L.A. Comic Con, Writing, and Razor!

To kick off this post, I first wanted to say that I will be at the L.A. Comic Con! It's been almost six years since I last attended LAC, and cannot wait to return. I had been wanting to return for the past several years, but my schedule hadn't worked out until this year.

As I have been preparing for the convention, I've been doing the usual thing: stocking up on more books, checking inventory on my trading cards, and getting small prints and other goodies for my table. I also did some updates on my LinkTree and my two websites (this site and my book site.) This leads to me digging through photos, art, and other creative projects. Yesterday, I had been needing to update an icon for my blog and came across the photo above. What is it you ask? It's one of my closet cosplays during the pandemic...'Razor' from 'Maniac Mansion!'

Maniac Mansion's box art - 1987

Like everyone else in the pandemic, I was bored in the house. Of course there was work to be had (writing and beta freelance), and helping the kiddos with their online school. But since I had a ton of free time, I was anxious to keep my mind busy. I did a slew of art, painting, and eventually took up doing my own mini photoshoots...with stuff in my closet! I learned a lot about lighting, setup, and just how to take a good photo. My 'Razor' set was my very first self-photoshoot with my new LED colored lights. Needless to say, I had a blast. In the photo below, it was a later self-photoshoot when I had more practice. Both sets offered the best profile pics that I ended up using on social media for several years. Side note: if anyone goes looking for me on socials, I'm not active on any of them except for Reddit.

If anyone has read my novels, this photoshoot was inspired by one of my book characters 'Lady Elyathi.'

As for a writing update, I am happy to say that I am at 95k words with "Fragments of Time." To give an idea of how much that is, I'll give you a breakdown of the word count of my previous books:

Fragments of Light - 213k

Fragments of the Mind - 226k

Fragments of the Heart - 240k

Given the above word counts, I am estimating that this book will roughly be 230k words. I cannot express how much in love I am with this book. I have become obsessed and cannot stop thinking about the story. If I have a free hour to myself, I immediately use it to write. I look forward to releasing it when it's ready.

What else have I been doing in the meantime? Honestly my life has been in overdrive these past two years since returning to the art field as a graphic designer. My husband works crazy hours, and my kiddos are essentially in Junior High. I check their schoolwork and attend karate with them. And of course, I am writing. But when all is said and done, and I have a little time to steal for myself, I am playing Oblivion, gaming on my retro PC, watching movies/shows, reading, and...planning a new costume! Yes, that is correct. I purchased some materials to start my next costume project. When I officially start the first piece of worbla, I'll be posting here.

One of the movies that I rewatched recently was 'Gladiator.' I tend to try and rewatch movies that inspire me for writing. Joaquin Phoenix's role as Commodus was definitely a huge inspiration for Derek in my book series. Same with Jonathan Rhys Meyers in 'The Tudors.' Both roles by these actors was a huge inspiration for Derek. I also work in real life people I know into all my characters (including Derek), but I never name names.

Lastly, I am getting ready to go to Yosemite for this year's family trip. This year I scored a new campground that I have never camped at before. This might seem sort of nerdy to say, but I can officially say that I've camped at all the Yosemite campgrounds in the entire park after this summer! I'm really excited! I always say, Yosemite is my favorite place on Earth!

Just a little side note, I was contacted by two people this past month. It was so amazing to hear from those I haven't heard from in awhile, and loved hearing from them and what's been going on in their lives. Thank you to those individuals. It means the world to me. <3

Until next time!