Sunday Sketch - Elf Soldier Portrait

Since I have more time to myself away from writing projects on Sunday, I decided to sit down and do a digital sketch.

When I sit down to draw something completely new, sometimes I hit a block, and I'll sit there with tablet pen in hand staring at a blank canvas, brain churning.  I might start a few lines, then open a new canvas, dissatisfied with my previous attempt.

I don't know what it was today.  I told myself I wanted to draw something new, and while this particular subject isn't completely foreign to me (I've drawn many an elf before), the character was completely new.

I have no idea who this guy is.  He popped out of my head this evening.  He's from my fantasy world of Libera, for sure.  He's battle-scarred, missing his left eye.  The glowing runes on his head betray that he is a Re'sgalan, and probably new to the Loran magic, as he doesn't have runes elsewhere.  He also has facial hair, making him a half-breed (half elf half human).  He doesn't have a name, but it seemed he needed to be drawn.

Fun and easy to draw, and I'm glad I was able to do some digital art.  I've been working on the hoodie project with my husband, but it feels good to do some personal art too.  And it's good to do something simple; more often I want to do something much more complicated.

Twitterin'

Back in 2012 I got on Twitter, hoping to use it as a promotional platform, but I gave up on it for a long time.  Well, I'm planning on actively using Twitter from now on!  If you have Twitter, you can follow me @ThorupSa.  Most of my stuff will be book/writing related on there, as I don't often post personal stuff on the web except for my blog.

@ThorupSa!  Thorupsa...Thor Upsa...Upsa Thor...Thoru Spa...Sathor Up...

Inviting Critique

For the upcoming re-release of Sunstone, I've made a one-piece cover for the book.  In the process, I of course needed to do a back-cover synopsis, one of the things that hooks a reader.

I didn't realize how difficult it would be for me to write a synopsis for Sunstone.  I know the story and characters well.  I've gone through the manuscript enough to basically know it inside and out.  So why was it so difficult for me to summarize the highlights of the story?

I don't think it was because the flow and plot points of the story was out of wack.  On the contrary, I've actually smoothed out the story even more with its latest revision.  The story is pretty simple: a group of warriors and a goddess and a gang find out about the Sunstone.  The first two parties want to keep it safe and returned to the right hands, the last party wants to use it for their own power gain.  All go on a search to get it.

But I still had a hard time introducing the story via a worthy synopsis for the back cover.  So I turned to the folks over at the Mythic Scribes forums and invited them to critique it.  I wanted anything: the good, the bad, and the ugly.  I was lost, and needed some sort of direction, whether or not the readers liked the synopsis.

The key to receiving critique is an open heart and mind.  Everyone has their opinions.  In critique, those opinions and observations are there to assist the writer, not to send them crashing and burning.  Fortunately I received some really good critique, which both praised what I wrote and pointed out the flaws of my draft synopsis.  I could have taken their observations the wrong way, but humility came in instead, and  I am so grateful I asked for help.  The synopsis is way better than it used to be, and I will eventually post it here on Xenithar's Lair in the Legend of Draconite book section.

Just my thought for the day, and I thought I would share my feelings of gratitude with my readers :)

Book Review - Love Unexpected by Jody Hedlund

I am a part of the Bethany House Publishing Group blog reviewer program.  I can get on a list for an upcoming book where they will send me a free copy in exchange for a review on my blog and on a commercial site like Amazon or Barnes & Noble.  So if you see me post reviews on books outside of my normal genre of fantasy, you'll know why :)

Onward for the review!

A New Obsession

I was reading some articles on doing book launch parties, and I realized I hadn't done something very important: thank my readers.  I got onto Webs this morning (I still have the domain, but need to upgrade to Premium if I want anyone to look through the site; ergo, Blogger) and sent an email blast to people who have faithfully followed the original Xenithar's Lair, some of them for several years.

For anyone reading the new Xenithar's Lair, thank-you!  From the beginning, my books would have gotten nowhere were it not for fans and interested readers.  I am grateful for my readership, and I am grateful to all the people who have taught and mentored me through my years of writing.  Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!

Recently I took a closer look at Amazon Creatspace and decided based on their royalties and quality that I will be moving my books over there.  Eventually you won't find any of the Chronicles of Libera on Lulu.com.  I feel pretty confident moving my work over to Amazon; they have better printing prices and better royalties, and they have a much wider audience than Lulu.

