. . . it's been a minute since I updated, but I moved to Taiwan and that's why I haven't been on here at all. I haven't been doing any art since the coloring job thing fell through, and even before that the well of inspiration pretty much dried up. I haven't had the time, or the heart, to be quite honest. The former has been sucked up into the soul-eating void that is my current employer, and the former was tossed out with the trash after being damaged beyond repair. So be it. Life is what it is; and right now that's pretty much all i have to share.

I feel like this gallery belongs to someone else. In another lifetime. See you around, DA.

Guess who got a Wacom tablet? ^-^ eeeeeeeee! My friends rock.

I'm not dead, just temporarily out of order. All the gory details are up in my myspace, if you're into that particular brand of voyeurism. [link]

All my art time and energy has been devoted to the super-secret project that I will one day be able to tell you guys all about. Be assured that I'm working diligently . . . just not on anything I can show you here.

I'm back from a week in the wilderness (2 weeks if you count assorted travel time :-p ) and I've brought some pictures to share!

The trip was awesome, even though we didn't catch much. It was nice to just relax and read and soak up all the nature. I've pretty much reached my nature saturation point though, and am once again exulting in the joys of indoor plumbing.

2 more rejection slips waiting for me when I got home, too

. . . but my diploma finally arrived, and with it a feeling of absolute finality: Done With School!!!

Time to get back to work on all the things I left behind---especially book 2!

[x-posted from MySpace]


As I'm sure you're all sick of hearing about by now, I'm still grinding away at queries and synopsesesssesesss. I've got a good working copy of the synopsis now, but reading over it made me start re-thinking the query letter I had. The one that got rejected, that is. So I completely re-wrote the query letter--and this is where YOU come in. Are you ready? I'm going to post both queries, and I want you to tell me which one you think is better.

It doesn't matter if you've read my book or not, in fact--it's probably better if you haven't because what I'm looking for here is: "Does this make you want to read my book?"

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Query One: The Rejected

[ Person in charge of my fate ],

I am seeking representation for my novel Dragonborn, completed at 109,000 words. Dragonborn is a vampire novel that takes place in a fantasy setting, but with a sci-fi element that will grow more pronounced in later books. It is the first of an estimated 5-6 book series, the second of which is currently being written.

The last dragon is dead—but this is not the end, it is the beginning.

Several hundred years have passed since the Cataclysm plunged mankind and mageborn alike into a dark age. It has been said that the heart of magic has been broken, but the old ways live on in the unchanging hearts of the vampiric kash'avier and other immortal creatures that inhabit this lawless world.

Once a stronghold of the mageborn, Cro Settlement has been overrun by an army of ghouls led by a bloodthirsty necromancer. Eventine Alderon has opened a rift between the magical world of Ar and a strange and sterile world of technology. He is trading the mageborn people of his world for the alien technology of the other. Though the unliving body he inhabits is forever trapped on the trembling edge of adulthood, the blood-feud that motivates him has simmered over the span of several mortal lifetimes.

The keepers of the Arlachia Venn, the legendary stones that have granted the curse of immortality, join forces in order to drive Eventine out of Cro and into that alien world; but the taste of victory is soured when they learn that their efforts have come too late to save the last dragon. Further complications arise when it is discovered that Eventine's servant has made off with his twin heirs. Created via strange otherworldly technology, these infants represent a hope that the blood of dragons will live on in the world, and a fear that Eventine's wicked legacy will also endure.

I wrote this book as a fresh take on the vampire myth; blending the horror, fantasy, and sci-fi genres to create a series that incorporates elements of each. Because you specialize [ whatever it is they like ], I hope that we might be a good fit. If you are interested, I would like to send the rest of my manuscript for your evaluation.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Me
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Query 2 : The Untested



Dear ­­­[ ],

I am seeking representation for my novel Dragonborn, completed at 109,000 words. I have enclosed [ synopsis, sample chapters, whatever ]. The sequel, Broken Crown, is currently being written.

The last dragon is dead—but this is not the end, it is the beginning.

A dark age has fallen upon the Northern Kingdom. Only the ancient and vampiric kash'avier remember the world as it used to be, but the centuries have removed them from the bustle and light of the living world, dulling their senses to the fresh atrocity invading from the poisoned lands of Holehollow.

Eventine Alderon, one of the last heirs to the broken crown of North, has engineered a rift between the magical world of Ar and a strange and sterile world of machinery. He is trading the mageborn people of his world for the alien technology of the other. The unliving body he inhabits is forever trapped on the trembling edge of adulthood, but the blood-feud that motivates him has simmered over the span of centuries.

In order to stop him, the ageless ones must take on unlikely allies—including a mortal man with a touch of the "Wildling Blood" and a hot-tempered necromancer intent on proving that "hell hath no fury . . ."

Their victory is both hard-won and hollow; complications arise when it is discovered that Eventine's servant has brought his twin heirs into this world. Created via strange otherworldly technology, these "dragonborn" infants represent a hope that the blood of dragons will live on, and a fear that Eventine's wicked legacy will also endure.

Dragonborn is character-driven dark fantasy, with an sci-fi element that will grow more pronounced in later books. Because you specialize in [ /enjoy : whatever the agent/editor likes ], I thought that we might be a good fit. If you are interested, I would like to send the rest of my manuscript for your evaluation.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

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So, what do you think? Be honest--I'd rather face brutality from my friends than from some editor/agent that thinks I'm a hack.