One last character design, for Yonwin! He was so fun to write in Earthkeepers and I think he probably had the most compelling character arc. After (spoilers) helping save the world and becoming the second-youngest Graling in history to earn a warrior's title, Yon has grown from a shy, insecure teen hiding in the shadow of his famous aunt, to a confident warrior, now quite famous in his own right, and secure in the fact that he loves both combat and technology. The Apparats made him a fancy high-tech spear and shield, but I imagine when Yonwin competes with other Gralings, he uses old-fashioned equipment to keep things fair.

It's not really mentioned clearly in the books, but Graling warriors train to specialize in two weapons, generally a long-range and short-range, respectively. This gives them more versatility on the battlefield, and also ensures they can keep fighting if something happens to one of their weapons. Fraa's weapons of choice are a long knife and a throwing club.

Gralings sound like terribly violent creatures, but they're physically hardier than humans and can take quite a licking with no lasting repercussions. That may be part of why they find combat fun, and make a point of organizing battles that are inversely proportional in scale to how serious the issue is that the battle will decide.

 I just had so much fun creating a design for Miette for the novel I've been brainstorming that I wanted to create a design for Kieri too. A few years have passed since the events of Earthkeepers, and Kieri has been keeping busy acting as a political liaison between the Apparats and the surface and sky nations--a job she finds she likes because it's basically just about making friends, which is something that comes naturally to her. As a young adult, she's mellowed out a little bit since her rambunctious youth... but she's still Kieri. And she loves having powered armor that allows her to fly.

I'm pretty sure Miette, Kieri, Yonwin, and Zuben will be main characters in this book, since they were just so fun to write in Earthkeepers, and play so well off each other. (I love writing Fraa too, but a larger cast gets hard to juggle, so I think she'll sit this adventure out.) I have no plans for writing further about Rohui or Wilder, who were supposed to be the two main characters of Skydwellers, but honestly turned out extremely dull. You can definitely tell by the end of that book that I was having more fun writing Miette, Kieri, and Fraa. 

Perhaps it's not surprising, considering Skydwellers was my first novel, and when I was writing the first draft, my focus was more "high-concept science fiction with a suitably professional air of emotional detachment" and not "I want to enjoy writing this". There's a lesson in there, I think.

 A bit more playing with markers. This time around I wanted to challenge myself to only use marker and no colored pencil. It was a little tough because I don't have nearly as many marker colors as pencil colors, but I think I made it work. Also, Prismacolor's brush tip markers are a pretty good substitute for Copic. Unfortunately I only have a handful of brush tip colors. I'll need to fix that when the budget allows.

As far as the subject--I've been tossing around ideas for another book in the Azhnarroth series, about Miette, Kieri, Yonwin, and Zuben having adventures in space. In Earthkeepers, I teased the mysterious disappearance of the Flammarion Commonwealth eight thousand years ago... now it's time to solve that mystery. And of course black holes will be involved.

As Miette, Kieri, and Yonwin were named stewards of Great Engine at the end of Earthkeepers, I thought that by a few years later they'd look the part. I imagine the Apparats probably made them some nifty powered armor.

 

I went ahead and used Canva to make a version of the cover of Earthkeepers with some cleaner text design! This version will go live for both ebook and print versions very soon.

This coincides with some minor revisions I made on Earthkeepers that also should go live soon. It's nothing majorly plot-changing--mostly it's just a bit of fixing the prose and a few added conversations to clarify some things. 

It's kinda funny how you can publish a novel and think it's pretty much perfect, and then you come back to it two years later and think "wow this is a mess". #authorproblems

Miscellaneous sketches.

These next few include some expression studies for Terra from my Neopian Times writing. Mostly I was just goofing off with cartooniness.

Terra as a warrior rabbit because I just thought it would be fun.

Here is what the tanaaki from the Azhnarroth Duology look like! (The tail got cut off because I reached the edge of the canvas.) With those two back-swept horns, war tanaaki and their riders need to be really in-sync with each other during the heat of battle, which is why mounted warriors like Fraa are held in especially high regard in Graling society, and why Usi has such clout and her own title.

