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"...Tonogato is unlike any earthly world. Each kingdom is increasingly exotic, and all roads lead to Tejinashi - a city of spectacular towers precisely controlled by magic and those who possess it. The mental images of these kingdoms and characters will linger in the mind of the reader long after he puts this book down." - Bren MacDibble, www.scifidimensions.com The Road to Kotaishi, first volume in The Tales of Tonogato series, was published in 2002 by Windstorm Creative, with a second edition released in 2004. A sweeping tale of honor and betrayal, devotion and deceit, The Road to Kotaishi leads the reader on a journey through an exotic Asian world where one's friends may turn into enemies, and nothing is as it seems. In 2005 the second volume in the series was released. The Sands of Sabakushi concludes the stirring saga of Shiko and Mikasama in their struggles against the Darkness. The secrets that the Zaitan magicians have long kept buried and locked away are unveiled; and the past comes to life, revealing the path to seal the Unfinished Circle. The Road to Kotaishi and The Sands of Sabakushi are published in sets, each with a Part 1 and a Part 2. Full details under "The Books" link at left!
August 6, 2008 While I catch my breath after finishing The Pool of Shikama, I'm also thinking ahead to marketing ideas and projects that I'll be doing once the new book is released. Some of those will, naturally enough, also involve some of my artwork to aid in the promotion. As my ideas on that firm up, I'll share them with everyone here. I realized that after my last update with new artwork, I had negelected to update the Latest Artwork image below! I've remedied that now, as well as added a slew of new images, six in the Fantasy section but also one each in the Fairy section, the Asian Themed section, and the Misc section. July 24, 2008 It's finally done! After a final few weeks of non-stop editing and revisions, The Pool of Shikama is now complete. I've uploaded the files to the publisher, along with the cover art. The new book is scheduled for release in February, 2009. Even while slogging through the last parts of the book, I've been keeping up on the art front as well. But the literary focus did take time away from other things, like updating this web site! So you'll see lots of new images in the various artwork categories. June 18, 2008 Home stretch on The Pool of Shikama! Part 1 is now done, other than a final clean up pass. Still working on a couple of edits for Part 2, and then it needs one more copy-edit. The covers are about 60% done. I should be able to deliver Part 1 on time on July 1st; Part 2 will probably take another 2 - 3 weeks. I also recently returned from a 2-week trip to England and Wales. That was a lot of fun! Saw lots of very interesting castles and stayed in some wonderful B & b's, particularly in the Cotswolds. I haven't been neglecting the art - quite a few new pieces to share. Down below in Latest Artwork is The Defenders; and I've added ten more in all the different categories in the Artwork section. Enjoy! May 4, 2008 I'm getting closer to the end of The Pool of Shikama. My new deadline :o) is July 1st for delivery to the publisher. Here's hoping I'm all done by then!
On the art front, I had the good fortune to have one of my images, The Oracle, selected as one of the "Best in 3D Manipulation" images for a week over at deviant Art. I also have a slew of new images to share: Dream My Sister, The Proposal, and Winged Serenity in the Fairy section; To Whom You Must Answer, Avenging Angel, Rescuing the Unicorn, Between Jobs, and The Negotiation in the Fantasy Section; and Longing in the Misc. section. I've included Rescuing the Unicorn in latest artwork below. April
14, 2008 Boy, updates only once a month here
for a while, huh? Well, the excuse this time is that I'm in crunch mode on
the third book in the Tonogato series. It was originally due March 1, and
that turned in May 1, but it's looking more like June 1 now... Anyway, I'm
working full tilt on getting the book finished and to the publisher, since
the sooner that happens the sooner y'all can read it! Which doesn't mean that there's been a
shortage of art work... In fact I've been busy there too. So I have six
new works to share: Hot or Cold and Pulse Stick in the Sci Fi section;
Elven Sadness, A Challenge, and The Oracle in the Fantasy section;
and You Captured My Heart in Moonlight in the Misc. section. I've included
The Oracle in latest artwork below. March
24, 2008 Sorry for the dearth of updates - been
a busy boy prepping for Norwescon, plus trips out of town, re-seeding the
lawn, all those fun mundane things. Norwescon finished up yesterday,
and it was a lot of fun. I ended up being the moderator on every
panel I was on, which was a bit exhausting but at least allowed me to keep
things light and fun. Best news is that I sold eight of the sixteen
pieces I entered into the art show! (And a warm thank you to my
special fan Laura for being two of those). The delivery date to the publisher for
The Pool of Shikama has been pushed back to May 1, as I'm running a bit
behind schedule. Still hoping I'll be able to make that date,
too... I do have some new artwork to post
up, eight of 'em in fact: in the Fairy section: The Explanation; in
