The Daily Art of LemurKat

And finally, it is completed:

2012-01-28T10:33:00.001+13:00

Enchanted Forest - Work In Progress

2012-01-27T16:51:00.003+13:00

Sensible people would have started from the top left. Not the bottom right.
I am not left-handed and I am not sensible.
I hope this doesn't get messy...

This is all colouring pencils, btw, even if it looks a little like watercolour. It's not.

Pounce!

2012-01-25T21:47:00.004+13:00

This is "Pounce" a young cer'rin, a species also known as the "predatory unicorn". However, cer'rin are not technically unicorns, because although it is true that they have only one antler, this splits as they mature and the number of prongs indicate the age of the buck. Another anatomical oddity is that the cer'rin is unique amongst mammals in that its front and rear legs appear mismatched - with large paws on the front feet and hoofs on the hind. This makes him especially fast and agile as he races through his forested home, hunting rabbits and small deer. Cer'rin have also been known to hunt in pairs and in this manner can bring down prey as large as an boar.

The antlers are only present in males of the species and are used during courtship displays. Males will lock their antlers together, and then wrestle, clawing at each other with their talons. These fights are terribly bloody - because it is quite difficult to break the lock until one of the participants dies. It is then consumed by its victor.

Pounce was first created way back in 2005:

Here is a very early conceptualisation of a predatory unicorn.

And here he is as an anatomically challenged calf.

And an "original species" art card.

And last but far, far from least is this amazing rendition drawn by the extremely talented Rose Moonfeather:

Dangit, looking at this one just makes me want to throw out mine and start all over again. I hate talent-envy. I suffer from it far too often...

The Enchanted Forest - Inked Stage

2012-01-23T22:14:00.003+13:00

At present I am hosting a swap with the theme "The Enchanted Forest". Now, it has become traditional for me to send out additional cards to players, particularly those that send a bonus hostess card for me. This means generally for swaps I host I shall create around a dozen cards. Not usually too much problem, but this theme had foxed me a bit - especially coupled with the fact that I am rather enjoying working on larger pieces this year.

And thus I decided to create 9 cards as parts of a single image:

The black lines are not currently a part of the image, but do show approximately where the outlines of each card will be. From looking at this, I think the bat one needs something to balance it on the bottom right, and thus will remedy that.

Now, for the story behind this piece...
Well, there isn't one, not really - but ages and ages ago I particupated in a swap entitled "the Deep Dark Woods" which was an awesome theme but rather spoiled for me by the fact that the Host never sent out returns and therefore must have kept all the cards. Anyhow, for that I created a series of images - a witch's house, a giant spider, a strange gliding creature and some giant sundews. Some of these images were inspired by those cards, although the gliding creature has been replaced with a pair of grimalkyn. Which is interesting, because I thought my Grim was unique in his world. Oh well! Not sure what the deerlike creature is. Or the lizard-gryphon.

If anyone wishes to make up a story about a little anthro-mouse that lives in a gingerbread house and has befriened all the wild animals (including giant katydids), please let me know.

I shall post more up here as I begin colouring it.

Why so quiet?

2012-01-17T06:40:00.003+13:00

I've been quiet for the last week or so for two exciting reasons - one, is that a store in Otago purchased a large order of my art and I was involved in assembling a number of art cards and greeting cards and two, I was doing the final touches on my second novel, "A Midsummer Knight's Quest" (which was actually written first).

"A Midsummer Knight's Quest" is now available for Kindle on Amazon, and shall soon be available in paperback format (once I receive and approve my proofs) and also on kobo and hopefully (*finger's crossed*) the Whitcoulls website.

And just so you know - translating books into ebooks is a complicated process!

To convert to mobi (for kindle):
I have to first transform the odf (OpenOffice) into html, before doing that I changed all the fonts into Times New Roman and removed all the illustrations except the title page, map and advertisement at the end (this is because interior images make a mess of the layout and although I kept them in for Aroha's Grand Adventure, this one has a lot more in it).

Then, I convert it using kindlegen, and skim through the generated mobi file, locating any errors (and there were many, I do not understand why - changing fonts, losing the bold of headings etc) and fixing them via jedit.

Once I feel I have fixed them all (and multiple times before) I save and regenerated the mobi file until finally, voila - it looks decent!

To transform into epub:
This can be done from the mobi file or the pdf. When I tried to use mobicreator with the pdf it messed up the formatting.

I use Calibre to create the file.
I then use Sigil to edit the epub - fixing the formatting errors and setting the sections appropriately (for some reason it divided my copyright page up line-by-line).

As I have made some changes, I need to redo the epub file, but it will be a while before it's uploaded. I also need to "order" another ISBN for it.

I have never before drawn a....

2012-01-15T08:11:00.003+13:00

...Mechanical Hound - from Fahrenheit 451.

This has the distinction of being A, the first ATC I have drawn this year (the other pieces being 8x8s) and B, being something I have not drawn before, meaning I have already fulfilled one of my 2012 goals. Admittedly, I am also going to draw a WWII warbird, to further fulfil that goal.

Anyhow, this piece is for the Reading Group swap I'm hosting on Illustrated ATCs. It was tricky to draw - and I especially like the fact that despite the name "mechanical hound" these robotic trackers do not actually need to look anything like real dogs - they have eight legs and a needle in their "face", for a start. I've seen various interpretations, some going all dog, others tending towards the spider-ish. I chose to go with hound, however, because... well, because I wanted to, I guess!

The Year of the Dragon continues...

2012-01-07T08:57:00.006+13:00

2012 may be the Year of the Dragon, but I did not exactly set out to draw dragons exclusively.
But that seems to be what is happening...

Meet Pippit:

Pippit is a dragon faery (Draco faerus). A small colourful dragon that lives in the Amazon rainforest. Little larger than a common thrush, dragon faeries mainly dine on insects and eggs, and a deft at capturing butterflies on the wing. They communicate using high pitched whistles that sound not unlike bird call. They are also highly curious and intelligent and love shiny stuff. This they collect and hoard, often stringing it in tree branches or storing it in tree crevices. The male finds a tree that he thinks would make a nice den, and decorates it with all the hoard he can gather. Then he roosts in its highest branches and whistles his most musical tune. The females, upon hearing this, will flock towards him and judge his worth as a mate based on his eye for tree decorating as much as his melodies.

Alas, this dimunitive dragon is highly threatened. Not only because its habitat is disappearing, but also because it is in high demand for the pet trade. Colourful and playful, they make engaging pets and will willingly bond with human companions. Like parrots, however, they are not domesticated and are also very demanding. If ignored, their curiosity will lead them into mischief. Many a dragon owner has come home to find his trinkets rearranged, electronics disassembled and house laid waste to. Dragon faeries are also terrific mimics, and if locked into a cage will emit the most distressing noises they can think of - fire alarms, sirens, dogs barking... Much to the anguish of any neighbours. They are also quite adept at getting out of cages, and need to be padlocked in, as a simple sliding bolt will not hold them for long and their hands are very nimble.

Like many of my characters, Pippit has been around for some time. The idea was that I would write a series of short novels featuring his exploits - from the time when he was captured in the rainforest as a fledgling and taken to live in Victorian England. It was going to be a "history of the world through the eyes of a dragon". But I do not know if I shall ever write it. Meanwhile, here are some older images of him:

In the year 2000, I created the Dragon Faery species.

In 2003, I doodled up my first random sletch of a dragon faery that I called "Pippit".

In 2004, I came up with his current design. More or less.
In 2005, I turned him into an archaetryx type creature.
In 2009, I stuck with the dinosaur design, but went a bit more that way.

In 2012, I decided to give him back his butterfly wings and restore his front legs.

Dragon #2 for 2012

2012-01-04T21:33:00.005+13:00

Here's Rhapsody, for cards in the landscape orientation. She's looking a little doped out, like she's been eating funny shellfish or something.

Here's some earlier pictures of Rhapsody:

2005/2009

And here's some of Fortune (from yesterday's post):

2005

Art Card Backing 2012

2012-01-03T21:35:00.006+13:00

I have started designing a new Art Card backing for every year. Last year, Aroha took the centre stage, chasing a butterfly across the card. The year before, it was LemurKat. This year I wanted to do something different. After much pondering, I decided that since it was the Year of the Dragon, that Fortune should have the honours:

Fortune has never been a major character of mine - he was created for a Dragon eXchange as a kirin/eastern dragon hybrid. I believe that because of his mixed parenting, he was accepted into neither society and considered something of an outcast. This lead him to randomly wander the world, seeking friendship and comradeship. However, if I recall correctly, he was also supposed to bring luck to those who saw him.

Anyhow, I might design a landscape orientated card yet featuring my other dragon - Rhapsody Kelpdancer.

Here are some of my previous trading card backs:

2011 Aroha/My Little Pony/Pokemon

2011 - landscape, rarely used (layout wasn't good for writing in)

2010/2009

Oddly enough, I often get it asked in swap threads "who did this card?" despite the fact that nearly all of these clearly say "LemurKat" on there somewhere!

So, how many have you got?

Lemya and Passiflora

2012-01-02T23:15:00.006+13:00

Recently I have been doing some large pieces - 8x8 inches, to be precise. Most of these have been for a "circle journal " swap. But it's not really a circle journal - because the actual journal is not being circulated - it's more just a pages swap.

My partner for January was Mrs Alderman, aka Lunathewhitewolf. She submitted a selection of characters to choose from and it took me some time and a few rough sketches to settle on the two I most liked. I chose the two most "natural" of her characters.

This differs in my earlier journal pages because the other two were 16x8 inch pieces that I cut in half. These ones are two separate and unrelated pages.

The first was Lemya, a mermaid-esque type character.

This is one of my only attempts to show sun rays slipping through water, and alas I do not think I was particularly successful. It is also the very first time that I have drawn a sunken ship - thus I have technically already completed one of my 2012 Artistic Goals. Lemya can communicate with sea creatures.

The second character is called Passiflora. She has an affinity with plants and can make them grow with her touch.

Goals for 2012

2011-12-30T23:05:00.011+13:00

Writing:

Finish editting and publish "Midsummer Knight's Quest"
(published on kindle, rest to follow)

Finish writing, edit and publish "Scavengers of the Deadlands"

Come up with a new plot idea for NaNo next year. Something fresh, exciting and marketable.

Distribute "Aroha's Grand Adventure" to libraries and/or schools.

Distribute "Aroha's Grand Adventure" via Kobo/Whitcoulls epub. In Progress

Learn to be less humble about marketting my work. (yeah, right)

Finish my "Stickybeak" picture book (ie: colour it)

Art:

Create a portfolio and submit it to relevant sources

Keep active auctions up on trademe - such as $1 Collectible Art Cards

Redo the cover for "Scavengers of the Deadlands"

Get at least one paying commission per month
(Jan - FAIL)

Try and draw something I haven't done before.
(mechanical dog, warbird)

Complete my NZ Naturally Tarot Deck.

Reading:

Read at least five titles that have been sitting on my shelf for ~~years~~ a while.
(Prince of Mist, Ship Breaker, the Lost Tohunga, Dreamscape, Nurk ...)
Okay, let's make it TEN.

