Lovin' Cory to pieces. :)

Can't say enough good things about this woman's art - she *knows* my characters, and she really understands the genre and the feel of the story!

Cory, I wish I could clone you, hon'. :D

More beautiful pics...

...From the lovely Hannah Bear:

Always in progress...

I'm working on the final ("final, last, etc") draft of the first issue of Mehdi, and I hope to have that completed shortly for editing. I have a few options at this point (or perhaps very few, depending on how you look at it). I could try self publishing it once I have an artist, or I could try webcomics. Or, I could submit it to Vertigo. Vertigo could be a hard sell, though. You definitely need some cash to try that route, and a semi-established career.

Sean is also attempting to get his company off the ground (his independent company) and I could try getting Mehdi through on his end. I'm not sure which avenue I'm going to take at this point, but I know it'll take some soul searching and Divine communication. It would be nice to get this book into wider circles, rather than a few select ones.

Sean's right; "Mehdi" is one of those books that could be a hard sell. I'm sure if the characters were of a different ethnic background it would have a much better chance in the market, but that's not my book. I think it's time to pray for a publisher. ;)

Love. The. Artists.

Sample works from artists helping me bring "Mehdi" to life.

I love what Hannah has done for me, and her artwork is fantastic. We really work well as a team, and I like what she produces. Here's her final picture of Jon, based on my specifications:


Beautiful. Absolutely *gorgeous* work. I'm also commissioning her for two other characters, Una and Wes. I'd like her to do a final portrait of Una as well, but I'm not sure which setting I'd like to use for her. Again, I'd like the picture to be fairly symbolic and indicative of Una's character and nature, but I don't have any solid thoughts in mind yet.

And here are some other pictures from other equally talented artists. From my dear internet friend Cory (great depiction of Jon, once more):


And from another artist I commissioned, who did some fantastic stills despite not being able to finish (Jon and Una):


And the closer shot of Una, which I love:


I wish she could've finished Una's face! That's exactly the look I was going for with her.

Will there be more artwork? Oh, yes. Expect it. My only wish is that I could find an artist who wouldn't mind taking his or her time creating a book or two with me. I need a professional one, and I'm on the hunt for someone, but I have to be in concert with this artist. We both have to be on the same page for this project to run smoothly, and I'm not sure who has the patience to wait with me through the whole process! :) My dream is to bring "Mehdi" to life...and I'm willing to wait to see it accomplished with no shortcuts.

*Happy sighs!*

The concept art work is coming together nicely, and an internet friend of mine has taken on the (daunting) task of sketching out a few of my characters. I'll be a little less rich but a lot happier. My goal is to try and have everything completed by mid-July/early August so I can pitch the book before school and training start back up. If I don't do it now I won't have time until December, and I'd rather not wait that long.

Also, the website's nearly up (seriously, this time!) and once it's finished I'll focus my attention on finalizing the scripts. It's a good feeling to come full circle with this little story. I'm hoping it takes off so I can continue the saga, but we'll see. Patience is a good thing. :)

Sadly, one of my artists had to back out of the project. She was really good, too, but due to personal life issues she won't be able to continue. Well, I definitely understand that. Sometimes you bite the brush, and sometimes the brush bites you...or something like that.

Short on funds this month, but cheerfully I'll have more funds at the end of the month! Wow. Go figure.

So much to do, so little time. My brain has taken a hiatus at the worst possible time, but I'll go with the flow like I usually do. I'm finishing up the "Mehdi" scripts, and hopefully I can pitch them sometime in July. We'll see how it goes.

--"roynne."

*Is chuffed*

Am very, very pleased with the artwork, so far. They're both extremely talented, and they "get" what I want to do. I couldn't be happier with the outcome! I'll show it here, once it's complete.

Now I just need to invest in the sample layout page.

Ah, money...where would we be without you?

Humming along...

Received three sketches from folks, and I really like what I've been seeing so far. My deadline is August because I'll be in the swing of my 8-5p job and I'll have less time (if any) to do heavy marketing. Summer's it for me.

It's funny - no, writers do not get paid loads of money for the product they produce, but we don't care. Labor of love, dudes and dudettes. Labor of love.

ahh, that's better...

First post, more or less.

This will be my official writing blog, and hopefully it'll be the one that *lasts.* I've had successful blogs aaand not so successful ones, but I wanted to have one that was more professional than my others - and more informative.

What can I say about writing that hasn't already been said? You can say you're a writer but you don't actually become one until you--what? Write. How obvious is that? Seriously though there are far too many folks out there who have something hidden in their drawers and they don't call themselves writers. If you write, you're a writer - 'nuff said.

Professional writer, on the other hand, is something else entirely - but not by much. If anyone has paid you anything for speaking about writing or writing in general, you are a professional writer. Even if it's your Great Aunt Sue who thought it would be "nice" to give you money for your first grade poem. Boo-yah - you got paid!

Okay, okay. So maybe that's not the best possible example. But we all put way too much stock in writing and writers. We assume only those we see on the best sellers lists are "official" writers, and that's not true. It's also not true that all professional writers make money off their writing gigs, either. To be honest, there are very very few millionaire writers - even those on the best sellers list. If you write, write because you love it. Write because you wouldn't be happier doing anything else. Write, because (to misquote a commercial) it's in you. If you have the gift, share it with the world. Doesn't matter if it's big or small.

A writer is simply someone who shares his or her vision using words. We're all writers. Whether or not you choose to be a professional one is up to you, but nothing is impossible.

Blessings,

--roynne.

Just testing!

Testing, testing...