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Newest Book ...
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Sunday, July 7, 2024
Friday, August 12, 2022
NEW: "Cylon War" Propaganda Posters and "Kobol Phoenix" for sale!
I made a Cylon War propaganda poster for Colonies of Kobol - Volume Three ... and I liked it quite a bit. So I decided to make more. I've opened a shop on Etsy to sell posters, along with shirts, etc., with the "Kobol Phoenix" that has been my avatar for a decade now.
Let's see what's what ...
Kobol Phoenix
Just the plain Kobollian Eagle/Phoenix that I've used on my book covers for years. It's simple and I love it.
(Coffee mug coming soon; I want to order a prototype first to make sure it looks right.)
Printful (which makes the items you order through Etsy) has LOADS of different things onto which I can put the Phoenix symbol or any of the following posters. Check out the site here and let me know if you want a puzzle, blanket, mouse pad, or whatever. I'm happy to create a listing for you.
On to the posters. They come on high-quality matte paper. I've got a couple already and they are beautiful. Here are the available sizes: 8"x10", 10"x10", 12"x12", 12"x16", 12"x18", 14"x14", 16"x16", 16"x20", 18"x18", 18"x24", and 24"x36". Because of the different sizes, I had to recompose each of the posters so they would look good in different ratios.
"Put It On Paper!"
This is the one that appears in Volume Three and, obviously, it's the first one I made.
"Secure That Network!"
I figure IT people would like this one.
"It's Watching You"
When I saw this WWII propaganda poster, I knew I needed to try and replicate it. At a glance, one might think I just replaced the German with the Cylon and changed the text, but no. This is a "from scratch" recreation. Probably my favorite of all the ones I've made.
"Bullets, Battlestars, Bombs"
Another replication, this one's based on a Canadian WWII poster. I had to include a toaster and a Graystone-brand Holoband.
"The Gods Are With Us"
A simple one, I'm sure it'll make people do a double-take because that clearly was a Bible before I got it in Photoshop. The Caprican Reformed Temple was a creation of mine in Colonies of Kobol ... a sort of "Protestant" split from the Holy Church of Virgon, their overlords at the time, and thus was the Caprican Reformation viewed as a political movement.
"Battlestar Service"
It wasn't easy to find a bunch of saluting silhouettes, but I did. Not a thousand, though. Yes, that's the Blood & Chrome version of Galactica.
"Fly High"
Fun one. I got to include a Mark I, a Mark II, and a Mark III. (Yes, that's Kara. Cameo appearance.)
"You Brought It Down"
Another replication; here's the original.
"Grow Your Own Food"
This went through many permutations, including an attempt to draw limbs on various vegetables so they could hold rifles. Never could get it to work.
"Attack! Attack! Attack!"
This one's inspired by a WWII poster, too. Fun to include all manner of vehicles, especially the "Warhawk" Viper propeller plane and the jet.
"Join or Die"
This one was inspired by a famous American Revolution political cartoon. In Colonies of Kobol, after the committee came up with the Articles of Colonization, the legislatures of the colonies had to ratify them before they could go into effect and they could become the United Colonies of Kobol (just like in the US before the Constitution went into effect).
"Keep Calm and Battle Star"
I don't posit that this was actually around on the Colonies during the Cylon War like I might for the above, but this was a fun one. It is obviously based on perhaps the most famous WWII propaganda poster.
"So Say We All"
Uses the "Keep Calm" font and, since "SSWA" is essentially a religious phrase, I put the plain Kobol Phoenix up top instead of the Colonial Seal.
That's all for now. Please, order and enjoy and spread the word. Reviews, as always, help. And again, if there's another product at Printful on which you'd like to have the Phoenix or one of the posters, check their site and let me know.
Thanks.
Monday, May 13, 2019
Update on "Colonies," plus FLAGS
I know it's been a while and I apologize for that. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you'll see that I've been writing for most of the last year.
Someone around here (me) may have stated a while ago that Colonies of Kobol would be released in 2019 to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the show's ending. Well, needless to say, that was a damn dirty lie. To paraphrase Dr. Malcolm, "Life, uh, got in the way."
