Aquasynthesis...

What is Aquasynthesis?


aqua (n) - water, used in compound names, or substances in water.
synthesis (n) - The combining of elements into a unified entity.
aquasynthesis (n) - a combining of worlds within a pool of water; an anthology of short stories from Splashdown authors.


Gizile follows her mysterious teacher, Tok, as they look into the ice of an ocean pool to contemplate a series of strange and mystical visions: astonishing tales of technology and transcendence, aliens and elves, space and time, dragons and demons, prophecies and scriptures, humor and horror, the gifted and the enslaved, virtual and supernatural reality, insanity and inspiration.


No, really, what is it?


Just what is says--an anthology from Splashdown Books, which features stories by Fred Warren, Caprice Hokstad, P.A. Baines, Adam Graham, R.L. Copple, Travis Perry, Mike Lynch, Keven Newsome, Kat Heckenbach, and Ryan Grabow. Edited by Grace Bridges and narration by Walt Staples.

My contribution includes three stories:


"Between the Pages" is a story that involves my character Angel and the magic of books, sort of a prelude to Finding Angel. Can't say it really happened, can't say it didn't. But it could have.


"The Artist" was previously published in two other magazines (Mindflights and Beyond Centauri) and is a companion story to Finding Angel, a bit of back story for one of the characters who struggles to find her magic Talent.


"Dude" was originally published in Residential Aliens, and is unrelated to Finding Angel. It's the story of a scientist and a stuck-in-the-eighties Elf working together on a very special project.


Available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. 
(Note--Amazon is being squirrelly right now and only has the Kindle version up. B&N has the print version but is taking a while on the ebook. Smashwords has all ebook formats.)

Little Book of Magic

“It is my little book of magic,” the girl said to the man who sat on the other side of the wide, wooden desk. “I have put my heart and soul in it. I want to share it.”

The man pulled his glasses off and rubbed his nose. “No one wants a little book of magic, dear girl. Heart and soul or not, it won’t make money.”

She swallowed as her stomach twisted. “But it is magic. It’s meant to be shared.”

“I’m sorry. It’s not for us.” He returned to his work, and she noticed the deep stress lines in his forehead, the rumpled slouch of his suit jacket. His hands were a blur as he ran pen over paper, ignoring her.

She stood and left, her little book of magic tucked tightly inside her backpack.

The next door held a similar office, with a similar man behind a similar desk. He gave the same answer as the other, and she moved on.

The hallway grew as she walked, doors adding to doors, stretching far behind her. Each door locked with a forever click as she exited, and her heart and head sank lower with each step.

And the little book of magic weighed heavy on her back.

“Maybe I should just go home,” the girl muttered to herself. She stopped and turned around, looking down the narrow hallway. A door at the end swayed open. But darkness pulsed on the other side—a tempting darkness that promised both relief and despair.

The girl slid the backpack off her shoulder and opened it. She pulled out the little book of magic, then clutched it to her chest. The door slammed shut, and even from a distance the girl could read the words scrolled across the wood: The Land of What-If.

She sighed, and reached again for her backpack.

“Oy, little girl, what have you there?”

The lilted voice startled her and she spun, nearly dropping the book. A space suit stood before her, although she could not see who—or what—filled it.

“It-it’s a book. My book. My little book of magic,” she said, her heart sputtering back to a normal rhythm.

One arm of the space suit rose then, and the gloved hand pushed a button on the side of the helmet. The dark shield clicked and slid upward, revealing the face beneath.

The little girl gasped. The creature’s face was covered in downy feathers, with bright, round eyes. A pair of metal-framed spectacles perched on its narrow beak.

“You’re a bird!”

“A kiwi, to be precise,” the creature said, and a smile ruffled the feathered face.

Comfort flooded the little girl as she gazed at the kiwi’s warm expression. “Would you like to see it?”

The kiwi’s eyes lit up. “Oh, may I?”

She handed the little book of magic over, and it was grasped lovingly by the gloved hand. The kiwi sat against the wall then, and opened the book. The girl held her breath in anticipation as those bright eyes scanned page after page.

Finally, the kiwi looked up and closed the book. The bright eyes blinked. “Why have you not shared this little book of magic, dear girl?”

“I have no means to share it myself, and those who do will not help me.” She turned toward the hallway behind her and stared at the forever-locked doors, refusing to let loose the tears that burned the edges of her eyelids.

She heard scuffling, and then the kiwi’s voice again. “Would you come with me if I offered to help you share your little book of magic?”

