Okay, guys! In honor of St George's Day* and various other occasions**, I am offering for today only a free PDF download of The Voyage to Ruin.

Click here to go to the download page.

(The link to download for free is a little small...)

So here's your chance, if you haven't read it yet, to snag a copy. I ask only two things in return:

1.) Drop a comment here if you decide to download it.

2.) If you like it, please spread the word!

Happy St George's Day!

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*Have I mentioned that St George is my patron saint? Happy festal day, glorious soldier and martyr of God!

**The previously-mentioned International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day, e.g.

002: Love


I did this drawing yesterday, as a warm-up before getting into a tough character design problem I've been butting my head against all week.  I'll have #003 later!

To promote my book, The Voyage to Ruin, I'm holding a contest, or a sweepstakes, or giveaway.  Whatever you'd like to call it, it's a chance to win a signed copy of the book, plus some other goodies.

A grand, glorious, and comprehensive website for my book, The Voyage to Ruin, has been one of the many casualties to the extreme lack of a.) time and b.) funds that has plagued my life since ... (well, honestly, since graduating from animation school, but more specifically in this case) since last summer when I first took the step to self-publishing.  It's been on the "Take baby steps towards someday maybe possibly getting it done" list for months, and every now and then I look heavenward and sigh, "O, if only I had the a.) time and b.) funds for a grand and glorious website for my book!"  (I say "O" like a Victorian maiden, because that is more fun.  Sometimes I say "La" instead, just for variety.)

This weekend I got the following from My Friend The Web Designer (MFTWD?  Not very catchy as an acronym):

Today as I finished your book, and slid it back into its lovely dust jacket, I noticed something new on the back.  "www.VoyageToRuin.com", it read!

Well, it seems that there is no website up, and that the domain expiration has expired (or was never registered).

Yes, too true, too true, alas, I sighed, but what can be done about it?  I cited the perennial problem, and he said in reply, in effect, "Fear not!  For I have a brilliant plan!  Please accept the registration of the domain as an early birthday present; I shall, for the nonce, hook the URL up to your existing Lulu page, and voila, your website woes will be no more!"

And verily, behold!  Type www.VoyageToRuin.com into your browser, or click on a link to the same, and it takes you direct to my storefront!

Hurrah!

(A grand and glorious website is still in the works, but for now, this will certainly do!)

(Alredy posted this on dA so sorry for repeat-age!) (But not that sorry, or I wouldn't be doing it!) (Also I'm damned proud of it, so I want to share!)

After much labor, moaning and groaning (mostly on the part of my computer, which had never, I think, seen such a massive file before [the original is some 28" wide, at 300 dpi, and all those textures and patterns and layers really made the computer whimper]), I finished it!


Quadra Terrarum Map by *CapnFlynn on deviantART


The Quadra Terrarum (Square of Lands) is the fictional world of The Voyage to Ruin.

It is a flat world, supported at the four corners by the four elemental pillars: Wind in the North, Water in the East, Fire in the South, and Earth in the West. (The creatures in the four corners of the map each represent an element ... but whoever drew the map wasn't paying attention and swapped the faerie and the mermaid by accident.)

The largest continent is called Caseus.

The nations are:
Camembert (sort of like England, with a bit of the American midwest)
Eclaire (sort of like France, with a bit of New Zealand)
Schlagsahne (kind of like Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, most of Eastern Europe...)
Cilantro (sort of like Mexico)
Parmigiana (very like Venice)
Feta (rather like Greece)
Gouda (pirate hide-out)
Erris (a bit like the pseudo-mythological Ireland of most fantasy novels)
Garam Masala (sort of like India, with touches of Arabian Nights)
Chai (Asia)
Rjomaskyr (mostly unexplored, possibly like Iceland)

Is there a reason, you ask, that all the nations are named after food items? (Yes, Rjomaskyr is a food item too: a type of soft cheese originating in Iceland!)

I ask in reply, don't you ever get tired of fantasy novels full of silly names like J'Rogmsakorl and Vrilandoi? Or B'go'n'k'rg? They try to make you take them seriously, but I mean, how can you converse with your friends about Pdgfljktrliy of the Kingdom of ASersgdlnk? Besides the problem of pronunciation, it's just damned embarrassing! But everyone likes talking about food! Problem solved!

Well, Saturday’s voice-recording session went pretty well.

 Yeah, you know, the voice-recording session that I didn’t mention?  That one?  Do I actually have to explain myself, or can you be satisfied with short, cryptic utterances?

 I guess I’d better explain a little.*

 I’m working on a short** animated trailer to promote The Voyage to Ruin (my H.L. Trombley’s book).  I wrote the script, and this last Saturday invaded the home of some voice-actor friends and commandeered both their talents and their sound-recording equipment.

 We were supposed to have three men to do the three male voices, but one of our guys bailed at the next-to-last minute, leaving us in a bit of a fix.  On the other hand we had a superfluity of women.  My first meeting with the joys of casting!

 At first it was pretty difficult to direct.  For one thing I had a hard time articulating what I wanted,***  and my initial diffidence didn’t help matters.  But once we all got warmed up, as it were, it got a lot better.  And I got to give notes like,

 

Okay, that’s pretty good, but it’s still a little too “What ho, varlet?” if you know what I mean.  You’ve also got your voice up in your nasal passages, so if we could tone that down that would be great.

 
Um, yeah.  Still a little too much with the nasal passages there.

 
Okay, try it again, with a little less Frank Sinatra.

 
It was also my first time in front of the mic myself.  I did all of Captain Drake’s lines, and all I have to say is, “Dude.  Is my voice really that deep?”  It sounded like someone slowed down the (digital) tape!

 Anyway, it was fun.  Maybe I’ll share with y’all the outtakes reel at some point.  The “It’s the Eschaton!” song is not to be missed!

 

 *Gah, you people have no idea how I labor over these short talking-about-myself journals.  Can’t I just upload things directly from my brain?

 **It’s going to have to be short, as I am the entire production staff.  It’ll look good on my reel, that’s for sure!

 ***Another time the direct-brain-upload thing would have been useful!