Try something in an entirely different genre (ie: crime)

Read at least five non-fiction novels

Read and review at least twelve self-published novels.
(The Silver Hawk, Changeling Moon, Dark Earth...)

Travel:

Plan and undertake Epic US Roadtrip Already booked.

Attend a large-scale forum gathering (AFA 2012).

Make some new friends in different countries.

Identify at least five new bird species.

Relationships:

Spend time with some/one of my girlfriends. Doing this one already!

Do something romantic for my husband.

Have a short holiday with my parents.

Invite in-laws over for dinner.

Have a BBQ/party to celebrate something.

~~Have a long phone conversation with my brother (or better still, visit him).~~
(although this is worth doing again!)

Social:

Organise/attend a picnic with friends.

Attend at least one party.

Attend a live concert.

~~Engage in at least one roleplaying game - possibly even a campaign.~~ DONE - Kapcon

Run a scenario/campaign for beginner RPers.

Health:

Lose 10 kilos. (haha)

Never drive to work - always bike or walk. (so far, so good)

Play a sport at least once a month (badmington or squash?)

January = ACHIEVED

Wealth:

Save at least $5k before US trip.

Do so well at work they feel oblidged to give me a pay rise. (not gonna happen)

Save $200 EVERY week (so far, so good)

Cooking/Baking:

Make a souffle (I've heard they're a real challenge).

~~Make something tasty to take to work, for no special reason.~~ DONE

Fur Seal and Gulls

2011-12-30T17:26:00.002+13:00

An 8x8 commission for a lass living in the US with New Zealand family ties. This is a Sea Lion cow and calf, resting on the rocks at Kaikoura whilst a pair of red billed gulls soar overhead.

I made a list a month ago on things I wanted to achieve in the next year, and one of them was to get at least 5 paying commissions. This is my second since I made the list. The first was the giraffe/elephant/zebra hybrid I made for Christmas.

I am also going to regularly keep up Art Card auctions on Trademe. Even though I make at most 30c per listing, it is certainly getting me more exposure.

All aboard the Ark!

2011-12-30T17:08:00.006+13:00

The Animals came in two by two....

For a swap on Atcs for All. There came some confusion when early on someone asked if they were allowed to draw birds, to which it was replied that the Host actually intended for us not to draw birds, but that this swap was supposed to be for "animals". Now, this is one of my personal pet peeves - because as a dedicated ornithologist and bird lover, it really, really irks me when people seem to regard "birds"* as being something separate from all other animals. Birds are animals. Fish are animals. Reptiles are animals. Octopus are animals.

Anyway, to cut a short story shorter: Birds are now permitted. And to her credit, the Hostess just ignored my rant and did not get caught up in a typing tussle.

So of course, to thumb my nose at them further (actually, I was intending to do it this way anyhow) I chose to draw a pair from each of the main animal branches - reptile, bird and mammal.

As per all these swaps that require me to draw a male and female of the same species, I tried to choose species that demonstrated sexual dimorophism. That is to say - the male and the female look quite different. In this case we have:
* The Ark and the dove (the ark was a swap requirement)
* A pair of Jackson's Chameleons (male has horns)
* Nyala pair (female is red)
* Himalayan Monal (male is blue)

* Another thing that sometimes puzzles me is why people sometimes have a phobia of all birds in general, due to the fact that they were attacked by a territorial and nasty bird like a magpie when they were a child. For some reason, being attacked by a large black and white bird makes them scared of dumpy, friendly fantails. That's like being attacked by a dog and developing a phobia of cats.

Victorian Wolf

2011-12-23T22:09:00.001+13:00

Designed for a Mad Hatter's/Victorian Tea Party.

Kirin/dragon

2011-12-23T18:02:00.000+13:00

Inspired by Windstone Editions.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T08:41:00.003+13:00

Every year, I select a different character to be portrayed on my Christmas card. Last year, Aroha took the honours (and the Christmas lights) and so - despite her insistance, she would not be depicted this year! And thus I studied my other characters.

Whilst I was busy trying to determine if I should illustrate Hemlock or Aurelia, Butterscotch or Fiantrana; I turned around and saw that Tiriki had sneakily dismantled my Christmas tree!

Thus, Tiriki the cheeky kea - a minor character in "Aroha's Grand Adventure" has now earned the distinction of being the 2011 Christmas character.

Lemurs in Red

2011-12-21T06:27:00.001+13:00

Red Ruffed Lemur and Coquerel Sifaka for my mother's 6x6 journal and her Christmas present.

Little Octopus

2011-12-17T10:46:00.002+13:00

Who can resist those big blue eyes?

Stingray!

Art Dump

2011-12-12T06:12:00.003+13:00

It's been a while since I updated - but that does not necessarily mean I've been slack with the artistry. Although, admittedly, I have a bit! This is not so much a "daily art blog" as a "every few day's art blog". Anyhow, in between baking muffins for my co-workers, spending time with my husband and the extended family and working, I have achieved a bit of art. Most of it for the Pick-a-theme that finishes now in the middle of January - yay for extensions!

This one called for two Goddesses - the Goddess of the Moon and the Goddess of Fortune:

A tree:

And the theme Gypsy/Bohemian. since the last was for Icekat, who has a number of feline furry characters anyhow, Idid not think she'd mind if I drew Titus, with a wig on, in a gypsy costume.
Okay, so he maybe does look a wee bit too girly.

And lastly - a guitar:

The Return of the Giraffe/Zebra/Elephant thingy

2011-12-09T22:36:00.002+13:00

You may remember, I was commissioned back in July to create a hybrid beastie for the girlfriend of a fellow called Andy. Indeed, my husband found the listing on Metafilter, and pointed the chap in my direction - and he chose me. Anyhow, he thought he would like another critter as a Christmas present. However, he has left it a wee bit fine... I got the email on wednesday, started with the lineart that evening (whilst watching "Rio" which was such an awesome movie that not a great deal of sketching got done) and finished it up this morning, friday, in time to make the 5pm post pick-up. Whew - now all it has to do is get to Canada in two weeks or less...

Anyhow, this is a combination of Elephant/Giraffe and Zebra. Which is fine - but the challenge was that I had to make it different from the previous one. This was actually harder than you might think. The zebra stripes had to stay, obiovusly, as did the giraffe spots, and the only way to really do the elephant was with its trunk... Anyhow, this is the result:

I think I like it better than the first one, actually. I hope he doesn't ask me for a third one, I'm not sure what else I can do with it! It'd have to be a zebra head, I guess...

The Fox and The Raven

2011-12-05T22:13:00.004+13:00

One day, Raven chanced upon a lucky treat - a tasty wheel of cheese had been left unsupervised. Snatching it up, he flew up to his favourite perch to enjoy his meal.

Along came Fox. Now, Fox was hungry, but when she saw Raven with his cheese, she realised that it was not mouse or rabbit that she hungered for. No, she wanted something richer, tastier.

She padded up to the base of the tree, and walked in circles around it a few times, studying Raven. After a moment, as soon as she saw that he had noticed her; she cried out:

"Oh what is this, most magnificant of birds! So fine of feather and sleek and black. Why, truly in all appearance, you are the king of birds."

Pleased at such praise, Raven strutted a little, plumped up his feathers and fanned his wings to show off their true glossy black colouration. He really was the king of birds!

But Fox was not done yet:
"Oh," she continued, "if only you had the voice to match - why then you would be the fairest of the fowl!"

At this, Raven opened his beak and unleashed a most terrible cawwing racket. It was not a noise to delight the ear, but truly one to disturb it. Out from his beak, the cheese wheel tumbled.

With a leap and a snap, Fox snatched the cheese from the air. With her mouth full - although her ears still rung, she trotted off into the woods, without a backward glance.

Raven fluffed his feathers in embarrassment at the trick. "Oh," he muttered, "tis truly a fool that falls for idle flattery."

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 28

2011-11-28T23:12:00.002+13:00

Wordcount: 3,135

But it's on the wrong story!
I have officially given up on my Lemur NaNo novel. Why? Because for one thing, I shall have to delete much of it and I need to conceptualise what is actually going to happen with the plot. It's not going anywhere, it needs to be dragged back on target.

So, instead I am adding in a few bits of "foreshadowing" to MKQ. And proof-reading it on my kindle.

I have already discovered:
~ contradicting previous assertions made on goblins and faeries in general - twice
~ changed a character's name without realising (fixed)

And am also wondering if I should foreshadow the terrible chefs - Rumpel and Stiltskin, or leave them as a (not too) pleasant surprise.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 25 - COMPLETED

2011-11-25T07:43:00.004+13:00

As I have now attained my goal of 50k words, although my novel is far from finished, I think I may give it a break for today and concetrate instead on some art, or maybe editting "Midsummer Knight's Quest". You see - this year instead of a free proof copy - Createspace are giving away 5 copies of an actual published book (but you have to pay postage). Since it will need to be used by June and there is no way in hades that I will have "Lemurs: A Saga" publishable by than (heck, it probably won't even be finished), I could use it to buy 5 more copies of "Aroha's Grand Adventure" - but I'm already sitting on 5 copies that I'm trying to sell (want it? $20 each + postage and it will be autographed), I've decided to finally finish up Hemlock's story.

"Midsummer Knight" needs a fair bit of tweaking - namely I need to do a bunch of illustrations again, thanks to Aurora becoming Mystery and changing species from a sunbittern to a bush stone-curlew. I might even need to redo the cover, although I rather like it the way it was. And I've done a little editting to fit in Mystery over Aurora.

Here's the new cover:

I am hoping it WILL have the title on the spine, once I get the story itself uploaded.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 24

2011-11-24T22:37:00.003+13:00

Wordcount: 2,051
Total Wordcount: 51.708
Percentage: 103%

According to OpenOffice, I am finished. According to the Validator, I have another 70 words to go.

I shall finish it tomorrow. And there will be celebration. And muffins. Definitely muffins.

Rakoto has had his first lesson in fighting, met Eloise's brother, Roland and also had his first glimpse of the Alpha Hunter, Noir.

And all this before breakfast. His breakfast, that is, not mine. I wrote this between breakfast and heading to work - just to get matters straight.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 23

2011-11-23T21:05:00.003+13:00

Wordcount: 1,481
Total Wordcount: 49,657
Percentage: 99.3

Almost there! Another day and I shall have crossed the threshold and then will have to write another 2k words or so to get the official wordcount. No matter - I've plenty of time - almost a week and the story seems to be flowing okay.

Aurelia has faced off against the kinaoly, but where is Kelyloza?
Rakoto is learning how to fight. It is not going to do him well.

Bit of fun today, because I want my city of Narivo to somewhat resemble the actual city of Antananarivo, so I've been looking on google earth. Alas, no streetview of Madagascar, but Earth shows me the contours and all, so I can see which bits are ridges and which are gullies. As the editting begins, I shall create the city in more vivid colours -maybe even rustle up a map.

Tomorrow, shall hopefully be a day of celebration.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 22

2011-11-22T22:43:00.002+13:00

Wordcount: 1,385
Total Wordcount: 48 176
Percentage: 96.4%

So close... And the plot has hardly moved very far at all. Aurelia and her team are messing around in the Tsingy, where she appears to have now befriended the mandrill that may possibly have killed her friend (accidentally...). I need to finish this chapter and get back to Rakoto.

