My books! Pride recommended reading!
Wowzers! A huge thank you to Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) for putting both “Rainbow Boy” (Picture Books category) & “Still Stace: My Gay Christian Coming-of-Age Story” (Young Adult category) on their recommended reading list for Pride month 2021! (Four months today until Still Stace comes out!!)
I got my STILL STACE ARC!
OKAY.
I didn’t even know this was coming, and when the kids helped me pull it out of the packaging (amid a flurry of screams), my heart skipped a beat!! (Or seven.)
I have been working on this for two years saying, “This is gonna be a book!” And now I’m holding it saying, “THIS IS A BOOK.”
This is my Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of STILL STACE from the publisher, and it’s got little mistakes and quirks that won’t be in the final. (Also the final will be hard copy!) But WHOOBOY I’m still gonna cradle it like it’s my third baby. Just over 4 months to go! It’s so cool seeing all my illustrations on PAPER, sheesh capeesh.
It’s Pride month & my story couldn’t be any gayer, so pre-order yours today! (Seriously tho, pls pre-order – it helps the publishers know how well it will do!) Reminder, our target audience is teens ages 13-18 (but adults can read YA books too)!
Speaking in two places at once!
Thanks to pre-recording my messages, I was able to speak at two churches today! (Thanks technology!)
The first was at Harcourt Memorial United Church in Guelph, Ontario, for their Affirming Sunday Service! With everything going on, it felt most appropriate to share about the challenge of balancing both grief & joy. My message is about 12 mins long, starting at 14:37 on the below video. Feel free to enjoy their entire beautiful service, though!
They also asked me to write a blessing for them, as part of being the guest speaker. I thought I would share the text of that here too. (It’s at the end of my message.)
May you feel warmly supported
When you relax into grief
May you wrap your arms around yourself
In loving kindness
Knowing you have been doing your best
And you have been trying so very hard
May you envision our Mother or Father God,
Wrapping their all encompassing arms around you
In your pain, in your sorrow, and in your joy
May you have the courage to feel the pain
To really feel it
But in doing so, also be filled from a deep well of hope
In life’s endless possibilities, in the triumph of love
In the beauty of the small moments
In each deep healing breath
And may you feel God’s love gently pursuing you
Shining warmly upon youLike the fresh morning sun
May you place your hand on your heart, and feel the soft, strong beats
And know you are not alone
And you are loved.
The second was sharing my message at my home church Open Door Church here in Maple Ridge, BC. I was so excited and honoured that they invited me to share on the first Sunday in Pride month! I originally recorded this message in Nov 2020 for a conference where I got un-invited, and it was wonderful to finally share it with my own beloved community. We gathered on our Facebook page to be together live, and here is the archived service in its’ entirety. (They read Rainbow Boy near the beginning too, which was so fun to watch! Thanks ODC friends!)
STILL STACE releases in 5 months!
Five months from now, my very own book STILL STACE will be published by Beaming Books!! Whoooo, it’s gonna fly by methinks. We have been getting some wonderful blurbs from some amazing authors (!!), and I just cannot wait to see what the next few months will bring.
Here’s a few sneak peeks of some of the many illustrations 
Spoiler alert: this book talks a lot about teen angst, being gay and struggling with how faith fits in. Pre-order your copy if that sounds like something you want to read about! https://www.beamingbooks.com/…/9781506469515/Still-Stace
Oscar Poster Designs 2021
I just concluded my Oscar poster design series for this year by watching the Best Picture winner last night, “Nomadland”. Oof, that film will stick with me for a while. What an amazing reminder of the beauty and fragility of life. My other favs out of the ones I watched were “Soul” (animation, obv), and “My Octopus Teacher”. Watch them, I mean it! Here’s my eight designs for this year.
See ya next Oscar season!
COVER REVEAL – “Still Stace”
Friends!!
I am SO EXCITED to finally share the updated and official cover for my YA illustrated memoir, “Still Stace”!! I feel like I have been sitting on this for years! (It’s been a few weeks. I no longer understand time post-quarantine.)
Beaming Books is publishing my book on October 19th, 2021. It is available everywhere for pre-order, (click here fellow Canadians!) but please try to order from local bookstores wherever possible! I still honestly can’t process that this will be an actual freaking hard cover book in mere months.
The younger me who I wrote & drew this for is positively overflowing with excitement, and she won’t stop high-fiving me. (AND I AM HERE FOR IT.) When this releases in October, I will probably have the biggest vulnerability hangover of my life. But if it helps one person to feel less alone, it will all be worth it.
Massive thanks to my small but mighty circle of supporters, cheerers, laughers, criers, huggers, walkers, venters, texters, Zoomers…. and of course my incredible wife Tams, who is undoubtedly one of the strongest driving forces behind me being able to (and having the courage to) get this accomplished. What a SURREAL DREAM come TRUE.
Please share this with anyone who may need it! I’m so grateful for everyone who has helped or encouraged me along this road. None of you will be forgotten, I promise. Countdown to October 19th!!
Seasons of change.
Last week our little house on 221st street sold. While on a bike ride soon after, it hit me how many big seasons have happened these last few years! Pets come and gone, two kids, a pandemic, two book deals, and many more ups and downs. Whoa.
I had so much fun staying up late while everyone slept, and putting a few of these milestones into quick illustrations. I’m totally not sure what’s ahead of me, but whatever it is, I’m looking forward to a new chapter! I’m grateful for endless possibilities.
Out In Faith – March 19-21, 2021
Updated March 22, 2021 – What a great time with friends this was! Definitely the closest thing to being all together, and I can’t wait for when we can be together physically again! Here’s a screencap from my keynote, and the art piece I created for the weekend – inspired by my many bike rides in the mountains. 🙂
Out in Faith time lapse art from Stacey Chomiak on Vimeo.
Friends! This is gonna be an awesome event with my friends at OutChristian! Lookit that lineup!! I’m really excited to be a part of it, and I’m gonna do a special piece of art just for this event. I’ll be speaking on Friday, March 19th, but come join us for the full weekend of awesome speakers and amazing connection!! I promise you it will NOT be just another Zoom meeting. 😀
“Schitt’s Creek” Paper Doll Set
We are finally making our way through all the seasons of the genius comedy that is “Schitt’s Creek”. (Yes I know we are late to the party – YOU try watching TV with toddlers!)
This show is getting ALL the acclaim everywhere, and I just absolutely love it, because it’s just SO. CANADIAN. I grew up watching Eugene Levy on SCTV at the edge of my parents bed, not fully getting the sketches, but loving the wild antics. “Schitt’s Creek” was developed by Eugene Levy and his son, Dan Levy. Add on legend Catherine O’Hara and COME ON you can’t even go wrong.
Anyway, anyway, I love all of David’s sweaters, and I thought it would be SO FUN to have a paper doll set of some of his best. It would be fun to do a doll set of all the characters – we’ll see if I have time for that! Until then, here’s David’s! This is was an illegal amount of fun to draw.
“Shipwreck Over Safety” Podcast
Earlier in January, I taped an episode of the podcast “Shipwreck Over Safety” with Dallas Verity & Blair Roberts. We had a great conversation about art, deconstructing our faith and sexuality. If that interests you, give it a listen! Available below, and also on Spotify & Apple podcasts.