Writing continues apace on the Caprica portion of the series (with Earth I and The Colony largely finished), but that still leaves about thirteen sections untouched. Perhaps I should use the tenth anniversary of the publication of Lords of Kobol as my new goal, which would be summer of 2021. That's a nice target, but I won't be planting any more flags on the calendar because I don't want to disappoint you guys again.
SPEAKING OF FLAGS ...
As I'm writing about the pre-federal days of the Colonies (meaning, before they united against the Cylons), I've been using the cool little book Beyond Caprica: A Visitor's Pocket Guide to the Twelve Colonies. Written by Bob Harris, this book (and the QMX map) was also worked on by people behind the scenes of Caprica as they fleshed out the worlds of the Colonies for the show. It's considered "quasi-canon," which basically means that any detail in it could be contradicted by something in the show if they thought of something better for a storyline.
Regardless, we're all aware of the federal-style flags for each of the Twelve Colonies:
These are the banners seen hanging behind Adama or Roslin at a big event or funeral, etc. Naturally, one would assume that each individual colony had their own flags before the Cylon revolt. Beyond Caprica helps illuminate this.
CAPRICA
Well, not for Caprica. No specific symbols or flags are mentioned in the book, BUT, in the show Caprica, we can see a banner-like flag on the stage behind Agent Duram in the pilot episode and it looks exactly like the federal-version of the Caprican flag seen above, but without the federal "eagle/phoenix" emblem that we've come to recognize as the Colonial seal. This leads me to believe that -- since Caprica was the seat of federal power for the Colonies -- they must have designed the flags for the other worlds, too (given their similar style).
Just for kicks, I made a rectangular version of the Caprican flag:
GEMENON
Beyond Caprica states that "the informal symbol is the numeral 'two.'" OK, sure. To make it into a flag, I chose a similar style and colors used in some eastern European nations, since Gemenese cities, names, and language are modeled on Romanian, largely.
TAURON
I think you'll be able to sense a pattern, because the book reads, "You probably know Tauron by its symbol, the bull." The zodiac plays a big role, unsurprisingly. For the flag, I went with a color to match the all-important soil of Tauron, and I made the bull large and aggressive. (It was hard to find one that didn't look like a sports logo or a malt liquor mascot.)
PICON
"The informal Pican symbol is two stylized fish circling each other." I wanted to evoke the simplicity of the Japanese flag (with maybe a little of the South Korean flag, too).
VIRGON
If you don't know, Virgon is known as "The Blue Colony," because the plant life contains oils that evaporate and cast a blue tinge everywhere. The book states that the Virgan symbol is "simply the pale electric blue known as 'Virgan blue.'" Perhaps they had a more complex flag during their imperial days, but for just prior to the Cylon War, we're just going with a blue flag (and I like the longer dimensions for it, too).
LEONIS
Here the book gets specific: "The Leonan symbol is the Leonis royal crest: a lion in profile wearing an ermine-and-silk cape, set on a golden shield, surrounded by royal purple. The shield is topped with a large nine-pointed mural crown." Unfortunately, I couldn't draw an ermine cape to save my life, so I just left it off.
SAGITTARON
"The informal Sagittarian symbol is a simple outline of a drawn bow, its arrow poised to spring forward." Since Sagittaron is also the most exploited of the Colonies, I went with an African color scheme for its flag.
Also, in searching for clip art for a drawn bow, I came across a great, evocative image that made me think this could be the flag for Tom Zarek's "SFM." (Sagittaran Freedom Movement? The show never said.)
SCORPIA
Beyond Caprica made this one easy for me: "The symbol of Scorpia is a red scorpion curled to strike, on a black-white-black tricolor." Done and done.
LIBRAN
"A set of scales set in a pale blue circle on a deep blue field."
CANCERON
"A silver crab on a red field."
AERILON
"A blood-red pair of ram's horns on a white field, between a pair of red horizontal stripes."
