ellenmillion

(x-posted from Patreon/Facebook)

It's been a hard year, for everyone, and Sketch Fest has not escaped unscathed. It's been hard to drum up activity, sales have fallen to nothing, and our support through Patreon has dwindled. No grief to anyone, this has been an amazing project for almost eleven years, and I am so grateful to everyone for their participation and support. But all things have a life cycle.

I am going to skip February's Sketch Fest because I have just an utter ton going on and I need a little break to recharge.

March is Sketch Fest's 11th anniversary, and there WILL be a final March Sketch Fest, and I hope you will all join me (even if you haven't before!). I am still brainstorming special prizes and thank you gifts and will keep you guys posted on our schedule of events as I finalize things. I never like it when things go out with a whimper, and I want to make sure that you get a great last hurrah!

I don't plan on taking the site down - it will remain up indefinitely as long as it doesn't pose a security risk, and I'm not averse to the idea of restarting active Sketch Fests in the future when there is less of ...the world like it is right now. I love the concept so much and I have made so many wonderful friends and watched so many of you take your artwork to the next level. It was inspiring and rewarding...and I hope that it will be again some day in the future.

Crossposts: https://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1807685.html

I have sent the daughter and husband to watch fireworks at the university (socially distanced, outdoors) by themselves and am watching my very favorite SG-1 episode, eating popcorn, and drinking a rum and root beer. I have the fireworks streaming in a Facebook tab. I might work on the paperback files for Gryphon of Glass, because I love crossing things off my to-do list.

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope your 2021 is amazing in every way.

Crossposts: https://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1794717.html

Gryphon of Glass is here at last! I've been working on this book since JULY. Because 2020.

Floofy tiny gryphons! Grumpy cats! Kick-ass heroines and clueless knights from other worlds figuring out toasters and paper napkins and pizza!

This is book 3 of Fae Shifter Knights, and although it is a stand alone book, you'll probably enjoy reading the series in order: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081YGVB3H - all of them can be read in Kindle Unlimited!

I humbly think that it's one of my favorite battle scenes that I've ever written.

Crossposts: https://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1793626.html

2020 was seriously weird, but I did some things:

That's five books published, and three solo short story collections. It's also the serious launch of a new pen name (two of those five books). It's about sixty art cards. Three short stories in two anthologies. Project: Hug (13 flash fictions).

I found my breaking point this year - the point at which I can't simply power forward and continue making things happen. I am grateful that I was in a position where I could step back and stop for a while to regroup, and I feel considerably better and more balanced and ready to do things again.

I found my goals for 2020:

*Write six books - I re-wrote Dragon Prince, wrote Unicorn of Glass, Broken Lynx, Dragon Prince's Librarian, and Gryphon of Glass (twice), plus a whole lot of short stories and several novellas. I ditched the Green Valley Christmas book. If you count re-writes, I made it, otherwise...no.

*Publish six books and two story collections (Is that crazy? Probably!) - Oh, sweet summer past self, you had no IDEA how crazy. I ended up dropping one book from this plan...and adding another collection.

*Submit to two anthologies - submitted to four, got into three, two were published this year, one scheduled for January.

*30 pieces of cat art in one month. #junikitty? #janucat? - I morphed this into magical pets, but I consider this a goal met. I also did #junicorn again and raised $1k for the food bank.

*Work on the sequel to the Alaska Animals Native Translation coloring book - I didn't so much as look at this and they haven't agitated. Definitely back-burnered.

Personal Goals:

*Work on my physical strength - Some...not as much as I'd like. I did keep up on belly dance, and the three of us kept each other sane during this crazy year.

*Avoid comparing myself with others and focus on self-confidence without outside validation - I actually did a fine job of this. By the end of the year, I simply didn't have the extra energy to waste on comparing myself to other people.

# # #

Obviously, 2020 was one of those years that no one really sees coming. My goals had been based on things like school and summer camp, and the husband being at work, not camped in my kitchen on video conferences. Instead of writing being a career I was pursuing, writing was something I shoved desperately into the corners of being a full-time teacher and care-giver. I canceled trips. I lost friends. I had triumphs. My faith in humans was badly shaken. Things I took for granted proved dangerous. I re-examined myself and didn't always like what I found. I learned. I broke and rebuilt. I shut down more major parts of EMG. It was a wild, wild rollercoaster with no seatbelts.

