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I’m really not sure how it suddenly got to be almost September all of a sudden. So much for posting more regularly during the summer, huh? Well, I had a tough summer class, okay?! Sheesh! (And of course I’m addressing all the masses of people who’ve been awaiting new posts from me with bated breath.)
Anyway, so I have actually been doing creative things, it’s just a matter of not posting about it. Like, for example……<drumroll>…… I submitted my manuscript at last!!
*cheers and applause*
And I have another copy of it ready to go out tomorrow to another publisher, so that’s cool. I feel very accomplished, because if nothing else at least I’ve finally moved beyond just talking about trying to get a story published.
The hardest thing about the whole deal is just finding a publishing house that still accepts manuscripts from dorkuses like me who don’t have an agent. And then a couple of times I had a publisher all picked out, but then when I went to their website to double-check their contact information I found that just since the last time I looked they’d changed their submission policy and no longer accepted unagented submissions! Oh, how I’d laugh and laugh…
Anyway, it’s a very frustrating process.
But meanwhile I’m doing very well at keeping busy with other projects and not obsessing over whether I’ll hear back about my submission. I’m honestly not even secretly, deep down, in my heart of hearts thinking that I’m going to get an acceptance letter–I’m really managing to be realistic about it, through and through! (Not being delusional is such a big accomplishment for me that I have to reinforce it by giving myself lots of praise and affection for it.)
So anyway, other projects: For one thing, I’m getting ready to submit my portfolio just as an illustrator as well — I know my writing isn’t as strong or as developed as my artwork, so I’m not kidding myself too much about that, but I really think I might be able to get some work as an illustrator. So for some illustration practice and just for fun, I’m doing a series of watercolor paintings for the Keats poem “La Belle Dame sans Merci” — I hope I’ll be able to make a hand-bound book out of them when I’m done, though I’m not sure how I’d print them for that yet. Here’s the first finished piece:
watercolor and pen and ink; 8" x 10"
It goes with the first verse of the poem–
“O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.”
(Or something like that? I should totally look that up.)
See, didn’t I say I’d be updating soon? It’s so helpful to have a real workspace now–I love being able to go up to my studio and work and have everything organized and accessible… So in just the last few days I’ve gotten four things done that I’d been working on for months, which is very satisfying. Anyway, these are the sample illos I’m planning on sending along with my manuscript:
So, there we are–what I’m hoping is that this bunch shows my best work, and also shows that I can draw characters consistently from one scene to another, show people in motion, and do outside and inside settings… I don’t know if it’s really the best strategy to send my sample illustrations with my story or not, but I’d really love to write AND illustrate this story, so I’m just going to chance it. I do keep seeing submission guidelines for various publishers that sound like they are interested in people who both write and illustrate, so I think if I just keep at it eventually I’d find someone open to both… Anyway, I’m going to give it a shot. We’ll see!
What a hectic couple of months! First getting ready to move away from foggy, cold Humboldt County, while dealing with finals at the same time; then actually moving (that was a hellish weekend, for sure); then summer classes started just a week after we moved into our new house. The good news is that the new house is great, and I actually have a studio, and it’s all sunny and roomy and lovely. And it’s SO nice to be back in our hometown, where summer is just gorgeous and we can go creek swimming all the time, and our family is here and everything. I just feel so much better about everything, now that I’m back here with the beautiful mountains I grew up with all around again. Here’s a photo of one of my favorite places in the county, so you can see I’m not exaggerating how nice it is here:
Spanish Creek, Plumas County, CA
I feel so much happier and more creative and inspired being back here… I know, I’m sickeningly happy, aren’t I? ^_^
Anyway, the real reason for posting: Finally finished a new drawing, and here it is…
Woman with Mask. pen and ink, 11"x14"
I’m also just about ready to start submitting a manuscript & sample illustrations to publishers, and I’m serious this time…I even have the cover letters written, THAT’S how serious I am! Will be updating soon…
Just finished a new drawing last night, finally. It’s been so hard to get time to work because it’s that part of the semester when everything is due all at once, and it’s really frustrating because I have a lot of ideas floating around that I wish I could work on–not to mention a story completely finished but for a few little bits of editing that I can’t seem to get time to do. Arrgh!
Oh well, at least this one drawing is done, that’s better than nothing–and I’m always amazed what a difference it makes to my mood and outlook on days when I get time to draw, even if it’s just for a little while. Anyhow, here’s the point of this post:
The Silver Key. 11"x14", pen & ink
One of my favorite H.P. Lovecraft stories is “The Silver Key.” It’s about a man who has always had these wonderfully vivid dreams where he travels to other worlds and sees all these fantastic things, but as he ages, he finds that he has “lost the key to the gate of dreams.” (Isn’t that a nice phrase?) Then he finds a strange key hidden in the attic of his house, and he hopes if he takes this key back to the home he grew up in it will somehow allow him to get back to his dream worlds… it’s a really good story. The ending revolves around the main character’s ten-year-old self — hence this drawing.