AQUARIA
This is another flag that was explicitly described in the book. (Even down to the "asterisk" and the "star" in the corners. I'm not sure I get it, but there you go.)
And that's that.
No more dilly-dallying. Back to writing for me.
Someone around here (me) may have stated a while ago that Colonies of Kobol would be released in 2019 to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the show's ending. Well, needless to say, that was a damn dirty lie. To paraphrase Dr. Malcolm, "Life, uh, got in the way."
Writing continues apace on the Caprica portion of the series (with Earth I and The Colony largely finished), but that still leaves about thirteen sections untouched. Perhaps I should use the tenth anniversary of the publication of Lords of Kobol as my new goal, which would be summer of 2021. That's a nice target, but I won't be planting any more flags on the calendar because I don't want to disappoint you guys again.
SPEAKING OF FLAGS ...
As I'm writing about the pre-federal days of the Colonies (meaning, before they united against the Cylons), I've been using the cool little book Beyond Caprica: A Visitor's Pocket Guide to the Twelve Colonies. Written by Bob Harris, this book (and the QMX map) was also worked on by people behind the scenes of Caprica as they fleshed out the worlds of the Colonies for the show. It's considered "quasi-canon," which basically means that any detail in it could be contradicted by something in the show if they thought of something better for a storyline.
Regardless, we're all aware of the federal-style flags for each of the Twelve Colonies:
These are the banners seen hanging behind Adama or Roslin at a big event or funeral, etc. Naturally, one would assume that each individual colony had their own flags before the Cylon revolt. Beyond Caprica helps illuminate this.
CAPRICA
Well, not for Caprica. No specific symbols or flags are mentioned in the book, BUT, in the show Caprica, we can see a banner-like flag on the stage behind Agent Duram in the pilot episode and it looks exactly like the federal-version of the Caprican flag seen above, but without the federal "eagle/phoenix" emblem that we've come to recognize as the Colonial seal. This leads me to believe that -- since Caprica was the seat of federal power for the Colonies -- they must have designed the flags for the other worlds, too (given their similar style).
Just for kicks, I made a rectangular version of the Caprican flag:
GEMENON
Beyond Caprica states that "the informal symbol is the numeral 'two.'" OK, sure. To make it into a flag, I chose a similar style and colors used in some eastern European nations, since Gemenese cities, names, and language are modeled on Romanian, largely.
TAURON
I think you'll be able to sense a pattern, because the book reads, "You probably know Tauron by its symbol, the bull." The zodiac plays a big role, unsurprisingly. For the flag, I went with a color to match the all-important soil of Tauron, and I made the bull large and aggressive. (It was hard to find one that didn't look like a sports logo or a malt liquor mascot.)
PICON
"The informal Pican symbol is two stylized fish circling each other." I wanted to evoke the simplicity of the Japanese flag (with maybe a little of the South Korean flag, too).
VIRGON
If you don't know, Virgon is known as "The Blue Colony," because the plant life contains oils that evaporate and cast a blue tinge everywhere. The book states that the Virgan symbol is "simply the pale electric blue known as 'Virgan blue.'" Perhaps they had a more complex flag during their imperial days, but for just prior to the Cylon War, we're just going with a blue flag (and I like the longer dimensions for it, too).
LEONIS
Here the book gets specific: "The Leonan symbol is the Leonis royal crest: a lion in profile wearing an ermine-and-silk cape, set on a golden shield, surrounded by royal purple. The shield is topped with a large nine-pointed mural crown." Unfortunately, I couldn't draw an ermine cape to save my life, so I just left it off.
SAGITTARON
"The informal Sagittarian symbol is a simple outline of a drawn bow, its arrow poised to spring forward." Since Sagittaron is also the most exploited of the Colonies, I went with an African color scheme for its flag.
Revision suggested by Chris Dykes
Also, in searching for clip art for a drawn bow, I came across a great, evocative image that made me think this could be the flag for Tom Zarek's "SFM." (Sagittaran Freedom Movement? The show never said.)