The girl eased around to face the now-standing kiwi once more. “Yes,” she said, and followed the kiwi far, far from the dreary hallway.

...And for those of you who didn't quite catch that, because maybe you're not familiar with Grace Bridges from Splashdown Books...Grace is a sci-fi writing New Zealander, which makes her a "space Kiwi"...and yes, she has agreed to publish my novel, Finding Angel. The release date is scheduled for Sept. 1, 2011.

To celebrate, I'm giving away a copy of Odd Little Miracles, the short story collection by Fred Warren, published through Splashdown Books' Darkwater imprint.

Odd Little Miracles is Splashdown's most recent release, although that's not the main reason I'm giving away a copy. Fred Warren is the reason I found Splashdown. I fell in love with his short stories I'd found online and decided to buy his book, The Muse, which is, of course, published by Splashdown. I knew then that Grace had an eye for awesome fiction, and the more I got to know her, and the company, the more I wanted to earn a spot in her catalog! So, thanks, Fred, for being such an awesome writer and drawing my attention to Splashdown.

Leave a comment to enter. I'm posting this on multiple blogs, btw, so you can enter at each place: at New Authors' Fellowship, at my Finding Angel site, and right here.

A Weird, Writerly, Winterly Week

This week has been kinda weird. The days have both drifted and zipped by at the same time. I got *some* writing done, but have focused more of my writerly energy on copy-editing a manuscript for someone else.

Oh, no. Hand-slap, Kat. This is not a "manuscript." It has earned the status of full-fledged BOOK, and will be released on June 1st through Splashdown Books' new imprint Darkwater.

"What book is it?" you ask. It's called Winter, and the author is Keven Newsome, founder of New Authors' Fellowship (you know, that group blog of which I'm a member--and if you are not, you *should* be following!).

I read the manuscript--back when that's what it was, before Grace Bridges from Splashdown got her hands on it. I knew--let me repeat--I knew--she'd fall in love with it. It took all my restraint to not rave and insist she publish it--she needed to make her own decision, of course, and I wanted no accusations of trying to influence. Instead, I kept my mouth shut and simply told her I had a feeling I knew what she'd think.

I was right, of course!

I've had to keep my mouth shut about the contract, the book cover design (amazing work by Holly Heisey!)...all of it, because Keven wanted a big reveal. He had plans...including an awesome trailer. Which you can view at the end of this post.

What I want to say really quickly before that, though, is how excited I am about this. The book rocks. It is close to home for me because the main character is Goth. I was never full-fledged Goth, but I teetered on the edge for some time. I can really relate to her. And the story itself is good. Dark, suspenseful. Perfect for a premier release at Darkwater.

Also, props to the editor who is combing through Winter before me--Kristen Stieffel, who is not leaving much for me to actually edit :P. She's doing an amazing job! I'm just more brutal when it comes to "chop, chop, kill your darlings." I've had another crit partner dub me "The Hacker." What I say to that--MY writing wouldn't be what it is if I hadn't had a "hacker" of my own go after it. I chop-chop out of love, because I have full faith in Winter.

OK, the time has come. We are at the end of my post, and I leave you with the trailer for Winter, by Keven Newsome:

Links, Links, and More Links

Seems like all I ever do lately is post links on Facebook. But there's good reason--so much is happening! I decided that today I'm just going to compile a bunch of stuff here while I'm on a roll.

First, you can find the anthology FECKLESS, which contains my short "Delete," on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. This is an anthology of horror stories, some with a Christian bent, and some, just bent ;).

For a full list with links to all the anthologies that contain my short stories, visit my Amazon Author Page.

Second, there is all kinds of crazy stuff going on at Splashdown Books. If you aren't signed up for their newsletter, get over to the site and sign up. You'll discover that there are some cool new releases coming out. And Splashdown will be launching a new imprint in June: Darkwater. Check it out and see if you can brave the deep.

Third, it's all about me :). I've been messing around on Zazzle again, and updated my store. If you like beetles, and my artwork, and you'd like to combine those on cool t-shirts and other stuff, please visit my store, An Inordinate Fondness. I'll be adding new designs as I create them. Everything is customizable, so you can change the style and color of shirts, add text, whatever.

While you're there, make sure you click on my "profile" to see a self-portrait I drew. It was done on request of the editor over at Port Yonder Press, as she wants the illustrators of The Book of Sylvari: An Anthology of Elves to have self-portraits instead of photos with our bios. (Yes, that last link is for Facebook. If you're not on FB, I'm sorry. If you are, get over there and "Like" the page, please!) I've done three drawings for the anthology, and will let you know as soon as it is available for purchase.