My goals for 2021 are hopefully gentler. They're definitely humbler.

I'm planning on writing four books: Dragon Prince's Bride, Firebird of Glass (concludes a series!), Green Valley Christmoose, and Shifting Sands Academy. Of these, the last is the least solid and might get replaced with another idea I've been toying with. I have some novellas in mind, too - three Kalikoi/Elva lesfics, and a Suddenly Shifters reprint. (These would be expanded from existing things.) In a perfect world, I would also write The Dragon Prince's Magic and some new novellas, and possibly start the last Green Valley book and also do the middle grade book I have in mind.

Artwise, I want to do another art card challenge this year. No idea what that will look like. I don't seem to be out of #junicorn ideas.

I'd also like to put together a new coloring book for print on demand. No one wants to buy from small press and ship from Alaska when they can get it from Amazon with free shipping, and if you can't beat them, join them! This would be a compilation of existing artwork and a few new pages.

In personal goals, my ambitions are minimal: stay healthy and maintain grace. I can't predict what 2021 is going to be like, but I do know that it's not going to be 'normal' again immediately. We're distance-learning at least until summer, and I'm not optimistic about summer camps. Teleworking might be a thing for a long while. I have to be patient, with myself and others. I have to be kind and remember to be grateful. I have so much to be thankful for.

Crossposts: https://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1792488.html

(I wrote this last year, but it all still applies in spades.)

Solstice matters a lot when you get close to the poles. Today, we will have less than four hours of sunlight, with the sweet promise of lengthening days from here. We live on the north side of a hill, so although we have daylight, the sun will not strike my house until mid-February.

I'll see it in the trees first, traces of gold on the tallest branches of the birches.

Days later, it will creep down the trunks, teasing at spring long before there is a hint of warmth in the air.

And when it hits the windows at last, there is this feeling of euphoria and peace that only someone starved for sun can know.

Light is important.

My wish to you, this season of giving, is the return of your light.

Whatever you are celebrating this year, whichever hemisphere you live in, light is likely to play an important role in your festivities. Whether it's faith, or hope, or illumination, or inspiration, may you have light, chasing the darkness from your life. May you have the warmth it brings, and the clarity you need. Let it overfill your cup and light the way for others.

I love and admire you all very much, and when things are darkest, I remember to look up and see all of you shining around me. You inspire me to better things and braver goals. You are beautiful and strong, even when you forget it.

Happy solstice. <3

Crossposts: https://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1790854.html

To celebrate the season (and surviving the year!), I’m setting The Dragon Prince of Alaska free until Tuesday: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085786T3C

2020 has been a wild ride, for sure, and one of my favorite parts was launching The Royal Dragons of Alaska. This was my first series as Elva Birch, and what started as an excuse to paint northern lights dragons has turned into a whole new world of dragon shifter royalty with a distinct Alaskan flair. It's got all the things I love: gorgeous and good-hearted heroes, complicated and competent heroines, humor, adventure, dogs, camping, magic, and crunchy world building, with lush descriptions, steamy scenes, and satisfying happy endings. I can’t wait to take you with me on the rest of this journey. ❤

Come and get lost in a fascinating alternate world, just a step off of familiar. The Dragon Prince’s Bride is up for preorder now!

Crossposts: https://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1788411.html

Crossposts: https://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1784868.html

Collectible mini-prints! These 2.5 x 3.5 inch prints are archival quality on heavy, acid-free paper, and this is the only time some of these will be available...

Support your favorite artists and Sketch Fest!

Crossposts: https://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1779981.html

This book is really special to me. I mean, I'm sure that authors say that all the time, but this book? This one hit me right in the heart - and it's free until Monday!

When I first introduced Gizelle in Tropical Tiger Spy, way back when I was a baby writer, I only knew that the then-nameless gazelle was going to play an important role. I didn't realize how important...and initially, I had no plans to pair her up with a mate of her own.
But readers asked, and I couldn't resist.

This was one of the hardest books I've written - it was a whole pile of tricky balances. Gizelle is innocent, but not at all a child. Conall, in some ways, is as damaged as she is...and she spent her childhood in a zoo! It was the first time I wrote a deaf character, and for the first half of the book, they can't even touch each other. Gizelle's growth and bravery - through this book and this whole series - is a big part of the Shifting Sands series.

