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