Last one for now, although I have written some more scripts, I just need to find time (and the proper mood) to draw them!
Showing posts with label between the sea and sky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label between the sea and sky. Show all posts
Friday, November 11, 2011
Between the Sea and Sky Prequel Comic #6
Last one for now, although I have written some more scripts, I just need to find time (and the proper mood) to draw them!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Between the Sea and Sky Prequel Comic #5
You need to read them in order for the full effect, so if you're just joining me, scroll down. And if you've read the book, the snotty mergirl here is Lalia Tembel.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Between the Sea and Sky Prequel Comic #2
Scroll down to see yesterday's entry, if you missed it! And as always, click to enlarge.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Between the Sea and Sky Comic #1
Ever wanted to see a little more of Esmerine and Alan's childhood? Well, I drew a series of comic strips about it, and here's the first one. This one is the worst, because I started out with a fine tipped pen and I didn't like the first panel at all. If I were truly an artist, I would have redrawn it. But I'm lazy. So I didn't. It gets better from here.
As always, click to enlarge.
As always, click to enlarge.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Winged people!
Between the Sea and Sky has been getting a fair bit of attention from mermaid lovers in the YA community, which is AWESOME, I love mermaids and always have. My sister's 6th (I believe?) birthday party was mermaid themed and my mom made us a mermaid costume which I wore at the party and refused to take off even though you couldn't walk in it.
However, I feel a little bad for Alan and the winged folk in the book, because they just don't get the attention. There are very few books about winged people in general. I'm not talking about angels, just regular down-to-earth, if you will, people who have wings. Surely I'm not the only person who dreams of flying?
At first I thought it was because, scientifically, winged people just aren't very possible. But then...um, mermaids? Yeah, they're no better and there are lots of mermaid books, especially this year. But there are a fair amount of mermaid myths. Maybe it's the combination of implausibility combined with relatively few myths that keep winged people off my shelf. =(
I'll admit, my interest in winged people was sparked in childhood when I was heartily obsessed with the Elfquest comics. There is a tribe of levitating mountain-dwelling elves in the story, who can fly for a short time but also ride giant birds for longer distances. One elf, Tyldak, really wanted to fly with his own wings so he got Winnowill, the villainous shape-shifter, to painfully shape his arms into wings. He wasn't the hottest looking elf around after that (for one thing, he couldn't really wear clothes around his bat-esque body so was reduced to wearing a little V-shaped fur thing--IN THE SNOW--why was he not freezing??) but he was still one of my favorite characters, especially since he was sort of an anti-hero which is always fun.
I was always eager to rip-off Elfquest around age 12, so I made a bat-winged race who also lived in a mountain. They could wear normal clothes for some reason. I didn't really explain. But the door was open for winged people of all kinds. Feathery wings, bat wings, winged sea fairies with green "fin wings", wings instead of arms, wings plus arms--lots of wings. Although for some reason, I kept sticking my winged people in cold mountains and fairly primitive societies, and the only winged character I really loved actually had crippled wings which he had amputated so he could live a human life. So despite my love of wings, it never quite clicked.
Another story I loved as a kid was Gwinna, by Barbara Helen Berger, which was sort of in the "meaty picture book" format. Gwinna started to grow wings from her back so her foster mother tried to bind her chest to stop them, but of course that doesn't work, and of course she learns to fly and...I don't know, stuff happens and the pictures are pretty. I guess I should reread it. But my young angst-loving self was mesmerized by the attempt to suppress her growing wings and the lovely pictures of a flying girl.
Of course, if there is one thing possibly more mesmerizing than a flying hot guy (er...I mean, person) it is a flying cat! I also loved the Catwings books by Ursula K. LeGuin as a kid. I mean, they are SO cute! I could DIE of how cute they are! I wish someone would make merchandise of this! I want a BAG and a THERMOS!
