I’ve been working on a little pixel-art animation of Chaac Kab, the “Realm of Rain”, from my book The Tree of Life.
Chaac Kab is the domain of the Rain God Chaac, a realm built upon drifting clouds and the first of the thirteen levels of heaven. At its heart rises Chaac’s palace, with his vast labyrinth gardens stretching behind it. In the far background lies the House of the Moon, glowing just beyond reach.
The Old Jabiru is an occasional visitor. Can you spot him?
In the lead-up to the release of The Lord of the Underworld, the second book in my fantasy-adventure series The Jade Necklace, I thought it would be fun to run a short series on this blog highlighting some of the characters introduced in the first book.
Itzel
The Heart of the Story
And who better to begin with than the protagonist herself? Little Itzel, who has been with me since the very earliest sketches of the story. Her name came later, but from the start I knew I wanted to write about a Maya girl travelling through the Underworld in search of her grandmother.
From the beginning, my goal with Itzel was to create a protagonist who was simply nice and likeable—something I felt was missing in many modern stories, where young heroes are often curt, angsty, or rebellious just for the sake of being edgy. Itzel does push back against authority when she feels she must, but only when her moral compass points her that way. Her defiance isn’t a pretence; it comes from a deep conviction in what she believes is right.
Itzel wielding the magical snake-stick.
In many ways, I think of her as the control, borrowing the term from science experiments—she is the “normal” one, the measure against which the other eccentric and outlandish characters of Xibalba can be compared. Writing her reactions to the bizarre and often absurd denizens of the Underworld was a constant joy—she takes it in stride, but never loses sight of her quest.
Although I never anchor the story to a precise year, I always imagined Itzel as a child on the cusp of the millennium. The internet was around, but only in its early days, and had not yet seeped into everyday life in much of the world—and certainly not in her little corner of Central America. I pictured her as having the kind of childhood I idealise: always outdoors, curious, immersed in the natural world. That sense of wonder and innocence is something she carries with her into Xibalba. Surrounded by talking animals, she listens attentively to each one she meets, eager to hear their story—at least as much as her limited time there allows.
But a little girl can only get so far in a place like the Underworld—she also had to grow. One of the moments that defines her, in my mind, comes in the second book: she’s sprinting along the massive buttress root of the Mother Tree, hissing for her snake-stick as it flies into her hand. In that instant, I realised she had fully stepped into her own. She may not be as grand and bombastic as the gods, nor as quirky and sharp-witted as a certain coati, but she had found her place. She belonged in this strange world she had stumbled into by chance—and she was, without question, one of the most enjoyable characters I’ve ever written.
Itzel’s original design, from 2014.
Of course, being a “goody-two-shoes” doesn’t make her perfect—nor should it. She has deep wells of patience, but she can lose it from time to time. She makes mistakes, gets emotional, even gives up and breaks down in tears. She knows her own vulnerability, and she isn’t too proud to seek help when she needs it—a trait I’ve noticed is surprisingly rare among heroes in today’s stories.
As for her design, Itzel has changed very little since my first drawing of her back in 2014. The square patterns in her hair have always been there, and though the trim of her dress and accessories shifted from red to blue, she remains very much the same girl I sketched a decade ago.
Itzel will always hold a special place in my heart. The Jade Necklace is, at its core, her story. The saga of the gods is really just a backdrop—a tale that began before her and will continue after her. Writing her journey often felt paternal in a way, though I’m not a parent myself. I put her through plenty, but I always felt a rush of relief when she overcame each trial. In some small way, she gave me a glimpse of what it might feel like to raise a child, and for that, I’ll always be deeply grateful to her.
That’s all for Itzel—for now. Next week, this series will continue with another character spotlight. And if you’d like to join Itzel on her adventure through Xibalba, you can find the first book, The Land of the Night Sun, at Cubola’s bookstore here.
Earlier this summer, I had the great honour of being invited back to my alma mater, Belize Elementary School, as the guest speaker for their primary school graduation ceremony.
This invitation followed a memorable visit in February, when I had the chance to meet with the students of Standards 4–6 to talk about my book, The Land of the Night Sun, and answer their questions. Returning just a few months later to talk about my time as a student at BES and my life experiences since then felt like a full-circle moment—equal parts humbling and inspiring.
Unfortunately, the speech itself wasn’t recorded. But for anyone interested, I’ve included the transcript here. I hope it captures the spirit of that special day and shares some of the same encouragement I offered to the graduating class.
I recently had the opportunity to illustrate a new children’s book titled How Taiga Became Faiya Taiga, written by Gail Lash. The story introduces young readers to Taiga, a curious black jaguar who embarks on a journey to become Faiya Taiga—an ambassador between fire and humanity.
The book was created to help Belizean children understand the importance of fire safety. Faiya Taiga is envisioned as a mascot children can connect with, and a character who will continue to appear in future stories.