At this rate, it might be a trilogy yet. Can I tie this up in another 25000 words or so? Time will tell...

But now, I need that thing called sleep.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 21

2011-11-21T22:05:00.003+13:00

Wordcount: 2,186
Total Wordcount: 46, 791
Percentage: 93.6%

And we're into the home strait now! I'll be done by friday at the latest - with the wordcount at least - if not the story - which still has a loooong way to go.

I have nothing profound to say today.

Goodnight!

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 20

2011-11-20T21:33:00.003+13:00

Wordcount: 1,898
Total Wordcount: 44,605
Percentage: 89.2%

I would have liked to finish on 90% today, but alas, the chapter I was writing is complete and it is time for that elusive thing called sleep.

I am wondering where this story is going - like Part one - which I wrote in June, it is moving at what seems to be a snail's pace, yet is hopefully interesting enough to keep the reader entertained and for each occurance to have some relevance to the plot. I am just not yet entirely sure what.

In today's instalment, Aurelia has discovered that her diminutive friend has been captured by a mythic beast referred to as the "kinaoly". A kinaoly is: A horrible looking elf of folklore. Or, in this case, a troll - well, actually, it's a mandrill. Now, the purpose that this mandrill serves is unclear. Rumour has it, that he is a cruel and malicious being who slaughters and eats lemurs at the least provacation and is dangerous and should not be messed with... The bones and assorted other debri scattered around his lair are testament to this theory.

But.. I'm not yet convinced. The monkeys (vazaha) are outlawed by royal decree and any found living in Madigaska is likely to be killed on sight. So, who is to say that this mandrill is not simply hiding in the Tsingy and wants nothing more than to eat durian and scorpions and be left alone? Current theory is that he was a crew-hand on one of the ships that sailed neared the coast - and being dimwitted and easily manipulated, wound up getting dumped by his companions. Then, he stumbled about, trying to befriend the local lemurs, merely to find himself attached and chased away - beaten with sticks and burned by fire. He ran into the Tsingy to escape the vicious lemurs and immediately got lost. He likes the tsingy - nobody tries to hurt him and he's found a place with plenty of food, water and a nice private cave system to make into his lair (ok, bit of abnormal behaviour there). But... sometimes he gets lonely... So when the little tsidy stumbles into his territory, he decides to keep her as a sort of friend/pet because she can tell him lovely stories and keep him company.

Except it appears that he's about to have Aurelia drop on him from above and stab him in the throat while he's asleep. Not very sporting, I know.

So, without further ado, I give to you the Kinaoly:
(it's dark, so Aurelia can only see in monochromes)

This was clearly the kinaoly's lair, and it had made some effort to add some homely touches. It was open to the sky, moonlight streaming down to illuminate the great beast crouching in its centre. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dried grass, with scraps of cloth and torn lambas littered across it. There was a wooden bucket and a wicker basket filled with fruit. Durian fruit, Aurelia noted. He must have visited the pond. I wonder whether it was before, or after, we left? I am glad we did not run into it then.

She watched a while longer. The great beast did rather resemble Chike, she observed, at least in general shape. But if he were a monkey, he was truly a monster of the monkey world. His large, muscular body was covered in a short pelt of dark fur, which thickened into a shaggy made around his neck and shoulders. Pale fur fringed his belly. But it was his face that startled Aurelia the most, for it truly was the face of a monster. He had been turned away from her, so that she could only see the back of his head, but something caught his attention, and he turned around, to stare directly at her.

His face jutted out into a long snout, framed by large circlets of pale flesh, as though he were wearing a plate on his nose. The skin that ran between them was a darker colour, maybe red, Aurelia surmised, although moonlight had diluted the colour from the world. Two great black nostrils flared at the end of the snout, and he moved his head slowly, as though trying to locate her with tiny, dark, oval eyes. She drew back instrinctively, although surely he could not see her, not with the moonlight behind him and nothing but shadows behind her.

“Smell company?” He said, his voice low and deep, but plaintive too, as though he were a kit asking his mother a question.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 19

2011-11-19T21:11:00.003+13:00

Wordcount: 2.007
Total Wordcount: 42,786
Percentage: 85%

I have actually composed more like 3000+ words today, but I deleted that extra 1000 that I had hanging on the end and getting in the way. They were starting to annoy me. I am still going steadily, but the plot is crawling and I have a feeling some heavy editting shall be involved in the next few months. Instead of publishing this one to use with my coupon (should I get it), I shall instead concentrate on completing "Midsummer Knight's Quest" and purchase that with my 5x free copies. But first... I have to achieve 50k.

I'm running much on par as I was with NaNo's past. Last year, at this point, I was *almost* finished. With SocNoc, I was struggling - I ended up deleting around 5000 words from that story. Still, the ones I put in instead were better.

I don't have any interesting quotes for today. So have some art instead:

Seal/Penguin hybrid

Gryphon composed of Waxwing and Genet.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 18

2011-11-18T22:26:00.002+13:00

Wordcount: 2.088
Total Wordcount: 40, 779
Percentage: 81.6

You might be excused for thinking I was finding this NaNo a romp in the park -a walk down easy street. You'd be wrong. I've reached the midmonth doldrums. That is to say, the story has ceased to flow and I am now having to force the words out of my head and my heart. The characters have decided to stop sitting in my head and barking orders, and have decided to sneak off and have a delicious meal of banana custard and rice, with vanilla rhums.

In some ways, the conceptualising is still working - I have a vague idea of where the plot is going, but no great handle on how to get it there. Still, I'll get through this, and tomorrow my wordcount might even be up to 90%.

Yeh, we can dream.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 17

2011-11-17T22:51:00.005+13:00

Wordcount: 1,062 (1,752)
Total Wordcount: 38, 691
Percentage: 77.4%

Why the number in brackets? Cos that's how many I would have written had I not decided to delete a bunch and rewrite the scene. Anyhow, it's better now. But I think I'll keep those extra 690 words tacked on the end, because the official wordcount validator and my Open Office wordcount are having a disagreement to the cost of over 1300 words. I think it must be the "-" I have been known to use on (every) occasion. Perhaps if I went through and replaced them all with ";" my wordcoutn would decrease significantly.

Hrm, let's try that (and save first!) - count = 38,584 - so that lost me about 100 words.
Now what happens if I delete all the "s - wordcount= 37,316

What does the official validator currently say? wordcount = 37,321.
And what do I get in Microsoft word? 37,319

I guess we see what is more accurate. Does anyone know how I can set OpenOffice to stop counting "s?

Once I get the wordcount up to around 52k, then I can delete the excess words cos it will make the wordcount >50k.

Anyhow, I should quit goofing around and get some beauty sleep. Although I did get around 10 hours last night. And I still ain't anywhere near beautiful.

Rakoto and Kary (a gentle lemur with a bad case of mange and baldness):

“Aww, no need to be embarrassed,” said the kit. “We all make mistakes and you're just too nice. You always think the best of lemurs. That's why greedy sods like that kotrika, he take advantages with you. Miso, he was just looking out for you. Tryin' to teach you to not be so gobble.”
“Pardon?”

“Gobble, you know, not to believe what everyone tells you is always the truth.”

“I believe you mean 'gullible'?” Rakoto corrected.

“Yeh, gobble. You're gobble.”

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 16

2011-11-16T19:15:00.004+13:00

Wordcount: 925
Total Wordcount: 36,939
Percentage: 72.9%

I am very tired tonight. Possibly because the neighbour's decided to have a domestic at 11.30 pm (resulting in the man shouting VERY loudly and with very foul language before storming out and speeding off in his car - I hope to cool down). And then it stormed - wind and rain rattling the windows and roof. By the time I left for work the sun was shining, and it has been a lovely day overall.

But I did not get a lot of sleep.

So here's some lemur facts to entertain you:
(from Smithsonian)

Lemur expressions:

Staring open-mouth face: The eyes are opened wide, the mouth is open with the teeth covered by the lips. This occurs when mobbing a predator or serves to communicate an inhibited threat.
Staring bared-teeth scream face: The eyes are opened wide, the mouth is open with the corners drawn back so that the teeth and gums are revealed. This display occurs with terror flight.
Silent bared-teeth face: The eyes are staring at the stimulus, the eye brows are either relaxed or up, and the corners of the mouth are drawn back allowing the teeth to show. This is used to communicate submission or a friendly approach. <- THEY CAN SMILE!
Bared-teeth gecker face: Similar to silent bared-teeth face only with a rapid noise attached to it. This display occurs during subordinate flee-approach conflicts and also when an infant is bothered.
Pout face: The eyes are opened wide and the lips are pushed forward such that the mouth resembles an "O" shape. This occurs with contact calls and also occurs with begging.
Hoot face: The lips are pushed forward to resemble something called a "trumpet-mouth.” This display occurs with long-distance calls (e.g. territorial calls).

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 15

2011-11-15T22:28:00.003+13:00

Wordcount: 1, 816
Total Wordcount: 36,040
Percentage: 72%

I declared tonight that I could not go to bed until I had written at least 1000 words. Then Rakoto took over and out poured nearly 2000. Awesome!

Rakoto learns why naive highborn sifakas should not visit the markets by themselves and has his first run-in with Misokosoko. Ah, Miso is fun. He's more cynical and scornful than I expected him to be.

Rakoto frowned. “What do you mean?”

The kotrika sighed. “I mean you get good deal, excellent deal,” he declared, plucking the saphira from Rakoto's hand. Too late, Rakoto realised that it did indeed take the scruffy little lemur both hands to hold its weight. “Now, you want me wrap 'em or take as is?”

The little rat's cheated me, Rakoto realised. “Azafady, I would like it wrapped,” he declared. He pointed at a neatly folded blue kerchief, tucked under one of the belts. “In that.”

“But that is genuine silk!” The kotrika declared. “I cannot just give it away.”

“And why not?” Came a low voice from beside them. Rakoto whirled to see the one-eyed varika had sauntered over. He crouched beside the kotrika's stall, tail draped over his shoulder. The vivid circlet of orange fur, partnered with the silk eyepatch, made him look both dangerous and sly. “You've just pretty much robbed him in front of everyone.”

The kotrika sputtered. “Robbed him? I never! This is honest business, it is.”

“It is?” The one-eyed varika cocked his head. “And I'm a mongoose's uncle. The kit's a naïve little highborn and cos he's as dimwitted as a drongo, you've just skinned him. So give him the damned piece of cloth and his belts and know that you've gotten the leafy end of the stick.”

The kotrika glanced about to find many pairs of eyes upon him, he hastened to wrap the two belts into the piece of silk. Shoved it at Rakoto. “There you go,” he said.

Rakoto reached out to take it, but the varika interrupted. “No, you ain't done yet, kit. I reckon as this cheeky bandit here oughta toss in that mirror and that there comb. Unless he wants me to go singing to the Queen's Hunters about how as he's skinning the...” he winked at Rakoto, “prince an' all.”