I actually didn't originally intend for Between the Sea and Sky to be about winged people at all. I always felt like poor mermen always got shafted in stories so I firmly intended to make the love interest a merman. But...oh, well. Shafted again. I had a minor character who was a semi ill-tempered winged man who was Esmerine's boss, and one day I was drawing him and I realized This is the man for her. Unlike the cold weather tribal winged folk of my childhood stories, I based the winged people in Between the Sea and Sky more on the astrological element of air--they're intellectuals and scholars, and they mostly stick to warmer climates. Physically, I tried to make them semi-scientific so they have "bat" wings rather than arms. They still need some magic to fly, but, well, less. And I tried to make them attractive! Bat-winged boys might be a little too weird for some readers, but on the other hand, if you've always WANTED a bat-winged boyfriend, well, right now I pretty much have the monopoly on that market... ;)
I do need to scan some better pictures of Alan!
However, I feel a little bad for Alan and the winged folk in the book, because they just don't get the attention. There are very few books about winged people in general. I'm not talking about angels, just regular down-to-earth, if you will, people who have wings. Surely I'm not the only person who dreams of flying?
At first I thought it was because, scientifically, winged people just aren't very possible. But then...um, mermaids? Yeah, they're no better and there are lots of mermaid books, especially this year. But there are a fair amount of mermaid myths. Maybe it's the combination of implausibility combined with relatively few myths that keep winged people off my shelf. =(
I'll admit, my interest in winged people was sparked in childhood when I was heartily obsessed with the Elfquest comics. There is a tribe of levitating mountain-dwelling elves in the story, who can fly for a short time but also ride giant birds for longer distances. One elf, Tyldak, really wanted to fly with his own wings so he got Winnowill, the villainous shape-shifter, to painfully shape his arms into wings. He wasn't the hottest looking elf around after that (for one thing, he couldn't really wear clothes around his bat-esque body so was reduced to wearing a little V-shaped fur thing--IN THE SNOW--why was he not freezing??) but he was still one of my favorite characters, especially since he was sort of an anti-hero which is always fun.
I was always eager to rip-off Elfquest around age 12, so I made a bat-winged race who also lived in a mountain. They could wear normal clothes for some reason. I didn't really explain. But the door was open for winged people of all kinds. Feathery wings, bat wings, winged sea fairies with green "fin wings", wings instead of arms, wings plus arms--lots of wings. Although for some reason, I kept sticking my winged people in cold mountains and fairly primitive societies, and the only winged character I really loved actually had crippled wings which he had amputated so he could live a human life. So despite my love of wings, it never quite clicked.
Another story I loved as a kid was Gwinna, by Barbara Helen Berger, which was sort of in the "meaty picture book" format. Gwinna started to grow wings from her back so her foster mother tried to bind her chest to stop them, but of course that doesn't work, and of course she learns to fly and...I don't know, stuff happens and the pictures are pretty. I guess I should reread it. But my young angst-loving self was mesmerized by the attempt to suppress her growing wings and the lovely pictures of a flying girl.
Of course, if there is one thing possibly more mesmerizing than a flying hot guy (er...I mean, person) it is a flying cat! I also loved the Catwings books by Ursula K. LeGuin as a kid. I mean, they are SO cute! I could DIE of how cute they are! I wish someone would make merchandise of this! I want a BAG and a THERMOS!
I actually didn't originally intend for Between the Sea and Sky to be about winged people at all. I always felt like poor mermen always got shafted in stories so I firmly intended to make the love interest a merman. But...oh, well. Shafted again. I had a minor character who was a semi ill-tempered winged man who was Esmerine's boss, and one day I was drawing him and I realized This is the man for her. Unlike the cold weather tribal winged folk of my childhood stories, I based the winged people in Between the Sea and Sky more on the astrological element of air--they're intellectuals and scholars, and they mostly stick to warmer climates. Physically, I tried to make them semi-scientific so they have "bat" wings rather than arms. They still need some magic to fly, but, well, less. And I tried to make them attractive! Bat-winged boys might be a little too weird for some readers, but on the other hand, if you've always WANTED a bat-winged boyfriend, well, right now I pretty much have the monopoly on that market... ;)
I do need to scan some better pictures of Alan!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
M is for May and Magic Under Glass Contest!!
It's MAAAAAYYY!