SCORPIA
Beyond Caprica made this one easy for me: "The symbol of Scorpia is a red scorpion curled to strike, on a black-white-black tricolor." Done and done.
LIBRAN
"A set of scales set in a pale blue circle on a deep blue field."
CANCERON
"A silver crab on a red field."
AERILON
"A blood-red pair of ram's horns on a white field, between a pair of red horizontal stripes."
AQUARIA
This is another flag that was explicitly described in the book. (Even down to the "asterisk" and the "star" in the corners. I'm not sure I get it, but there you go.)
And that's that.
No more dilly-dallying. Back to writing for me.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
"Blood Moon Rising" and the New Title
I know it's been a while, but I've been writing rather steadily since New Year's. And that's good! We're midway through March and I'm nearing the finish line. The final chapters have been outlined so now it's just a matter of actually writing them.
In the meantime, let me go ahead and officially announce the title change for the book. Yes, I announced and stuck by Blood Moon Rising for quite a while, even making multiple versions of the cover for it. The more I typed, however, the more that other title kept coming to mind. And it made that much more sense.
Still, I stuck by BMR. Why? Well, it's stupid, but in my mind, the movie ends with (SPOILER REDACTED) while a certain Creedence Clearwater Revival song plays.
Like I said, it's stupid.
Still, even with the new title, I guess the movie could end the same way.
So, yeah. The new title is also the name of the exhibit in my "evil art museum" that leads to the shenanigans:
Stay tuned for more soon!
In the meantime, let me go ahead and officially announce the title change for the book. Yes, I announced and stuck by Blood Moon Rising for quite a while, even making multiple versions of the cover for it. The more I typed, however, the more that other title kept coming to mind. And it made that much more sense.
Still, I stuck by BMR. Why? Well, it's stupid, but in my mind, the movie ends with (SPOILER REDACTED) while a certain Creedence Clearwater Revival song plays.
Like I said, it's stupid.
Still, even with the new title, I guess the movie could end the same way.
So, yeah. The new title is also the name of the exhibit in my "evil art museum" that leads to the shenanigans:
Stay tuned for more soon!
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
My Next Book ... Plus, Choose a Cover!
I've mentioned it before, but I had a dream a few months ago that I was making a movie at our local art museum and it was about Dracula, the Wolf Man, Frankenstein, the Mummy, etc., being resurrected by relics at the museum and going on a rampage.
In my dream, the movie was called A Night at the Museum.
Obviously, my subconscious mind chose to do what my conscious mind refuses to do. It forgot about the Ben Stiller films by that name.
Regardless, I will be writing a book about that basic premise (monsters being resurrected at a museum). In fact, if you've been following me on Facebook and Twitter, you've seen some preliminary designs for that evil art museum. I'll post the final designs this week
I do have a title for the new book, however. And I've got a cover. Well, four of them.
Learn the title and help me choose the cover after the JUMP.
In my dream, the movie was called A Night at the Museum.
Obviously, my subconscious mind chose to do what my conscious mind refuses to do. It forgot about the Ben Stiller films by that name.
Regardless, I will be writing a book about that basic premise (monsters being resurrected at a museum). In fact, if you've been following me on Facebook and Twitter, you've seen some preliminary designs for that evil art museum. I'll post the final designs this week
I do have a title for the new book, however. And I've got a cover. Well, four of them.
Learn the title and help me choose the cover after the JUMP.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Writing, Again: Part XI - Finalized Maps
This will be a short one. I thought you might like to see the final maps that appear in Book Five.
As I stated in an earlier post, since Larsa is very Tiberia-focused, the map moves them to the center. Also, much of the world recognizes Tiberia's names for geographical points of interest (Isinnia, Eridia, Badaria, etc.) instead of the more ancient Attican names that Zeus, et al, employed in the trilogy (Galatia, Scythia, Illyria, etc.).
Like previous maps I've made, the place names come from actual geographic features I found on an ancient Latin map of the Roman Empire as well as variations of ancient cities and lands from all around the world. In the trilogy, I stuck to ancient Greece since Zeus, etc., named everything after Attican sites. This time around, without a unifying influence, it seemed logical to name things based on all kinds of differing backgrounds and histories.