the Fantasy section: There, A4 Portrait, Caught You Looking, and Call to Arms; in
the Sci Fi section, Waiting; in the Asian section: The Summons; and
in the Misc section, Mean Mila. I've included Caught You Looking down in
the Lastest Artwork slot down below. February
25, 2008 Sorry
for the delay in updates; my PC decided to give up the ghost about
mid-month, and I've been in recovery mode ever since. A new PC is
on its way, after which things will ramp back up again. Just to catch
up on things, my entry in Illyera's contest placed third; many thanks
to her for the opportunity! It was a lot of fun. Also, I sold one
piece at the Rustycon convention artshow (and I did end up on a number
of panels, on both writing and art subjects). I
also have four new pieces to share: Two Swords in the fantasy section;
Not the Fairy Next Door, Discovered in the Meadow, and First Day in
Fairy Land, all in the Fairy section. The latter piece is also below
in Latest Artwork. January
1, 2008 And
now the new year is hear! For those of you in the Seattle area, I
will be at Rustycon from January 11th - 13th, in the art show and
hopefully also doing panels (although I haven't heard back from the
programming people yet on the latter). I
have a boatload of new pictures to share, put together during the
holidays. Let's see, in the Fairy section we have "Xmas 2007,"
a little piece timed just for the ho-ho-ho spirit; in Sci Fi we have
one called "Dangerous" for the rather large blade the lass
is holding; two Fantasy pieces, one called "A Stranger Met by
Moonlight," and the other Xmas Dance. The latter was created
as an entry for a contest over at deviantArt, where I also post my
artwork. A very nice person over there named Illyera has featured
my artwork in her
journal for December 30th. I'll let you know the results
of the contest once it's over! And finally, in the Misc section I
have a (very) purple picture called, appropriately enough, Purple
Mask, which I have added below in the Latest Artwork section. I
hope everyone has a wonderful and peaceful New Year! December
20, 2007 Ah,
the year is winding down. And three more pictures to liven things
up. Two in the Fairy section, Snow Fairy and Friends; one in the Sci
Fi section called Too Quiet; and one in the Fantasy section, Sky Watcher.
In keeping with the season I've posted up Snow Fairy below in Latest
Artwork. December
11, 2007 Second
draft of The Pool of Shikama is complete. I now have some editorial
eyes reviewing the text, and will start on the third, and hopefully
final, draft shortly. A
few new pix: below is Storm Fairy, and I've also add Playing in the
Pixie Pool and Join me for a Dance in the Fairy section, as well as
Keeper of the Rainbow in the Fantasy section. November
20, 2007 Turkey-day
is almost upon us... so let's post some more art! Why not, eh? Okay,
five, count 'em five new ones: Glowstone in the Fantasy section, Cautionary
Step and The Investigator in Sci Fi, and Night Fairy and Waiting for
You in the Fairy section. Night Fairy has also been posted below to
the Latest Artwork section. Have
a fun Thanksgiving, for all you U.S.-based folks! November
7th, 2007 Three
new artworks today: one in the Fairy section that is a homage to artist
Michael Parkes; and two in the Fantasy section, Exiles and Sky Seeker,
the latter being display below in Latest Artwork. This latter piece
makes use of some more sophisticated lighting than what I've used
before, resulting in a very long render time for this piece (2 1/2
hours versus about 2o minutes for my usual lighting set up). On
the book front, I'm getting close to the end of the second draft for
The Pool of Shikama. Things are moving along! October
29, 2007 I've
received my official invitations to both Rustycon in January and Norwescon
in April. I've also signed up for the Norwescon art show (I'll do
the same for Rustycon, but it's looking iffy as to whether they're
actually doing the art show this year...). I've also taken the advice
of some people and invested in a large format printer, a Canon Pro9000,
that will allow me to print pieces up to 13 x 19 in size. I've got
a few works that really need to be larger than 8 x 10, which is as
large as I've been able to do so far. It's a big behemoth - takes
up a lot of real estate! But it received good reviews, and has eight
(!) ink tanks, for clarity of color reproduction. Also,
four more art pieces! We have Awaiting the Wind and Woodhawk in the
Fantasy section; Truth in the Asian section; and Making Moondrops
in the Fairy section. Truth is reproduced below in the Latest Artwork
slot. October
17, 2007 Five
new art pieces: three in the Fairy section, including Delivering the
Moon (also in Latest Artwork below); Touching the Pool; and Unexpected
Capture; one in the Fantasy section, called Vision from the Mist;
and one in the Misc section called Florentin. October
5, 2007 Three
new art pieces to share: Fairy Pinup (in the Latest Artwork below,
and in the Fairy section); Eye to Eye, also in the Fairy section;
and Target in the Sci Fi section. September
28, 2007 Foolscap
was a great success. I sold three of my works from the artshow, one
of which went to auction from having multiple bids on it; as well
as selling a copy of The Road to Kotaishi via one of the book sellers
in the dealer room. In addition to serving on the usual range of panels
and meeting old and new friends, I had a wonderful time with Dan Bieger.
