“Magic on the Edges” Guest Post on Fantasist Enterprises

Magic—not spells and hurled fireballs, but that inspiring combination of wonder, awe, and excitement that drives artistic creation—is, for me, born on the edges of things. Edges mean boundaries and borders, tension and change and flow. In the landscapes of fiction the rise of desert into mountain, the uneasy meeting of the cleared and settled with the primeval forest, the hint of island shadow on the horizon of the sea, are the sorts of places that suggest Story. They are zones of transformation where things can or might or should happen, the places where change is found, and change coming for good or ill to a character or to their world is what drives stories. . . .

The complete essay is a guest post over at Fantasist Enterprises, so you can head on over there to read it all.

Blackdog on Kobo

Blackdog is now available through Kobo, for all those use prefer ebooks. Here’s the link to it. (I know, a cross-posting from thewildforest.wordpress.com — but Moth is central to both stories.)
And it’s also out for Nook as well, here.

The Mertynsbeorg

Another poster-like image featuring Ulfleif. She is ascending the Mertynsbeorg. The rocks with the swirly designs mark the god’s hill.

2012 Sunburst Awards Shortlist

Three cheers for me! (Hey that’s the title of one of my favourite books!) Blackdog has made the shortlist for the 2012 Sunburst Awards in the adult category. The jury said, “Blackdog is everything high fantasy should be … This is a strongly imagined fantasy world, its peoples rendered with both wit and insight.”

Dandelion

It’s Spring, so here’s some Allergy-triggering lanterns.
Moth and Mikki do not seem to be affected by them, though.

Connie’s other blog

Connie has an art blog to display her portfolio now. Check it out over here!

painty doodle

Tried working lineless with a brush that does weird things sometimes. Here’s Ulfleif with her hair down.