Finally, a "missing link." Yep, I was supposed to have a short story coming out this month in Daikaijuzine. But their February issue has been delayed until March. Sigh...I understand, though. I personally know several people who run online magazines like Daikaijuzine and it is HARD WORK. These people generally do this for nothing, or next to nothing, and have full-time jobs on top of editing and producing the 'zines. So I will not gripe, but admit I'm a bit disappointed. It's a story I've been waiting a while to see in print.

So...let's end this on a happy note: I received notice that a short personal experience story of mine has made the short list for another Chicken Soup for the Soul anthology, due out in July. It's Chickens Soup for the Soul: Just for Preteens. And my story is called "Armored and Dangerous." Being on the short list there means that there is an ever so slight chance the story could get cut, but that generally doesn't happen unless there is an issue with it, such as a conflict of rights ownership, and there is nothing hindering my story so I fully expect it to make it in.

If you've made it this far, I thank you. Long post, I know. But so much news to share! Now get busy checking out those links.

Art for a Muse

We're closing in on the end of this series. Two more books to go and we've pretty well covered the Splashdown Books current catalog. As a reminder, I started this series because I personally did some artwork for books at Splashdown, including cover elements for The Duke's Handmaid and Nor Iron Bars a Cage by Caprice Hokstad, and interior art for Tales of the Dim Knight by Adam & Andrea Graham. I got to see first-hand the progress of the cover work for Alpha Redemption by P.A. Baines. I find the process fascinating, and wanted to share even those I didn't personally have a hand in, so last week I told the story of Grace Bridges' Faith Awakened cover.

TODAY, I'm turning my focus on the book that led me to Splashdown Books in the first place. The Muse, by Fred Warren. It was Fred's story "Angel Wings" at Digital Dragon Magazine that introduced me to his writing, and I immediately bought The Muse as a result. So, Fred, I owe it all to you, man.

OK--on to the cover art!

I got the details from Grace Bridges, owner and head honcho at Splashdown.

Grace wanted something striking and unique, and opted for a black background to start. Then, as she said, she "messed around" until she got a "suitably spooky glowy text," which shows up quite vividly against the black:

Here are Grace's exact words on the next step, as posted in a blog of her own, back when she was actually going through the process:

"Next I really wanted a picture of Stan, the main character. But who could it be? The answer turned out to be quite close to home, as I ended up photographing none other than my own brother when he came to town for a visit. My housemate at that time happens to own a wonderful fantasy sword, and things just came together after that. Over there you see one pic of many taken during that photo shoot. I was up on the veranda with the camera, and Andrew was down on the driveway so I could get that oblique angle. The black sheet was an aid to later pasting "Stan" onto my mostly black background."

Next is a mock-up with "Stan" in place, in front of a pair of spooky eyes Grace liked initially:

And then with a textured background:

But, ultimately, Grace decided to mess around with the glowy eyes again, enlarging it and making it into a spiral. Here's how it turned out, on the final cover:

All of this, she said, was done in consultation with Fred. And to prove she's on the up and up about that, here's Fred's impression of the process, in his own words:

"In some ways, the cover was the hardest part of the book to finish. It
had to encapsulate the story and capture its mood in an interesting,
eye-catching manner without giving too much away. That's a lot of
weight for two little pieces of paper to carry. Grace and I probably
spent about two weeks on the font selection alone.

Writing the back-cover blurb was actually fun. Grace, Connie Brzowski,
and I spent over an hour in an online chat bouncing ideas back and
forth, one sentence at a time, until we came up with something we were
all happy with. The interesting part was that Grace and I had been
working at it for a while without much success, but when we brought
Connie into the discussion, the ideas began popping like firecrackers.
One more person's input made all the difference."

Remember me going on about the teamwork aspect? I'm not the only one who believes in that!

So, there you have it. I'll admit, I didn't give a lot of thought to the cover when I first bought the book (other than, "dude, that is some hair") because I knew what was important to me was the writing on the inside. But now that I have read the book, and learned about the cover design process, I see how this all ties together. The Muse is a fun book, with vivid characters and a bit of a wild ride in parts. The cover does capture that mood. Do yourself a favor--if you haven't read any of the books I've featured so far, start where I did.

Holly Heisey Covers the Dim Knight

Today closes out the building of the cover for Tales of the Dim Knight by Adam and Andrea Graham.

