Cover Reveal - A Raven's Revenge

I've been in the writing gig for quite a while now and while I usually stick to myself, a few years back I traded work with some other authors and did developmental/beta-read edits for them. One of those authors was Linda Bloodworth. We became friends bonding over not only our books but our shared love for anything Sailor Moon related. Anyway's, I read through her book A Raven's Touch, a kick-ass story about a half-angel fighting the forces of evil. She published that book a year afterward in 2015, and today I have the absolute honour of letting everyone know that she is finally releasing the sequel! 

A Raven's Revenge 
Hell hath no fury like an angel scorned. Justice St. Michaels is on a mission from God to avenge her parents' death, even if it means hunting Seliki to the depths of Hell. Justice and her powerful friends won't back down until His will is done. Can an angel, witch, vampire and elf take on Hell and come out alive?

I have to admit, this cover is fantastic. I don't know who the cover artist was, but they deserve a pat on the back for this one. 

The novel will be out on October 24th, but you can pre-order your copy now. If you're looking for something to read before then, you can pick up the first book in the series as well. Links for both are below.

A Raven’sRevenge $3.99 ebook and $12.99 paperback

A Raven’s Touch $0.99 ebook and $12.99 paperback

Linda Bloodworth is hosting a cover reveal party on FB today (October 4th) and will be hosting a release day party on FB on its release date. Check out the links if you're interested!

Linda Bloodworth - Bio
Linda Bloodworth is a writer from Toronto who often has to battle two cats and a dog to find a comfortable writing position. Through blood, sweat, and a few tears, Linda debuted A Raven’s Touch in 2015 and followed up with A Raven’s Revenge in 2019. Other than writing, Linda enjoys scary tales of the strange and unusual in book and movie form. Most often, Linda can be found binge-watching Sailor Moon ad nauseam. Tsuki ni kawatte, oshiokiyo!

The Dreven Creation Story (and an Update)

I feel like I've been saying this since January, but I'm nearly done editing book 2 of Kitsune-Ken! I have found a new editor and if everything goes according to plan, I should have it in her hands by this time next week. Then I can focus on Inktober, starting to edit book 3 and planning book 4 to write during Nanowrimo in November (for perhaps as long as a week before she gets it back to me). It's my hope that by November I will have the edits finished entirely and I can spend all my spare time that month doing the business end of getting the novel out to all of you... getting the cover made and released, the book formatted, proofread, and all of that fun stuff. Now we'll move onto the meat of today's post; the Dreven's creation story. 

Deckard is the main follower of this religion in my Kitsune-Ken series, though all of the Dreven people worship these deities. Even Isashi's Dreven father worships them and made sure that Isashi grew up knowing their religion, though, in the end, she chose to follow her mother's deities. 

The Dreven believe that the world was created when the creator force split into twins; the goddess Kittin and the god Kitaran. The two loved each other but fell to arguing over whether the universe was too empty. Kitaran wanted much more than the emptiness they inhabited, but Kittin was afraid and wanted the universe to stay the same. Kitaran promised to not create anything but eventually his loneliness could not be denied. To create the first island, Kitaran cut off his own hand. When Kittin discovered his betrayal, she slaughtered him and fell into a great depression for centuries when she realized that she'd destroyed the one she loved. 

Eventually, a noise broke through her self-absorption and she realized that Kitaran's body had not simply ceased to exist, but had transformed into an entire planet. While she loved it as she had loved him, she was horrified to find beings like themselves living upon it. Believing they were defiling Kitaran's legacy, she began a slaughter of all she could find. When only seven remained, better at hiding than the rest, she began destroying the world, determined to leave them no place to hide. One goddess came to her, begging that she stop before she destroyed Kitaran a second time. While she hesitated, the goddess brought down upon him the gift of prophecy. In her first moments of Kitaran's final gift to him, she realized that she had been destroying their children, created with his blood and her energy. 

A photo composite I made of Direnai begging Kittin to stop his destruction. 