Rakoto startled. He was not used to being recognised and identified as a prince – his own mother failed to acknowledge him. And whilst he did spend much of his time in the company of the Queen's advisor, it seemed generally assumed that he was an apprentice or runaround.

“Prince?” The kotrika stammered, shaking his head.

“Didn't ya see him in the parade yesterday? All fine and fancy with his blue collar and all?”

The kotrika's ears flattened and his tail sagged. He shoved everything together – the wrapped belts, the comb, the mirror and a small carved goblet. “Take it,” he said, “go, go. You done good from me, you did. Really.”

Rakoto took it, and hopped away, bemused. It was a lumpy armload and he rather wanted to set it down. Also, he could not stop shaking. But he could not give into such urges yet, because the varika had followed him.

“Misaotra,” Rakoto said, his voice wavering.

“Well, you can thank me,” declared the varika. “But thanks ain't much to a one-eyed homeless chap like meself. I done you a good turn, I reckon you owe me one now. You don't be wanting that comb or that mirror, do yous just?”

“No, I suppose I do not require them. Here, take them – they are yours. You have more then earned them.” He held them out to the varika.

To which, the varika slapped him in the shoulder, hard enough to send him staggering over. The weight of the collars unbalanced him, and he toppled into the dirt. Cowering into a ball, he hugged the bundle to his chest.

“What,” he whimpered. “What are you doing?”

A crowd had gathered, as crowds do around such an unexpected example of market theatre.

The varika loomed over him, close enough so that Rakoto could smell the spice of his fur and see the distain in his one eye.

“You is just gonna give it to me? He snarled. “Not even try to argue? You is soft,” he snarled. “Like a baby bird fresh from the nest. Just waiting for the mongoose to eat you. And she'll gobble you up. You've gotta grow teeth and learn how to use them or you ain't never gonna be nothing more than the Queen's little pet.”

With that he scooped up the mirror and the brush, nudged Rakoto hard with his foot, and scampered off on three limbs. The crowds parted to let him through and began to disperse. The show was over, and no blood had been spilt. A vague scent of disappointment hunt in the air.

Rakoto picked himself up, shook the dust from his fur. He was scared, but worse than that, he was humiliated.

“I shall find you, you one-eyed scoundrel,” he growled. “And I shall show you that I do have teeth and I know how to use the... Ow!” A small, hard fruit had whizzed through the air, striking him on the cheek. He whirled in time to see a small lemur, his bald head hidden beneath an oversized hat. The little lemur laughed, and darted away.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 14

2011-11-14T22:15:00.002+13:00

Wordcount: 1, 683
Total Wordcount: 34, 224
Percentage: 68%

Okay, so now my lemurs are riding on the back of a hippopotamus in a special submersible construct.

I think I might be going officially crazy.

Or as the lemurs say it - "adala".

Just like Tristan...

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 13

2011-11-13T22:16:00.002+13:00

Wordcount: 2,627
Total Wordcount: 32,541
Percentage: 65%

Today I completed my requisite 1000 words before breakfast, ate and went to work. Work gave me time to think, to mull over what I had written and to work out a manner in which to revise it - to make it more interesting - hopefully a little more entertaining and to introduce Tristan, the saarcastic avahy who talks to bats. And, as it turns out, has a pet hippopotamus called Mathilde.

*gasp* You say - what is she doing introducing hippos to Madagascar? She's already added antelopes - how far can she stretch reality?

Well, folks, I hate to tell you this - but this IS a novel about lemurs that talk and live in tree houses and sail boats and things. I don't think realism is going to count.

And besides, hippos once lived in Madagascar. Sure they were "pygmy hippos", but a mere 2m hippo is going to be a monster to a 40cm (excluding the tail), lemur - isn't it just? Anyhow, the pygmy hippo (there were 3 species, maybe not closely related) became extinct years ago - except that the Malagasy people still tell tales of it. Kilopilopitsofy were what the Malagasy folk called it. But I think Mathilde is easier to remember.

“Crocodile!” Aurelia shrieked, grabbing Astrid and pushing her back from the pool's edge.

Something immense appeared from the water, directly beneath the paddling lemurs. A great, gray shadow that rose and rose. Contance's fingers closed about the rope. She clutched it and began hauling herself along as Ngara braced against a rock. The ankomba tugged with her teeth and hands. Astrid scurried to help her, and Aurelia followed, wrapping their hands about the coarse fibres, pulling and pulling for all that they were worth.

Constance reached a semi-submerged rock, hauled herself onto it and leapt for shore. She scampered up onto the rocks and crouched. Her fur hung in dripping clumps – the waterproofing oil no match for the complete dunking.

“Tristan,” she gasped. “We have to safe him.”

The beast rose from the waters. A head like a rock, cracking open into great gaping jaws lined with spear-like tusks and a gret, purple-grey tongue. Beyond that, the dark maw of a throat that looked big enough to swallow a lemur. Whole.

“Tristan!” Astrid cried, lunging forward. “Where is he? I cannot see him!”

He must have been dragged beneath it, Aurelia realised, crushed by that massive bulk. What is this monster? Is this the kinaoly?

The creature lunged forward, head dropping back down into the water, so that only the eyes and the upper snout remained above water. On its head, between its bulging eyebrows, perched a small brown sifaka.

Tristan stood and shook himself, then reached down and touched the creature's head. It walked to the shore and he hopped off and onto a rock.

“My friends,” he said. “I would like you to meet Mathilde.”

So yeh, i've added hippos.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 12

2011-11-12T22:05:00.006+13:00

Wordcount: 3,266
Total Wordcount: 29,914
Percentage: 59.8%

Discovered today that the NaNo Validator and I don't agree - Open Office says I have nearly 30k, Validator loses me about 1k. So I'll have to overdo the mark. Still, that doesn't seem a problem. I'm at almost 60% and it's not even halfway through the month yet.

Today I crippled a character. Badly. I broke her back. I'm not sure why, except that I had trouble spelling her name and I kinda wanted to cut down the amount of characters I had PLUS a bit of dramatic sadness is always useful.

I also packaged up a bunch of art cards to be posted out on monday and set up a store on facebook so that people can buy my cards and stuff. Also, ordered more things through Visaprint. This time I actually had to pay for some of them.

And I finally finished this picture:

It's Niirsha from the excellent novel "Petal Storm" by Paul Kidd. According to his website, they're supposed to be tiny people with like four arms, antennae and wings, but since the descriptions kept mentioning chitin etc, they're bees to me. Anthro bees. And to all those that disagree - I'll set a giant jumping spider on you!

But I did give her hair. I think it kind of suits her.

Visit my shop/become a friend

NaNoWrimo, 11/11/11 (day 11)

2011-11-11T22:03:00.002+13:00

Wordcount: 4,021
Total Wordcount: 26,648
Percentage: 53.3%

Today's goal was to get to 25k. Despite thinking that I had achieved not much of anything today, I managed to attain and beat that goal!

Writing for Rakoto is awesome. When I first conceptualised Rakoto, I intended him to be a sulky little brat, possibly a bit prone to misbehaving or retreating inside himself. I intended his not-sister to bully him and I intended Araminta (his foster mother to treat him with scorn). However, that didn't feel right - he was, after all, the son of the Queen, and demanded respect. He developed a crush on Isabella (his not-sister) and she turned out to be a somewhat snobbish little upstart and smart alec. Rakoto still became a quiet, thoughtful (as in, he thought a lot), young fellow, who did not really understand his own identity. He did not sulk much, but does tend to overthink situations. He does not act impulsively.

Part of the reason that Rakoto is turning out alright, is because of Mephistopheles. When I first started, Mephi's role wasn't too clear either - he was the advisor to the Queen (now fallen from her favour) but I did not realise until recently that he avidly disliked her and opposed a lot of her decisions. When she displaced him, he took to tutoring Rakoto - his goal being to raise the youngster to be a decent steward until a female heir is sired and can take the throne. Thus, despite his blood heritage, Rakoto has wound up neither a vicious murderer nor a scheming, manipulative, selfish prince. He is still, alas, easily manipulated and quite naive.

Today we hear Eloise's story, have a run-in with a couple of trainee Hunters and get involved in several conversations. If in doubt, write dialogue, it seems.

From the way it is currently looking, the rebel group - or rather, rebel trio (Misokosoko, Dahira and the nameless tsidy) will wind up aligning with Mephi, Rakoto and the Forgotten against the Queen, Noir and any other hunters. Which seem to also involve Eloise's brother, Roland. He's also new to the plot and I have no idea what role he will play.

Mephistopheles nudged him with his cold nose. “You have a heart,” he said. “There is no question about that.” He paused. “Have you ever wondered whom your father might be?”

Rakoto sighed. Of course he had wondered, on numerous occasions. He tried to make light of the matter. “Are you trying to tell me that I am not Radama's son?”

His tutor chuckled. “You are a smart kit,” he said, “and good with numbers. Yet, in the eyes of royal law, you are Radama's son, but have you ever wondered whom actually sired you?”

“I always rather hoped it was you,” Rakoto admitted, feeling a little silly.

Several expressions crossed Mephistopheles strange face. Surprise, sadness and then it finally settled on delight. “Me?” He said. “You would choose the ugliest lemur in the entire city as your sire?”

“You are not ugly, just strange. I have never seen a lemur like you before.” He sighed. “And I know it is silly, because I know that whatever you are, it is definitely not sifaka-kin. But you did spend a lot of time with my mother and you are so wise and kind and well... you are the sort of father I would have liked to have.“ He paused, ears pricking. “Do you know whom my father is?”

Mephistopheles frowned and seemed about to say something, then shook his head. “No,” he said, “I do not know.”

But you were the Queen's Advisor, Rakoto thought. Nobody knew her as you did. Therefore, you must know the truth. He shuddered. And it must be so terrible, if you would choose to lie to me thus. But he held his tongue. Some truths were better left buried.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 10

2011-11-10T23:17:00.003+13:00

Wordcount: 2,622
Total Wordcount: 22,627
Percentage: 45.3%

Sometimes your characters behave in an entirely unexpected fashion. Such was the story today, when Mephistopheles took Rakoto (his student) to meet with the Hadinoina. But first, a bit of context. Rakoto is the son of the Queen. After his birth, he was basically handed over to a foster mother and Mephistopheles was appointed as his tutor. Mephi is no longer the Queen's advisor, btw, she kidna lost faith in him after he lied to her one too many times. Anyhow, Mephi has been (it turns out - it surprised me even!) visiting the Hadinoina when not tutoring the young prince, and teaching them a basic education.

So, firstly, the Hadinoina are the young kits left behind when their parents were put into labour camps or forced to join the military. Or orphaned by said military. The name means "orphans" and most probably are orphans, now. They are under-nourished, rarely see the sun, and live by begging, stealing and scavenging what the lemurs above them drop. Some are deformed due to the afore mentioned military and most have mange. One even has a mohawk.

Anyhow, Rakoto has been raised in the upper levels - he's never gone hungry except by choice and he's never been starved of the sunlight. His tutor provides a decent father figure (better than his real father) and he has his fostermother and not-sister as well. He's better adjusted than I actually intended him to be.