I met Dan on the SFFWorld forum, and at one point he was intrigured
enough with my books to read 'em, and out of that he created two of
the nicest reviews I've had to date. It was a pleasure and an honor
to finally meet him in person. I
also have some new artwork to share, two in the Fantasy section (Wanderers
and The Journey Ahead) and one in the Misc. section (Exploring). I've
added Wanderers to the Latest Artwork section below. September
21, 2007 I've
added the new section for Commissioned work to the art section; this
includes all of the book covers that I've been hired to create. In
addition there's one new image in the Fairy section. Today
is the first day of the Foolscap convention. I'll be displaying in
the artshow there, as well as serving on a number of panels throughout
the con. One of my faithful readers, Dan Bieger, is traveling up from
Arizona to attend the con, and I'm looking forward to meeting him
later today. September
11, 2007 The
Areane covers are done; I'm just waiting to upload them to the publisher's
site before posting them here. In the meantime, I have three new pieces
of art: one in the Fairy section of a harem fairy, with some wild
colors; one in the fantasy section of a dragon-winged horse, inspired
by Toby Bishop's Horsemistress Saga; and one called the Gift, in the
fantasy section and in the Latest Artwork below. September
5, 2007 The
book covers for The Areane Trilogy by Launa Sorenson are coming along;
I should have them done this week, and then I'll post them up here.
I also have three new pictures in the Fairy section, one of which
is also down in the Latest Artwork below. August
24, 2007 One
new picture for the Fairy section, as well as the Latest Artwork section
below: Walking with the Moon. A warm summer evening, a perfect night
for gliding across the sea with one's dear friend, the silvery moon...
August
19, 2007 I've
recently received a commission from Windstorm Creative to do the covers
for a three-book young adult fantasy trilogy by Launa Sorensen. As
soon as I have those done, I'll be completing a new "Commissions"
page for my artwork to display the professional work I've done. In
the meantime, I have one new piece for the Sci Fi Gallery, "The
Advance Team." It's too wide to display in my Latest Artwork
section below, but if it's the top-most picture in the Sci Fi Gallery. August
4, 2007 Notes
are all back from the editor for The Pool of Shikama; let the editing
fun begin! Long road ahead yet to get the book all whipped into shape
so it's fit for y'all to read. :o) Several
new pictures up: one in the Fairy section, call An Audience with the
FaerieWylde Queen, reproduced below in the Latest Artwork box; one
in the Fantasy section called Forest Charge; and one in the Miscellaneous
section called Remembrance, complete with poem. July
15th, 2007 Whoo
hoo! First draft of The Pool of Shikama is done. I finished it last
weekend, and have been taking a breather for the last week. I've delivered
all of the chapters to my editor, and she has been looking it over
this week and will do so for another couple of weeks, probably. After
that, it will be edit-edit-edit... I've
also posted a new picture below and in the Fantasy section, called
Mistress of the Beast. July
7th, 2007 Not-quite-there...
