Drawing through writer's block

Working on the outline for book two I've run into a spot of writer's block. I'm having trouble figuring out a plot point that allows me to get the characters from A to B.

So, in the mean time I've done some more drawing of Rhe'zan ferocity. I kind of want to turn it into a tattoo.

Pencil on paper

Digital colouring

Enjoy!
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The more things change...

1999 Christmas card - water colour

A friend from home, Don, sent me a Christmas message that put the biggest smile on my face. He stumbled across one of my earliest holiday cards in his office!

It was done way back in 1999 and was the second one ever. It was done in water colour.

I remember having to take the massive page (about A2) down to the local copy shop to get it copied and reduced. They were all printed on plain paper and were just folded in half to make a card. I could only afford to make 20. I was so proud to hand them out to friends and family because I couldn't at the age of 17 afford to buy gifts for everyone I cared about. Don, at the time, was my boss at Barnes and Noble (obviously someone who I was right to hold in high esteem!).

I'm touched he's saved it all these years because I honestly believed they'd all been lost to time by now. I can't even find the copies that I'd saved for myself!

It's nice to see the characters that I conceived all those years ago as just silly ideas have made it through time pretty much in tact. I think you'll recognise them all. The only difference is that Sem was once 'Ben'.

2012 Christmas card

And while the characters may not have changed much what's even spookier/heartening (spookening) is that neither have I really. In 1999 the thing that I wished for is the thing that, over a decade later, I am holding on to; friendship. I suppose the desire for belonging and closeness is a tenant of everyone's life, especially around the holidays. It's a thing that I've learned to appreciate just how much of it I have.

This little reminder of my past is quite possibly the nicest Christmas gift I've had this year; a nice reminder from past me that I'm exactly where I want to be.

Enjoy!
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Synaesthetic drawing: Darkside

One of the things I discovered in college was that I have synaesthesia. Long story short when I hear music I see colours* or chromesthesia.

For my senior dissertation in design I used my chromesthesia to create a book that was a colour symphony. As part of the project I created synaesthetic drawing from the various songs that inspired colour planes in my mind. Some were literal representations of what I 'see' others were images inspired by my experience of the song.

For the first time in ages I heard a song that set my synaesthesia alight. The Glee version of Kelly Clarkson's 'Dark Side' hits all the right notes and every time I listen to it I see brilliant reds and yellows on the colour plane. So, here's an interpretationof what I see**:

Bright side of the dark side - Photoshop

Enjoy!
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* In addition to being just plain old cool, my chromesthesia is incredibly helpful musically. For me the note A always appears yellow and D appears red. This means I can usually find an A (giver or take a semi tone) by singing the colour yellow.

** When I'm actually listening to the song the colours flow and move like waves. When certain notes are hit they ping, a bit like fireworks.

Previous prints:

Cherry Lips - Garbage

Cherry Lips - Garbage

Bigger than my body - John Mayer

Ghost Train - Gorrilaz

First Taste - Fiona Apple

My Immortal - Evanescence

Mahler Symphonie No. 2

Manuscripts and kittens

I've always said the secret to success is persistence and proliferation.

Persistence:
I sent out my first manuscripts at the beginning of November and this last week I got my first rejections back (Booooo!). But, in true Themo fashion I ate some comfort food, stoked the fires of righteous indignation, became decidedly contrary in a 'you-reject-me-so-I'll-show-you-when-I'm-rich-and-famous' mood, made some edits and posted off three more manuscripts for the two I got back. Ha! Take that publishers!

I don't know if 'spite' is what motivates most writers to keep going. But, as long is I'm getting my work out there, right?

Proliferation:
Well, don't stop me now! I've started blazing ahead on the outline of the second book so when the 'your book is amaze-balls' call comes I can say 'Yes, I'm working on the second one'.

The biggest hurdle has been deciding exactly whether the Rhe'zan people (who feature heavily in the second book) are more canine or feline.