At long last, the eagerly-awaited sequel to Skydwellers is available as both an ebook and a paperback!

Journey along with girl genius Miette, her tomboy BFF Kieri, and warrior-in-training Yonwin as they unlock some crazy secrets behind their planet... or should I say beneath it!

The past four months of producing this novel has been quite the ride, as you can read in previous blog posts, so I'm very excited to finally be able to show the product of my labors.

Give it a read if you like fun, family-friendly science fiction!

I hung out with my art pupil today and she let me play with her Copic markers on her graytone paper! Fun times were had.

Here's Zuben being adorable.

And then she wanted me to draw a posh rabbit. Why not?

 Here's my (contemporary) design for Terros, the crystalline scorpion guardian of the Earth element from a cheesy old story I wrote in junior high. Despite the story's super cringiness, I still love the idea of a crystal scorpion, and when my pupil suggested I draw it, I couldn't resist. She also said she'd like to see a re-imagined version of the story someday, and I agree that it's not irredeemably bad. I'll have to give it some thought!

Earthkeepers cover WIP gallery

 

It's time for a cover reveal! :)

I worked super hard on this cover and had a lot of fun with it! What a relief to be done! Now all I have to do is wait for my proofreader!

I also like the hybrid painting/graphic novel approach I took with this cover. The background was considerably easier to paint than draw, while the characters were easier to draw than paint. I will likely use this technique for book covers from now on!

Excited for the book yet? :)

For the next art prompt on my Goodreads group, "draw something big", I decided to sketch down a little Earthkeepers environmental concept art! (It's also character design... you'll find out why if you read the book!)

This is Core Control, the home of the Core Hosts. I won't give away too much, but let's just say this is probably the most important place in the world. :)

Why yes, I should be asleep. Sometimes, though, when you live with a high-energy toddler who takes forever to wind down for bedtime, you need a few extra hours to yourself to unwind after she finally crashes. (Tonight I drew her, on her request, Daddy Pig from Peppa Pig eating chicken nuggets and butter. It was a masterpiece for the ages.)

While I'm waiting for my brain to shift to a lower gear, I thought I might as well put together a writing update!

Earthkeepers has been sent off to the proofreader! I finished going through my content editor's notes, and then meticulously picked through the prose, and I think this latest draft is looking really good! The most major changes in terms of plot were giving Kieri a more substantial character arc, and changing part of the climax to help Miette's conflict with Varine come to a more satisfying conclusion. I don't want to give away too much about that, but let's just say I had more fun with robots. This entire book is about fun with robots.

While I thought I was going to work on the cover while the manuscript was getting proofread, I'm very tired from all of this marathon writing, so I will probably give myself a break for a little while and just start on the cover when I feel like it. (That being said, I will definitely start working on it no later than when I make the final edits to the manuscript based on my proofreader's corrections and feedback. I definitely won't delay this novel's release due to illustration laziness, don't worry.)

On another writing-related note, I've also come up with a couple of new ideas for some short Neopets fics, because clearly I have become so emotionally invested in that cast that I cannot stop writing about them despite no longer actually playing Neopets. :)

One of the fics is more of Terra's family and friends playing Neoquest, because that seems to be a running joke. It's also about Terra's and Blynn's friendship being tested, as Blynn gets a little too into Quest Mastering and forgets that Neoquest is supposed to be fun for everybody, and if anybody stops having fun, the group may need to step back and reevaluate how they're doing things. I may or may not have based this on real experiences. (cough)

The other one is a story about Suhel staying with Lexora's family (from Return to Lynwood) for Giving Day (the Neopian equivalent of Christmas), where she helps the Fitchet-Brownings learn that holiday traditions are all well and good, but it is entirely possible to over-tradition yourself and not leave any room for spontaneity or time to just rest and soak in the season. 

I got the idea when thinking about how I am actually not big on Christmas traditions because I don't like being rigidly adherent to an arbitrary system, because I am a renegade like that. To me, Christmas is still Christmas even if I celebrate it completely differently every year. It's all about remembering the Reason for the season. And spoiling children, that's important too. (Also discount Christmas candy on December 26th, let's not forget about that.)