Kittin realized her error and offered Direnai and her sibling's true godhood, promising never to hunt them again. They accepted though all but Direnai refused to believe in her sudden altruism, thinking that her apologies came too late. When one of the Seven created humans out of a new metal alloy and the began to multiply on their own, they expected Kittin to start destroying everything again. Fortunately, she had learned her lesson and instead blessed the new ones with wisdom she had never had. The humans began to worship her for this gift. The Seven still hide from Kittin, allowing humans to worship them only if they promise to never tell Kittin where they hide. In return for their favour and gifts, the Dreven refer to all seven as a single deity, the Secret, though they are taught the ways to show their reverence for each of the seven. 

Kittin is the only major deity, though most non-Dreven think of Direnai as a close second, not realizing that she is only the face the others hide behind, the one that is willing to be seen. Kittin rules over Divination and Wisdom, hard-won after all of her mistakes, though no Dreven forgets her lesson that without wisdom they will destroy everything they love. The other seven deities are Direnai, goddess of healing, Tormu, god of innocence, and five others whose portfolio's consist of Fire, Sailing, Weaponry, Victory, and Sorcery. Direnai is the deity that Deckard believes has granted him his blessed status. He loves and hates her for it.

And that will be all for today! In the coming weeks, I'll try to keep you guys up to date with where my novel is, how Inktober is going, and of course, more about the Dreven religion. 

Author Event - Focus on Adria Laycraft

Today we're doing something a little different. I found out one of my fellow authors recently released her book through Tyche and next Thursday (Sept 26, 2019), she's going to be hosting a launch party for it down at Owl's Nest Bookstore, the same place I had my signing a few weeks back. 

If you can make it down to the Owl's Nest Bookstore here in Calgary you'll be treated to a great evening. Starting at 7pm, there will be the direct access to the author and certainly a chance to buy a physical copy of Jumpship Hope and get it signed. There will also be food, drink, a short reading and even the author and her daughter performing a haunting song from the POV of a database. 

The book is Jumpship Hope by Adria Laycraft. 

Jumpship Hope
Earth is a Storm-Ravaged Wasteland.
Humanity has fled the planet, establishing bases off-world. But disaster has struck the food crops of Luna Base, leaving the orbitals starving, and Mars colony ignores their pleas for aid. 
Hot-headed pilot Janlin Kavanagh will do anything to save her friends, so when spacetop captain Stepper Jordan proposes a sketchy plan to save their people, she immediately volunteers. Anything is better than slow starvation, even a risky voyage to an alien solar system in a ship with unproven jump technology. 
The mission faces unexpected dangers, and the mettle of Janlin and her crew is tested, against each other and the strange, new species they encounter. Can Janlin overcome mistrust and betrayal to salvage the mission and restore hope to her friends and herself?

Inktober Supplies

 As Inktober gets closer, just like Nanowrimo, I start to get a bit antsy to get started. Despite my patience, I've never really liked waiting for anything. I prepare for conventions and concerts by immersing myself in the culture of the event, whether it be music, anime, writing or whatever else. I tend to give my husband his gifts for his birthday as I get them, early or not, and I don't even wait for Christmas to give gifts to everyone (okay, that's just a family thing since we kids grew up, but still). 

Today, I want to talk supplies and workspace. This is a picture of all of my supplies as well as my desk. Honestly, my desk is tiny for doing art on, so I'm hoping to bring up a second desk for my office that's about double the size before October starts, but barring that, this will be my workspace and all the supplies (aside from paper and pencils) that I'll be using throughout the month. 

For paper, I use cold press, 140 lbs/300gsm... which for those of you who don't work with watercolour is the most common watercolour paper I've found. It's a good thick sheet that will buckle (under my water use at times), but not horribly. Its made out of paper, instead of the cotton ones which are supposed to be way better, but honestly, I've never tried. Cold press means that the paper is a little textured instead of being super smooth like hot press is supposed to be. In general, I really prefer working with textured paper over smooth; even for my sketching, I use multi-media paper rather than the more usual sketching books. 

Here's the close up of my inks. I have 24 Bombay India Inks, 4 Winsor & Newton inks, 10 cheaply made Chinese inks and another 5 no name that I received with a glass pen I picked up last year. I also have a full bottle of Higgens Ink (the cheapest bottle I could find to practice with when I first bought a glass pen) and the other is Carbon Ink, one of the blackest inks out on the market. 