Well, as I was helping decorate my mate Gareth's Christmas tree this weekend I was staring down his cat Martha. As I looked at her, staring into her saucered eyes, I felt locked in a contest of wills. A tiny shudder ran up the back of my neck and suddenly I thought 'I better stop before she rips off my face'. This tiny (tubby) little house cat despite her doe-ish demeanour still carried a glimmer of the primal danger of a big cat. And, as cute as she is, I still didn't really want to mess with her. Gazing into the eyes of a dog I find them more doleful than dangereux.

So, little miss Martha sold it for me. Rhe'zans are feline. Cute and cuddly with an edge of ferocity.

Here are some sketches I've done of the refined (refelined?) Rhe'zan look.

Built for action - ballpoint pen

Up close and personal - ballpoint pen

Enjoy!
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Christmas Letter 2012

When I thought about what I want most for Christmas this year, the only thing I could think of is that I want my friends to be happy and healthy. I look back on this year and it has been a stressful one. Never have I seen the people and things I value in my life come under such attack. There have been great losses and accidents, failing health and deaths, physical and mental attacks, fights with jobs and break ups.

But, the one thing I’ve gotten out of this is how much my friends mean to me. It’s been sobering to see the people I care about the most ailing in a way that made me fear more for them than for myself. I’ve tried my best to be there to help where I can. It’s meant a lot to me to be able to help, but it’s also shown me I need to look after myself as well. Empathy comes with a terrible downside when not tempered by practicality and self-preservation. It’s a very strange lesson to learn. And, one I imagine I’ll keep learning.

There have also been triumphs in the year. So, how to go through it all?

I had a nice Christmas in York with my mate Keir’s family so that helped to recharge me for the start of the year. It was visa renewal time and that came with its usual caravan of angst. But, thankfully it went through with less hassle than last time and I'm now in the UK until 2014. 

Our clootie dumpling

January saw me back to work full-time after a health crisis at the end of 2011. It was slow going and I had a few wobblies on the way but really felt ‘back into it' by April. Easter was my first proper time off and ended up seeing it through looking after a mate who was in an accident. :-/ But I kept myself together and we ended up having a great Easter dinner with him, his mum and another mate. We also made a ‘clootie dumpling’ from scratch which was about 5lbs of amaze-balls!

PPA Awards

Because I work on a magazine I remember my life by the production schedule. February was a great issue and I got to use some of my illustration skills for the cover. And, it appears I was doing something right at work because we managed to win ‘Staff Magazine of the Year’ from Professional Publishers Association. The ceremony was in October in Glasgow and I was presented the award by Nina Conti, a ventriloquist, and her creepy monkey puppet.

My fav bus at Bridgeton!

I've started helping my mate Shug repair his vintage buses which has been endlessly fun. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy working with machinery and suddenly recall my childhood desire to be an engineer. Well, I can't really be chewed with the maths side of engineering, but I do enjoy hitting things with sledgehammers and using power tools. I mostly stand around and move things as needed, do all the fiddly jobs like repainting signs and making tea, but the lads at Bridgeton Bus Garage are good fun. And, it's awesome to see something (slowly) restored to an actual working beautiful machine. 

"The" Royal Wedding happened. There was some jubilee business and in June there were Olympics in London. Barry Obams is President again. Woo!

Sadly, I’m not playing rugby with the Thebans anymore. I left on less than happy terms in the Spring which was hard. I’ve spent five years taking pride in and supporting the team and to have things go sour was and is upsetting. It’s the first time in my life I’ve parted with something so acrimoniously. But, I’m proud of myself for drawing a line on what I find to be acceptable, standing up for it, but also having the wisdom to just walk away when fighting wasn’t doing ME any good. However, that’s not the end.

Shug, Kade and me at dinner

I still helped plan the 10^th Anniversary celebration for the Thebans as I couldn’t walk away from the good friends, good times and hard work I’ve put in over my five years with the team. Before the dinner Shug and I planned a masterful treasure hunt. I also planned a book launch because some really uber-talented designer and writer put together a book chronicling the team’s first 10 years. Then me, Kade (my twin), Shug and Neil put together a great gala dinner to celebrate the occasion. It was a black tie event hosted at Murrayfield (home of Scottish rugby). There were speeches, presentations, raffles, food, drink and a ceilidh. It was amazing to see support for the team come from across the world (literally). I also hand caligraphed all the invitations which was great as I’d gotten rusty and needed the practice (I only messed up two!!) I’ll never forget the night of the dinner. It was great to have so many friends and good memories around to wrap up my time with the current team on a high note. And even better, out of the event a group of former players have been meeting up socially.