Still half a chapter to go. Hopefully this weekend, though, and the
book will be done! (Well, first-draft-done, at least...). Three
new artworks up: The Road Ahead, posted below under Latest Artwork
and in the Fantasy section; A Gift For You in the Fairy section; and
Party Crasher in the Sci Fi section. The latter is replacing an older
picture, so is down in the fifth row, third one over. July
3rd, 2007 For
this crunch week of getting the first draft complete, the goal was
a chapter a day for five days. So far I'm on target, with one chapter
done yesterday (6200 words) and another done today (4700 words). Slog,
slog, slog... I
also have two new pictures, both fairy ones (I do seem to be on a
fairy kick these days). I've left the E'alandra image below, though,
since I think it's one of my better ones; so hey, might as well show
your best work right up front and center, right? :o) June
26, 2007 On
the book front: I have a self-imposed deadline of the first week of
July to complete the first draft of The Pool of Shikama. My editor
has a window in her schedule for the two weeks after that, so that's
driving the schedule. It will be very close! But I'm taking that whole
week off from work specifically to work on the book, so hopefully
it will all get done. Then comes - rewrites! :o) On
the art front: four new pictures! The best of the bunch, The Way to
E'alandra, is shown below in the Latest Artwork spot. It, along with
an image of a "tag team" pair, are also in the Fantasy art
section. There are also two new images in the Fairy art section as
well. June
11th, 2007 I've
been out of town for a week, so need to do some catching up! One new
image to show, called "Wistful Harlequin," in the Fairy
section and in the Latest Artwork below. June
4th, 2007 One
new image in the Misc section ("She Waits For Me By the Window"
on the top row, far right); and one new image in the Fantasy section
("Water Dance" also top row, right). My last of the current
cover art jobs has also been delivered to Windstorm, a sci fi image
for the fifth book in Ted Butler's series.
Water Dance has also been added to the Latest Artwork section below. May
24, 2007 Three
new images: Fae Light, Star Bright in the Fairy section; and Love's
Touch and Fotune Teller in the Misc section. Love's Touch has been
added to the Latest Artwork section below. May
20th, 2007. Couple
of new images, one in the Fairy section (Fairy Under the Sea) and
one in the Fantasy section (Demands). The latter is posted below in
the Latest Artwork section. May
15th, 2007 The
collectable card game images have been delivered to Windstorm, and
I'll be starting the second book cover project shortly. I've done
two more fairy images (one of which I've posted below in the Latest
Artwork section). Both images are also on the Fairy Images page. May
8th, 2007 I've
completed one of the book cover projects for Windstorm, and will be
wrapping up the collectible card game images shortly. Once those projects
have been released by Windstorm I'll post the images up in the art
section. I also have a new fairy picture (posted down below), which
has also been added to the Fairy Art page. May
5th, 2007 As
I've been doing a lot of fairy pictures of late, for posting at FaerieWylde.com,
I decided to create a separate art page for the wee folk. So I've
taken all the existing fairy images from the fantasy page and created
a new fairy-only page for them. There's also three new images on that
page too, so go take a peek! And, I've added down below this News
section a place to display the latest piece of artwork. May
1st, 2007
I've updated the main news section here to use a scrolling viewer,
instead of having one long page that goes on forever (not than anyone
is necessarily reading old news, but should you care to, now you can
just scroll down as far as you'd like!) April
27th, 2007 One
new image on the Fantasy art page, called Sky Goddess, on the top
row to the right. Also, on the news front, I've been commissioned
to provide the character artwork for a collectible card game, which
should be a new and interesting challenge. And, I've received the
contracts for book 3 in the Tonogato series and for its cover art,
so that should tell you that things are moving apace in that department
as well (books take a lot longer to bring to fruition than art, so
perforce you've been getting more news here about art than words;
but rest assured, I am busily working away on the book!) April
15th, 2007 Two
new images: Laura Fairy has been added to the Fantasy page (third
row of thumbnails, all the way to the right); and Pirate Dragon has
been added to the Misc page (first row, also on the far right). April
10th, 2007 I've
added two new images to the Art sections. On the Fantasy page, I've
re-arranged a few pictures and added Forest Walk, a cute image of
a gentle giant strolling with his lady, accompanied by a friendly
fairy. The new thumbnail is in the second row on the right. On the
Miscellaneous page, I've added Good Book, a tongue in cheek picture
of a lady enjoying a quiet afternoon reading a book (gee, I wonder
which one?), with her place nicely decorated with pictures and objects
from my art studio. That thumbnail is also on the second row on the