I love this book so much. It's funny and hopeful even while it's sometimes heartbreaking, and I especially love how it shows how much love and support the Shifting Sands staff has for each other.

Although this is book 7, you can drop into the series from this book and read it without picking up any of the rest of them - it stands alone and the end is satisfying and complete. It's Gizelle's first Christmas! Discover the holiday, and the magic of love.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KDTW6P2

Crossposts: https://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1779541.html

I feel thankful, and I'd like to use our American holiday as an excuse to take a moment to share that with you.

I am so thankful for my family. I like to joke that I'm fond of my cellmates during lockdowns, but the truth is, you guys are great. I love living with you, and you are my anchors. I never have to look far for a hug or hilarity; our house is full of laughter and love. I am so grateful to have so much, stuck at home. I am thankful for the family outside of these walls, too, whether by blood or marriage. You are wonderful people and I think of you often, even though I'm bad at phones.

I am thankful for my author friends, Zoes and otherwise. You have been unwavering in your support and friendship, and I love that we can lift each other up. Thank you for all of your unflinching critiques and encouragement, and the knowledge you share. It's been a crazy journey for me, and I owe it to so many of you.

I am thankful for my artist friends, and I think of you all as 'my' artists, no matter how sporadic or long-ago your participation in EMG has been. Your trust and your support and your participation has been invaluable and inspiring and I am so happy to see the beauty you add to the world. Never stop creating.

I am thankful for my fans and readers. I think of all of you as friends first, and your enthusiasm keeps me going when things are hard. Whether you read or buy my work, cheer from the sidelines, or just randomly like my posts on Facebook, you are my inspiration. You are the reason I can create, and I am so grateful that I can help you escape.

It has been an insane year, and while I'm not excited for everything that has happened, I am thankful that it hasn't been worse. I'm thankful for the friends who have recovered from illness and the new life that has come about in these weird times. I'm thankful for every bite of food and drink of safe water. I'm thankful for my shelter and warmth. And I'm so thankful for all the people who make my world brighter.

Thank you.

Crossposts: https://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1779235.html

October...was a month. I got a week in and hit an absolute wall. I mean, I kind of smelled the burning gears in September, and it was wise of me to re-kajigger my schedule to drop an entire book at that time, but it was pretty much too little too late by that point, and after weepingly editing six chapters of Gryphon of Glass, I realized that maybe I needed a break.

And it was a glorious break.

I played piano and went for walks and took a few hundred photos. I drew some pictures (not a dedicated monthly challenge, just whatever I wanted), and read part of a book for fun, and refused to feel guilty. I was still teacher-mom and cleaner of houses and fixer of things and maker of fires and cooker of food, but it wasn't interspersed with any of my usual self-slave-driving. I did do too much doomsurfing occasionally, but even that I was able to throttle back on.

Towards the end of the month, I got a copyedit done for someone else, wrote five pieces of flash fiction, and started to feel that familiar chomping at the bit to get back to real work.

So...not a lot of progress to report. (I haven't looked at Gryphon of Glass again, so I have no idea if the edits I made at the beginning of the month were even worth anything.)

For November, I have a story due at the end of the month, and I will make that my only priority. It's a 10k minimum, but I suspect it will be a little longer...maybe 15k? I've got about 2k already and I'm aiming at 1-2k a day until it's done, which should leave plenty of time for edits.

Then I will pick up Gryphon again and hammer out the edits. After that, I am either going to go immediately on to Firebird of Glass (if inspired) or switch to The Dragon Prince's Bride, which I am dying to write again. (And I apologize in advance to my characters. #sorrynotsorry)

I have no art goals, no marketing goals, no other writing expectations. If I don't even get to Gryphon of Glass this month, so be it.

What are your plans for the month? Anyone doing NaNoWriMo?

Crossposts: https://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1769632.html

FIVE INCHES OF SNOW! I'll try to take some photos when it's a little brighter out.

Piano lesson accomplished.

Laundry is folded and put away.

Just a note that if you're looking for cards, I have some available:

Not very many of the Christmas Kitties are left (They say Wishing you Magic and Merriment this Holiday Season inside). I have about 40 in stock. $3.50 apiece, 10 (mix and match!) for $20, $5 flat shipping fee in the US for any order size. (Inquire for other countries) The Christmas Kitties are big 5 x 7 inch cards, the flowers are 5.5 x 5.5 inches (blank interior), envelopes included.

