random wednesday updates

Good Wednesday, weblings.

Let's see.

The outdoors is really, really cold right now. The temp was 1 when I left my house, 0 on the way, but 5 by the time I reached work. I think we finally made it up to 20 something degrees. Woo! Summa time!

I hope we get some reprieve in the form of warmer temperatures soon. I don't know how much longer I want to play in the snow.

Ah, also if you are on my Christmas shopping list and you are not one of my wild children, I have not yet purchased your gift. Yes, I am one of those people this year.

Like Clockwork is currently being evaluated for the premium catalog on Smashwords. If you don't want to wait for it to hit Barnes and Noble, etc, then here is a link to the download in various formats on the Smashwords site itself. They offer just about any sort of format you could want from kindle to ipad regular old html.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/31526

I apologize there is no print version. A couple of people have asked. If you want to print it out, it’s only about 28 pages.

I'm still working on the second AnnaBeth book in a half-assed sort of way. Well, the writing isn't half-ass, my dilligence in working on it is. I think this cold weather is making me sluggish. I don't really feel like doing anything but stuffing my face full of food and sleeping.

The story is really different from the first book but in a good way. The level of danger is much higher and there are threats to AB from almost every direction.

The primary project right now is the novella cover art. That is a rocky road. The work is slow, mainly because I'm learning a lot while I move along.

This project has helped me to realize that I've become too comfortable with what I perceive as my limitations. There are times I lack in the confidence department, especially when it comes to drawing.

For instance, the cover for Babylon Dragon is not what I originally envisioned. Don't get me wrong, I really love the way it turned out. But I gave up on the original idea because I thought it was beyond my art skill level.

Last weekend, the annoying voice of my insecurity surfaced in the form of the idea that maybe I should have a backup plan for the cover. A backup plan might as well be the white flag of surrender. I'm not going to give myself that out.

The drawing may be slow, but it is progressing. The cover is going to turn out fine if I just keep moving.

End transmission.

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Other places to find me:
http://www.LeaRyan.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/LeaRyan1