right on that page. April
9th, 2007 First
things first, a change to the site: I've added a new Guestbook feature,
accessible via one of the menu buttons at left. Please feel free to
leave notes, questions, comments, etc. I'd love to hear from anyone
stopping by. I will also try to start keeping better tabs here in
the News section when I add some art to one of the Artwork sections,
so that if you're stopping by to see 'new' stuff you won't have to
hunt around to see in what bizarre way I've managed to re-arrange
things this time... Second
thing is that I just finished up attending Norwescon. I had a lot
of panels (seven of them, in fact); three writer's critiques assisting
new writers with their manuscripts; an autograph session; and of course
works up in the artshow and books in the dealer room. It was a very
good con, where I got to meet up with a lot of old friends and make
some new ones. The panels were, by and large, well attended and lively
(although it is scary when you see people furiously scribbling down
notes, recording what you're saying as if it is really something significant...) I
was very pleased that four of my artworks sold (two being purchased
by a very special fan; thank you!) I
may also have an upcoming bookstore appearance in the Puyallup, WA
area at the end of the month; details are still being worked out. March
31st, 2007 I've
done a slight revamp on the website in the Artwork section. The Faux
Book Cover section has been deleted (with one exception, it was all
pretty much early work anyway), and in its place I've created a separate
page to hold my Asian-themed pictures, pulling the appropriate images
from the Fantasy and Misc galleries. January
14th, 2007 This
weekend was Rustycon, one of the smaller local conventions. I had
several panels to do, but unfortunately a bout with illness took its
toll and I had to miss two of them. However, the one I did make was
on Art and the PC, which was hopefully useful to a few of the folks
in attendance. I also was displaying my computer renderings in the
art show, and sold one piece, which was very nice. Next
con for me is Norwescon in April, a rather larger gathering. Haven't
decided yet about World Fantasy Con for this year - it's in New York,
so a looong way from here. But we'll see. And progress continues on
the next Tonogato book! So if you're waiting for the next installment,
hang in there. December
31, 2006 Happy
New Year! (Ok, I'm about 35 minutes early, but what the heck...) I
figure I needed to get one last message in for 2006. Something new
for you to look at, on my Artwork page, is a link to the first chapter
in a web comic that I've started, called DreamGate. Still a bit of
a prototype work, but please feel free to give it a look! September
24, 2006 This
weekend was Foolscap, a local genre convention that specializes in
'flat things,' as they call it, meaning books and art. I served on
a few panels, and displayed works in the art show (sold one, as well!).
As always, it was also a good opportunity to re-connnect with people
that I know in the local SFF scene. Another
interesting news item is that one of my artworks was selected to be
the splash page image for an SFF site. Go check out The
Zone and you'll see me there! Edit: My art was up there
for a few months, but they've swapped me out now for someone new.
If you missed it, it was the android gazing out a planet from a viewport
on my Sci Fi art page. August
22, 2006 The
August - October issue of Westwind, the newsletter of the Northwest
Science Fiction Society, has just come out, and features one of my
artworks on the cover. I'm pretty jazzed about that! The image is
Blacker Magic (named after the clothing outfit the main figure is
wearing), and the version on their cover is black and white. A full
color version can be seen in the Fantasy Images section under the
Artwork tab at left. The Northwest Science Fiction Society is the
group that puts on Norwescon, one of the premier conventions here
in the Pacific Northwest. I've done panels there for a number of years,
and this year I also displayed in their art show as well. A very nice
group of people! June
30, 2006 Two
more Borders Sci Fi Saturday events have come and gone. Turnout was
a tad light, as we're now into the nice weather season here in the
Pacific Northwest, which means everyone's out playing instead of curling
up in a chair and listening to authors read. :o) However, just so
you know where things are: I've finished the major portion of the
outline for a third Tonogato book, and will be diving back into writing
the actual chapters shortly. The next book takes place some fifty
years after the events in the first two, showing how the political
(and magical) landscape has evolved. Hopefully it will be worth the
wait until it's done! May
12, 2006 A
little late, but here's my trip report from Japan: had a wonderful
time! (Of course...) I spent a couple of hours wandering all over
Himeji castle, taking lots of pictures, and being very impressed by
the whole thing. I took the Shinkansen bullet train from Kyoto to
Himeji, and that puppy is faaaast! I was standing in the station when
one of them blew past at full tilt, and the wind could knock you down.