Crossposts: https://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1767340.html

I am delighted to announce that I have short stories in two new charity anthologies that are available now!

His Magical Pet: Have a shot of concentrated joy, with nine stories of men in love... and their adorable magical pets!

All proceeds from the collection will be donated to OutRight Action International, which fights for the rights of LGBTQIA people worldwide.

In this enchanting collection, supervillain husbands apply to adopt a cat, a dog with wings helps old friends confess hidden desires, a tour guide for an island of magical New Zealand wildlife falls for a visiting naturalist, and much, much more!

My story is:

“Throw Me a Bone,” by Elva Birch. New werewolf Lucas is forced to masquerade as his own pet when he chases his runaway collie right into the yard of his neighbor crush.

There is a companion volume for women loving women, Her Magical Pet, in which I have TWO stories:

“Pawprints in the Snow,” by Zoe Chant. A lost cat leaves a path to love for a lonely snow leopard shifter.

“Memories of Magic,” by Elva Birch. An emergency vet gets an unexpected visit from a Christmas elf (not really) with a living plastic toy pegasus (really!)

I had a lot of fun writing all of these, and they are for a great cause. If you've got Kindle Unlimited, they are available in the program for just 90 days, and then they will be going wide. I am really excited to be in a table of contents with these amazing writers. <3

Crossposts: https://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1764513.html

Goodbye, EMG-Zine. The domain expired without renewal today, after being down for almost a year following the php upgrade that borked so many of my sites and caused an official end to a lot of EMG.

Seven years. Seven years of non-fiction articles on creative topics in fantasy and science fiction, without one missed month, from Jan 2006 to December 2012. (One issue was a day late because I lost power for ten hours.) Artwork, poetry, useful tips, tutorials... it was a pretty amazing achievement and I like to think it helped people. I'm allowed to be proud of it.

...Lots of conflicted feelings about it anyway.

Here is a reprint of the article that I published in that last issue...about ending things.

( Cut for length... )

Crossposts: https://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1760011.html

OMG, I can still draw people. It's been a while since I did anything other than tiny animal art cards and I was beginning to wonder if I could. This is Leinani, heroine of the The Dragon Prince's Bride (which I'm honestly dying to write).

portrait ink sketch

Crossposts: https://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1757034.html

Belly dance last night was under cold, crystal clear blue skies, the sun casting long shadows on crunchy golden leaves. It was nice to be outside, and a little sad to realize we were running out of autumn; more leaves were on the grass than in the trees.

At one point, a raven flew overhead, calling.

I called back.

In my arsenal of completely useless talents, I do an amazing range of raven calls, the proof of which is that this raven circled back and answered.

I chattered back, he protested and landed in a tree nearby. We held a lively conversation for almost the entire song, Kkrrrrak? Skwaaaa! Gaaaaakkk! Gronk! and he finally flew away.

I'm not sure what he had to say to me, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't all flattering, but it was nice that he paused to talk.

Crossposts: https://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1753021.html

( Prompted 2! )

Crossposts: https://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/1749901.html

Things I Did:

I published The Dragon Prince's Librarian, built an ARC team for Elva Birch, wrote the 20k on Gryphon of Glass that I wanted to (ending the month at 30k on that book), got accepted into a New Years anthology, wrote 1700 on that story, wrote 1700 onto the Firebird of Glass outline to make sure I didn't write myself into a corner with Gryphon, and laid out two more series that I'm not allowed to start until I finish two of the ones I have open. I also finished the Magical Pets Project: https://www.ellenmillion.com/magicpets.php

The DPL launch went fine...I have no expectations for my Elva titles, and it did just a little better in sales than the first book, though it didn't rank quite as high. It seems well received.

Thing to Do:

Finish Gryphon of Glass (38k now). An early October launch would be nice, but if it doesn't happen, it doesn't. Tropical Tails goes up the 13th and I have ZERO expectations for this one - it's a collection of shorts that probably will appeal only to the core Shifting Sands fans. Not planning any advertising. After Gryphon of Glass, I have the Green Valley Christmoose Disaster to write, which should be a nice fluffy holiday break. I need to do paperbacks for DPL (done) and Tropical Tails, too (half done). I think that, given the school situation, I am going to give myself a 20k goal again - that should finish Gryphon and put a nice start on the Ex-mas book.