Mel Cordan (she/her)

There are a lot of #MSWL posts going around and I love that!
I just want authors to remember NOT to self reject.
Your book doesn’t have to be a perfect match to a MSWL
If the agent takes fantasy and you have fantasy take your shot! ❤️
Don’t stress it!

I’m in the time of life where my doctor is pushing protein, movement and weight training. My response was this AM to eat a big bowl of granola with flax milk. Hey. The milk was protein enriched?

good luck!!!!! 🍀

I got a check from that settlement. It wasn't a small one.. and guess what? It wasn't even a FRACTION of the money I would have made had those studios not been in cahoots.

So I jumped him instead. And 29 years and two children later, we sit here in a boathouse, with a wood stove to warm our feet, listening to cool tunes and sipping hot chocolate. What a fricken wild ride.

We split the party early to go back to the sailboat he was living on. I thought his invitation to go row out to see the Chinese boat in the harbor was an excuse to hit on me. Little did I know, he was as innocent as the sky; he truly wanted to show me a cool boat.

29 years ago, I declined a date with a boy, only to invite him to an art party in a warehouse where I was meeting up with girl friends.

Yesterday I participated in #hourlycomicsday2026

#hourlycomics #hourlycomic
#melArt🔥 #kidlitArt #illustration #comics

A Forest of green trees with swirling mists and a face looking between the branches. Black birds fly out from below. Swirls grow around the trees. Art by Victoria K. Chapman.

Two eastern box turtles stand by a pond, necks touching in a reptilian embrace. A red wing blackbird flies overhead. A ladybug and mouse hide in the cat tails and grasses. A pavilion sits on the opposite side of the pond, reflecting in golden light. Art by Victoria K. Chapman.

A view of a forest floor. A tree stump covered in moss and fungus sits among ferns and other fallen branches. Various mushrooms lay on the forest floor. Among the trees in the background peers a white tailed deer. Art by Victoria K. Chapman.

An overhead view of children floating in the ocean on blue and white floating tubes. Stingrays and fish swim by below them. A beagle floats on one of the tubes wearing sunglasses. At the edge of the beach, there are shells and a sea star. Art by Victoria K. Chapman.

Hello #PortfolioDay! I’m
Victoria K. Chapman, an illustrator/author of children’s books. Artist/art instructor. I love animals, the outdoors, conservation, magic, imagination & mindfulness. Rep’d for kids books by Rosa Frazier & Joyce Sweeney of @seymouragency.bsky.social!
www.weyakindesigns.com

Four different species of frogs hold various yoga poses on a polkadot background. Drawn in pen and colored pencil. Art by Victoria K. Chapman.

Happy #KidLitArtPostcard day!
I’m Victoria K. Chapman, illustrator-author of kids books. I love nature, animals, mindfulness, nature nonfiction, whimsy, & imagination. PB, book covers, & more. #kidlit

Rep by Joyce Sweeney & Rosa Frazier at @seymouragency.bsky.social.

www.weyakindesigns.com

February #KidlitArtPostcard 2026

#KidLitArtPostcard Day, and I'm in the mood for whimsy!

Illustrator interested in working on PBs, MG covers & author/illustrating GNs.

Repp'd by @annmrose.bsky.social at the Tobias Literary Agency. You can see more of my work at melaniecordan.com

#kidlit #kidlitart #illustration #melArt🔥

If you see this, post your green art. 💚

cat in the window

dog and cat- nose to nose

For #caturday
Fergus got the snip snip yesterday so Ollie was comforting him in his own way.

Rockstar

A day later and she is gone! 😭

What!!?
This is… not fair. 😭

Name your fav film or TV mom

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#iceoutminneapolis #iceoutmpis #melArt🔥

I jumped on the #iceoutcomics trend. Here’s what’s on my mind these days…

a teenage mutant ninja turtles video game with a purple background Alt: Donnie (TMNT 2012) giving the thumbs up.

2026 is kicking us all in the ass, including me.

I was laid off from my long term gig this week, so I am officially looking for full time work again if anyone needs an animation writer or narrative designer.

It’s rough out there for everyone so here’s hoping the pendulum starts to swing back soon.

I feel like my anger has crystallized and is making me glow radioactively at this point.

7) I don't think we feel brave. Like, ever. Shit happens, you have to make a split-second choice in the moment. Courage isn't a flash in the moment. It's a determination that sticks for decades.

Will we be able to find ours when this doesn't go away after the midterms?

6) Because we AREN'T the heroes we painted in the movies. All that bravado is like him - hot air. We are too busy scraping by and wish we could go back to normal. There are pockets of people who are doing heroic things every day in America - but only because the horror is in their backyard.

5) We deserve what comes next. We either decide to make this our fight and bleed for it, or we don't... and suffer the consequences.

My big takeaway from this is that the culture of ME has forgotten how to be a culture of WE. It's a lesson that won't resonate for a very long time.

4) Our checks and balances failed. The rule of law failed. Our politicians failed. The attorneys and their lawsuits failed. In the movies, it would have been dealt with. A big action. A cunning plot, dreamed up by a team of misfits who had the odds stacked against them.