I was also able to visit several temples in Kyoto, including Kiyomizu-dera
which is quite lovely. Just north of there is an area of older, traditional
streets, and although it was crowded it was still fascinating to soak
in some of the atmosphere. The Japanese people and their culture are
equally fascinating - I enjoyed speaking with people with my half-dozen
phrases of Japanese, which invariably brought a smile to their faces
(thinking, I'm sure, "Hey, listen to this silly gaijen trying
to talk to us..."). One of my hobbies is collecting die cast
cars, and I picked up 43 of the little monsters that one can't find
in the U.S. Must have made my luggage look decidedly odd in the X
ray machines... Anyway, it was a very fun and instructive trip, and
will certainly be an assist as I work on future books. Update: I posted
some pictures from the trip; they are located here. April
21st, 2006 Last
weekend was Norwescon, the largest regular sci-fi / fantasy convention
in the Seattle area. I had a full schedule during the con: two panels
(one on cover art, and another on tools for digital artists); three
manuscript critiques for the Fairwood Writers Group; a reading (thank
you all who came); an autograph session; and entries in the art show.
I sold five pieces in the art show! Whoo hoo! That was much better
that what I thought I would have. Guess I need to come up with some
more pictures! Borders
is ready, willing, and able to sponsor more Sci Fi Saturday events.
We have two more lined up now - one in Everett, WA on May 20th, and
another in Tukwila, WA on June 24th. We're still finalizing the authors
who will be at each one, but so far we know for sure that Louise Marley
and Susan Matthews from the first event will be at both, and perhaps
Robin Hobb will be joining us again for the June event. Brenda Cooper,
an excellent sci fi writer who has current and past books written
along with Larry Niven, as well as new books done solo, will be with
us in June as well; and we may have Ted Butler, a fellow Windstorm
Creative writer and Young Adult Sci fi writer, joining us in May.
More details as they emerge. I'm
off to Japan for a week for a business trip, but hope to soak up some
of the countryside, and in particular Himeji castle, while I'm there
(research, research, research...). Full report upon my return! April
8th, 2006 Our
Sci-Fi Saturday event was a success, with me, Susan Matthews, Louise
Marley, and Robin Hobb entertaining a small crowd of excited sci fi
and fantasy readers. We started off with a panel on "How to Build
a Starship," at which Susan delightfully demonstrated the process
by disassembling a fountain pen and showing how the various bits were
used to come up with a design for her ships. She also handed out pens
to everyone in the audience for them to join along. Then we talked
about the ins and outs of how you put such ships together to serve
the needs of your story, what needs to be explained, what doesn't,
etc. We then raffled off a Road To Kotaishi bag packed with goodies
and books by the authors. Next
we spent an hour chatting with readers and store staff, and munching
on some delightfult Spaceship cookies baked by Louise (and yes, Louise,
I'm afraid they did look more like guppies than starships...). Finally
we did another panel on "How Magic Really Works," in which we talked
about how we devise magic systems, the difference between technology
and supernatural belief, the influence of both Potter and Tolkien
in their very different ways, and along the way tried to figure out
the magical microphone, which chose not to play along during this
second session. We also raffled off a basket with more goodies and
books. All
in all we had a good time, the store seemed to like the turnout and
the show, and I personally enjoyed meeting with readers and chatting
with my author friends. This coming weekend is Norwescon, the big
convention in the Seattle area, at which I have a couple of panels,
a reading, some critiques, and some art on display in the art show.
Full report after the con! April
2th, 2006 The
event this coming weekend in Redmond will be from 1:00 to 4:00. I've
got most of the supplies for the goodie baskets put together, and
have been busy running around putting up posters, handing out fliers,
and submitting postings to various websites. Hoping we get a big turnout! March
1, 2006 Another
event on the calendar - this time it's a Sci-Fi Saturday, at the same
Redmond Borders where I did a reading late last year. It will be a
multi-author event, with Robin Hobb, Louise Marley, and Susan Matthews
joining me. We'll be doing a couple of panels, which is pretty normal
for conventions but not so common for bookstores; with in between
time for chatting up the authors, eating sci-fi themed cookies baked
by Louise, and a raffle of books and other goodies. The date is April
8th, time yet to be determined; but as soon as I know I'll post it
here. Hope you can come! January
15, 2006 Hey,
Happy New Year! This weekend was Rustycon, one of the local Seattle
area conventions. I served on three panels, one of which dealt with
Computer Art. That was a lot of fun, talking about the stuff I've
been working with over the last year. I also had my work on display
in their art show - this was the second show I've been in. On Saturday
night, my publisher Windstorm Creative had a sort of pre-launch party
for their new anthology "Tales of the Slug," a cooperative
project with the Rustycon folks, and which will be released for the
con in 2007. There was a raffle during the evening, and I was one
of the winners! December
11, 2005 Last
Friday was my reading at Third Place Books, a large independent north
of Seattle. I had a decent turnout, and since I had a microphone it
was much easier to talk - I didn't have to shout to be heard! I sold
some books, including a complete set of all four books to one very
energetic young man (thanks, Michael!) Before the event the store
had a very nice display of the whole series up by the registers. Third
Place was one of the stores on my 'list' of places I wanted to read
at ever since first getting published, so it was nice to finally get
the opportunity to do an event there. December
6, 2005 Talebones,
a magazine of Science Fiction and Dark Fantasy, has published a good
rewiew of The Road to Kotaishi. Excerpts on the Review page! November
22, 2005 The
Borders event was very productive (pictures on the Appearances page!)