News flash: I just got in my Between the Sea and Sky ARCs. And there are enough to go around! So I'm revising this contest and giving away two ARCs! And I'm extending the deadline until June 7th, the original Between the Sea and Sky release date, so you have a little more time. Sorry about the rule tweaks, I don't usually do that, but it's an EXCITING rule tweak.
That means the Magic Under Glass paperback will be available in three weeks! And I just got my first official paperback in the mail. It is pretty! It has a Between the Sea and Sky teaser inside!
So, I want to have a contest for FANS of Magic Under Glass. All of you guys who have read the book and talked about it have my gratitude. But what can I give you? I can't just hand out paperback copies because obviously you've already read it. But I can give out an extra-special copy. So, the grand prize winner of this contest gets:
--A paperback copy of Magic Under Glass laden with sketches of all the characters and handwritten notes about the writing and research and maybe a couple of hints about what happens in Magic Under Stone!
--AND, an ARC of Between the Sea and Sky!
There will also be a runner-up prize of a signed UK copy of Magic Under Glass with a sketch of Erris and Nimira in the front AND, an ARC of Between the Sea and Sky.
How do you enter?
Well, there are two ways. Write a review of Magic Under Glass and post it your blog that mentions the paperback is coming out May 24th (if you don't have a blog, I'll also accept Goodreads or Amazon, in which case you don't have to mention the release date), OR if you have already written a review, make a post that mentions the paperback release and links back to your old review.
OR if you aren't the reviewing sort, you can create any kind of show of love for Magic Under Glass: fan art, fan fic, animation, movie, collage, doll, performance art, Erris-trapped-in-clockwork mime on a street corner, WHATEVER.
Post here and link to what you did. I will select my favorite 20% of these reviews or fan creations and randomly draw the grand prize from among them. I will randomly draw the runner up prize from ALL entries.
Other details:
1. Contest ends June 7th.
2. International entries are welcome! However, it is really expensive to ship overseas and I am kinda poor, so international winners will have to choose between having the first prize shipped now, or both prizes shipped around the release of Between the Sea and Sky.
3. Can you enter with a less-than-positive review? Yes. I don't want people to start freaking out about their reviews having critical comments. Thoughtful reviews are always appreciated even if they are mixed.
4. Can you enter more than once with say, a review and fan art or whatever? Well, sure! That would be awesome. You are welcome to enter up to three times with a review and/or different fan works, and I'd be surprised if anyone wanted to enter more than that anyway...
News flash: I just got in my Between the Sea and Sky ARCs. And there are enough to go around! So I'm revising this contest and giving away two ARCs! And I'm extending the deadline until June 7th, the original Between the Sea and Sky release date, so you have a little more time. Sorry about the rule tweaks, I don't usually do that, but it's an EXCITING rule tweak.
That means the Magic Under Glass paperback will be available in three weeks! And I just got my first official paperback in the mail. It is pretty! It has a Between the Sea and Sky teaser inside!
So, I want to have a contest for FANS of Magic Under Glass. All of you guys who have read the book and talked about it have my gratitude. But what can I give you? I can't just hand out paperback copies because obviously you've already read it. But I can give out an extra-special copy. So, the grand prize winner of this contest gets:
--A paperback copy of Magic Under Glass laden with sketches of all the characters and handwritten notes about the writing and research and maybe a couple of hints about what happens in Magic Under Stone!
--AND, an ARC of Between the Sea and Sky!
There will also be a runner-up prize of a signed UK copy of Magic Under Glass with a sketch of Erris and Nimira in the front AND, an ARC of Between the Sea and Sky.
How do you enter?
Well, there are two ways. Write a review of Magic Under Glass and post it your blog that mentions the paperback is coming out May 24th (if you don't have a blog, I'll also accept Goodreads or Amazon, in which case you don't have to mention the release date), OR if you have already written a review, make a post that mentions the paperback release and links back to your old review.
OR if you aren't the reviewing sort, you can create any kind of show of love for Magic Under Glass: fan art, fan fic, animation, movie, collage, doll, performance art, Erris-trapped-in-clockwork mime on a street corner, WHATEVER.