I then realized the initial concept would work well with Suhel and the Fitchet-Brownings, especially since I previously established that she sometimes spends holidays with them. I thought it would be fun to get a look into that scenario. I just think there's something amusing about plunking an enormous, taciturn Werelupe into an Edwardian domestic setting.

I'm not sure exactly when I will get around to these two fics, but they are definitely on the drawing board.

For now, I should get some sleep.

I haven't had much time for doodling lately, but last night I decided to give it an effort! Here's some Earthkeepers sketches!

First, Yonwin! He was super fun to write. He sometimes goes by the nickname "Yon", but Fraa often calls him "Yonnie", much to his embarrassment as that was his nickname when he was little. But you know aunts, you'll always be their little niece/nephew to them. :)

Miette and Kieri couldn't be bigger opposites, but that's what makes them such great friends. :)

I was chatting with my art pupil the other night, and we were doodling, and I ended up doing a bit of concept art for Earthkeepers! 

This is one of the main characters, Apparat Drone Model 473 Alloy, a.k.a. "Zuben". He's a friendly, energetic little fellow who enjoys perching on shoulders and exploring the world around him. Miette and her friends found him lying defunct in a secret passageway, and Yonwin restored him to working condition.

But why does Zuben have the same name as the Graling folk hero Zuben Elgenubi? And where does he come from? The answers will change Miette's world forever.

I'm not super great at mechanical design, but I actually got Zuben's design from a dream I had once about this little arthropod creature. When I started brainstorming about Earthkeepers and Zuben, I just couldn't picture him with anything but that creature's design in mechanical form. I use arthropods for mechanical design inspiration a lot because their exoskeletons remind me of metal plating. :)

Those red feather things are aether collecting vanes. Zuben uses them to collect aether from charging streams, as he and the other Apparats run on aether.

Also he speaks Old Gralish, an ancient form of the Graling language, which is represented in the book by Shakespearian English. When the idea first popped into my head, I wasn't sure how well it would work, but as I kept writing it, I liked it more and more. :)

I'm working on some revisions to the manuscript, and I hope to have it ready to send to the editor by the end of the week!

Update bits and bobs

I've been super busy lately, but things have finally quieted down enough that I could put together a coherent update on various projects! Here's what's going on:

- Last week I finished the first draft of Earthkeepers! I am so relieved and excited to move forward! I think it's looking really awesome and I'm looking forward to sharing it with readers. I think fans of Skydwellers will love Earthkeepers, and people who have never read the first book will be able to enjoy Earthkeepers as a standalone science fantasy adventure.

My next step is to go through the manuscript with a fine-toothed editorial comb and make it look as good as possible before I send it to a story editor. Already I have a list of things I'd like to change about earlier parts of the manuscript based on stuff that came up later on in writing, so during this process I will also incorporate these changes. Honestly I don't think it will take me that long, and I should have it ready for the editor by the end of the week. It's coming along!

- Production for the audiobook adaptation of Thunder Girl is projected to start in February! Benjamin Fife and I are super excited to bring this project to you, and we're hoping it can help introduce a whole new demographic of story lovers to the fun and nerdy world of Thunder Girl. I will keep you updated!

- It's looking like Pixeldust will be getting a blog tour March 8-12! I think this will be a great opportunity for Pixeldust as it will be introduced to relevant book bloggers and their followers. The world of indie publishing is based a lot on convincing people that your book is worth reading, and getting it out there and getting (hopefully favorable) opinions helps readers become informed! 

During the blog tour, Pixeldust will be featured on different book blogs every day of the tour, through content like reviews, excerpts, and author interviews. I will definitely share each of these tour stops as they happen! Right now I'm thinking I will share each tour post daily on my Facebook page, and then after the tour, compile the list of posts here on my blog. I think it will be a very exciting boost for a novel that I worked hard on earlier this year, but released to little fanfare (despite my advertising attempts).

As for what I'll be doing while Earthkeepers is at the editor's? I keep telling myself I'll take a break, but I tried that for about ten minutes and then got bored. So I'll probably do some illustration work, try to watch and work from some art tutorials, and probably put more Neopets fanfic on the blog!

I hope everybody has a lovely holiday season! Take care!