While attendance at the reading itself was a little sparse, due to
the early hour, things picked up later. I stayed at the store until
just after 9:00 PM, and due to my location (right in front of the
SF/F section) I was able to interact with a lot of store browsers.
I handed out my free keychains, which were successful in breaking
the ice with folks, and then talked to them about the books. Quite
a few people were also stopped in their tracks by the very nice display
of the books next to me, giving me an opportunity to chat with them.
I was quite happy with the results. Next
up is Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, WA on December 9th. November
7, 2005 Back
from World Fantasy con in Madison, Wisconsin. It was good to see some
of my author friends and make some potential contacts. My thanks to
Borderlands Books of San Francisco for carrying my books during the
con; hopefully they will also stock the titles in their store as well.
The con itself was mildly productive, as these things are. Coming
up quickly is the Borders event in Redmond, which should be interesting,
as it is being billed as a Microsoft appreciation event; I understand
that all Microsoft employees will be getting emails about it. That
should drum up some business! November
1, 2005 And
more nice news: Dan Bieger has followed up his review of The Road
to Kotaishi with another five-star review of The Sands of Sabakushi.
I've posted some highlights on my review page, accessible via the
The Books link at left. I didn't include the entire review, as it
does have some spoilers for those who might not yet have read The
Road to Kotaishi (inevitable, when one is reviewing a sequel!). But
it is available over at SFFWorld.com for anyone who wants to see the
whole thing. In
a couple of days I'm off to Madison, Wisconsin for the World Fantasy
convention. I also have confirmed a book store event at Borders in
Redmond, Washington on November 18th, at 7:00 PM. Hope to see some
of you at either of these venues! September
29, 2005 Some
very nice news! Dan Bieger, a regular over at SFFWorld and a rather
discriminating reader, has given The Road to Kotaishi a
five-star review! Now that really makes an author's day.
I've posted excerpts of the review here on my site in the Books section,
but you can also use the link above to see it at SFFWorld. Dan has
an open invitation to the bar from me anytime we happen to cross paths! The
Foolscap convention has also come and gone. While the panels were
perhaps only so-so, the interesting news for me was doing the art
show. The impetus for this was that one of the panels was called "Writers
Who Draw and Artists Who Write." This seemed appropriate for
me because of my book covers, but I also thought that if I was ever
going to exhibit any of my other 3D digital renderings then this would
be the time to do it. I displayed nine works, and I actually sold
one! It was one of only two pieces sold during the entire weekend
from the art display. Not a bad showing for a first-time art exhibitor.