Scotland vs New Zealand

I finally went to my first live rugby matches at Murrayfield thanks to my mate Iain. We watched Edinburgh get humped by several teams. :( In November I got to see two of the test matches for the rugby world cup as well. The atmosphere in a packed-out Murrayfield is out of sight. Scotland played a cracking match against NZ and a less than spectacular one against S.Africa. And, showing my true colours, I finally bought a Scotland rugby top as an early Christmas gift. I had a great Thanksgiving at Lindsay's, as usual, with lots of food and good laughs too and even watched some rugby in place of a big Football match!

Me, Ryan and Dave

I turned 30 this year! I planned a big party at a local pub and had a pub quiz. It was lots of fun and great to have so many friends around to celebrate. My friends in Scotland gave me an amazing send off because after my birthday I had a flying visit to Boston to visit my best friend, Ryan, who is very unwell with cancer. It’s an experience beyond bitter sweet. It's like being grateful to have had the chance to have your heart ripped out face-to-face. At our age, time should still be on our side. But, I was given the overwhelmingly touching gift of financial assistance from several friends to be able to make the trip and steal back some of that time. And I would pay a thousand times a thousand to do it again. So, I’ll just leave my trip to Boston down as harrowing, heartbreaking, humbling, and happy all at once.

The Mighty Orange-Peel bound

I’ve continued with my book binding and most importantly, I finished my book! (I even got a mention on a professional's website for my maker's mark) As part of my trip to the States I wanted to make sure I had finished and bound a copy to give Ryan. I always promised she'd be the first to have one. So I spent the majority of the summer writing up a storm. Sadly, at the beginning of August I lost a friend and mentor, Mark O'Donnell. I had literally just finished my book when I got the news and I think Mark would appreciate the dark irony of it. I had Mark as a professor at Yale and we stayed in touch, both of us sharing our writing with the other as projects developed. It was because of him I started this blog. I’ve sent the first three chapters out to publishers and I’m still going through and making edits but it’s almost at the point where I just have to stop. I'm sure Mark would be proud.

I learned to play the ukulele this year and I even get to perform with my choir playing it. Admittedly, Hamish, my band mate, carries most of the music as I'm barely good enough to strum, but I really enjoy it. And having Iain at my back in the choir now has made it a lot more fun too. 

Well, that’s 2012. I’ve learned a lot. Wasn’t the greatest year but I survived it in tact. Christmas this year is going to be a quiet affair, celebrating with Iain and Shug. And, even though I can't have the thing I want the most, I have many things to be grateful for. So, I think, for this time, I'll just concentrate on that.

I hope you all are happy and well. Please let me know how you are.

Happy holidays!
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Christmas kick off

This past week I celebrated Thanksgiving with friends and it was fantastic. Rugby in place of American football and a Saturday feast instead of Thursday worked out quite well. And, like the morning star, while I laid in bed stuffed and stricken with a cold, my Christmas card appeared to me *cue heavenly trumpets*.

I was having trouble coming up with an idea of ‘what I want most this year’. Usually it’s quite easy; family, friends, good times, presents, happiness. But this year it was a bit of a challenge as my heart is very much with my friend, Ryan, who’s not well. It provided a bit of a block because the thing I want most of all is for her to be healthy and there's not too much I can do to help with that. Well, a very insightful friend, Howard, suggested I stop trying so hard to look forward and, instead, look back to a happy memory. It also made me recall a line from the Yale alma mater, Bright College Years: "How bright will seem through memory’s haze those happy golden by gone days." I’m not one for recounting the ‘good-ol days’ as I'm prone to figuring out what I need to do next. But I think this holiday might be a good time to develop a bit of nostalgia.

