I am excited to say that the first three books of the Yappari Chronicles have been released and are up on Amazon for
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=yappari+chronicles
If you are into fantasy, magic and some romance please do check them out!
And if you are interested in learning more about the world and characters ( and see lots more art) you can check it out on the Yappari Chronicles Page
This year I finally tackled the sequel to Winterborn, tentatively titled Battersea. Much to my delight, the first draft is completed, and I’m in the middle of editing it now. I am hoping to have both edited by the end of the year, with Winterborn re-released and Battersea hopefully published soon after. They were always meant part of a trilogy, the Yappari Chronicles, and I’m really excited to see it taking shape. Hopefully, the third book of the trilogy will be done by summer 2019!
In the meantime there has also been a bit of a creative burst in terms of illustrations, so many will be uploaded over the next few days. Most are at least tangentially related to the Yappari Chronicles. Feels great to return to my creative self and let my fictional babies loose again!
Have been exploring new mediums and enjoyed learning new techniques, getting to do lots of interesting work with acrylics. Those are more experimental works on canvas, so I haven’t photographed to put up here. I should really make them a separate section! Much of the fun has been in exploring different art styles with my son and other pre-teen friends of his – from storyboarding comics, to illustration and to simple exploration with acrylics. There’s a lot of joy in seeing kids explore their own artistic expression!
This summer I’m going to focus on a series of paintings, but in the meantime, I’m putting up some of my newer digital illustrations. Feels like summer already!
It was a little nerve-wracking to look back at 2015 and the beginning of 2016 and find that I didn’t have much new art to post up. It wasn’t that I wasn’t creating — on the contrary it was a time of renewal and creation, but it took me in very different directions.
On the illustration front I only finished two pieces that I’m proud of, King Triton and an illustration for the Joey Awards. King Triton was an exercise in patience, but also a wonderful way to expand my comfort zone. My son still wants me to draw the bottom half so he can see the rest of his octopus body, but I don’t know that I am ready to tackle all the coral and marine life yet.
This past year I focused a lot on acrylic paintings and still life. I loved the exploration, the textures and the subject matter, but they are not really what I generally showcase on my site. I was pretty excited that one of my still-life paintings was chosen to be one of the banners used for public art in Port Coquitlam.
On the writing front some projects came to fruition and others have been temporarily shelved. Perhaps an evolution of sorts, my writings has been focused on screenplays of late. Screenwriting ( with the aid of a couple of online courses) has been a wonderful way to explore new horizons for my writing. I’ve managed to complete several scripts for short films as well as help a friend with her feature film one.
More importantly, a few of them have been made into short films – and I hope to shoot another one later this summer. There is such joy in seeing your words and worlds come to life on film, and it gives me the opportunity to push forward and try new things.
So, as ever… onwards!
It has been a very productive and busy 2015!
Spring has come with all its glorious green shades (and less glorious pollen) and so has the long-awaited Spanish version of Bellybuttonless.
Well friends, Bellybutonless and the Spanish version (Sin Ombligo) are now on Amazon
Here’s hoping that they can go out to more people. Incidentally, if you think your PMP specialist would benefit from having the PDF available for their patients with young kids please contact me, and I can email you the PDF (in either language) to give to them.
Spring is the season of hope, opportunities and changes… so here’s to many adventures ahead.
2014 was a year of challenges of opportunities. It was thankfully also a year of good health and incredible joys.
We lost good friends, made some fantastic new ones and tried a lot of new things.
We railed against the hate and barbarity in the world; it seemed so prevalent that it was easy to feel overwhelmed. At times we were.
And still… we need only look at our kids to see that spark of kindness and goodness. May they preserve it always and help heal all the ways this world is broken.
I don’t know what 2015 will bring. Aiden and I had some discussions about uncertainty, as its something that troubles him greatly. I explained that it troubles all of us, as nothing in life is ever guaranteed.
My wish for all of us, dear friends, is for a year of good health and good news; a year of finding our personal joys and inner peace, and a year when we make a difference, however small, in someone else’s life.
Here’s to the new year.
I will be displaying my art alongside Melissa Mary Duncan, Hing Kei, Lynne Taylor Fahnestalk, Nancie Green, Carolyn Bruce, Kevin Chase and Natorra Ferguson.
The show will run from August 19th – September 14th. Opening Reception to occur on Saturday, August 23rd between 7 and 9pm featuring a Beatles sing-along lead by Steve Fahnestalk and Tam Gordy!
You can visit at 2411 Clarke Street, Port Moody.
http://www.gallerybistroportmoody.com/
Hope that people will have the chance to stop by and check it out!
Fall is starting to look fairly busy!
Registration just opened for the Surrey International Writers Conference !
I’m pretty excited about attending, as I haven’t been there in a few years – I believe the last time I went was 2007. The workshops are amazing, the camaraderie and energy incredible.
Early in October I will also be attending Vcon 39 which just happens to be CANVENTION as well. I’m excited to be nominated for an Aurora Award! It has been an exciting year so far, so I’m looking forward to the rest of it!
I am officially on the Aurora Awards Ballot, nominated for Best Artist! WOW!
While it is definitely a long shot, I am incredibly honoured to be nominated. Voting will open up on May 3rd! 🙂 http://www.prixaurorawards.ca/aurora-awards/2014-aurora-nominees/
Congratulations and best of luck to all the nominees – there is some amazing work up for awards!
I am incredible honoured to be in the Vancouver Sun today, talking about my appendix cancer journey and the book my son and I made, Bellybuttonless.
You can find out more about the operation I underwent in this other article, which interviews other local patients.
Awareness is always key; the more that we can talk about things, the more that we can share experiences, the better chances of additional research and medical advances.
If you want to find more about my journey dealing with appendix cancer and pseudomyxoma peritonei, we kept a blog which you can find here: Beating Jelly Belly
Making Bellybuttonless with my son was incredibly healing for us both. To anyone dealing with cancer, our best wishes in your journey.