Recently, I have been thinking (and doing) about five million things but haven't had much time to blog about it all. I'm going to do a few blog posts throughout this week (probably 2-3 of them) just to update everyone with all that I have been wanting to say.
First and foremost, I have been preparing for Saboten Con. The con is on Labor Day Weekend, which is a full four days for the holiday weekend. This means that I need to have enough stock, goodies, and get my panels situated. So far, I have two scheduled panels, and hoping to get the third scheduled. I have started to get my book shipments in, as well as my new booth giveaways - the QR code cards. A great friend of mine had the awesome idea for me to do QR code cards. I made them last year for Saboten Con which worked out well. This year, I updated them to four different designs, but all linking to the same places. Whew!
They turned out pretty cute I'd say! I have links all set up to my book stuff (still need to update the Apple Books link) and a link to my blog. Fun stuff!
Okay, onto book three progress updates. Still chugging away at the revisions. Without major spoilers, I have been working rigorously on Derek's POV throughout the manuscript. I felt that his part of the story was lacking, so I decided to give more to his side of the story. Because you know, it's Derek. And Derek does what he does best...being Derek. In all seriousness, I'm happy that I went back and worked on his scenes and wrote new material for him. I don't know why, but he's one of those characters that goes through a TON of changes and scene rewrites. Book one was like that with him, and book two as well. By the way, if you see the above illustration of Derek, that was to be a chapter illustration for book one. Originally, I wanted a small illustration at the beginning of each chapter, similar to Dragonlance. I had about ten illustrations done, but then felt that I wasn't skilled enough to draw some of my other characters at the time. I feel more confident now, but back when writing and editing FoL, I was very unpracticed in my drawing. But those of you who have seen the maps, this illustration of him ended up being on the United Kingdom map.
Speaking of Dragonlance, I have been rereading the Dragonlance 'Legends' trilogy. It was my favorite book trilogy when I was in high school (yeah this dates me.) As I'm rereading it, I'm realizing how much this story has influenced my book series, especially with Derek and the time travel and dimensions. It's funny that you don't realized how much something has impacted, influenced, and/or inspired you until you reflect back on it. This past week or so, it's been one of those ah-ha moments. Just a random thought about this cover: Crysania (the woman on the cover) looks like Cassima from King's Quest. I think the art and story of Dragonlance also had an impact on the King's Quest series, especially KQ6 when I look back at certain story and art references.
There is much more to write about, but it's getting late so I'll stop here for the night after a few last words. I do plan to upload more thoughts about me, life, cosplay, gaming, and some other random things. As you all know, my life has changed dramatically since Spring. In many ways, I don't recognize myself currently. It's not a bad thing necessarily; it's just different. There are new stresses in my life. But one thing that I do go back to when I am extremely stressed out: Skyrim. Even if it's me walking around the world of Skyrim for one hour, I feel the tension leave my body. I don't like wasting precious time, especially when I am finishing up my revisions for my book. But I noticed if I don't give myself any down-time, I am miserable and uninspired. So, here's to playing Skyrim a few hours a week!
Until next time!