Quarantine Adventures

What have you all been doing during the coronavirus quarantine? I've been doing quite a bit, but actually not a lot in the realm of writing, heh.

Foremost, I've been doing a lot  of hiking. I live in Utah, and there are restrictions on going to parks, so an even better outdoor thing to do is to go into the mountains. I'm blessed to live right down the street from a major trailhead, and there are several trails all along the Wasatch Mountains. Once a week for the past 3 weeks I've been carrying my rucksack up the trail to condition my body to backpacking, intensifying the training I've been doing since last September. I plan on doing an overnight backpack hike this summer, so I need to get into pretty good shape if I'm going to carry all my gear. I've been getting my boys out hiking a lot too. I wish I could take them to the park every day while they're home from school, but that's a no go.

Having fun with knots and a tarp.

I also registered as a Rover scout with the BPSA-US. I love scoutcraft, and have for some time, and I'm excited to get involved with an adult-oriented traditional scouting program. I started a blog called Rover Sarah that talks about the scout-related stuff I'll be doing, and I explain more about why I joined. Go ahead and check it out.

Like I said, I haven't done a whole lot of writing. I've done some writing in B3 of LoD, and I've been reading through the LI BIV draft so I can enjoy the (unfinished) product of my work. It's been so interesting writing about Sabra in both series, as they're almost 2 different characters due to personal development through the different story arcs. The Sabra in LI is more mature in some ways than Queen Sabra in LoD, but also less refined due to her life experiences. I have to draw a fine line so I don't mix up the personality traits she hasn't developed vs. has developed.

Hopefully if you're stuck inside a lot you'll be able to find things to keep yourself busy and sane. Have a nice day!

Book IV.V: Incarnate Something

Rewriting Incarnate Key created a bit of a conundrum for me as the storyteller. The original Incarnate Key took place over a period of 6 years, whereas the rewrite took place over less than a year for my poor, abused characters. Book V: Incarnate Truth, now takes place about 15 years after the current Incarnate Key.

So this got me thinking that I need to explain a little of what happens in that rather long period of time in the form of a novella. I don't have a definite title yet, although I have a general idea for the story.

I also have an art piece to share. My son Devin took great interest in it, and I gave him a general idea of what was going on in it. It's based on a scene from Incarnate Key, the first time the reader encounters Sabra's mysterious dream companion, the "golden owl," in this story. It was done in Krita with the Wacom Bamboo tablet. I've been studying and sketching great horned owls in order to draw this character correctly, and I'm pretty pleased with the result. Obviously he's golden instead of earthy-colored like regular great horned owls due to his magical nature. And he glows. And Sabra feels pretty happy around him.

It's kind of funny. I went back and reread this scene after finishing this piece, and there are some inaccuracies between the scene and this picture. Oh well. I may go back and fix it later. I hope you enjoy it anyway.