The timing of her arrival feels especially meaningful. Just last year, Belize experienced one of its most severe fire seasons on record, with thousands of acres of forest lost to bushfires. Against that backdrop, the message of Faiya Taiga is both urgent and timely.
For now, the book is available in a limited print run. The goal, however, is to place copies in bookstores, libraries, and schools across Belize later this year. Hopefully, it’s the beginning of something that will have a lasting impact.
You can order it on Amazon Kindle here: How Taiga Became Faiya Taiga
I'm honoured to share that I was recently interviewed by Libros para Niños, a Central American foundation that promotes children’s literature and reading across the region. In the interview, we talked about how books can help children celebrate their heritage and identity, and how fantasy and folklore form a part of that.
You can read the full interview here:
lpninos.org – Ian Gibson Interview
Muchas gracias to the team at Libros para Niños for the thoughtful conversation and for the work they do to bring meaningful stories to young readers throughout the region.
Back in February, I had the pleasure of leading a Drawing and Writing Workshop at Hummingbird Elementary, where students created original characters to fit into the fantasy world of my book, The Land of the Night Sun.
At the school’s Expressive Arts and Book Fair, they proudly showcased their drawings and short scenes featuring their unique creations—which ranged from heroes and critters to ghosts, monsters, and even a talking lantern!
A huge thank you to the wonderful teachers who supported the workshop, and of course to the students, for making the experience so inspiring. I can’t wait to see where their stories take them next!
I made a trip up to Mérida, Mexico to attend the 2025 FILEY Book Fair, where the Belize Book Industry Association and Cubola Productions had a booth featuring Belizean books, including my latest fantasy novel, The Land of the Night Sun.
I’d like to thank Cubola for giving me the opportunity to attend the fair and for showcasing my book and its illustrations, and all the wonderful people I met there. ¡Los yucatecos son muy amables!
Look forward to going next year!
I recently held a workshop about character design and creative writing for Standard 5 & 6 students of Hummingbird Elementary School in Belize City. The students are reading my book, The Land of the Night Sun, in their Reading & Comprehension class, and the school asked me to hold a workshop where the students could design their character to fit into the story.
Needless to say, it was a blast seeing what their imaginations came up with. We also held a couple of group activities, one being the “Character Hot Seat”, where a student pretended to be their characters while being asked questions from their classmates. They also went around examining each other’s drawings and tried to guess something about a classmate’s characters solely based from visual clues. I participated myself with my own character, Hap Hap the cowardly potoo (pictured below), and read a short scene featuring his encounter with the protagonist, Itzel.
I’ve realised I actually have very few drawings of the twin protagonists of The Jade Necklace series together! So here are little Itzel and Miguel.
In February, I had the pleasure of visiting several libraries across Belize City for a series of Meet the Author events to celebrate my novel, The Land of the Night Sun.
I had the opportunity to discuss the history behind the book, my creative process, and answer questions from students and teachers.
These events were only made possible by the support of Cubola Publishers, the welcoming staff at each library, and of course the students and teachers who came out to participate.
I’ll be holding similar events in other parts of the country soon, including San Ignacio and Benque Viejo del Carmen. I look forward to continuing these conversations and meeting more readers across Belize.
Excited to announce that Itzel and I will be attending the 2025 FILEY book fair in the colourful city of Mérida in Mexico, from 22-30 March!
I illustrated a decodable reader now used in schools to teach children how to read. Here are a few of the pages!
We held the book launch for The Land of the Night Sun at the Imagination Factri in Belize City, which doubled as an exhibit showcasing illustrations from the book.
A special thanks to all those who attended, including the students of St Mary’s Anglican Primary School, for lending me their ears as I discussed the ideas behind my book and read an excerpt about Itzel getting harassed by a very persistent peccary flogging his perfumes.
The book launch was also covered on Channel 5 and Channel 7 Belize evening news. You can watch the full segments here.
I’ve drawn up a new map of Xibalba, reoriented so that north points upwards.
Put together a new trailer for my book, The Land of the Night Sun, formatted for best viewing on mobiles and tablets. You can check it out below!
I recently appeared on Channel 5’s Open Your Eyes to discuss my book, The Land of the Night Sun!
You can watch the full interview here:
I’m excited to announce that my book, The Land of the Night Sun, the first book in my fantasy-adventure series The Jade Necklace, will be available in stores in Belize from December 2024! To celebrate the launch I put together this trailer for the book (because if films can have trailers, why can’t books?).
Thought of a scene in The Land of the Night Sun where the heroes Itzel and Quashy are looking across the vast lake in the centre of Xibalba. The painting Wanderer above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich came to mind, so I decided to make this little homage to one of my favourite classical painters.
Illustrated a scene from my book in which a jaguar (Kinich Ahau) and a Coati (Quashy) are debating the aesthetics of spots versus stripes.
Another book in the Sounds & Letters series will be released by the end of the year and used in schools across Belize. Here are some of the stories I got to illustrate for it!