Since much of the action takes place in Isinnia, I knew I'd need a more detailed version so I could squeeze in more names and labels.
That's all for now. More reading and editing to do. More blog posts coming soon, too.
Click to embiggen
As I stated in an earlier post, since Larsa is very Tiberia-focused, the map moves them to the center. Also, much of the world recognizes Tiberia's names for geographical points of interest (Isinnia, Eridia, Badaria, etc.) instead of the more ancient Attican names that Zeus, et al, employed in the trilogy (Galatia, Scythia, Illyria, etc.).
Like previous maps I've made, the place names come from actual geographic features I found on an ancient Latin map of the Roman Empire as well as variations of ancient cities and lands from all around the world. In the trilogy, I stuck to ancient Greece since Zeus, etc., named everything after Attican sites. This time around, without a unifying influence, it seemed logical to name things based on all kinds of differing backgrounds and histories.
Click to embiggen
Since much of the action takes place in Isinnia, I knew I'd need a more detailed version so I could squeeze in more names and labels.
That's all for now. More reading and editing to do. More blog posts coming soon, too.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Writing, Again: Part VI - Mapping
You know me, I love to make maps.
If I have a world-spanning story, it helps. Because of the politics and cultures involved, Book Five spans the world moreso than any other LoK book I've written.
If you have not yet read the Lords of Kobol trilogy, go do so now. I cannot further discuss anything without spoiling everything.
Click here for the trilogy.
Readers of the trilogy, click on the JUMP for some details of the newest map.
If I have a world-spanning story, it helps. Because of the politics and cultures involved, Book Five spans the world moreso than any other LoK book I've written.
If you have not yet read the Lords of Kobol trilogy, go do so now. I cannot further discuss anything without spoiling everything.
Click here for the trilogy.
Readers of the trilogy, click on the JUMP for some details of the newest map.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Writing, Again: Part V - Visual Inspiration 2
Writing on Book Five is chugging along nicely ...
I'm beginning to worry about length a bit, though. I can't decide if I want to press ahead and worry about it later or if I should just stop what I'm doing and rein it in. Storywise, it's a trilogy's worth of stuff crammed into one book (origin stories, seeds of revolution, revolution & exodus). I don't know. I'm still thinking about it.
In the meantime, here's some more lame art.
Years ago, I Photoshopped an old Greek helmet and gave it a Cylon eye. Thanks to the free app Adobe Sketch, I took another go at it. The figure on the left is pretty much what I see in my head when I read about Cylons in the Lords of Kobol trilogy:
Moving ahead to Book Five, the mechanical Cylons are called something else for a stretch and I wanted them to be very different than anything seen before. (They were briefly glimpsed in an Ares' flashback in Book Three). Here they are:
More to come next week. (Book Five stuff; not crappy drawings.)
I'm beginning to worry about length a bit, though. I can't decide if I want to press ahead and worry about it later or if I should just stop what I'm doing and rein it in. Storywise, it's a trilogy's worth of stuff crammed into one book (origin stories, seeds of revolution, revolution & exodus). I don't know. I'm still thinking about it.
In the meantime, here's some more lame art.
Years ago, I Photoshopped an old Greek helmet and gave it a Cylon eye. Thanks to the free app Adobe Sketch, I took another go at it. The figure on the left is pretty much what I see in my head when I read about Cylons in the Lords of Kobol trilogy:
Moving ahead to Book Five, the mechanical Cylons are called something else for a stretch and I wanted them to be very different than anything seen before. (They were briefly glimpsed in an Ares' flashback in Book Three). Here they are:
More to come next week. (Book Five stuff; not crappy drawings.)
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Writing, Again: Part IV: Visual Inspiration
A few years back, I utilized my meager artistic skills to kickstart my imagination. Like the Kobollian Cylon or Zeus' propaganda.
This time is no different and I found some inspiration in a strange place.
My son's Beyblades.
