much more activity into the same measure of time. Part of the reason is that THE OXHERD BOY collection has routed through the team of editors and designers at Penguin Random House and has made itself back to me for edits. What was originally to be a tight 144 pages has been extended by 16 to a final page count of 160! I feel gratified that the publisher felt comfortable doing this, as it means a higher cost to print. This change gives... Read more...
Switching Gears
After turning in my final art files earlier this month, I've switched gears to working on the first Oxherd Boy picture book called BIG ENOUGH. The children's book is meant for children between ages 4-8 and is set as an origin story that follows Ah-Fu (the boy) as he takes on the fearsome task of bringing home the gigantic family ox for the first time. Working on the webcomic and the adult book, though the volume of illustrations (over 100!) was huge, each one could essentially stand alone. So, I... Read more...
Happy Year of the Rabbit!
The lunar year is celebrated in Taiwan and many parts of Asia on the second new moon after the December (often winter) solstice, signaling the arrival of spring and therefore, new life. According to the Zodiac of Animals, this year is the year of the Rabbit, and soothsaying traditions believe that the animal under which a year falls will be influenced by that animal's personality traits and can impact individuals born under different birth signs in different ways. But how accurate are they? The very human desire to look into... Read more...
The Banyan and World Wildlife Fund to Receive Store Proceeds
Last month, I made the decision to divide and donate my portion of the Oxherd Boy store proceeds from 2022 to two charities. After receiving nominations and suggestions from followers on Instagram (@oxherdboy), two ideas came up to the top: a mental health charity and an animal welfare organization. Looking down the list for nominated organizations, it was very close between two in animal welfare, but the one that received the most votes was the World Wildlife Fund, renowned for their conservation efforts around the world.The mental health charity was... Read more...
Holy smokes, I'm done with the first book.
Last week, I finished the first book, THE OXHERD BOY! It feels a little weird to put a stake in the ground and say, "This is done," when in reality I have a list of 40-50 edits ranging from minor to significant that I would like to make if given the chance. Not to mention: The suggested changes that will come from the publishing team; Tweaks to make when the next set of proofs come in; Potential additions to end papers, acknowledgements, biography; and The all-important cover design. That being... Read more...
New Editor Transition and More
My editor for The Oxherd Boy book for adults will retire at the end of the year. This is a bittersweet transition, because Lindley was the first editor at a major publishing house to express support for the book and played an important part in shaping the book into what it is today. As an editor, she's been strong in her guidance where I lacked knowledge and experience, but she also stepped back to allow me a huge amount of creative freedom to follow my intuition to write, draw, express,... Read more...
Translating an Entire Book
Frankfurter Buchmesse, or Frankfurt Book Fair, is taking place this week in Germany, and it's the first time I've heard of it. Apparently, it's the world's largest book fair, where publishers, authors, readers, literary trade partners, technology providers, and so many more parties interested in books and the dissemination of ideas come together. And, it's the marketplace where books published in one country, go to find publishers in other countries who are interested in translating them into different languages. Very interesting, as I always assumed that a publisher as big... Read more...
Introducing Some New Characters
One of the most interesting avenues that I've been able to explore with the books is expanding the world beyond just the three primary characters. Starting out, I felt that three was enough. Each represented the teachings that I most wanted to convey. In developing their personalities more for the children's book series, their interactions exhibit those basic principles that I had intended from the beginning. But I realized that that might not be enough. One of my favorite comic strips, "Calvin and Hobbes," features two main characters whose life... Read more...
Your Preferred Languages?
After spending the last week recovering from COVID 😷, I am very grateful to have experienced only mild symptoms and to have been able to isolate safely and rest while my family held things down at home. Now I'm rather sluggish working on the book though... I'm not sure if it's the residual feelings of disinterest after being physically ill, or I've simply hit a point of attention overload on a single project. I'm on track and pacing well, but sometimes, I think about the 64 pages left that will... Read more...
Let's Start Selling
Practically six months to the date after signing with my agent Liz at Great Dog Literary, she will begin selling my two-book proposal to editors this week. 🥂 While self-publishing is an option that I had explored before, I am so grateful at this point in the process, to have representation with an agency. Promoting a self-published book is a full-time job that I simply am not equipped to do right now, and having Liz by my side during the last half year has been a great partnership. I wanted... Read more...
Submitting Book Proposals
Before I started getting into the the world of publishing, I had no idea how complex a process it was, especially when going the route for traditional publishing. Signing with an agent is the first step, but it is the first of a years-long process to simply bring a book into the world. I've received so many words of encouragement and excitement, messages asking when the book will come out. To be perfectly honest, it might not even happen. The story needs to be accepted by an editor and then... Read more...