I thought back to my recent trip to Boston visiting Ryan and it suddenly became crystal clear what feeling of happiness I wanted to share with family and friends. Ryan, Dave and I were having a last day in Boston on a bit of a treasure hunt to find a ‘Boston’ themed duck and Christmas ornament (which is not very hard I might add). We were sitting in the Boston Commons watching the ducks and Ryan said, ‘This is probably the last really nice day before it gets too cold’. I can’t say if it really was, but it was the last day of my visit, so, in many ways, bitter-sweetly, it was.  

So for Christmas, I chose to remember the really lovely days. Here’s the first sketch of the card with Gemmy, Sem and Mhetli sitting on a bench, just, watching ducks.

You'll have to wait for Christmas to see the final product!

Enjoy!
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Pencil on paper

Finished drawing - Ink on tracing paper

Map quest Part 2: Arbea Major

So the first outline of the map has come through from Stirling Surveys. It's of the whole continent of Arbea Major (see sketches of the whole World of Arbea).

It's  just the 'bare bones' but he's started to put in rivers and some relief shading for the mountains on the Friizian border (top left).

I've filled in where the rest of the major mountain ranges and forests, etc are and Pat is going to keep working away to drop in the rest of the detail. He's done a spectacular job so far! He's suggested some places for river systems and we'll look at those next after the mountains go in. I never thought my four summers of aquaculture camp would ever come in handy. But they sure have helped for figuring out things like where water flow, estuaries, etc would be.

Enjoy!
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Arbea Major
Map by Sterling Surveys
with sketches by Themo

Read about the mountains range in the middle of the continent known as Volcano Run and get a closer look at Bansho Island City where the story takes place.

Read other excerpts from the book:

Synopsis

Chapter 9: Explode

Chapter 24: Dust

Chapter 18: Invasion

Map quest

One of the favourite parts of the revision process has been working with friends of mine who have expertise in various fields to identify possible holes and, even better, enhance the story.

Most recently I sat down with my mate Pat, a cartographer, of Stirling Surveys, to formally plot the world of Arbea. Firstly I showed Pat the sketches of the map that I’d done at the outset. We discussed how far apart things were in terms of distance (for example it takes Gemmy approx 20 minutes to walk from his house to endo training).

I learned that I have zero concept of scale! My original map meant that either the people of Arbea are giants or the entire continent was roughly the size of Texas. So we went about rationalising the distances and scale of things which was thrilling.

We also discussed topography and things like where mountains and lakes would naturally form. He pointed out that, given the location of the (inactive) volcano in the middle of Bansho Island City (an island within an island), it would most likely not be a peninsula. And, since it’s called Bansho ISLAND City, why not make the darned thing an actual island connected to the main land by a causeway? This also provides a convenient explanation for why the likes of Gravander (Gemmy’s dad) and Raephite (Sem’s dad) don’t come home regularly. The city itself isn’t really big enough to have an air strip and the distance from the coast on the mainland to Morgengarde is roughly the distance of Edinburgh to London (circa 400 miles).

So, I’ve left Arbea in the careful hands of Pat. It’s great collaborating with him to make Arbea really real. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with.

I’ve done a sketch of what Bansho will look like now it’s had a topographic makeover (with a rudimentary indication of scale from what I remember of our session). I'm designing little icons to put on the finished map once it comes through and I’m excited to see what a pro can do! 

Enjoy!
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The oringinal Bansho - June 2010 

Sketch of the new city (better scale) - Nov 2012

My stab at a colour map

More maps:
See the first draft of Arbea Major.

Book Two begins

The journey towards Book Two kicks off with a quick sketch of a new character.

This kid meets up with Gemmy and his family as they take a long needed beach holiday (especially after the events of Book 1).

He's as yet unnamed and I've promised my mate Darren a crack at naming him.

Who is he? Well, he's a 'coaster'. No, no, not the kind you put under a drink. But, a person who lives on the sunny beaches of the Garzian Isles in south-west Arbea just taking in the surf and sand, living the easy life 'coasting' by... a beach bum. He and his family stay near where Gemmy and his crew are holidaying and he strikes up a quick friendship with Sem.

Any ideas for a name to help Darren out?

Enjoy!
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Who's your daddy?! Excerpt 3

Gravander - Pencil and digital rendering

Most kids don't know what their parents actually do at work. Unless you're a teacher or a doctor most kids imagine their parents sit at a desk all day, drink coffee and think of ways to torture their children with embarrassment.