You may not know what they are. They're metal and plastic tops that spin and clink into each other in arenas. Pretty neat. But even more neat was this odd pattern I discovered in the bottom of one of these pieces of imported Japanese pop culture:
See that? (It was a pain to photograph.) It's like a giant bird with outstretched wings and feathers that encircle the whole thing. It's so reminiscent of the Kobollian/Colonial eagle/phoenix that I knew I had to use this.
Unfortunately, I'm no artist. I wasn't able to isolate the bird well enough to use. (If anyone wants to give it a shot, please, go ahead.) But I managed to create something similar.
Early in Book Five, I describe the flag of the emperor that appears on a television screen: "Your attention, please," an unseen announcer said over the image of the emperor's seal, a stylized metallic eagle whose wings encircled a mask painted blood red over a purple fluttering flag. "Lord Imperator, Princeps Senatus, Caesar Maxentius the Ninth."
And here it is:
The color is Tyrian purple. The dye was so rare in ancient days only the emperors wore clothes using it.
The idea of the blood red face comes from the Roman triumphs. When an emperor was feted in such a way, his face was painted red to evoke Jupiter. (See this scene from the great HBO series Rome.)
The mask itself comes from a Roman ceremonial mask found at the site of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. (Go here and scroll down a bit. You'll see it.)
Lastly, "CPQT." You probably remember seeing some show or movie about ancient Rome and seeing "SPQR" everywhere. That means "Senatus Populusque Romanus" ... "the Senate and people of Rome." I wanted something similar but not quite a direct copy. I originally went with "Imperator Populesque Tiberiis" but that abbreviated as "IPQT." ("Tiberiis," of course, because my Roman analogue is the Tiberian Empire, based in Tiber. I suppose that means the river that runs through the city is the Rome.) I chose "Caesar Populusque Tiberiis." Maybe I'll change my mind again and go with "Caesar Senatusque Tiberiis."
I'm actually writing now, but I'll post some more visual inspirating that I did in the coming days.
This time is no different and I found some inspiration in a strange place.
My son's Beyblades.
You may not know what they are. They're metal and plastic tops that spin and clink into each other in arenas. Pretty neat. But even more neat was this odd pattern I discovered in the bottom of one of these pieces of imported Japanese pop culture:
See that? (It was a pain to photograph.) It's like a giant bird with outstretched wings and feathers that encircle the whole thing. It's so reminiscent of the Kobollian/Colonial eagle/phoenix that I knew I had to use this.
Unfortunately, I'm no artist. I wasn't able to isolate the bird well enough to use. (If anyone wants to give it a shot, please, go ahead.) But I managed to create something similar.
Early in Book Five, I describe the flag of the emperor that appears on a television screen: "Your attention, please," an unseen announcer said over the image of the emperor's seal, a stylized metallic eagle whose wings encircled a mask painted blood red over a purple fluttering flag. "Lord Imperator, Princeps Senatus, Caesar Maxentius the Ninth."
And here it is:
The color is Tyrian purple. The dye was so rare in ancient days only the emperors wore clothes using it.
The idea of the blood red face comes from the Roman triumphs. When an emperor was feted in such a way, his face was painted red to evoke Jupiter. (See this scene from the great HBO series Rome.)
The mask itself comes from a Roman ceremonial mask found at the site of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. (Go here and scroll down a bit. You'll see it.)
Lastly, "CPQT." You probably remember seeing some show or movie about ancient Rome and seeing "SPQR" everywhere. That means "Senatus Populusque Romanus" ... "the Senate and people of Rome." I wanted something similar but not quite a direct copy. I originally went with "Imperator Populesque Tiberiis" but that abbreviated as "IPQT." ("Tiberiis," of course, because my Roman analogue is the Tiberian Empire, based in Tiber. I suppose that means the river that runs through the city is the Rome.) I chose "Caesar Populusque Tiberiis." Maybe I'll change my mind again and go with "Caesar Senatusque Tiberiis."