Since rediscovering Createspace, I have been obsessing over a book project other than Incarnate Dream, which I also plan on publishing on Createspace.  I'm really excited, because with the reasonable printing costs, I can buy more copies of my book to sell in person, as well has earn decent royalties from online purchases.

The book?

The newly edited and revised Book 1 of The Legend of Draconite: Sunstone!

More information to come on this exciting re-release!

The Editing Author

One of my favorite parts of being an author is also being an editor.  Not only do I get to draft a story, I get to go back and polish it, refine its points and messages, and to make it a pleasurable and memorable read.

I consider myself fairly adept at editing grammar and revising structure in a manuscript.  I am able to grasp the points of a story and remember them (which I always find interesting, as I tend to have a bad memory in most other areas of my life).  I go through the manuscript over and over and get to know the story and characters presented inside and out.

My love/hate relationship with epithets

Some time ago I read an article about using epithets.  An epithet is an adjective used in place of a name in a sentence.  I wish I could remember where I found this particular article, but it really opened my eyes to how I look at my own writing and how I use epithets.

After reading that article, I realized how annoyingly repetitive I was with epithets, especially as I've gone through the edit and revision of Incarnate Dream.  I kept using "the elf," "the fairy," "the Molouk," etc. in places where their names or pronouns would have been much more appropriate.  You can use that sort of epithet when first introducing the character, but thereafter, it should already be clear what that person is (race and gender, in this case).

The Dream Continues

I have finished the first edit/revision of The Legacy Incarnate: Incarnate Dream!  I was so excited I wanted to post about it :3

Soon I'll be starting at the beginning of the manuscript once more to do a second revision, and later I will do a third edit/revision.  I need to add the Compendium (the LI index) as well.

Seal of the Realms - Collab

For the last few days me and my husband James worked on coloring a piece of lineart he created in his AutoCAD 2012 Fall semester class.  It's called the Seal of the Realms, and is a symbol that appears in a series of fantasy stories he wishes to write.  There's tons of symbolism in it in regards to the series, but I won't delve into it on this blog.  With his permission, I am sharing this artwork with you today.

The Woman Character

I've been thinking about what to post and about the female character.  What makes a character female?  And what characterizes my own femininity?

I know who I am.  I am a Daughter of God.  The Holy Spirit has testified that to me numerous times.  And knowing who I am has helped me define who my female book characters are.


No, my book characters aren't Mormon.  In fact, I will intentionally make them imperfect to show that even good characters don't all have the same standards as me, and that my religion doesn't exist in their world.  Take Sabra the Incarnate, for example.  She has been the biggest mirror into my soul during my writing career, but she does things I would never do, like swear or drink mead (which is her favorite alcoholic drink).  I didn't want her to be exactly like me.  But at the same time, she is filled with good intentions like I am.  She has done many a good thing, like I have.  She has made many mistakes, like me.

Tales of the Creepy Dragon

For the last few months I've been reading Tales of Goldstone Wood, a series of fantasy-fairytale stories by Anne Elisabeth Stengl.  I recently finished Book 3, Moonblood, and hopefully I'll soon read Starflower once it's available to me in the library system. (I know, I'm cheap when it comes to books; I only buy books I really like, and when we have the funds :P)

I finished a piece of fan art based on one of her stories, and it has made me happy completing it.  It's entitled "Sacrifice."  It's based on a scene near the end of the first book, Heartless, where the Dragon gets his come-uppins from the savior/god-like/faerie prince figure Aethelbald.  I love his character, full of goodness and no-nonsense.  I also love-hated the Dragon, because he was such a "good" villain.  Utterly awful character that toys around with the lives of people alongside his shady, evil sister.  Whee!

This picture was a learning experience for me.  I started this picture with black line art, and spent some time doing the Dragon's scales.  There are three main light-sources: the sun in the background, the dragon's flames, and the sword Fireword.  For the background, I wanted it to look like the sky was getting shrouded in the Dragon smoke.

The Dragon reflects little light, even from his flames; the way I interpret him, his black scales absorb a lot of light.  I purposely wanted him to be shadowy, and when I started coloring him, I colored his eye first.  Creeped me out!  I felt shivers.  I'm glad that feeling I got from the story translated into this picture.