Here are the Bombay India Inks I was talking about. These inks are gorgeous to use, very pigmented, and permanent when dry. They are also lightfast. For those non-art folks, you know how some posters and pictures fade and lighten as they sit on your wall? That means they weren't made with lightfast supplies. So any picture I paint with these will remain vibrant for hundreds of years, rather than only a few. If you are thinking about taking part and still want colour, I can suggest these as a great supply. They are my go-to for most of my work. That said, there are 5 brown colours and 4 of them are horrible. Most pigment a physical thing inside the ink, along with a binder. This means that you shake/mix them well before use. But those four browns start tearing apart from the binder by the time you've removed the cap from your bottle. They come out as muddy and difficult to apply. They can still be used, but I suggest never using them directly from the bottle. Put a few drops onto your pallet and mix very liberally with water, remixing the pile whenever you re-dip your brush if you wish to use these colours. 

 These are my Winsor & Newton Inks. They are not as lightfast as the Bombay inks, but I bought them because they have gold and silver in this set. Also, an extra white is always a good idea. Also, they are completely waterproof if you let them completely dry... but only if you let them completely dry... otherwise, you'll still get some lift if it gets wet again later. On the other hand, gold and silver... I stand by my choice. 

 
 These two pictures are of my Chinese no-name inks. I bought both set from Wish for pennies on the dollar in both cases. That said, I almost never use them. They're difficult to open without spilling, they aren't waterproof at all, and while they are vibrant, they also have sparkles in them. Not a lot, but enough to add a very slight glimmer to dry inks as a final top layer. Offhand, I don't suggest them... I mainly picked them up as a lark, rather than a serious purchase. That said, I do like the subtle glitter effect, so they do see some use on occasion. 

The Higgens ink was some I bought upon buying my first glass dip pen. Basically, its a super cheap ink, not waterproof, even when dry, and it is a very dark grey rather than a black. I use this one for playing around with new supplies like dip pens and my glass pens rather than for any actual art. I do not use it for any actual art... I may use it for playing around if I were to start sketching with my glass pens, but that's about it. The Carbon Ink is a glorious dark black, one of the darkest out there, and is mostly waterproof when dry. I use it when I want a black that's darker than any other black I own. Plus, it's really nice to use. A silky feel on my brush as I lay it down. 

 These supplies are the unsung heroes of my work. I use a cloth for wiping down my brush, taking excess water from the brush and occasional cleaning. I try not to use paper towel when I paint, only reaching for it if I need more precision than the cloth affords.  I have two glasses of water so one can be clean water and the other dirty. I also have a tiny vial of salt in the blue container. It makes a mottled appearance in the ink when used that I love. My brushes, for the most part, are super cheap ones from Michael's (which almost never see use nowadays), as well as a few I've picked up (usually from art boxes) along the way. The two glass pens above don't see much use honestly, I'm including them here because occasionally I'll use them for lining. They won't end up seeing much use next month, but I love showing them off. 

 This is my swatch sheet for the month. You can see how vibrant the colours are and even the differences between how the black goes down. Those browns all look splotchy and bad, which is why I use them sparingly, as mentioned above. I do love the CX-11 violet and may use that more than the others in that line since I don't have a direct equivalent with the Dr. P.H. Martin's Bombay India Ink. The black paper is some black sketchbook paper I have. It isn't watercolour and seemed to dissolve under my Bombay white, mixing with it and making it a nearly invisible grey. The Winsor & Newton fared much better and I don't know why. Both whites work wonderfully on the other inks, just not on the black paper I put there to show them off. 

 As an added bonus, here's a painting I made earlier this week with the supplies above. It turned out amazing. It was made almost solely with the Bombay India Ink and the gold and silvers of the Winsor & Newton. I love how it turned out. The ability to layer the colours and their vibrancy is what makes this picture really pop. 

And that's it. What do you think about the picture? Will you be joining me in Inktober, even if it's only with a ballpoint pen? Let me know in the comments below. 

Editing Snags

I have hit a snag in editing.