We were blessed to gain the painting skills of Holly Heisey for the final cover. She is a massively talented up-and-coming artist and writer. She specializes in digital painting, but she's wicked good at pen and ink and pencil drawing, too.

Holly told me she did the entire painting in Photoshop, start to finish. The first version was without helmet or gloves:

And then with the mask, like the one I had in my original drawing:

The problem is, Powerhouse wasn't wearing his helmet in the drawing I did because I was going for comical. If you look, you'll see I drew it so it appears that his helmet has fallen off and he's trying to reach down and grab it mid-flight:

But we LOVE Holly's rocking painting, so it's decided to go with that and just put his helmet and gloves on:

The final touch is adding the text. If you scroll up, you'll see there is text in the earlier drawings, but Grace Bridges (owner of Splashdown Books, if you haven't caught that yet) is a stickler about having the perfect text with her cover designs.

I got to be a part of that process, since Grace sent me images with the text in place asking for critique. The slightest adjustment can sometimes transform the text from "meh" to "just right!"

Again, here's the final cover:

See what teamwork can do? And of course the amazing talent of Holly Heisey. PLEASE visit her at her blog and check out more of her awesome artwork here.

Thank you, Holly! You rock! :D

Return to the Dim Knight

I keep my promises. We ARE back to our regularly scheduled art series today.

Since we took a little break, let me list the recap here of my previous posts:

Post #1: The Other Side of Me

Post #2: The Beginnings of Kat the Artist

Post #3: The In-Between

Post #4: Back to the Drawing Board

Post #5: An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles

Post #6: From Cover to Cover

And, that brings us back here. The second cover drawing for Tales of the Dim Knight by Adam and Andrea Graham.

Remember, we put together the drawing of Dave the mild-mannered janitor as he fought a battalion of mops, but it wasn't quite right for the cover. The authors, Adam and Andrea, really wanted to see Dave on the cover in full superhero garb--his "Powerhouse" costume, which they described in the book as a cross between Buzz Lightyear...

...and a Power Ranger.

Which meant me putting on my designer hat. I have never really designed a superhero suit! Maybe as a kid, but it was probably something Wonder Woman would have worn, and, um, I doubt Dave would have been too keen on that ;).

So, I began sketching:

Really rough. Body's out of proportion. Hair is bi-ig. No one is too happy with the fact that his helmet is off. I explain, however, that I can't figure out another way to make him comical. I tried. None of THOSE sketches went anywhere but the trashcan, though. The issue was that with his helmet on, I felt focused on the costume, which meant trying to make it look "cool." His suit isn't supposed to be stupid looking, but this IS a SPOOF. Everyone sees my line of reasoning, so they let me continue in this direction.

*NOTE*

Here's an important point. Publishers don't slap cover images on at the last minute. It takes TIME. If you are a first-time writer, you have probably looked at the Writer's Market (that ginormous book that lists publishers and agents and all the known information about them) and seen that the publishers section lists the time it takes from acceptance to publication for many of them. You may have thought, "It takes THAT long???" Well, yeah. Editing, cover design, layout, tweaking. Publishing a book takes a lot of work.

It is VASTLY important to lay out enough time for these things. Grace came to me for this artwork while there was TIME to get it done, so we had wiggle room. I got to play with my ideas, while Grace, Adam and Andrea thought about what I was doing, came up with suggestions, and we worked together. Remember, though, this is SMALL PRESS. Big presses work very differently--in a big press the author may never even see the cover until it's on the final product. Or they might--but no guarantees.

*END NOTE*

So, I tweak the design--stretching the legs to the right length, taming the hair, designing a cool helmet (Andrea did call my helmet "awesome!").

Much cleaner, eh? This seems to be going the right direction for everyone now, and Grace does a mock-up cover that ends up being used the the sample chapters (which were available before the official book release).

But we were in for a surprise. Remember, there was still time before the release, and while this was fine for the sample book, and everyone was happy with my drawings, we ended up with the opportunity to utilize the artistic talents of someone else....someone with painting skills that added a new dimension to this cover.

Way different! But really, what this book needed. Rest assured, my drawings were used. As interior art--black and white, line drawings. And, of course, as a guide for the new cover artist in designing her version of Powerhouse's costume.

I'll give the full skinny on where the new cover image came from next time. It was a wonderful surprise--and in case you're worrying, no, I was not upset at being bumped from the cover. Teamwork is important, and I truly love the new cover art. My drawings work better, IMHO, as interior illustration anyway.

So, be prepared next time to meet the lovely and talented Holly Heisey....