So I'll probably continue to display at future conventions. If nothing
else, it's fairly inexpensive advertising for Radthorne-the-writer
as well. September
7, 2005 CascadiaCon
has come and gone. It was a pretty good convention, not quite as busy
as I think the organizers had hoped. I had quite a few panels, most
of which were pretty good. One nice one in particular was with Robin
Hobb and her U.K. agent, Jane Johnson. Robin is truly a delightful
person, always saying kind things about my book. Another
interesting bit of news is that for the next convention, Foolscap
at the end of September, my artwork has been acceped into the art
show! I think that's quite a coup for someone who doesn't really think
of himself as an artist. August
21, 2005 Just
received my schedule for the CascadiaCon convention here in Seattle
over Labor Day weekend. Check out my Appearances page using the links
at left for the scoop on where I'll be and when! August
5th, 2005 I've
re-organized the Artwork section and divided it up into categories,
as I was starting to get a lot of thumbnails on one page. There are
now sections for Fantasy Images, Misc. Images, and Faux Book Covers. July
6th, 2005 Windstorm
has finally posted up The Sands of Sabakushi on their website. The
links on The Books page to their site are now active. Both Kotaishi
and Sabakushi are available at a discount when you order direct from
them, so that would be a good place to pick up some copies! May
17th, 2005 I've
added a new section to the website to showcase some of my 3D computer
art. You can find it under the Artwork button in the navigation pane
at left. Go take a peek and see what you think. April
13th, 2005 Tonight
was the official launch of The Sands of Sabakushi! It was also the
night for my reading at the University of Washington Bookstore (along
with Ted Butler, a fellow Windstorm Creative author). It went very
well - we had about a dozen people there. Several of my more ardent
fans showed up, which was also quite nice. I read a couple of scenes
from the new book, followed by Ted who read from his first book, one
of two now out from Windstorm (his are YA science fiction). For
those of you not familiar with the University of Washington Bookstore,
it's huge! It's three stories, with the school textbook part only
one of the floors. The other two are devoted to general books, and
they stock a lot of eclectic things (such as Pacific Northwest writers
published by small presses... ) Although
the new book is not yet up on Amazon, or even on Windstorm's own website
(they seem to be tad slow off the mark), the book is most definitely
available. Anyone who doesn't want to wait can look right
here for the UW's website listing of the books. They don't
have cover images (only for Kotaishi Part 2 - go figure...) but you
can see those just over to the right on this page... March
28th, 2005 The
Sands of Sabakushi is here! Well, at least I have a batch of pre-street
editions. I took them with me to the Norwescon convention this past
weekend (more of which in a moment). The new book looks great - Windstorm's
current printer is doing a wonderful job on making the colors sharp
and clear. The books are not yet up on Amazon (or even on Windstorm's
own site), but if you're an eager beaver and want to be the first
on your block to get your copies, you can still order direct from
Windstorm. Just give 'em author and title and they'll be able to ship
them to you. The
convention went pretty well. Lady Jayne, the bookseller that I use
in the dealer room at most of the cons, sold some sets of both Sabakushi
and Kotaishi. I had two panels (Self Editing Secrets and How Stories
End), both of which had full rooms of people attending. I also did
a reading from Sabakushi, attended an autograph session, and did a
couple of critiques for the Fairwood Writers Group. As
soon as the new books are more generally available, I will post a
note here to let everyone know. March
10th, 2005 Progress
on The Sands of Sabakushi: yesterday evening I uploaded the finalzed
versions of the cover art to Windstorm Creative, and finished proofing
the interior from the PDF files they sent earlier that day. Things
are still on schedule for the books to be ready by Norwescon on March
24th! February
20th, 2005 This
past weekend was RadCon in Pasco, WA. This was my first time at this
particular con, situated in the southeast corner of the state. I had
a couple of panels (both of which went quite well), a reading, and
an autograph session. One
of the panels was on "Using People as Characters," which
at first I thought meant using people as opposed to, say, dogs and
cats. However, what they really meant was basing your characters on
real people. I and my co-panelists (Joe Haldeman, Jay Lake, and Darragh
Metzger) talked about a few "complete" people that we used,
but mostly how we used composites of people, or their traits, that
fit in with the story characters that we wanted to create. The
other panel was on Plot, Setting, and Characters, one of my pet panels
that I had suggested to the con, concerning finding the proper balance
between these three elements and the importance of keeping one's eye
on the overall goal of storytelling. Patty Briggs, Bobbie Benton-Hull,
and Aynjel Kaye joined me for that one. As always, we ended up covering
a lot of ground, including the subjects of outlining versus organic
writing, and what strategies writers have to use with either method
to get their plots to work out in the end. The
reading (as many of them are) was sparsely attended, even though Irene
Radford shared the time slot with me. I was hoping that might draw
a few more bodies in - after all, what better thing to have than Radthorne
and Radford at RadCon? But we were also opposite the dinner hour,
which didn't help. The autograph session was productive, though, as
one of the folks who stopped by and took a bookmark later tracked
me down after a panel to buy Kotaishi Part 1. She had read the blurb
on the bookmark, and that (plus the cover art) whetted her appetite
for more. (Thanks, Geralyn - hope you enjoy it!)
Latest Artwork:
|
The Road to Kotaishi, Part 1
The Road to Kotaishi, Part 2
The Sands of Sabakushi, Part 1
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