So I did the raging flames and the red and yellow glow on his belly scales.  I wasn't sure if I would be able to fit the details of his scales into the colored picture, but it worked out when I put in the poisonous smoke that belches from his mouth.  At the same time the Dragon remained shadowy.  He also has black teeth complete with drool and blood.  I just wanted him to look unhuggable, you know?

Aethelbald was much easier to do, and I looked forward to coloring him because the cool blue color of his clothing would contrast with the hellish warm colors coming from the Dragon.  I tried not to make him look terribly handsome, as Stengl describes him as being plain in the story, but he still has a powerful figure and a face of courage, ready to drive that sword into the Dragon.

Fun picture to do!  I have an idea for another digital piece, although it may be some time before I complete it.  These days, I have to either edit or write or draw, but I can only do one of them and do it for the day if I want to complete my goal.  I traded any time to edit or write today for the chance to finish this picture, and I'm glad I did.

Meet a Mormon Part 2

This is a continuing article from Meet a Mormon Part 1, where I address misconceptions people may have about LDS doctrine and practices.  I may or may not do more parts on this subject, but for now we just have the two parts :)

Just to briefly sum up, in the last article I addressed Christianity, whether or not there's more than one Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith Jr. and the Book of Mormon, and Temple practices.  Also see my disclaimer in paragraph 2 of that article before you decide to comment on this article.

Onward!

Defining Character

Few things are better than singing and dancing pastel ponies to
pick up your day, except when they're flying around in your
head in the middle of the night.
source: mlp.wikia.com

So I've been having a hard time sleeping tonight.  My thoughts just won't shut-up; I have stuff from a My Little Pony song to sharing my testimony with someone buzzing through my head.  So I am posting at an ungodly hour while I wait for my melatonin pill to kick in and knock me out.  I apologize in advance if any of my statements seem loopy.

Recently I've been following a series of blog posts by author Anne Elisabeth Stengl where she defines her personal methods for writing characters and her stories.  You can read the first article here.  Reading these articles has gotten me to thinking more about how I look at my characters.  It has especially gotten me to thinking about how to define my main character in the trilogy I'm working on.

So how do I define character?

A long time ago...

A long time ago I started drafting a book called Incarnate Dream.  It was the second in the Legacy Incarnate series after Incarnate Journey.  In it continue the adventures of Sabra the Incarnate, 9 years after the end of Book I.  Like its predecessor it was enjoyable to write, especially when I introduced a new major character that appears a few more times after Book II.

Her name is Deborah.

Book Pages!

The book pages have all been updated, and all information on those released should be available.  If you have any problems accessing the book pages, please leave a comment and let me know!  Thanks!

~Xen

Meet a Mormon Part 1

I usually don't do blog posts like this. I normally reserve Xenithar's Musings for updates on my writing and Xenithar's Lair, or for art and book reviews. However, I feel the need to express my beliefs as a “Mormon,” or a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and to address some common misconceptions of our beliefs.

But I need to make a disclaimer before we begin. First, my opinions don't necessarily reflect the views of the Church. Second, if you really want to find out what our church is about, please speak with missionaries; it's their job to teach people and address questions like these. You can even chat online with a missionary at mormon.org. You can get on LDS.org and actually look up doctrinal topics. Also, read the Book of Mormon. I believe if you want to learn about any religion, you need to go to their scriptural resources and compare their fruits to their written word, and that includes the LDS church.

So what made me want to address misconceptions about my church that nonbelievers or even church members themselves may have? Well, I was recently looking at review blurbs for “Meet the Mormons,” a movie the Church recently released exploring the lives of various Church members (which I'll address as “Saints” from now on), and most of the reviews weren't very positive. One reviewer expressed disappointment that the movie didn't delve into more doctrinal stuff that outsiders may be curious about.

Welcome

Welcome to the new home of Xenithar's Lair!  Due to some difficulties with my previous website host, I decided to move the site to a new, free, and simpler platform.  Besides, I get the impression people run across regular blogs on Blogger more often than the sort of website I had.  I'm excited to finish getting all the pages up, and I hope my readers enjoy the new Lair.  I apologize in advance for pages still under construction.

Who am I?  I am an author of fantasy and science fiction who goes by the name S.A. Thorup, although my friends call me Sarah :)  I've been writing novels for about 13 years now, and have had many adventures in and out of my imagination.  I self-publish on Lulu.com, although I hope to get with a traditional publisher.