And it appears that he has developed a compassionate streak. He seems to be nothing like either his mother or his father.
He also now seems to be showing a distinct interest in the leader of the Haadinoina, a one-armed sifaka called "Eloise". She didn't exist until this morning when I spontaneously created her. Although I suspect the future might not be so rosy for her...

I am intrigued to see where this story arc might be going. Maybe Rakoto will decide to join the rebels instead of being kitnapped by them.

Or maybe both will happen.

Quite a long quote today. Rakoto meets Eloise and the other orphans.

There were perhaps fifty of them, some a year or two in age, others barely weaned. Tiny infants, with bulbous heads and clutching hands, clung to the fur of some of the older ones. All of them were skinny, their eyes large in their hollow faces. Most were balding, fur falling out in scruffy clumps. A sign of malnutrition or disease, Rakoto could not tell. His nostrils were too overwhelmed by the stench of them to make a proper identification. They were sick and they were dirty, and they were staring at him with open-eyed reverance. No, not at him, but at Mephistopheles.

They know him, Rakoto realised. He has been here before. He gulped as one came forward. A scrawny female sifaka with one arm severed at the elbow. She may have been beautiful, had she a proper diet and sunlight. But her fur was matted with twigs and leaves and her eyes large and haunted.

“This is Eloise,” Mephistopheles explained.

She smiled at Rakoto, her pose suggested submission, but she refused to lower her eyes. Instead, they bored into him, as though seeing deep into his soul. “Salama,” she said. “I am pleased to meet you.”

She came forward to touch his nose in greeting and he shied back. Mephistopheles pressed in behind him, so that he could back away no further. She smelt... not that terrible, actually. A little like damp and leaf-mould, of something lost and forgotten. But there was no sickness on her, nothing but a great and shadowing sorrow.

“Salama,” he replied. “I am known as Rakoto.”

“Salama Rakoto,” Eloise replied. “Welcome to our dank kingdom. It is not much, but it is home to us, and your presence allows us a ray of light we have not been granted. We are grateful that you have chosen to visit us here.”

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 9

2011-11-09T23:31:00.002+13:00

Wordcount: 1,795
Total Wordcount: 20,005
Percentage: 40.01%

To kill or not to kill?
It is a dilemma any budding writer must face.
In this case - I can over-dramatise and extend a scene that will likely have little relevance to the main plot but will increase my wordcount.
On the other hand, should I just not move the seven of them towards their final destination?

The situation - Aurelia and her merry crew of Karazana have made there way into a gully, climbing down the steep cliff in the pouring rain. It is treacherous going, and upon arriving, Aurelia and her new sidekick, Ngara (I promise I shall draw her soon) find that most of the otehrs have beaten them there.

Except one of the team is missing. The hyperactive, over enthusiastic one.

Now, I have three options here:
1. I can have her sheltering somewhere and be completely fine
2. She could have fallen and died
3. She could have fallen and crippled herself.

Now, as you can see, all this successfully does is make the reader go "woooh, that's cruel!" And eliminates a largely unnecessary character from the plot.

But if she's that unnecessary, why did I have her in it in the first place?

So I could kill her?

To add about two minutes of colour at the beginning - she didn't really get much of a role at all.

Maybe I'll skip back to Rakoto's POV while I ponder this point.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 8

2011-11-08T20:28:00.007+13:00

Wordcount: 2,105
Total Wordcount: 18,210
Percentage: 36.4%

Coming along, steady and strong. Aurelia seems to have teamed up with Ngara now, a newly created character - a blue-eyed black lemur. The reason these lemurs have blue eyes, yet are not part of the royal line, stems from a time in generations past when one of the black lemurs saved the life of the current queen at the time. They were given the gift of the royal blue eyes to forever show their loyalty and dedication to the crown.

So it seems rather appropriate that her new friend is such a lemur.

Meanwhile, they're wandering through the Tsiny in the pouring rain. Not much fun at all. Drenched, not quite sure where they are or where they're going - they're about to have an alien encounter:

A moment later Aurelia saw a flowing white shape, far off in the distance, flitting through the trees.

“What's that?” She wondered. “It looks... almost like a lemur.”

“But so white,” Ngara remarked. “Whiter even than you. Or at least, than you are now that you're covered in rain and dirt and goodness knows what else.”

“Could it be a lemures?” Aurelia wondered. “Come to lead us to safety?”

“We can hope,” came the response. “Not all lemures are benign. Some are malicious or seek company, by luring the living doom.”

Aurelia frowned at her. “Are you trying to scare me?”

Ngara shrugged. “Maybe,” she said. “A little. Why, were you scared?”

“Maybe,” Aurelia replied. “A little.”

A bioluminscent lemur? I think not. Or maybe it is? Time to spend hours researching how creatures make themselves bioluminescent. Have to figure out how to spell it first!
Flag that, let's go watch Farscape and draw anthro bees.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 7

2011-11-08T05:47:00.002+13:00

Wordcount: 1,607
Total Wordcount: 16,105
Percentage: 32.3%

Today was the first day I got up at 5am to write before work.
Not a great deal of fun. But I managed to force out around 1000 words before I left, than added a few hundred more for luck.

Getting home, I tried to draw an anthropomorphic bee as an ATC illustration of the book I am currently reading ("Petal Storm" by Paul Kidd, it's very good) and discovered that anthro bees are really hard to draw.

Anyhow, I am developing the lemur city of Narivo in a little more depth - or perhaps height is a better word. It is structured in layers - the sifaka (the elite, rich etc) live in the upper reaches of the branches, further down live the varika craftslemurs, futher down still live in the general workers, and the ground is the realm of the peddlars and musicians, along with the homeless. The fifth quarter (which doesn't officially exist) is where the refugees live.

It appears in my head that Kotrika (sportive lemurs) are peddlars, and tsidy (mouse lemurs) act as couriers.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 6

2011-11-06T21:48:00.003+13:00

Wordcount: 1,400
Total Wordcount: 14,498
Percentage: 29%

Today was the first day* I did not reach the requisite 1665 words. Not a big deal since I am well ahead on the wordcount (since if I were just doing the requisite minimum/day I would have achieved only 9900 by now).

So, why did I not succeed, may you ask?

Well, the plot's a little slow moving at the moment. I'm basically just writing scene-stuff and the "journey" and I'm also pretty tired. In one story thread, Aurelia and six other lemurs (including Constance, her rival) are traipsing across the Tsingy to visit a refugee camp. In the other story thread, Rakoto is about to be shown the underbelly of Narivo by his tutor, Mephistopheles. Mephi's species as not yet been identified - I wonder if any reader would have noticed that? There's hints and vague descriptions of parts of him (his fur, his fingers, his ears, his eyes) but I have never yet said "the aiay".

Today was also the first day back at work after my week holiday. Now, sundays are always quite tiring - as there are only ever 4 staff members on sundays and although we are not a particularly busy store, sunday can be busy - usually depending on the weather. Today the weather was actually beautiful, but we still have quite a few customers.

Also, sunday is also the day the new My Little Pony episode is uploaded.
Yeh, I'm a MLP fan.

And lastly, my mother rang. I can't write and talk at the same time, but I can draw and/or colour, so I finished up this image of Snoshti:

She's a Hedge Imp from the most excellent "Dreamdark: Blackbringer" by the amazing, the awesome, the imaginative, Laini Taylor.

And here's a random picture of my book cases:

Now mostly organised after the earthquakes - and stacked two deep with the ones in back being piled flat, top to bottom of the shelf. I put the pretty ones in the front!

Anyhow, to bed! Tomorrow i must be up with the birds (5am) because now I'm back at work it's time to get back into the pattern of 1000 words before breakfast.

* except for that day when I deleted about 500 words and then had to use the today's wordcount - yesterday's wordcount to work out my total - I had also written as much I'd deleted.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 5

2011-11-05T23:19:00.004+13:00

Wordcount: 2,193
Total Wordcount: 13,098
Percentage: 26.2%

Today was a slightly less productive working day. I got up early, did my usual early morning routine (shower, emails, forums, breakfast) then decided to bake a batch of muffins and wash the dishes. Why? Because I was meeting some friends for a picnic in the park and then we were going to check out the new central city shopping district. Anyhow, got out around 1000 words, then got restless, packed up the (now cooled) muffins and wandered into town early. The new shopping village is really cute - it's composed of shipping crates - and they are all brightly coloured. One lady commented that it looked like it was "made of lego":

Anyhow, after that I made my way to the meeting point and sat int eh sun reading for about half an hour before it became apparent that nobody was coming to my picnic :( But as one lass had been texting me to say she was running late, I decided to walk to her place instead.

Where we sat and talked for about 2 hours before walking back into town to have dinner at the best vegetarian restaurant in Christchurch - the Lotus Heart. We then parted ways - them to go watch things blow up and make pretty lights, me to come home and have an "early night" because I am back at work tomorrow.

Well... so much for that plan (it's just gone 11.30 pm).

Anyhow, to keep it short - in today's writing, Aurelia has been chosen to go on a patrol to meet up with a group of refugees that have just set up camp in the Stone Forest. In her party are her tree-mate, Astrid; a sensible blue-eyed black lemur; a hyperactive brown lemur; a Lake Aloatra Gentle Lemur and a Coquerel's sifaka who has proven to be not the nicest of lemurs to meet. She's a bit of a bully, to be frank.

Anyhow, no quote cos you've got pretty pictures instead and I need to go to bed.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 4

2011-11-05T07:24:00.002+13:00

Wordcount: 2,911
Total Wordcount: 10, 905
Percentage: 21.8%

Rakoto attends a ceremony for the dead and Kelyloza returns to the Karazana with news of refugees having entered the Stone Forest. There's a bit of foreshadowing (Dahira and Misokoso are hanging around) but nothing that I probably won't end up editting futher, later.

The freakish lemur from yesterday shows up again today:

The shriek startled them all, stunning the crowd into silence. It was terrible and blood-curdling; filled with so much pain and loathing that fear washed over Rakoto like a monsoon.

A ragged excuse for a lemur crouched on a branch before the parade, her gaze directed towards the Queen.

“You killed them,” she screamed, pointing at the Queen. “You sent them to their death. She's killing them all,” the lemur looked up now and Rakoto recognised her. She was the tortured lemur that had abused him under the tree. Her eyes shone with mad fevour. “She'll take your mates, she'll take your kits. Like she took mine. And why? Why? Because we did not pay our fealty. We could not pay our fealty. Our fields were torched, our antelopes roasted alive. So we could not pay our fealty, and thus she took her taxes in blood and sweat. Sweat and tears.”

“She's no Queen. She's an abomination.”

At that, Ouida lunged for her; at the same moment as the ragged lemur sprang from the tree. She struck the Queen, throwing her into the dirt, jaws snapping. Ouida grabbed her by the throat, heaved her into the air. Tossed her to the ground and planted one large foot on her spine. In less than a minute, the lemur was subdued and dragged away.

For a moment, stunned silence. Then the varimena started plucking his kabosy, the drummers started pounding their instruments and the procession began again.

