A: Yes, give yourself a deadline or end goal. You’re going to want to meet it and possibly exceed it. There’s lots of wonderful stories about writers who have finished a book in mere days, or completed massive amounts of prose for the annual National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.) What works for you?
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Fan Art: Michele Carpenter’s Zaria and Olaf
I love fan art so when Michele Carpenter, the narrator for Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest, told me that she created a few pieces I was super excited. I present to you for your viewing pleasure a drawing of Zaria Fierce and the river-troll, Olaf.
I don’t know about you, but Olaf is adorable and I would love him as a stuffed animal. 🙂
Illustration – Meet Zaria
Earlier this week, I shared how I found Eoghan Kerrigan, the talented illustrator of Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest. Below is his illustration of our plucky heroine, Zaria Fierce.
Isn’t she gorgeous? I love her!
To learn more about Eoghan Kerrigan, check out his Facebook page, Deviant Art Profile, and his blog, Under the Bridge.
Teaser Quote 4 of 13
Q: How did you choose the illustrator for Zaria Fierce and The Secret of Gloomwood Forest?
A: I was looking for troll art on Google Image Search. It started with John Bauer and then I thought I saw someone emulate his style on Deviant Art.
When I got to Deviant Art I did not find the piece that I remembered, but I did find a few artists that I liked better with their own drawing styles. From there, I scoured multiple profile pages, Etsy accounts, blogs, personal websites, Facebook, and more to learn more about these artists and their work.
Then I reached out to the few I liked best to see if they were open about commission work. Of the artists I reached out to I really hoped Eoghan Kerrigan would be interested in working with me. He was! And I am so thrilled with every sketch he’s shared with me. It’s so much fun to see the book come alive. I am truly grateful to have such a talented artist illustrate my book.
To learn more about Eoghan Kerrigan, check out his Facebook page, Deviant Art Profile, and his blog, Under the Bridge.
Check out his illustrations of Zaria and Zaria and Olaf for the book.
Q: Can you share a favorite quote?
A: I’m not usually a big quote person. There are quotes that I love from many sources, especially books which make a book memorable for me. But, I think you’re looking to know if I live by any of these quotes. So, in that vein, a Chinese fortune cookie was my daily motivation to keep going on Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest. It said, “You should be able to undertake and complete anything.”
