Forged in Flame

Got no writing done today at all, but I have finished off a picture of Crystal Eyes, the main character of my first novel (it's named after her, which is a bit of a clue).
Well, I say finished. I may yet mess about with it a bit more but I'm happy enough with it to stick it up here.

And here it is in a slightly cheesy movie poster style, complete with a cool sounding but slightly baffling tag line!

 

Happy New Year!

Happy new year, everyone!
I hope that 2012 is ending on a high note for you and here's to a fantastic 2013.

2013 should be an interesting year for me now that I'm really giving the writing a go.
I'm hoping that in this instance "interesting" translates as "at least moderately successful!"

Now that Christmas is over, I'm getting back into the saddle and working on the sequel to Crystal Eyes.  Give it another couple of months and I should have the story pretty much done and ready for the critical eye of others.

Until then, I leave you with best wishes for a fun new year's eve from me and my main character.

Edit: And now with a half-arsed attempt at shading!

See you all in 2013!

And that's a wrap...

Christmas is over for another year!
My dad's gone home, the dog's getting fewer treats, life has returned to normal.
I call it a successful Christmas, mainly cos I didn't give anyone food poisoning - the turkey dinner I cooked actually turned out quite well!  We even made beer bread, which was nice but had the consistency of a breeze block.
Time to get back to the writing.  Well, maybe in a day or two - there's a Steam sale on and I may have bought some games!
Final thing, I wanted to share a present I got from my awesome friend, Kaz.  It's a picture, done by her mum, Jan, of a Steve McCurry photo called Afghan Girl - this is one of my favourite photos ever and was one of the inspirations behind the character of Crystal Eyes in my first novel.  Those eyes, man.
Anyway, here's the picture, which I shall soon have framed and gracing my wall!

Anyway, I hope you all had a magnificent Christmas, and go on to have a stellar New Year!

Allen

So. Christmas

Yep, it's here.  I can deny it no longer.  It's Christmas, and any minute now I shall leap into action to start preparing for tomorrow's Christmas dinner.  Any minute...
Honestly, not a person who's hugely into the whole Christmas thing.  All things considered I could get by quite happily without it.

Merry bloody Christmas

In my defence, I'm not quite as Grinch-like as that photo suggests.  Not quite...

But enough of this misanthropy, bring on the good cheer and the overeating (and subsequent regret)!

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas, that the food is perfect (and, if like me you're the one slaving away in the kitchen, that it's not too stressful), and that tomorrow brings you many wonderful gifts!

And if one of those gifts happens to be an eReader of some kind, say a Kindle, Kobo or similar, well...I've got an idea about a sci-fi novel by the name of Crystal Eyes that you could buy.  

Just sayin'!

A Merry Crystal Christmas

Overall, this has not been a terribly productive day.  Meant to do more work on the sequel to Crystal Eyes, ended up accomplishing almost nothing - apart from making a Christmas card from Crystal!
Yes, this is how I spent a good chunk of my day, faffing about with an art program called ArtRage!

It's meant to be in a kind of anime style, not sure I pulled it off...
And if you're wondering about the burning building...well it makes sense if you've read the book (still available, hint hint)

Anyway, my dad's coming to stay tomorrow so I doubt I'll get much more writing done before the new year.
Here's to a more productive 2013!
Oh, and have a Merry Christmas

Tap tap tap

The start of another week, another Monday!
While the word Monday isn't filled with as much dread as it used to be, I'm trying to get into the routine of treating it like a normal working day.  So today it was up, breackfasted, then straight to the keyboard, knocking out another thousand words of the sequel to Crystal Eyes
The routine this morning was slightly thrown off by the dog having an upset stomach (she's curled up in her bed feeling sorry for herself right now. Occasionally I can hear her stomach squeaking).
Lunchtime now, however, and I'm feeling in the mood for a bit of a fry up!  Perfect fuel for an afternoon of creativity (if I don't just fall asleep).
Since it's another grey and miserable day here in the north west of England, I felt compelled to share another photo taken in warmer, happier times!
This is Lindisfarne castle, on the island of Lindisfarne just off the Northumberland coast, taken a few summers ago.