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 3

2011-11-03T23:30:00.002+13:00

Wordcount: 1,285
Total Wordcount: 7,994
Percentage:16%

It may appear that I have written less today, but what I actually did was run through and delete and rewrite some portions of the former passages, therefore dropping the word count before adding to it. So the results are somewhat skewed and I have no idea if I actually made it or not. It matters little, as I am still running somewhat ahead of schedule. Woooh, go me!

Tired now. Rakoto's storyline seems to involve a lot of talking and a moderate amount of him whining about being royal blood (or not, as the case actually is). I am not sure if I shall ever warm to Rakoto as a character. The sooner I get him kitnapped and in the paws of Misosokoso (I'm looking forward to introducing people to him), the better.

Will go to bed now, and ponder the next passage - I suspect it shall involve a wanna-be assassin crashing Ramava's Biannual Deth Festival and trying to kill Ranavalona. Maybe Rakoto will learn a few home truths re: his mother's rather debatable way of ruling.

A screech rent the air, a sound so terrible that Rakoto leapt in the air, fur bristling as a lemur tumbled from the tree. It crashed into the ground beside him, dragging itself into a crouch. Stared up at him with wild, pale eyes. Her fur was spiked and crazy, jutting out at all angles, a tattered lambas hung about her. Her fur, once white, was now stained with dirt and matted with twigs and grim.

“Doom,” she proclaimed, rising one finger to point at him. “Doom and death, death and doom. The curse of your father flows through your veins. The curse of your mother poisons all that it touches. Doom, death and doom, doom and death. You will pay; Rakoto, son of Ranavalona. Rakoto, son of the black. Doom!”

Her finger shook as it pointed at Rakoto. “My family,” she hissed, “are dead. My children – taken to the mines. My brothers and sisters – recruited as dealers of death. All dead. She killed them. She killed us.”

With those words, she sprang back up into the tree and disappeared through the leafy branches. Rakoto sank back against the tree branch, shaking. Who was she? He wondered. What is she doing here? Why does she hate me so? Then, after a moment. What has my mother done to deserve such hatred?

NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 2

2011-11-03T08:31:00.003+13:00

Wordcount: 2, 822
Total Wordcount:6,709
Percentage: 13.4%

Further character development - Aurelia learns a little more about her heritage and we get a glimpse into what it is the Karazana (the Sisters) actually do. Then we skip across to the rather pompous Rakoto and his not-sister, Isabella, how has somewhere along the way decided to be hyperactive with a short attention span. Go Isa! Initially, Aurelia had been called Isabelle, but I changed that because of "Twilight". Then I thought - why not have her as a minor character, a stuck-up little snob who gets her not-brother into trouble.

And here's a picture I coloured today too - it's inspired by "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" and is a glimpse of some of Brimstone's creations in his workshop.

And as an additional note - I have tons of $1 Art Card Auctions and a Chimera Commission up on Trademe.

It's November again - NaNoWriMo 2011, Day 1

2011-11-01T15:35:00.006+13:00

I'm not yet finished writing for the day, so I'll update my wordcount later.

I'm a pretty experienced NaNo Writer now - this will be my fourth NaNo challenge, and is my fifth 50k-in-a-month Challenge. I have completed the challenge three out of four times - and the time I failed was because I ran out of words at 36k and didn't feel like writing anything else. That was back in 2002, I believe.

Summary of NaNo's past:

2002: I can't remember what it was and I seem to have not transferred the file onto my next computer. Oh well.

2003: Scavengers of the Deadlands
Wordcount: 97,001 words (not all of which were written during NaNo)
Status: Incomplete
Plot: Furries, A Magical university, a desolate post-apocalyptic wasteland, air ships...
Am thinking of reworking this as a Furry Steampunk story and finishing it. I DO remember where it was headed. And having re-read it recently - it's actually fairly decent.

Between 2004-2008 I was going to undergo NaNo again, to rework "Quest for Lemuria" but I either never got onto it, or never wrote more than a tiny amount, because I can't even seem to find which of the variants it actually was.

2008: Midsummer Knight's Quest (non-NaNo)
Wordcount: 75, 175
Status: Complete, requires final edit
Plot: A goblin finds an egg, which hatches out and the chick imprints on him. He then befriends a brownie and goes on to help save their valley home from an evil developer.
This one is also not half bad, and definitely deserves that final polish and publish. Had to change the species of the bird however - which means some of the art needs to be redrawn.

2010: Aroha's Grand Adventure
Wordcount: 54,852 (includes Appendix)
Status: Complete and published
Plot: A weka chick with a love of human food is kidnapped by a small child and transported from Greymouth to Christchurch. Upon arriving, she escapes and makes her way home - having many adventures upon the way, making some new friends (and some fiends as well) and eating everything and anything.
I loved writing this book - Aroha was just such a character, the story almost seemed to write itself. I love you Aroha!

2011: Lemurs: A Saga (part 1) (SocNoc - June Challenge)
Wordcount: 80, 245
Status: complete, requires edit (also, part two not yet written)
Plot: The previous ruler of Madigaska has died, leaving no legitimate heirs. Thus an Ursurper Queen has claimed the throne. However, an illegitimate heir remains - and now must run for her life, and hide to survive, for the Ursurper will not relinquish her throne easily.
Epic fantasy, stereotypical plot, but all the characters are lemurs and there is no magic.

Thus, for NaNo, I shall be continuing Aurelia's story with:

2011: Lemurs: A Saga (part 2)
When we left Aurelia, she had finally found sanctuary in the Stone Forest, with the mysterious "Sisters" (the Karazana). Separated from all those she knows and loves, she is about to face her biggest challenge yet - as the Queen's grasp on the land intensifies and her reigh grows brutal and absolute. Can one small lemur save her kingdom?

Wordcount: 3,087
Total Wordcount:3, 087
Percentage: 6.2%

Here are some of my tips today on writing an epic novel:
~ have a list of character names; who they are and what they do - and in this case, species.
~ also a list of place names is very useful, particularly if they are foreign and complicated
~ keep a timeline - I've just made one of mine and found a few tweaks I need to make

Colourful Birds of Madagascar

2011-11-01T15:31:00.002+13:00

Four species, three of which I've actually seen (and I think I may have heard a Rock Thrush).

Forest Rock-Thrush; Pitta-like Ground Roller
Yellow-bellied Sunbird-asity; Paradise Flycatcher

More Mad Mutant Bunnies

2011-11-01T14:06:00.004+13:00

Naked molebunny: This little guy is naked because fur is unnecessary when you live in the ground. His ears are reduced in size to reduce friction and his feet are longer to act as shovels. He has small eyes and only limited sight. His whiskers have developed into sensing tendrils, which he uses to locate food - his main diet is insects and worms.

Dust Bunny
This teeny tiny little bunny lives in the urban environment, specifically human habitations. She favours untidy, cluttered homes. Measuring only a few inches in height, she is a hoarder of small and useless bits and pieces - paperclips, coins, rubber bands, scraps of paper, which she uses to line her nest. When danger threatens, she curls up into a ball, resembling a great puffball of dust. But be warned, because if she is picked up or touched, she does have very sharp teeth.

Mega Bunny
This extremely large lapus evolution is found in woodland. He uses his short trunk to drag down branches and strip them of leaves, which he eats. He also uses his sharp inscisors to strip bark from trees.

Beach Bunny (my favourite)
Ths little Beach Bunny makes her home on sandy shores, where she feeds on kelp, as well as small molluscs, crabs and worms. She dips the tendrils at the side of her mouth into rockpools and uses them to sense her prey. If frightened, she curls up into a ball, protected by both her overlapping armour plates and the cryptic markings act as camouflage. It has been found that Beach Bunnies living in different environments are coloured to match their habitat.

Wedding of the Dead

2011-11-01T13:46:00.003+13:00

My second instalment in the Circle Journal swap - which now means that I have no more to do until next year!! This was - like the first one - for someone who likes dark, creepy etc scenes. As you know, I am not highly skilled at dark nor creepy. Conveniently, she also suggested I might like to do something Tim Burton-esque and listed in her profile that she was quite partial to Catrinas.

Not knowing what Catrinas were, I did a little google search and decided that yes - that is what I would do.

Initially I intended to do a Graveyard picnic, but alas, that did not do so well - Catrinas look wrong sitting down, so then I did a little bit of a search for "goth brides" and found some lovely cake toppers. Which I pretty much just copied. But the cat, horse, squirrel and bird are almost original. And the graveyard is our local Barbadoes cemetary - except the gravestones are standing up. I had some pictures of it that I'd taken for the "cemetary photo swap".

This was fun, and kept me up until after midnight on 31st October - All Hallow's Eve. I was contemplating starting on my NaNoWriMi novel after midnight, but it was hard enough to colour, let alone to write.

AFA logo 2012

2011-10-27T22:37:00.002+13:00

The ATCs for All gathering is in Portland, Oregon, next year. And I AM GOING! My husband and I have been planning an Epic USA roadtrip for some time now - and 2012 will be the year. Our route is epic and will take us through 8 states and goodness knows how many cities - but we'll be sleeping in around 18 different beds...

Anyhow, I decided to design a logo for the AFA gathering. It was supposed to be a simple graphic - and as you can see - mine is not particularly simple - thus it will probably not be considered appropriate, but I thought I'd show it off.

It depicts the State (Oregon), the State bird (Western Meadowlark), the State insect (Swallowtail butterfly) and the State flower (grape).
PDX apparently is the airport code.

Bunny Evolutions

2011-10-21T22:29:00.005+13:00

I decided a month ago that it was high time I hosted another "Original Species" swap, and thus I began one. There was just one problem. Unlike my previous OS swaps, I was not working on a fantasy noel with original critters in it, and thus I did not have any previously designed critters that I felt like drawing.

Never mind, I decided to undertake plan B, which was to choose a current, extant animal species and develop mutations and adaptations to it so that it could fit into a different habitat or different habits. I just had one hard and fast rule with this - the creature had to be biologically realistic - so no lemurs with bird wings, for example.

I decided on rabbits. Because... well, who doesn't love bunnies?

Here's my first seven adaptations/evolutions:

Predator Bunny
This vicious lapine has muscular shoulders and powerful jaws, making him capable of bring down large and heavy prey. His fur is patterned in an array of stripes and spots, allowing him camouflage against his savannah habitat.

River Bunny
Sleek and long, this water lapine has short legs with powerful webbed feet. His ears are greatly reduced in size, creating less resistance when he skims through the water. His tail has developed long and flat to provide a paddle. His eyes are positioned high on his head, allowing him to emerge only a short distance to see over the water.

Arboreal Bunny
This fuzzy little critter has longer and more flexible fingers than his terrestrial counterparts. His tail is also longer and fuzzier, providing him with balance as he scrambles through the tree tops. Probably his most interesting adaptation is the symbiotic relationship he has formed with a type of mistletoe. The sees of this plant bury themselves in his fur, and grow, providing him with camouflage.

Insectivore Bunny
Note the prehensile nose on this wee fellow. He uses it to sniff for ants and other insects, which he then unearths with his strong front paws. His fur has developed into spines, which protect him from Hunter Bunny below.