An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles

Ah, yes, I know it's New Year's Day. The world is filled with blog posts about resolutions and fresh starts and all that. As worthy as they are, my nonconformist nature won't let me post one of those. Not today--maybe on another day that has nothing to do with New Year's.

Nope, today it's all about beetles.

Oh, but wait--I said I'd be posting this time about my artwork. Well, yes, that's quite what I meant.

Remember that key on the cover of Caprice Hokstad's book, The Duke's Handmaid?

Part of my agreement with Grace from Splashdown Books was that I could retain partial rights to my drawing. In other words, in its singular form I would not resell it to anyone else, but I'm allowed to use it in my own artwork. So, I let the drawing sit for a while as I waited for inspiration.

That's where beetles come in. I love them. They are amazing examples of God's creativeness and love for variety. I have this book called An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles:

The prologue begins with:

Asked what could be inferred about the work of the Creator from a study of His works, the British scientist J.B.S. Haldane is reported to have replied, "an inordinate fondness for beetles."

To make a long story short, key becomes beetle.

And what goes with a key? A lock. Then take that lock-beetle and submit it to Digital Dragon Magazine....

And we've made the rounds back to published drawing! All because of my inordinate fondness for beetles.

Next time, more detail on the process of doing cover and interior art for books.

Back to the Drawing Board

Well, after interviewing Karina Fabian here last week, and now that Christmas is over, I'm getting back to the series of posts about my artwork.

You've seen examples of the art work I did in high school, and then some of the stuff I've done since picking up my charcoal pencils after years of not drawing. I started drawing again only for the love of it, with no intentions of trying for anything professional. But that's not how things would turn out.

Grace Bridges of Splashdown Books put out a call for artists to the members of the Lost Genre Guild (an organization for Christians who write speculative fiction). She needed an illustration to be used as an element on a book cover. At first I didn't answer the call-out, thinking the drawing would surely need too be in color. But after speaking with Grace about it, she told me to give it a try and that black and white would most likely be just fine. So I drew the key according the author's description and sent the scanned image to Grace.

Before long I got an email from Grace telling me that she wanted to use the drawing and offering payment. My first professional sale! The drawing can now be found on the cover of The Duke's Handmaid by Caprice Hokstad:

Grace had already gotten the rest of the cover layout done. The dual-sun image is one that she took herself of a sunset and photoshopped to create the two suns referenced in the book. The key was the last element to be added. I personally think the black and white works better than color would have, as a color key would have made the cover too busy, and would not pop out the way it does now against the brilliant sunset.

Of course, Splashdown being a small press, the author's input was strongly considered. From what I've heard, larger publishers give authors very little input when it comes to their cover designs; but small presses work more closely with authors on such things. Caprice gave the overall design and the key itself her seal of approval, and the book was nearly ready to hit the presses.

As a bonus, Grace added the key as interior art, in the upper corners of the pages of each chapter beginning, and also an even smaller version at scene breaks:

How cool is that?

Inside scoop:

The agreement between Grace and I is that I would not resell the image of the key to anyone else. I had no problem with that, of course. I consider it the property of Splashdown Books and Caprice. However, Grace did allow me the freedom to use the key for my own artwork, provided it was infused into a more elaborate piece. I sat on the key image for weeks before being hit with inspiration.

Ah, but I will save that for next time....

The Other Side of Me

I realized I've spent a huge amount of time on this blog talking about my writing. Well, that was, of course, the original intent for this puppy.

But I'm not JUST a writer.

You know this, I'm sure, as you've seen me slip in here and there about my artwork. But it's been sorely neglected, really, considering that was my first and only love for many, many years.

When I was a kid, you'd catch me drawing any time a pencil or pen and paper was within reach. Actually, anything I could draw on without getting in trouble was fair game. My jeans and sneakers were always covered in doodles.

Everyone expected me to "be an artist" when I grew up. I had no idea what that meant, though, and my passion ended up fizzling out after I graduated high school. Oddly, though, it came back when I start writing.

This is the first thing I drew after probably 15 years of not drawing:

My sweet, sweet old boxer, Rocky :).

The really cool thing is that my connections to other writers opened a door for my art. Grace Bridges from Splashdown Books posted a call-out for artists on a writers forum. I answered the call-out, and my drawing of a key ended up on the cover of Caprice Hokstad's "The Duke's Handmaid."

This was a double honor, because Caprice's writing is top-notch!

Sooooo.....what I've decided is to do some blogging here over the next few weeks about my artwork. Get a little more specific, and give you an insider's look at doing work for publishers.