I'm actually writing now, but I'll post some more visual inspirating that I did in the coming days.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
The Geography of 'Diary of a Second Life'
Because so much of the novel takes place on the road, as it were, geography is pretty important. I explained in previous posts why I chose the places I did (Fort Lee, Pentagon, etc.) so this is just me showing you where, exactly, they went.
Click to enlarge, of course.
This is the real Fort Lee. On the map, I've (crudely) drawn the lines where the walls will be in a few hundred years' time.
After Wess and Remi leave, they camp out near a river, surrounded by the ruins of an ancient bridge:
That's the Varina-Enon Bridge. A tall and beautiful structure that spans the James River southeast of Richmond. You can see the columns stretching into the north in my drawing.
Quite a bit further north as our heroes near New Jerusalem, they find the Great Mound:
This is just south of the Springfield "Mixing Bowl"; a morass of off-and-on ramps. The Mound is built up between two bridge supports, which, as you can see, were modeled after the supports in use along I-95 near Springfield. (Altered and maintained by the people of New Jerusalem, natch.)
And here's New Jerusalem itself:
The "ridge" of New Jerusalem's border follows the path of I-495. I've (crudely) drawn the path of the ridge, as well as the roads of New Jerusalem atop a map of today's northern Virginia. You can see that the villages are situated where current towns and cities are now (Capernaum for Alexandria, etc.). Also, note that Fort Myer is the Holy Guard's base, Arlington National Cemetery is the orchard for the Trees of Life, and so on.
And here's Detrick:
Pretty straightforward, I think. The buildings that I drew as still standing in the Detrick of 2355 you'll be able to find on the actual map.
And here's the journey, from beginning to end, with red representing Wess' flight north and the blue representing Wess' path when he returned to New Jerusalem:
Start at Fort Lee.
1. The Varina-Enon Bridge.
2. Richmond International Airport. That's the long open space they cross and soon after, come to an old interstate. Wess looks west into Richmond from I-64.
3. Fort A. P. Hill. This is the place Wess and Remi find a wall, not unlike their own at Fort Lee. They get a bad vibe and flee.
4. The place where Wess and Remi are taken by Mountaineers/Rogues. They're camped out in one of those long valleys between trees where huge power line towers stretch toward the horizon.
5. The place where they emerge after escaping the Mountaineers' compound under Quantico.
6. The Great Mound and Southern Gates of New Jerusalem.
7. Great Falls. This is where Wess crosses the Potomac to get on the Maryland side to stay away from all the terminals:
8. As I wrote, I kept a window open with Google Maps and I scrolled north and traced a path for Wess. Sometimes I found things in his path that I could use in the book. Creeks, fields, large buildings, power stations ... here at the number eight, there was a large quarry. That whole scene with Wess falling in came from me just stumbling across it as I scrolled north toward Fort Detrick:
9. Point of Rocks bridge. This is the place where Wess and the others cross the Potomac on their return visits to New Jerusalem:
10. Leesburg, VA. The town where Pol turns left on the return trip. The group travels along Route 7 back to the Western Gates. Ditto for the military mission later on.
And that's pretty much that. Unless I get a bunch of requests for me to outline the origins of the theology of New Jerusalem, I believe I've finished with Diary of a Second Life's special features.
If you haven't bought it already, you can do get it at Smashwords HERE in multiple file formats (use coupon code EC76Q to get it for just 99¢) or at Amazon HERE.
Stick around. There's more to come, of course.
This is the real Fort Lee. On the map, I've (crudely) drawn the lines where the walls will be in a few hundred years' time.
After Wess and Remi leave, they camp out near a river, surrounded by the ruins of an ancient bridge:
Quite a bit further north as our heroes near New Jerusalem, they find the Great Mound:
And here's New Jerusalem itself:
And here's Detrick:
And here's the journey, from beginning to end, with red representing Wess' flight north and the blue representing Wess' path when he returned to New Jerusalem:
1. The Varina-Enon Bridge.
2. Richmond International Airport. That's the long open space they cross and soon after, come to an old interstate. Wess looks west into Richmond from I-64.