It isn't a severe issue, but it does mean that I'm going to have to do nearly 6k of re-writes. I'm about halfway done that now, but it did slow me down. I could have left the part as was and honestly, I did really like the original way it was written. Still, when one of my beta readers identified a potential problem, I looked at it closely and finally decided that they were correct. The piece wasn't wrong, per se, but it just wasn't that as emotionally connected as it could be. 

*Sigh*

I feel like I'm not meeting my goals for you guys, even though I am getting things done. I'm slow at editing, but I will get there.

Anyways though, I'm going to keep this update quick. I've got things in the backdrop that I'm working on... getting out the book, working on producing more jewellery, and getting more art ready for sale, hopefully ready for the holiday season, but otherwise just a pipe dream for now. What are your yearly goals? Do you feel like you're succeeding so far? Let me know in the comments below. 

Inktober & Nanovember

Its nearly September and I am already eagerly awaiting October and November. Not because I'm in love with pumpkin spice... in fact, I am firmly on the apple cider side of this debate. Back to my apparent love of fall though. In addition to November being my favourite writing event of the year, NaNoWriMo (more on that in another post, but its basically a month-long writing event every November) I also take part in a few other yearly events. One is MerMay, where you try to try to draw mermaids every day in May. The other is Inktober, which is what I'm talking about today! 

 

Inktober, as you can probably guess, has to do with ink and the month of October. Started up by Jake Parker a few years ago, it's mainly a month-long challenge to simplify your art tools and work on your craft. As per the rule, you are supposed to try using only ink to draw with for the month. If you're an absolute purist, Jake Parker suggests using only black to do your work. Personally, I use the full rank of colours that P.H. Martins Bombay India Ink, makes (24 in all), plus another 5 to 10 in different blacks, golds, silvers, whites and even inks that sparkle. I also use a pencil to sketch in my design and much like I would never put out something without an editor looking at it, I also prefer to have some idea of what I'm drawing before I start putting down permanent lines.

Of course, it couldn't stay in its purist form forever, which is why you'll now find all sorts of creatives re-purposing Inktober for their own needs. You really need to work on your watercolour? You can use it for the month. What about pencil crayons? Go for it. There are even a few who turn it into a writing event, writing flash fiction and short stories every day. Some even work digitally all month, drawing up incredible works on their computer.

My thoughts on different forms of art being made under the Inktober name? As you've probably guessed, I'm fine with it. Last year I followed Lyfe Illustrations on Youtube (and on Instagram) and she did some of the most gorgeous artwork I've ever seen with ink and watercolour. You do you, Boo.

I would like to mention that all of the above pictures are mine, done during last years Inktober. 

So, will you be doing Inktober with me? I'll try to add my pictures each week at the bottom of my posts, but for daily art follow me on FB and Instagram and use the hashtags #Inktober and #Inktober2019 to see everyone else's art each day.

These two of the pictures are not mine. These are two of Lyfe Illustrations Inktober pictures that I was able to get from the Kickstarter campaign.

Doing the Work

Sometimes all of the well-intentioned planning in the world can't fix a novel. That is what I'm going through with the sequel to Hunter's Gambit. Before I go any further in, I want all of you to know that I'm not saying Lord's Curse is unfixable; in fact, I think I've already got a new plan for it that will make it way better. But that doesn't stop that in all of my original writing, my first edit through and then all of the plotting and planning for this edit didn't work out. And this time I got to the end part and was annoyed that I couldn't think of how to fix the problem I was seeing. I worked on just adding a single chapter, but it felt tacked on, like a badly added box in the game Forts. 

Screencap from the game Forts. Copyright belongs to Forts... I just enjoy the game.

Finally, I had to admit that simply tacking on a chapter wasn't the answer. Instead, I looked at it and decided to take the more difficult route. The entire end needed to be changed and then a new 6,000 to 8,000 words added, with 6k being removed and perhaps moved to the beginning of book 3 instead. 

I've already gotten started on the work and I've got over 1k of the rough draft part of this new 6k already finished, so it won't take me a horribly long time to finish it. The nice part is that even if this is the path that took the most work, I am 100% sure that it is the correct route to take and that makes the writing come easier, if not easily.