In the meantime, check out Caprice's book. You can find it on Amazon in both print and Kindle edition (the Kindle version is only $4.99!). Also, at Barnes and Noble in print and NOOKbook. (Again, the Nookbook is only $4.99!) If you need it in a different ebook format, you can find that on Smashwords.

Character-driven Cyberpunk

I'll admit I've never been a big sci-fi reader. Sci-fi movie watcher, yes, but I tend to get lost in technical descriptions and battle scenes. But I've recently discovered that the problem is my definition of sci-fi. I've been lumping everything together with hard sci-fi. There are a plethora of sub-genres, though, including the one Grace Bridges' Legendary Space Pilgrims falls under: cyberpunk.

For those of you who don't know what cyberpunk is, Wikipedia says that its focus is "high tech and low life"--"advanced science...coupled with a degree of breakdown or radical change in the social order."

That's Legendary Space Pilgrims for sure. Planet Monday is "high-tech" but uses "low life" ideas such as slavery and government control of emotions. The social order is definitely topsy-turvy, as people are forced to labor day in and day out, and any upswing in emotion sends them off to be mindwiped.

However, one slave--Mario--is visited by a Voice that speaks of hope and escape from the oppressive Planet Monday. He convinces Caitlin, a fellow slave and the woman he loves, to join him. After their escape, they experience the real story--their own personal journeys to emotional freedom.

This is my second trip into the mind of Grace Bridges. I read Faith Awakened a few months ago, which has more of a literary feel. But Grace stays true to her strengths in Legendary Space Pilgrims, offering a well-paced, character-driven story that will get you thinking about your own journey with God.

Visit Splashdown Books for more info and to purchase Grace's books.

Playing Around With Book Covers

If you've been following me, you know I'm an artist as well as a writer. I'd never given much thought to doing book covers, though, because my favored medium for art is charcoal. I like pencil drawing as well. But neither of those involves color, and we all like color on our book covers.

So, several months ago when the owner of Splashdown Books put out a call for artists because she needed an illustration of a key for a book cover, I passed it by. But, several days later, I needed to email her about something else entirely and mentioned that I'd given thought to trying the key but that I only do black and white drawings. She surprised me by writing back that B&W would be fine.

I drew the key.

She bought the drawing. And it's now an integral part of a book Splashdown will be releasing on July 1st--The Duke's Handmaid, by Caprice Hokstad.



A few weeks later, I got another email, regarding another cover for a Splashdown title. This time, a graphic novel type drawing for a superhero spoof. No worries about color again because she only needed the outline drawing and would be colorizing it with her photo editing program. So, September first, look for my drawing of Dave, aka Powerhouse, on the cover of Tales of the Dim Knight by Adam and Andrea Graham. I don't have an official cover image to show you yet, as the publisher is still finishing the details.

All of this got me to thinking about my own book, and the cover art I'd like to see on it. I've not landed a publishing contract quite yet--although interest has been expressed--that's all I can say right now--but if I go with a small press I'll have real say in the cover art. Maybe not complete control, but definitely input. And as an artist myself, I thought it'd be cool to try something that could potentially land MY drawing on MY cover.

Here's the first result:



The locket and link it's hanging on are all drawn by me. The upside-down beetle is my original design. I blacked out the background of the scanned image, and uploaded it into a program that is actually designed for making greeting cards and some other things, but it's got features I don't have in my other photo editing software.

What do you think? Be honest!

I'm going to work on more mock-ups. I'm not sure this one conveys the right "feel" for Finding Angel. But it's been fun playing around.

Coming up for air...

I'm taking a moment to breathe today. It feels as though I've been submerged. I decided to get back into the sequel for Finding Angel this week. I'd put it aside for a while in order to write some short stories and start a completely unrelated novel. But Seeking Unseen started calling again, and I answered. Got about 2500 words done, which is pushing me very close to 60,000 so far.

I've also just finished up a drawing for a superhero novel that will be released by Splashdown Books later this year. I can't give out any details quite yet, but as soon as I have the OK, I'll post the cover here. This is my second cover project for Splashdown. It's been loads of fun!

Hmmm...what else?

Poetry! Yep, I've got a poem accepted by a new magazine. A Flame in the Dark is the soon-to-launch sister zine to Digital Dragon. My poem "Serpent Uncoiled" will be featured in their premier issue on June 2nd!

I guess that's it for now. Other things are bubbling under the surface, but I can't post anything yet.