We get a glimpse into Gemmy's dad, Gravander's, day at the office which involves a lot less metaphorical torture. This is from Chapter 18: Invasion.

Enjoy!

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Excerpt from Strange Chronicles: The Mighty Orange-Peel by Themo H. Peel

"Gravander was barely listening as he studied Mhetli’s vitals on the monitors.

‘You allowed M82 to escape. We needed him here for his own safety. You were not to

engage him.’ Gravander growled.

‘Untie me. I will find them,’ Mhetli said through gritted teeth.

‘Not until you’ve spoken to the director. He’ll have questions for you.’

‘Those rinches weren’t supposed to be peaked!’

‘I know you weren’t the twin who got the intellect but I would have thought you’d have reasoned by now that your power is only one half of a whole. The process of accessing your true power requires contact with the other half. That is why the director sent you after M82.’

‘Your precious, Gemiinus,’ Mhetli spat. ‘He may be superlight, but I have power. I’ve peaked on my own.’

Gravander turned towards Mhetli. He put the tablet that he was using down and began to press buttons on the monitor. Suddenly, the lines along Mhetli’s arms began to glow yellow. Every muscle in his body knotted and veins bulged in his neck. Mhetli gritted his teeth in defiance of the screams that were trying to escape. He was too used to the torture and refused to give Gravander the satisfaction."

Read other excerpts from the book:

Synopsis
Chapter 9: Explode

Chapter 24: Dust

Publishers here I come! - Book synopsis

I did it! I've sent out a second round of manuscripts now I've made some changes to the order of the book. There's still a decent amount of proof reading that needs to happen but the first three chapters are wending their way towards agents.

Let's see if I can beat J.K. and get a book deal in under 12 rejections. :-/

I've written a brief synopsis for everyone who keeps asking me about the book. I've cut it down from what I send to agents and publishers as I don't want to give too much away.

Enjoy!

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Synopsis for Strange Chronicles: The Mighty Orange-Peel by Themo H. Peel

The Mighty Orange-Peel(sic) is the story of a boy named Gemmy who lives in Bansho Island City. His parents are famous scientists and have been hiding a dark secret from him that will completely change his world.

Gemmy has always been an outcast. But he and his best friend Sem take their otherness in stride; Gemmy for being a burgeoning young genius who seems to cause catastrophes where ever he goes and Sem for being the only female on an all-male sports team. Through their friendship they discover their own true strengths which they will need when Gemmy’s world explodes.

Gemmy begins to experience terrible static shocks that not only give him headaches but soon cause accidents that endanger the life of his family and friends. He’s desperate to find answers when unhappy revelations are thrust upon him in the form of the main protagonist, Mhetli, a psychotic mercenary for the Morgengarde.

How will he escape the dogged attacks from Mhetli? What betrayals await him as he pieces together what is happening to him? In the end, Gemmy is forced to confront his parents and what he really is. But to get to the truth he’ll have to go through Mhetli and the many operatives of Morgengarde.

Read other excerpts from the book:
Chapter 18: Invasion 
Chapter 9: Explode
Chapter 24: Dust

Excerpt 2 - Chapter 24: Dust

A big chunk of the book takes place in The Vasts. Think Nevada desert meets Scottish weather with pyrotechnics.

I won't say too much, but this was fun for me as I've never been partial to nature writing. But just this one section forced me to do something new: sit outside and write about landscapes. It helped me further imagine what this strange place actually looks like.

This is one of my favourite excerpts not least of which because I get to use my favourite Scots word.

Enjoy!
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Excerpt from Strange Chronicles: The Mighty Orange-Peel by Themo H. Peel
"Between the deserts of Vastist and Vastest is Volcano Run. When Arbea was young these mighty volcanoes rose from the sea creating the continents. Generations later, after the land was established and humanecs began to spread across the world, the volcanoes of Arbea Major erupted again. This time humanecs believed in their power over the land and sought to hold back the searing flood. No one knows what they did or what awful chemics they used to try and stem the flow. But, instead of creating fertile lands in its wake, the lava that flowed to the sea left a giant gleaming scar in the land. To its ist and est the unquenchable deserts of the Vasts were formed.

