Shadow of the Wood

Life sure has been crazy lately. I've been kind of hidden for the past few months. I got back from the Orange County Christian Writers Con and just kind of stopped going online. Sorry about all the slow responses to emails. I know, I'm horrible. But I still love you all, I swear.

My mom-in-law was here for two weeks and then the day I dropped her at the airport I picked up my awesome friend Portia. She was here for another week and then the day she left my computer crashed. Blah!

It's still in the shop but my husband got me a new laptop for my OSC workshops so I can still write (pencil and paper just doesn't do it for my muse--unless I'm drawing, anyway..LOL). Isn't he sweet?

Anyway, after my computer crashed I realized it was probably for the best because I had a TON of stuff that I needed to get done. You see, I'm going to be sending my kids to school in the fall. No more homeschool for me--at least not next year. I have a lot of work to do with my son, because he's been behind in his work for years. I've always told people he's just having too much fun in life to learn what 6x7 is. LOL...So, now I'm the drill sergent mom and making him miserable working his butt off. Poor guy.

We had him tested last month and discovered he might have a vision problem which is slowing him up a bit. And after an eye exam I was stunned to find out he has a stigmatism and is farsighted. Boy, do I feel like the dead-beat mom. He'll be getting his glasses in a week.

As a homeschooling mom I've always just alowed my children to learn at their own pace. But with Josh heading to the classroom I new he'd need help. I just wish I'd considered having him tested sooner. He just needed glasses. And all this time I thought he was maybe dyslexic.

The eye doc said he was able to pass his previous eye-chart tests because he's young and young eyes adjust more easily to trouble. But when his reading didn't improve this year, I knew something was wrong. And if he had dyslexia, he'd need help asap to catch up. It turns out this stigmatism he has makes certain letters or shapes look like blobs.

Ah, my son. He's always been my nut bucket.

Didn't crawl until he was nine months, or walk until he was almost two (his head was just amazingly huge, and it made him very top-heavy...LOL). Didn't talk until he was almost four (he had such bad ear infections he couldn't hear anything normal until he was old enough to take the right medication). I should have known it was his poor little body. The thing has been holding him back his whole life.

So, he's all set and he now (I hope) and he knows most of his multiplication tables (well, more than he did a month ago).

This month is insane. My husband is out of town at training and when he comes back we leave for a youth conferance, only to return four days later and him go off to more training. Blah! Then he comes home and I leave the next day! Sheesh!!!

So don't be shocked if you don't hear from me much (as if that's anything new). I've begun two new pencil pieces--one of which will be for an author friend of mine due by August (I really hope, hope, hope he likes it). *bites nails*

Sorry about all the babble. You probably didn't need to know all that. It just feels nice to vent. :)

Blessings!

Last month I decided to jump and sent an application into Orson Scott Cards Literary Boot Camp Program. It's a week long intensive with the man of Ender himself, and only comes once a year and only every-other year on the west coast. Out of all the applicants only fifteen are chosen. I just can't hardly believe it but I got picked as one of the fifteen. 

Wow.

It's just...I'm just...I just don't know what to say. I'm dying to get started! July can't come fast enough.

Also, I found an email in  my inbox that says I got up for one of the June artists at World of Froud. It's been a nice weekend. :D

Yes, I'm a little different, but I'm not talking about me. ;) I just wanted to show you guys my newest piece. It's a bit different. I'm experimenting with a new style. I want to add a little color to my life of art, so I've been doodling. Here's a new one I came up with after seeing this awesome stock.

I'll be coming out with three more gothic faeries in this somewhat art nouveau series.

...In Death

*If your interested in buying the framed original please contact me by email for pricing.

I also did a piece earlier last week that I forgot to post. just a simple little 5x5 for further experimentation. This one's going cheap, so let me know if you're interested in buying it ($30).

Tempest's Edge

For all my HAED friends both of these will be in my shop there soon!

So, I've been working on my ms The Willow Door for about 18 months now. Wow, yes, 18 months. That's a heck of a long time. And guess, what...I'm still not finished. I'm about 6,000 words from the end of the novel and I'm at a stand-still. That last scene is stuck in my head, but I really want to get it just right. And in the mean time I'm also beginnging a huge rewrite, changing the ms from third to first person present. I posted the newly edited first chapter for you guys to check out. It still may need a little tweaking, but I think I've finally captured Laney's voice--which really seemed to be illuding me. Yay!

So, now perhaps I can finish this ms. I hope to pitch it in tandum with my other ms, Golden, at the SCBWI con in August, since I've come to discover that they actually are companion pieces--I'd really love to know how this stuff happens without us writer's knowing. It's a little scary to see how much control our characters get of the worlds we "live" in outside of reality.

Here's the newly written first chapter: The Willow Door

Okay, so I stayed up waaaay too late finishing the next in my Golden series. Sheesh. This one took me lots longer than the other two. I was all freaked about getting the color wrong so I went snail slow. But, here he is, now: Colm. His line is, "I will be the death of you..." from Breath, by Breaking Benjamin. The water is important. He's not just trying to look all hottie McDamp. ;) You'll have to read the novel (if the darn thing ever gets published) to find out what it all means. You can sort of get a hint in chapter one.

I have one more to do (Deliverance) and then I need to get to working on the words some more.

Decadence