Browser Bunny
His toes have fused into something that is almost a hoof, making him even faster across the ground than his ancestors. His colouring provides him with some camouflage, breaking up his body so that it is harder for the Predator Bunny above to track him down and make him dinner. He also prefers to browse leaves, rather than graze.

Sea Bunny
This lapine has increased his body mass, the extra fat providing insulation against the chill bite of the water. His whiskers are highly developed, allowing him to navigate through deep water. His toes have fused together, forming efficient paddles when combined with his powerful hindlegs. As in the River Bunny above, his ears are greatly reduced in size to decrease resistance. He grazes on kelp and often lies on his back, exposing his pale belly to the sky.

Hunter Bunny
This fellow actually looks a bit like Furret, a Pokemon. He is long and sleek. His tail has developed into a fine plume which helps him balance as he pursues Arboreal Bunnies along tree branches. Although he also hunts Insectivore Bunnies in the long grass and his long, low form makes him an efficient hunter of ancestral bunnies as well. He is a generalist omnivore, and will eat fruit or even grass, but his preferred diet is meat.

I still have another five to develop for the swap, so if anyone has any suggestions on habitats or behaviour types I might like to experiment with, let me know. Other ones I am considering are an armour-plated bunny and an urban/city bunny. Maybe I should create one that predates specifically on birds. Hrm, so much potential here...

Also, if anyone can help me come up with decent names, I'd be very grateful!

My Muse - the story behind "LemurKat"

2011-10-20T22:55:00.007+13:00

Once upon a time, a long time ago, I was not LemurKat. My online moniker was "Raynflower", named after a character I had played in a long-running role-playing game. She was a dark faerie, and she was pretty nifty. But... let's not get into her.

I first created Kataryna Lemusu when I fell into the Furry fandom circles. I needed a fursona - so what better than to use a ringtailed lemur? An animal that I enjoyed watching at the local zoo, where I did weekly volunteer work. Her name - Kataryna - was derived from the ringtailed lemur's latin name - Lemur catta which I eventually blurred into one word, to become "LemurKat". I have now held the moniker for around 10 years, and when you search it on google, what you will find is mostly me (except any really embarrassing stuff - obviously that's someone else).

At some point, Kataryna committed suicide. I was going through a down period in my life - don't ask me what it was - I can't remember, and I drew a particularly savage picture of her with slashed wrists.

But, thanks to Anubis, guardian of the Afterlife, Kataryna rose again, as an angel. Her fur turned silver and she sprouted wings. But with her new form, came a great responsibility - she had to save the world.

So began the Furritasia Chronicles. And never finished...

After I grew out of the Furry-biz, I still clung to Kataryna. She lost her humanistic characteristics, and took up a role instead as my muse. She has starred frequently in my art - with wings, without wings, sometimes with golden eyes, sometimes with blue. Sometimes dressed in costumes from various times and cultures. Masquerading as Frida or the Mona Lisa, or transformed into a My Little Pony. She graces the backs of many of my trading cards.

And she also had a starring role in "Lemurs: A Saga", without her wings, playing the part of Fiantrana, Aurelia's foster mother.

This is my latest rendition of her - designed to become a t-shirt print. Featuring a Malagasy Sunset Moth and Vanilla Orchids - look for her at AFA 2012 in Portland.

Here is a collage of Katarynas, in a multitude of incarnations:

Deus Ex Machina

2011-10-19T19:15:00.002+13:00

It is a common feature in stories - a cliche, you might say. A deus ex-machina - an act of god that saves your character in a time of need. A time when all hope seems lost and the writer has truly painted themselves into a corner and must face that, the most unsavoury of choices - killing off a main protagonist. Well, my situation was possibly not quite so dire - for the villain was not about to kill the protagonist - merely capture her and take her to the Queen (whom might indeed kill her. Or brainwash her. Or worse.) And I am quite sure that Aurelia could have gotten herself out of the situation had the Deus ex-machina not occured.

In fact, the Deus ex-machina resembles more a "frying pan/fire" situation.

Still, I cannot help but feel a small spasm of guilt at having to use such a common plot device.

What do you think?

The black sifaka was fast, faster than the fossa. She dared not risking back to see how close she was, but she could hear him, crashing through the branches. Smell him. A strange mix of smoke and blood and something cold and flat and dead inside. Up, she scrambled, up as high as she could go. Up to cling to a slender branch. It began to sag under her weight. Her eyes met Noir's. Fires seemed to flicker in his irises, his lips drew back in a feral grimace.

"You're mine now,” he growled. Then his eyes widened, staring at something beyond her. Something up in the sky.

Aurelia followed his gaze, turning her head just in time to see great, clawed talons reaching for her. Felt them close about her as a gigantic eagle plucked her from the branch.

Open for Commissions

2011-10-15T22:03:00.006+13:00

I don't usually do commissions - but as my husband and I are planning our Great US Roadtrip for next year (and as we live in NZ, this is no mean feat) I thought it might be a good opportunity to engage in a little fundraising. I will take payments via Paypal.

Firstly, I offer up:
Chimera lineart for only $5
(inked but uncoloured, size 6x4 or 2.5x3.5 inches)
You give me two or three animals you would like to see hybridised and I will do it for you.
It will cost you $2.50 to have them posted to you.

Or if you want something else:

Here's the schedule:
All sizes are in inches, all prices are in US$.

These prices are for one character, simple background:

ACEO - 2.5 x 3.5 = $15 (max 2 chars)
Bookmark - 2 x 4.5 = $15 (max 3 chars)
4 x 4 = $20 (max 2 chars)
6 x 4 = $25
5 x 7 = $30
5 x 7 (4-aceo set)* = $35
8.3 x 5.8 (A5) = $35
6 x 6 = $35
8 x 8 = $40
8.5 x 11 (A4) = $40

* This just means that the image will contain focus points in every corner, and will be cut into quarters. This one can contain multiple characters/creatures.

- All pieces will be full colour unless specifically requested otherwise.
- All pieces will include a simple background. If you require a more complicated one - such as buildings or heavy detail, the pricing will reflect that ($5 or $10 depending on size of image).
- These prices are indicative only and if you have particularly involved requirements (multiple characters, something that requires heavy research), they may increase.
- If I email you a quote, I will not increase it.
- Postage will incur an additional $3-$6 charge depending on size of piece
- I reserve the right to refuse your commission without giving a reason.
- Payment is to be made AFTER the piece is completed - but before posting.
- If the piece is completed and payment does not follow, then I reserve the right to sell or trade the piece.
- Please choose your size based on the complexity of the image - I do not want to draw an entire ecosystem within an ACEO, for example.

I specialise in quirky animals, complicated rainforest scenes and pet portraits. I am somewhat less skilled at architecture, human portraits and landscapes, and although I love a challenge I would advise you glance through my gallery at my renditions of such before offering me money for it.

My aim is to save $5000 in the next seven months. Any commissions will help me achieve that goal (however, I do also have a day job).

Lost in the Woods

2011-10-15T21:59:00.003+13:00

This is the first large picture I've made in some time. It measures 16 x 8 inches and is in two parts, to fit inside a circle journal. The theme was "creepy and dark". Since creepy and dark isn't really my style, I did my best.

I like the spider. Although he is kinda cute.

Alas, my next circle journal partnership also requires me to draw something else "Creepy and dark" but it has been suggested that I do something Tim Burton-esque. So, I'm thinking... a graveyard picnic with Catrinas.

Also, in other news - part one of "Lemurs: a Saga" is finally complete. And I am now taking a break. Part two will begin in November, with NaNoWriMo.

In praise of Kindle... and a few more Furries

2011-10-11T20:59:00.004+13:00

Two saturdays ago, my husband decided to go out and do a little shopping. I said to him: "bring me back something nice." He asked, "what would you like?" and I cannot remember what I answered, but I was thinking - like a chocolate chai, or maybe a bit of cake or something. So, imagine my surprise when he walks in an hour or so later and says "here, I bought you a kindle." We had been discussing ebooks for a while, and I had specified an interest in receiving one for Christmas. So, I guess Christmas came early (and I now have to get an extra special present for him ^^).

Anyway, after downloading several self-published works and playing around with it for a bit, I decided to transfer my stories onto it. I haven't got them in mobi form - well, only one, the one that you can buy from Amazon, the others I translated into pdf and transferred across. And began reading them. I was a short way in when I realised there is something really nifty you can do with the kindle 3g - you can add footnotes. So, I began editting my story as I read it. This is an excellent use for a kindle - because I have difficulty reading my stories on the computer - too many distractions for a start, and I hate the idea of using so much paper to print it out. So, now I've highlighted all the errors (over 100 in all) and can go through and fix them up.

I have discovered one problem with my Kindle though. When walking and reading, I pay less attention to what is going on around me than when I read a normal book - I think because I don't have to worry about the pages flapping in the wind, or phyiscally turn the pages. And therefore I am more likely to get run over - or given that this is Christchurch, trip over on a broken piece of footpath and hurt myself.

Anyhow, to all of you writers, I highly recommend a Kindle - you can't edit directly on it - but you can mark the errors you find, and even "share" them (whether this emails to you or puts it on Facebook, I don't know - I haven't played with that yet).

This means that "Lemurs: A Saga"* will eventually be available on Ebook.

And now for some art:

Daniel Galbraith, Teknomage and musician. Abigail's father. Here in the Galbraith Clan colours.

Kataryna Lemusu, Abigail's mother. She died before Abigail was conceived. It's a long story (and one which is partly written and online, here although you don't get the good bits, cos I never got that far, sorry).

Aeturnis Christie, a female mage with a powerful singing voice.

Jacques Moufette, Scavenger and apparently swashbuckling. Although I cannot recall whether he actually swashed any buckles in the story. Still, he makes a handsome swordsman. If you like 'em furry and potentially smelly...

* title suggestions welcome, puns encouraged. I've so far contemplated "Lore of the Ringtails" and have been referring to it as "Epic Lemur Novel" but have decided that "Lemurs: A Saga" has a good ring to it. OR maybe a good ringtail to it. I'll shut up now.

Scavengers of the Deadlands

2011-10-01T22:46:00.003+13:00

In 2003, I participated in NaNoWriMo and wrote a novel entitled "Scavengers of the Deadlands". I "won" NaNo, and went on to write 95,000 words before stopping about 5,000 words before the end. I do not know why. The story had problems, but I just kind of abandoned it.

I feel bad about this.

Anyhow, the characters have stuck with me, and when the theme "Aristocratic Animal People" came up in AFA, I decided it was time to reinvent them. Coupling this with my recent interest in Steampunk, I decided upon a Victorian theme for their attire.

So here are four of the cast:

This unusual looking lass is Abigail Delilah Galbraith. She is the daughter of Daniel Galbraith and Kataryna Lemusu, my original Furry pairing. This means that she is in fact a lemur/wolf. Following in her father's footsteps, she became a student at Tirra Inle, University of Magick. Until she was captured by pirate slavers.

And this is Kameryn Grey. He's a grey/bat-eared fox hybrid. He was taken as a slave at the age of 8 and acquired by Captain Morgan - wherein he became a Scavenger. It is his job to explore the desolate deadlands in search of relics of the lost civilization, which are then sold to collectors.