Despite its unforgiving nature this blight upon Arbea Major creates a spectacle that almost makes one forget the horror that humanecs wreaked upon it. When the sun reaches its zenith at midday and the weather is right it catches the reflective volcano-stone creating a heavenly haar. The cloud of light dances just above the land in brilliant purples, golds and reds.

Morgengarde, at the outer edge of Vastist, was in perfect position to see this spectacle. As the light tripped across the rubble it looked as if the faelii themselves had come to sanctify the destruction of the wicked facility."

Some Photoshop imaginings on the Vasts

The Vasts - in their usual drab desert

The Vasts - as seen in their faeli splendor

Grubskirm - the name says it all

Yes, it sounds like some awful type of German food dish, but is actually the name of the most reviled teacher at Gemmy's school.

The swall toad himself - pencil sketch

He is described as: "Mr Grubskirm, a short and squat man, had his back to Gemmy.  At the best of times he held a high disdain for students. Punishment and giving poor marks seemed to be the only thing the man enjoyed. But, as usual, Gemmy had never been one for trouble or failure. Gemmy was relieved not to see the smug look on the teacher’s toad-like face. The gray hair’s that sprung out in wiry coils above his ears seemed to perk with glee, creating a grotesque affect."

Here's a bit from the book that precedes the excerpt I posted the other day.


Enjoy!
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Excerpt from Strange Chronicles: The Mighty Orange-Peel by Themo H. Peel
"‘Perhaps someone with such amphibian like features has an underdeveloped sense of hearing?’

[Gemmy] had done it again. Oh mince, I said that instead of thinking it as well.

Mr Grubskirm’s eyes bulged as he inhaled a deep breath.

Well, there’s no reasoning out of this now. ‘You know when you puff out your chest like that you look even more like a swall toad,’ he said."

Excerpt - Chapter 7

I've received some great feedback from a mate of mine who's 'in the biz' and have made some cosmetic changes to the book. Things like axing the prologue (which I agree wasn't really working for the book) and rearranging how Gemmy's 'back story' fits in.

I've also been encouraged to get my work out there. So, while I'm doing things like checking for typos, sending manuscripts to publishers, I'll post a few short excerpts from the book as they're tweaked.

This excerpt is from Chapter 7, "Learning" and features Mr Grubskirm. I'm doing some sketches of him now and will post them with a full description of him soon.

Enjoy!
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Excerpt from Strange Chronicles: The Mighty Orange-Peel by Themo H. Peel

" ‘The Mighty Orange-Peel(sic) strikes again,’ came a giggle from the back of the class.

Gemmy wheeled around to meet his accuser but couldn’t tell who it had come from.

The buzz from the electricity pouring through the room seemed to add merit and fuel to his anger. He wanted to cry. He wanted to run. A silent scream bubbled and built inside of him like a train drawing nearer. He could feel the heat of it breaking around him, a faint fizzle and crackle leaving a metallic taste in his mouth as he breathed through gritted teeth.

‘Yes, it appears Mr Westhill is keen on surpassing his menace beginning with my classroom,’ croaked Mr Grubskirm.

Then it all exploded.

It was imperceptible at first; the slow rise in temperate, the shift towards weightlessness that all metal objects began to take. And then, Pfzzat!

‘Ow!’ Rena Wade cried. ‘Ow, ow! Something stung me!’ she cried as another tiny arc of electricity formed between the braces on her teeth.

‘Ah! What the hell!’ Janich Trus shouted as he got a tiny cobalt bite from the outlet under his table.

The big display at the front of the class was the first to go blank. Then the lights. Then the desk reading tablets.

‘Ah!’ Gemmy screamed and dropped to his knees. 
The train had arrived! The pain in his head had returned and threatened to break out the front of his skull.

Fortunately, the shouts and swearing from the other students covered Gemmy’s individual performance. Sparks flew from every desk’s console, electric fingers reaching out, grasping and raking at the students.

‘Everyone! Please walk towards the exit. We seem to have an electrical fault. Please leave calmly!’ Mr Grubskirm called trying to soothe the pandemonium, electricity popping around the room. Then the lights exploded in unison, glass and plastic raining down as the class let out a collective yelp.