3. Fort A. P. Hill. This is the place Wess and Remi find a wall, not unlike their own at Fort Lee. They get a bad vibe and flee.
4. The place where Wess and Remi are taken by Mountaineers/Rogues. They're camped out in one of those long valleys between trees where huge power line towers stretch toward the horizon.
5. The place where they emerge after escaping the Mountaineers' compound under Quantico.
6. The Great Mound and Southern Gates of New Jerusalem.
7. Great Falls. This is where Wess crosses the Potomac to get on the Maryland side to stay away from all the terminals:
8. As I wrote, I kept a window open with Google Maps and I scrolled north and traced a path for Wess. Sometimes I found things in his path that I could use in the book. Creeks, fields, large buildings, power stations ... here at the number eight, there was a large quarry. That whole scene with Wess falling in came from me just stumbling across it as I scrolled north toward Fort Detrick:
9. Point of Rocks bridge. This is the place where Wess and the others cross the Potomac on their return visits to New Jerusalem:
10. Leesburg, VA. The town where Pol turns left on the return trip. The group travels along Route 7 back to the Western Gates. Ditto for the military mission later on.
And that's pretty much that. Unless I get a bunch of requests for me to outline the origins of the theology of New Jerusalem, I believe I've finished with Diary of a Second Life's special features.
If you haven't bought it already, you can do get it at Smashwords HERE in multiple file formats (use coupon code EC76Q to get it for just 99¢) or at Amazon HERE.
Stick around. There's more to come, of course.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Art of 'Diary of a Second Life' Part II
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Art of 'Diary of a Second Life' Part I
When I decided that this book would be a diary being kept by a teen, it occurred to me that there maybe should be some illustrations. I've created maps for my other books, so why not this one? Making them hand drawn in a notebook also leads to the idea that the character might want to draw other stuff, too.
Problem is ... I can't draw. I suck at it.
I momentarily considered getting a talented friend of mine to draw the things I wanted to see or have illustrated, but then I thought there was no reason that my character should be a post-apocalyptic Leonardo da Vinci. So, Wess Marin sucks at drawing, just like me.
A few spoilers will appear after the JUMP, but I'll be saving the really big spoilery pics for another post.
Problem is ... I can't draw. I suck at it.
I momentarily considered getting a talented friend of mine to draw the things I wanted to see or have illustrated, but then I thought there was no reason that my character should be a post-apocalyptic Leonardo da Vinci. So, Wess Marin sucks at drawing, just like me.
A few spoilers will appear after the JUMP, but I'll be saving the really big spoilery pics for another post.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Covers: 'Diary of a Second Life'
My new book is coming soon, so that means I have to craft a cover for the thing.
It's called Diary of a Second Life, so a diary of some sort needed to be featured. I got an old school, marbled-covered composition notebook and soaked it in tea to color the paper and age it. If you've read that mighty frakked up chapter, you know there's something creepy going on with hammers and nails, too. My son and I mixed some food coloring and corn syrup up, gathered the other stuff and walked down to the creek near our home. It was a fun afternoon, getting my son to pose lifelessly next to a pool of blood on a rock by a moderately swollen water source.
So, here are the four covers I've made. These won't be final; I'm sure to tweak the winner some more. (Click to enlarge them, of course.)
You can vote for your favorite over on my Facebook page. Please 'like' me and comment there.
It's called Diary of a Second Life, so a diary of some sort needed to be featured. I got an old school, marbled-covered composition notebook and soaked it in tea to color the paper and age it. If you've read that mighty frakked up chapter, you know there's something creepy going on with hammers and nails, too. My son and I mixed some food coloring and corn syrup up, gathered the other stuff and walked down to the creek near our home. It was a fun afternoon, getting my son to pose lifelessly next to a pool of blood on a rock by a moderately swollen water source.
So, here are the four covers I've made. These won't be final; I'm sure to tweak the winner some more. (Click to enlarge them, of course.)
You can vote for your favorite over on my Facebook page. Please 'like' me and comment there.
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