#amwriting 13K+words on Dark Victorian: MEDUSA 'n I'll be wrassling with the theme of female monster as romantic(???) interest for a bit longer than my 3 week deadline. cha! Heh heh! Not at all shades of Le Fanu's Carmilla ( or the movie, "Dracula's Daughter" 1936. Woo woo! Though I'd like to try that sort of approach, another time). Watch my beta reader point and go: you're doing Belle et Bete! I am not. :-p I'm really trying to stick with scary, goddess'y creature, here.

Progress: I think MEDUSA may end up in the 36K+words range, which is . . . very roughly, 160+pp as a book. I've barely half down of all plot placeholders. It's a matter of getting all pertinent bits writ, then I flesh it all out. Even the end scene may get a truer ending after the 'ending', like with ICE DEMON. We'll see. Medusa herself is fascinating as a psychological and cultural study, which is not quite the same exploration I did with Hecate in SUNDARK, that being more a mythical/religious portrayal. Besides the fact that as a chthonic goddess, she's plain frightening.

THIS PAINTING: is The Lamia, by Herbert James Draper, 1909. And what a mythic tale is she. IF I can ever view it up close, I could confirm that her eyes have pupils like a reptile. A snakeskin is draped around her waist. I'm tempted to try her on in a penny dread. But not as a romantic interest.

YOU know what's wonderful? Getting a proof in and it looking Beautiful. Making books can only get better, and I mean in the passion of it and the possibilities. Happiness!

I have to read through the interior and make sure everything's as it should be, then order a bunch for~~~

the Clockwork Couture authors signing, which is (peers at calendar), NOV 15th, in cahoots with a Clockwork holiday craft faire, so come and get stocking stuffers and gifts. ICE DEMON will also be available at Loscon, Thanksgiving weekend.

Could not get the print book done in time for Comkaze Expo, tomorrow, which is a shame, but at least I tried. However, many buttons pressed for the occasion! Sometimes at media events, I just don't lasso enough book lovers. ;) Thus, table cost is supported by selling geegaws, and I do love to design buttons as well as make them. As you can see!

Probably one of the best purchases I made when committing to the con circuit (besides my riding hat :D), was my button machine. It's the full metal sort and has already paid back for itself. The second pic is of the buttons that tend to be most popular (hence my having to press more). The "Word words happy words" button is a quote from Dark Victorian: BONES, as spoken by the madwoman and journalist, Helia Skycourt. :)

Okay, now what? I just ate a cookie, so I should read that proof. :D

. . . made last minute tweaks to the ICE DEMON print cover, and now submitted for 'approval'. Then will order proof. Really hope that background works.

~~~

I need to let go. And I mean I need to let phatpuppy do the entirety of the cover art and me not want to do it (argh, *grabby-hands*), and it's time I handed off formatting. Because the print and e-books could be even sexier in the hands of someone else.

I love making books enough that I'm willing to do book layout (typesetting--well sort of, where I'm concerned)---which is essentially graphic design, a task that doesn't exactly have me jumping up and down with joy. I'm not a graphic designer Jim, I'm an illustrator!

So I'm typing this ( to myself ), to put it out there: hand it away. Take it to the next sexy level. 

All stuff here was made whilst listening to SIA's "Dress In Black".

http://youtu.be/YyN4yrbg_mA

( I think I'm supposed to connect a 'cover reveal' with an event or a blog tour or something like that. Do I? No! Foolish Elizabeth! But anyway~~~~)

COVER REVEAL! Tra la. STill in 'wait mode' for Release into the wild. Here is the synopsis and then credits. And NOW, ICE DEMON: A Dark Victorian Penny Dread Vol 1:

“Thee, of stars”

A ship of dead with iced men who shatter; The Terror sails into the Port of London during England’s worst winter, bringing insidious ice fog and a hidden killer. Secret Commission agents, Artifice, the artificial ghost, and Jim Dastard, the animated skull, track their murderer to the frozen Thames’ Frost Fair, only for Art to discover a deadlier danger—one involving the women she holds dear. A steampunk, gaslamp and horror mystery set in the world of the Dark Victorian series.

"Smart. Engaging. The fog literally creeps off the page."
– Melanie Karsak, author of the Amazon best-selling steampunk series, The Airship Racing Chronicles

***

Ice Demon: A Dark Victorian Penny Dread Vol 1 will be available SOON. I would like to thank (me), and:
CREDITS
Cover Art by Phatpuppy Creations http://phatpuppyart.com
Cover design and art by Elizabeth Watasin
Cover model is Elizabeth Worth http://www.modelmayhem.com/3122503
Custom Wardrobe Creation: Cavalyn Galano http://www.facebook.com/CavalynDesign
Makeup/Hair: Nadya Rutman http://www.bynadya.com
Photography: Teresa Yeh Photography http://www.teresayeh.com
Dark Victorian Logo: Tom Orzechowski and Lois Buhalis http://serifsup.com/
Editor: JoSelle Vanderhooft http://www.joselle-vanderhooft.com/

#amwriting : Dark Victorian: ICE DEMON, now weighing in at 24,900K+ words. :D Say, we're 'done'! Vodka tyme! It needs read-throughs and tweaks, then 'tis orf to the beta-reader. It ends on a fyne, stormy note, much like this gorgeous painting with blue-ice water. I think you'll really like it. :) (collapses, exhausted).

I need to write an actual synopsis of the thing. And plan the cover.

This painting is: "Ship on a Stormy Sea," by Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (1817-1900)