Gemmy looked up from his own stupor in time to see Landa Rains’ homework tablet explode in her face as she tried to unplug it from the desk. She screamed as she clutched at her face, blood pouring through her fingers.

Gemmy stood up and lifted Landa to her feet, cradling her under his arms. He turned to find Sem and saw her leading two other girls towards the door. She had her arms out using her back as a shield from the explosions.

Gemmy walked Landa to the door covering her head with his hand. She was crying, heavy sobs pulling at her lungs as she tried to breathe and panic all at once. Her mind is chaos, he thought, feeling the buzz of her thoughts on his hand.

He got Landa into the hall and turned back to the classroom. Every student had already made it into the hallway. By now, students from other classes had begun to emerge as they wondered what the commotion was.

Mr Grubskirm was still in the classroom trying to rescue items from his drawer. Fires had broken out at the back of the class as beakers full of chemicals began to explode adding fireballs to the destruction that carved its way through the room.

‘Mr Grubskirm! Come on!’ Gemmy screamed as he dashed towards the man. A large beaker that was sitting at the front of the class, presumably for that day’s lesson, suddenly caught fire and exploded, the force knocking Gemmy to the floor. Why aren’t the sprinklers coming on? Oh, they’re electric.

Gemmy sat up and felt his forearm bursting with pain. He looked down and saw large shards of glass stuck into his arm. Better that than my face.

‘Gemmy!’ Sem’s voice came from behind him. ‘Are you ok?’

‘Yeah. But, Mr Grubskirm,’ he choked.  

Sem lifted him to his feet and they looked about. As the fire spread to the front of the class the students’ desk tablets began to explode sending bits of metal flying everywhere. The chemical explosion had lit Mr Grubskirm’s desk ablaze but they could see him crumpled into a ball in the corner below the large screen. It was sparking from the heat and the corrosive liquid seeping into its wiring.

‘Mr Grubskirm!’ both he and Sem screamed!

The man looked up, whimpering cradling a stack of papers.

‘My work,’ he moaned.

‘Mr Grubskirm we have to go!’ Gemmy yelled inching towards him, wary of the screen that looked ready to blow.

Mr Grubskirm rolled himself to his feet, wincing as he stood. Gemmy could see where the chemical explosion had burned through his shirt, his skin a sizzling mass of red.

The man hobbled towards he and Sem just as a loud boom erupted from the back of the class. Gemmy looked just in time to see one of the tablet covers flying through the air like a Rhe’zan throwing star.

‘NO!’ he screamed and reached his hand out towards Mr Grubskirm. A fizzle burned in the back of Gemmy’s head and he could feel the metal plate flying through the air, its smooth surface reverberating waves of energy back towards him. He pushed.

The arc of the flying metal curved just enough to miss Mr Grubskirm’s head, its flight still close enough to nick the edge of the man’s neck and knock him to his knees.
Gemmy stared at the air where the cover had flown, a blade that had been determined to embed itself in Mr Grubskirm’s head. He couldn’t help but realise that he had been the one to change its trajectory.

He turned to Sem and she was staring back at him. Her eyes, her narrow eyes, told the breadth of her thoughts. This was you! This really was you!

And as they looked at each other a final crackle and pop came from the large display. When they turned to look, they could no longer see Mr Grubskirm, just a heap of flaming black glass and wires."

Canine vs Feline

The machinations of my second book have begun and it's time for the Rhe'zans to appear. Rhe'zans are one of the three sentient races of Arbea.

One thing I've never been certain of is: Are they more canine or feline?

Originally, I began to draw them as definitely having more feline features. I'm more of a cat person, really, so the idea of having giant cat people would be pretty cool. Thundercats... need I say more?

But, then, a lot of the characteristics I'm attributing them closely resemble canines - I always envisioned Rhe'zans warriors to be big pa have the posted ears of a Doberman Pinscher.

I love the Pinscher profile - ballpoint pen

Lions and Tigers (and Bears?) - ballpoint pen

I've done some sketches going for more of a Doberman look, but I'm not entirely convinced. I'm leaning more towards going for a 'big cat' look and using whatever ears I bloody well choose.