Post here and link to what you did. I will select my favorite 20% of these reviews or fan creations and randomly draw the grand prize from among them. I will randomly draw the runner up prize from ALL entries.
Other details:
1. Contest ends June 7th.
2. International entries are welcome! However, it is really expensive to ship overseas and I am kinda poor, so international winners will have to choose between having the first prize shipped now, or both prizes shipped around the release of Between the Sea and Sky.
3. Can you enter with a less-than-positive review? Yes. I don't want people to start freaking out about their reviews having critical comments. Thoughtful reviews are always appreciated even if they are mixed.
4. Can you enter more than once with say, a review and fan art or whatever? Well, sure! That would be awesome. You are welcome to enter up to three times with a review and/or different fan works, and I'd be surprised if anyone wanted to enter more than that anyway...
Monday, November 1, 2010
Between the Sea and Sky cover!
The cover of my next book is live!
I got to see this cover back in May and I've had to wait all this time to share it with anyone. *writhes*
I LOVED writing this book so much. As I've described before, I envisioned like Jane Austen meets Miyazaki movie (and had soundtracks to both in heavy rotation while writing it). It's about a mermaid named Esmerine who runs into her old childhood friend winged dude Alan, while looking for her sister Dosinia who ran away with a human man. There is flying, and humor, and a brassy old woman, and a bookstore, and lots of love to literature (of the 18th century variety, at least), and kissing in a vineyard, and relationships between sisters, and Alan is somewhat of an intellectual snot, which I always enjoy, personally. Not so much of an intellectual snot that I wouldn't date him. You know.
It's set in the same world as Magic Under Glass but instead of being Victorian England/America-ish, it's based on Italy around 1800. (And man, I did way too much research on actual Italy for it being a made up Italy...)
So I'll have a wee contest for it. Add it to Goodreads (or if you've already added it, obviously, you're in, although I'd appreciate it if you could click the link and "change to this edition") for 1 entry:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9583173-between-the-sea-and-sky
Posting the cover on your blog will get you 5 entries.
You must comment back here with a link. Contest ends 11/14 midnight EST because I'm going on vacation.
Winner can choose three books from my stash of "already-read" books that I've either bought or picked up at ALA/BEA (I have very limited space to keep fiction so I cycle through them quickly!)...there are about thirty books to choose from, such as: The Eternal Ones, Plain Kate, Before I Fall, Hunger, Silver Phoenix, The Half-Life of Planets, Extraordinary... Lots more. I'll try to read some more before the contest ends too. Or you can opt for a signed UK copy of Magic Under Glass for one of your selections.
International entries allowed but you only get to choose one book cause I can't afford to ship too many overseas.
I got to see this cover back in May and I've had to wait all this time to share it with anyone. *writhes*
I LOVED writing this book so much. As I've described before, I envisioned like Jane Austen meets Miyazaki movie (and had soundtracks to both in heavy rotation while writing it). It's about a mermaid named Esmerine who runs into her old childhood friend winged dude Alan, while looking for her sister Dosinia who ran away with a human man. There is flying, and humor, and a brassy old woman, and a bookstore, and lots of love to literature (of the 18th century variety, at least), and kissing in a vineyard, and relationships between sisters, and Alan is somewhat of an intellectual snot, which I always enjoy, personally. Not so much of an intellectual snot that I wouldn't date him. You know.
It's set in the same world as Magic Under Glass but instead of being Victorian England/America-ish, it's based on Italy around 1800. (And man, I did way too much research on actual Italy for it being a made up Italy...
So I'll have a wee contest for it. Add it to Goodreads (or if you've already added it, obviously, you're in, although I'd appreciate it if you could click the link and "change to this edition") for 1 entry:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9583173-between-the-sea-and-sky
Posting the cover on your blog will get you 5 entries.
You must comment back here with a link. Contest ends 11/14 midnight EST because I'm going on vacation.
Winner can choose three books from my stash of "already-read" books that I've either bought or picked up at ALA/BEA (I have very limited space to keep fiction so I cycle through them quickly!)...there are about thirty books to choose from, such as: The Eternal Ones, Plain Kate, Before I Fall, Hunger, Silver Phoenix, The Half-Life of Planets, Extraordinary... Lots more. I'll try to read some more before the contest ends too. Or you can opt for a signed UK copy of Magic Under Glass for one of your selections.
