A little art for Friday

I kind of swing from writing, to drawing, and back. The last week has been all about writing, so I haven’t done much art. Also the baby doesn’t think she should ever be out of my lap, heh.

Waiting for help

Finished up this pic. I wound up compositing in a lot of photos for textures because I didn’t have time to paint everything.

Cal Kestis from Jedi Fallen Order with a bogling pet. Boglings are just Eevees.

I highly enjoyed Jedi: Fallen Order, so I had to do some fanart for it. It’s a throwback to the original Star Wars movies and does characters and friendship the way Star Wars is supposed to be. I’ll probably play it every year like rewatching a movie. The way I do Portal 2 and Bioshock Infinite. 😀

Quick sketch of Robin Stephanos from my After Atlantis and Vid:ilantes books

I’m trying to draw more concept art for my original characters. It really helps to have visuals. I’ve done the heroes, but I haven’t done the villains and supporting cast. Trying to rectify that. Robin is a bounty hunter who sides with whoever can pay the most money, preferably in jewels. She first appears in Guardian’s Awakening, which technically takes place slightly after Islesworn. She’s in Islesworn, too. Heck, she shows up in just about all of them because she’s always harassing the heroes. She’s kind of fun and utterly amoral. 😀

Why don’t publishers hire ghostwriters for the books they want written?

It’s summertime, and writer’s conferences are in full swing across all my social media. My writing groups are full of people writing proposals and summaries, trying to catch the eye of various publishers or agents. It’s a busy time full of hopes and dreams.

I’m sitting in my corner, doing revisions on my own work, and watching this go on. I’m watching my friends get rejected, watching publishers with really weird requirements. And a question has arisen in my mind that I’d love to ask publishers:

Why do you accept submissions at all when you already know what kind of books you want? Why don’t the publishers write proposals and summaries, and hire writers to write those books?

Publishers don’t want authors who write random books. They want particular books: romance, mystery, or whatever. They want particular formulas in those books. They want particular writing styles. Authors who don’t fit those requirements get rejected, no matter how good their book is.

So … why don’t publishers just hire ghostwriters? Any writer worth their salt can write according to somebody else’s rules. Heaven knows that enough authors have to rewrite their books according to what an editor or agent thinks will sell. Why not go all the way and just write a book from scratch that the publisher has ordered? Authors of licensed fiction do it all the time for Star Trek and other properties.

I think my author friends could avoid a lot of heartache by self-publishing their books and picking up ghostwriting gigs from publishers. I mean, there are indies like Bella Forest who are just a pen name for a jillion ghost writers churning out series books. It’s a thing. I just don’t know why publishers continue to use the old model in the modern era. It’s nonsensical.

Rough art: Star Wars and Destiny

As is our usual habit after I’ve had a baby, my hubby plays story-heavy games while I watch. We enjoy them together like a movie. This time, he’s been playing through Jedi: Fallen Order. And I remember what a Star Wars junkie I was back in the day. Although I liked the movies (original trilogy only, heh), my bag was always the games. And I mean the old games, like Dark Forces, X-wing, and Jedi Knight. The new movies haven’t interested me as much, and the games, while interesting, were usually inaccessibly placed on console only (like Force Unleashed). I think that’s why Destiny grabbed me, because it’s a lot like Star Wars.

Anyway, arts:

Cal Kestis from Jedi: Fallen Order

Painted the above in an hour while the baby was asleep. Didn’t get the values bright enough, but it’s not bad for an hour.

Destiny art stuffs

Thinking about adventures my characters might have in the next expansion, which is on Europa. Which is an icy wasteland. Which means my characters get to wear fur! All the fluffs!

Sitting poses are the hardest for me to draw, so both these are sitting poses. It’s good practice.

Launch of Vid:ilantes novella: Waygate

I’m excited to announce that a new Vid:ilantes novella is available!

A novella that takes place a few months after Bloodbound. Kari and Jayesh send emails back and forth, slowly becoming friends. But Jayesh is dealing with a mysterious super, a knight in armor who can destroy supers with a touch. At the same time, Kari is watching a creepy house where the inhabitants are building an Atlantean waygate–technology that has been lost for three centuries. Can Kari and Jayesh trust each other enough to work together, or will the knight and his magitech destroy them both?

Available on most retailers here

I didn’t mean for there to be a novella in this trilogy, but after Bloodbound, the characters needed some space to breathe. It also introduces the Big Bads of the final book, so it’s important to read. I guess it’s not really a trilogy anymore? 🙂