Tag: art

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Hêalic: The Blood Witch Saga Book 3

Yesterday I turned in my final edits on book three of the Blood Witch Saga. I think it’s my favorite of the series. What’s not to love about a gender-bent Victorian society, a Jack-The-Ripper style serial killer and magic?

Thána, Xen, and Daria find themselves in a world where witches are killed by hanging, and both a virulent plague and a serial killer eerily similar to Jack The Ripper are hunting the populace.

They have no idea how to get back to Meerat, let alone Spítia. Complicating matters, Thána is suffering withdrawal from the xýpna powder and her powers are depleted, leaving her vulnerable. And if that’s not enough, Katyk has come through the first portal with them, but not the second, and Thána feels like she’s being hunted.

After the serial killer takes an interest in Thána, every move she makes might be her last. Can she find their way back to the portal before she ends up dead?

Hêalic: The Blood Witch Saga Book 3

I’ll be introducing you to some of the new characters this coming week, though mostly background players. Cover reveal will happen on my Instagram and Facebook on Wednesday.

I was playing with https://creator.nightcafe.studio/ this morning and the image above is the result. Thána, Daria and Xen…or some version thereof.

I also got some writing done on book 4 this weekend. It’s a bit choppy, but it’s coming along.

We’re back to Monday and the day job awaits. Tis the season of kindness, Readers. By kind to yourself too.

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the art of the heart

How does one sum up a weekend like this one? Every time I try, my mind fills with a kaleidoscope of images that cover a spectrum of beautiful faces, bright colors, book covers, poetry and prose, rainbow hair and amazing costumes.

It seems strange to me that I haven’t always known these people, that it has only been 5 years since my first Sirens conference.

Every year I am able to come to Sirens, I learn new things and I meet new friends. Inspiration abounds, whether it comes in the form of one of the panels / papers, or in a conversation with friends, or one of the Guest of Honor speeches.

So many artists, with so many kinds of arts! Not just writers…we have people who paint and draw and crochet and knit and cross stitch (and other fiber arts). This is most evident on Saturday night at the Sirens Ball, where participants are encouraged to dress for the theme, and the silent auction tables are filled with amazing prints, jewelry, wood working, clothing, scarves and more.

I have a good amount of imposter syndrome when I walk in (and at other times), but it usually melts with the first hug from a fellow author who’s work I adore. This year I forced myself out of my agoraphobic paralysis and actually had conversations with our Guests of Honor (and they were all lovely).

There is beauty in a place that not only accepts you for who you are, but embraces you for it, where you are free to be entirely and unapologetically yourself. Where your beauty is not defined by the size of your body or the shape of your face…where we paint the landscape around us with the art of our hearts and revel in our resistance to the mundane.

But all good things must end, and I have already dropped folks at the airport, checked out of the hotel and am waiting for it to be time to drop my luggage. Then, I will find a place where I can plug in my charger and do some writing/editing.

Tomorrow we go back to the daily grind, and the beautiful land we created from our imaginations will fade slowly back into just a memory that we can pull out when we need to be reminded that we are wonder and joy and fierce.

Until next year, Sirens…I will keep you in my heart until we meet again.

Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash

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Today’s the day!  It’s Star Wars day!  I have a ticket to see The Rise of Skywalker at 5pm tonight.  I am super excited, and also fairly anxious.  I mean, this story has been a part of my life since I was 9 years old.  It has helped to shape who I am as a story teller, as a writer.  It has helped shape me, how I look at the world around me, how I stand up for what I believe in, how I resist and rebel.

It will also be the final movie to have Carrie Fisher in it.  I’m excited to see what they have done with the footage they were able to piece together, but I know that I’m going to be a weepy, crying mess of a geek right from the start.  In fact, I tear up just thinking about it.

In other Star Wars news, there is a very talented lady in the Phillipines who creates portraits from a picture you provide, but she makes you into a Star Wars character.  I asked her to draw me as General Organa, as we first see her in The Force Awakens. This was the result:

me as leia.jpg

Isn’t it fabulous?  Her name is Danielle Balanga, and you can find her on Facebook.

With that, I should get myself back to work on the day job.  And my coffee.  Always my coffee.  I shall leave you with this, dearest Readers:

MTFBWY