International entries allowed but you only get to choose one book cause I can't afford to ship too many overseas.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
My upcoming projects
This has been a busy summer, as far as writing goes. Which is good! I realized I have not properly updated this blog on Between the Sea and Sky, so I thought I'd do a general Update of Projects.
Between the Sea and Sky is my next book! I feel a little bad for it sometimes because of course everyone wants Magic Under Stone. All in good time! I hope you'll love Between the Sea and Sky anyway. It's a love story, much moreso than Magic Under Glass. A love story between smart people with shared interests and mutual respect. Who also happen to be a mermaid and a winged guy. So if you like that kind of story, hopefully you will enjoy this.
I've been wanting to write about a mermaid since I was a wee thing who loved the movie Splash, and a winged guy almost as long. I first attempted the mermaid/winged guy pair up in a big messy novel I tried writing in my early twenties, against a backdrop of war and a zillion things going on. In Magic Under Glass, mermaids and winged folk are briefly alluded to, so in this book I had a chance to flesh out their culture.
I hope Alan doesn't feel too bad, being a skinny lightweight bat dude among all these winged angel/demon hunks that are coming out. ;)
Anyway, Between the Sea and Sky will be released in April or May 2011.
Then there is my story for Corsets and Clockwork, an anthology which should also be a Spring 2011 release. (I am SO EXCITED for Spring 2011.) I wrote half a story and then found out it needed to be more steampunk-y, so I'm back to the start again, with a story I am currently calling The Airship Gemini. If you're curious what it's about, here's a clue...I've been reading about Violet and Daisy Hilton for research... The Airship Gemini = conjoined twins + magic + love!
Finally, Magic Under Stone is coming right along. It will be released presumably in 2012. If Magic Under Glass was all whirlwind starcrossed lovers, Magic Under Glass is about the emotional repercussions. It's too early to tell exactly what will happen because I might change things and then my editor will suggest other changes, but I do think everyone who felt the villains in Magic Under Glass were underdeveloped and the romance too rushed will be pleased. Unless you just don't really like my writing, in which case, you will not be pleased. ^_~
Between the Sea and Sky is my next book! I feel a little bad for it sometimes because of course everyone wants Magic Under Stone. All in good time! I hope you'll love Between the Sea and Sky anyway. It's a love story, much moreso than Magic Under Glass. A love story between smart people with shared interests and mutual respect. Who also happen to be a mermaid and a winged guy. So if you like that kind of story, hopefully you will enjoy this.
I've been wanting to write about a mermaid since I was a wee thing who loved the movie Splash, and a winged guy almost as long. I first attempted the mermaid/winged guy pair up in a big messy novel I tried writing in my early twenties, against a backdrop of war and a zillion things going on. In Magic Under Glass, mermaids and winged folk are briefly alluded to, so in this book I had a chance to flesh out their culture.
I hope Alan doesn't feel too bad, being a skinny lightweight bat dude among all these winged angel/demon hunks that are coming out. ;)
Anyway, Between the Sea and Sky will be released in April or May 2011.
Then there is my story for Corsets and Clockwork, an anthology which should also be a Spring 2011 release. (I am SO EXCITED for Spring 2011.) I wrote half a story and then found out it needed to be more steampunk-y, so I'm back to the start again, with a story I am currently calling The Airship Gemini. If you're curious what it's about, here's a clue...I've been reading about Violet and Daisy Hilton for research... The Airship Gemini = conjoined twins + magic + love!
Finally, Magic Under Stone is coming right along. It will be released presumably in 2012. If Magic Under Glass was all whirlwind starcrossed lovers, Magic Under Glass is about the emotional repercussions. It's too early to tell exactly what will happen because I might change things and then my editor will suggest other changes, but I do think everyone who felt the villains in Magic Under Glass were underdeveloped and the romance too rushed will be pleased. Unless you just don't really like my writing, in which case, you will not be pleased. ^_~
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)