A bit doggier than before - ballpoint pen

I find I tend to enjoy the look of a ferocious cat to a snarling dog. Can't decide. Although, I do prefer the Doberman style eyebrows to what I'd previously done.

What do you think? Dogs versus cats?

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The printed word

So, now the first draft of the book is finished I decided it was high time I bound a few copies. I will always have the first hard-bound copies of my book.

Here's how I took 'The Mighty Orange-Peel' from a bunch of papers to a printed novel.

Enjoy!

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Loose folios ready for binding.

Stitched folios and papers ready for binding. 

The final book in all its glory.

So satisfying to see this.

Two more copies of the book.

Insult to injury

My favourite insult from the book is calling someone a 'wan-faced troc'.

In Arbea, you do get these awful little troglodites called trocs that are blind proto-sentient salamander-like creatures. Nasty, ugly little beasties that live in damp fetid places feasting on decomposing carrion.

One of the best parts of writing fantasy is the sub-creation. Tolkien - one of the first to coin the phrase - created 'deep and wide and beautiful' stories because of the rich invented culture of his lands.

Now, I'm not the biggest Tolkien fan (I enjoyed the Hobbit, but the rest are beyond my attention span) but he was a master of creation. And I firmly believe that to make an authentic reality, one where the reader can successfully suspend disbelief, you have to have an authentic and believable world.

It's the little touches like, in Arbea, reason is the highest power. There is religion and mysticism, but the society's culture is centred on it prizing of intellect. That means the characters wouldn't say things like 'goodness me' but something more like 'reason be'.

And, because the mythology of Arbea is different, creatures like trolls wouldn't necessarily exist. Hence calling someone a 'troc' is similar to calling them a troll.


Enjoy!
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30 is not a four letter word

So, I turned 30 yesterday. Not so bad now I'm finally on the other side of it.

And, as I am won't to do, I've commemorated the event in pictorial form.

Looking back, I've gone through a lot of changes. Some good, some bad. But all for the better. Physically, mentally and emotionally I've grown but I think, deep down, I'm still the 5-year-old kid who desperately wanted to grow up to be a ninja turtle (Michaelangelo in particular). And I think 5-year-old me would be pretty pleased with how 30-year-old me has turned out. In fact, he would think I'm pretty radical. So, here's to 5 year old me! Well done, and thanks for everything!

What I THOUGHT I looked like:
Age 5 - Pretty much was just me.
Age 10 - I was convinced I was going to be a ninja. Friends and I used to have daily 'battles' at recess.
Age 16 - I was pretty certain in my teenage malaise that I was a Dragon Ball Z character. I experimented a lot with hair in these years.
Age 21 - Slightly more comfortable with me but hair-experimentation still necessary.
Age 25 - Moved to Scotland. Grew a 'fro. Partied a lot.
Age 30 - Pretty much back to just me again. But with bills.

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Two become one, but 17 become 26!

I've broken my promise of not touching the book for a week.

As I pondered sending it to a friend  to read it I accidentally, sort of, looked over it myself. I'm questioning the need for a Prologue. But, after speeding through the first 177 pages of Tony Diterlizzi's 'A Hero for Wondla' I began to question my chapter length.

"Life does not happen in regular chapters, nor do movies, and Homer did not write in chapters. I'm blessed if I know what function they serve in books for adults." - Terry Pratchett

A friend had admonished me ages ago about the length and I did a lot of work on the first few chapters to trim them which is why the number went up from the initial outline. He said (and rightly so) that with children's writing you want it to be smooth and quick. You want your young readers to feel like they've accomplished something by finishing a chapter, especially when they want to read 'just one more' before the mom switches off the light.

I definitely think getting all the information out to start for me is far more important than getting it right out the gate. But, I definitely see the wisdom in going back and pairing things down. So, I had a quick flick through and figured out where I can keep chapter length to a minimum. It's quite funny because I realised how much I break up chapters in the middle anyway. So, it was actually quite easy to just change where the 'official' chapter breaks happen.

Although, is it worth it to just go for a Terry Pratchett and just scupper the idea of chapters all together?

Enjoy!
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