Captain James Morgan is the captain of the pirate ship, Sanguine Star, which deal in artifacts and also in slaves. He is a tiger with the golden tabby colouration.

Luka is a numbat, with no known surname. She was raised in an Orphanage until she caused trouble, wherein she fell in with the wrong crowd. When they dissolved, she roamed alone until Captain Morgan found her and took her on as his mistress. She is a pyromaniac and somewhat crazy.

I think the fact that I have hardly drawn at all in the last month has actually improved my art, and these are certainly the best furries I have drawn in... well, maybe ever.

Now to ressurect this story.

Macaw Colouring Page

2011-09-30T09:48:00.007+13:00

This colouring page was created for a charity designed to discourage people from buying and breeding birds to keep as pets. Now, I must confess, I once kept birds as pets. I was obsessed with them (still are, of course) and I really wanted some birds of my own. So, we got Corky, a turquosine parakeet. Now, these pretty Australian grass parakeets are NOT cage birds. And Corky did not like being incarcerated in a small cage. So, young as I was, I convinced my parents that we needed an aviary. Corky liked the aviary much better, and we got him a mate (called Katie, if I recall correctly) but they never did breed. Anyhow, from there somehow the aviaries expanded to three and we began breeding canaries and budgies, zebra finches etc with some success (particularly the budgies, the canaries had the annoying habit of forgetting to feed their babies after 4 days and letting them die). As I grew up, I did not so much have an epiphany and decide that breeding birds is wrong, but I no longer had the time and energy to spend on caring for them and the birds were sold, the aviary dismantled and a wooden seating area assembled in its place. This was probably for the best.

Whilst I am still not against well kept, well maintained aviaries in which there are a reasonable number of birds (not too overcrowded and not too many species), I am far less enthused about keeping birds in cages. Birds are an animal designed to fly - putting them in a cage is essentially the same as keeping a person in one room for their entire life. Especially parrots. Your average canary or finch - their thoughts might go along the lines of "food, water, mate" and "my territory, my territory" but parrots are SMART. Keas are able to solve problems - which is better than many mammals (including some primates). They need constant stimuli and attention - much like a toddler. But some species can live for 80 years. So before you buy a macaw or cockatoo, you should think "do I want a toddler for the rest of my life?" Shutting it in a cage and cleaning its water and seed regularly is going to make your bird bored and depressed.

The problem in America (and probably other countries) is that people don't realise the responsibility of owning any pet - but probably many assume that a bird - because it is self contained in its cage, so to speak, is less difficult than say a cat or dog which will need to be walked. They're wrong. Parrots in particular can be noisy, destructive and demanding. Like I said, a toddler. If they get bored or stressed they might start plucking out their feathers or self-harming in other ways. So they buy this parrot, then find that it is too demanding, or won't learn to talk or annoys the neighbours by swearing loudly all day and night. So... they hand it over to a shelter or some such. And then buy a new one in the hope that it will be better.

This program suggests that if you absolutely MUST own a bird, that you adopt an abandoned one. Because like cats and dogs, there are a number of abandoned birds in need of a kind, caring home.

And if you do have a bird, then cherish it. It may not love you unconditionally, it may bite the hand that feeds, but it will be your companion for the rest of its life. Which could be as long as yours. Or longer. So make sure you leave it to someone responsible in your will.

And despite the fact that birds do not belong in cages: Do NOT let your birds go. They will probably die. Either that or they will breed and introducing new animals to the ecosystem is a recipe for disaster and at the very least, irresponsible. If you cannot find a new owner or a shelter that will take it in - then you will have to have your bird euthanised.

If you buy exotic species, you may be encouraging poaching and exploitation. Because of poaching - the only bali mynahs and the only spix macaws are now found in captivity. Poaching has lead to their effective extinction (along with deforestation and hunting, I imagine).

This is a Macaw. It's techncially a scarlet macaw, but you can colour it any way you like. If you click the image below, you will get a bigger image which can then be printed off:

And if you're curious, here's some more information on why keeping birds is being discouraged:
http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/exotic_birds/index.html

And some videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FY9SuP6dAc&feature=player_embedded
(love the quote "...they'e like a three year old running around with a canopener on their face...")

Cartoon Crazy

2011-09-30T09:34:00.004+13:00

I love cartoons - I'm a big kid at heart. Anyhow, I could not resist participating in a Cartoon orientated ATC swap. And then I learnt something - drawing cartoon characters is HARD. Seriously. For at least two of these pictures I had to pretty much use a "how to draw *character*" in order to get the proportions accurate. Of course, then I decided that I was going to colour them up my way and take on a semi-realistic look by not inking the outlines.

Now, can you name these cartoons?

Not a lot, but it's a start....

2011-09-14T21:56:00.004+12:00

Right, well I've slowly worked my way back into the artsy stuff. Mainly by finishing up two drawings that have been sitting on my desk for far too long.

The first is a Capricorn Goatfish, with colouring based on the Goatfish (taken from a handdraw reference sheet of Hawaiian snorkelling, so colours were exaggerated).

The second is the last of my mutated birds. It's a sorta dinosaur/bird.

Something's not right...

2011-09-13T20:15:00.003+12:00

I'm sorry about the lack of art recently. I think I've lost my artistic mojo. I just cannot motivate myself to write or draw. It's not that I am depressed - life is pretty good in many ways - I've started working at a new place (same company, new store), I've just travelled down south to meet one of the rarest birds in the world, Sirocco the kakapo... I've got a husband whom I love very much indeed and I've sold a few copies of my book (not many, but at least people aside from me are reading it). But... it's just like something is missing...

So, dear readers, if you have any advice on what I can do to reclaim my artistic drive, please leave them here. Words of encouragement also welcomed. I shall leave you for now with a picture of a pukeko, which - aside from my tutorial illustrations (see my previous post) - is the only piece I have completed so far this month:

I am also contemplating a story about a penguin.

Oh and I'm selling chimera sketches on fiverr: "Sketch your Chimerical Hybrid"

New Series of Tutorials

2011-09-08T23:45:00.003+12:00

I am working on a new series of tutorials focusing on how to draw our feathered friends. Here is the first one, "from photograph to lineart" which shows how I use photographs as a reference for my artwork. It also looks into differences in the shape and structure of birds.

The next tutorial "Birds in Action" will deal with more dynamic poses, and will of course include "Birds in Flight" and whatever else I can think of.

The third tutorial will focus on colouring.

Click the link to open the tutorial which is a 5.93 mb pdf file.

And I'm back...

2011-09-06T22:20:00.004+12:00

Not that I've been anywhere - I just realised it's been two weeks since I posted to my so-called "daily" art blog. Oh noes! Looks like someone's been getting slack with the arts...

Well, I am, but I've also been working on a tutorial on "how to draw birds" which turns out to be rather more epic than I had originally envisaged.

Anyhow, I've also been drawing some bird-chimeras for Shewolf's "Mutated Birds" swap. So I might as well share them here. There's another in the works, but I appear to be too easily distracted at the moment.

I have only drawn one image this month. Isn't that terrible? These were all done at the end of August.

The top two are inspired by "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" and the bottom by my pet Duck-frog in the online text-based MUD game "The Forest's Edge." Which I played over 10 years ago...

Little Sugar

2011-08-23T21:40:00.000+12:00

For a request/trade. One of the cutest marsupials EVER.

Bugs of the Sea

2011-08-22T06:24:00.002+12:00

Crustacean time!

Crustaceans are not particulary easy to draw. The crayfish especially took quite a while. But anyway, here they are:
Glass shrimp, Sandhopper
Red rock Crayfish, Half Crab

All native to New Zealand.

Totem Time

2011-08-22T06:18:00.002+12:00

I am participating in another "totem" swap which gives me another excuse to make more of these. As if I need an excuse!

The Horse ...You enjoy freedom - to run wild and explore. You are friendly and adventurous and have the power to overcome any obstacles that might be put in your path.

The Octopus ... You are productive, intelligent and efficient. You are able to achieve much in a short space of time, although you must take care not to overlook your own health and general well-being. You are not known for being particularly tidy.

The Hummingbird ... You take great delight in spreading joy to those around you. You are adaptable and able to adjust to many situations. Even to achieve what others might believe impossible.

The Dolphin ... You are intelligent and sociable, with a good sense of humour.You move through life with grace and beauty, taking pleasure in the small things and allow nothing to bring you down.

Hunter Melise

2011-08-16T21:09:00.005+12:00

Hunter Melise is a Milne-Edwards Sifaka, called in the story a "piebald sifaka" or "pied simpony". Her kind normally make their homes in the rainforests on the eastern ranges of the island. She is one of the Queen's Hunters - her profession is to wander Madigaska and hunt down - and kill - any monkeys or monkey sympathizers. She rides a tawny antelope (probably an impala or a springbo, I haven't decided yet) and has a small clan of ringtailed mongooses which she uses to track down and subdue her targets.

Melise was taken into the Hunter Pack as a yearling female and trained in combat - both with and without weapons. When she graduated, she was paired up with another female of the same species, called Cheri. Whilst they were never exactly friends, the two worked well together and were often sent on missions to weed out the monkey vazaha, kill them and bring back their tails. On a solo expedition, she was sent to track down a vervet monkey known as "Chike" (whom you should meet eventually) and stumbled upon Aurelia and Matthieu instead. As soon as she saw Aurelia's big blue eyes, she knew she had located an heir, and sent word out to the Queen. As a Hunter, she has been trained to recognise monkey artefacts and read their words, and she is also able to swim - a rare trait in a lemur.

Melise is a lanky sifaka. Her head is round, her ears very small and tucked close to her head. She has red eyes. Most of her pelt is brownish-black, but a white band of fur wraps around her belly and sides, meeting a thin line of black down her spine. Where the white meets the black, the fur is a dirty-brown. Her tail is black.

Like all Hunters, she is cold and dispassionate, dedicated to her duty and seeming to lack in empathy. She resents being out-ranked by Noir, a mere male, and in his presence resorts to sarcasm and subtle jives. She is in general, sharp tongued and nasty. However, as mocking as her words may be, and as willing as she is to kill for her Queen, she is not sadistic, just efficient.

Faraka the Varikamavo

2011-08-15T13:36:00.003+12:00

Faraka is an adolescent varikamavo (red-fronted brown lemur) just coming into adulthood. He is an apprentice shipwright, and helps make boats in a little west coast village. He is a good natured and easy going fellow, with creative leanings and always curious about new ideas. When Manjoretra's lakana (boat) wrecks near his village, he is eager to help the Vezo-maky repair his vessel and also to travel some of the distance with him. At least as far as Belo-Sur-Tsiribihana.

Faraka has a fairly minor role in the novel. His name tranlates as "eager, desire to help" His species is Eulemur rufifrons - the southern red-fronted brown lemurs (can you see why I'm using the Malagasy names? They're shorter, even if they do mean about four different species).

She's a Killer Queen....

2011-08-13T07:36:00.002+12:00

Lemurian royaltie is complicated. The throne is matriachal, but passed down from Queen to niece. Matthieu explains it here in this post about Rakoto. Also, the royal line is indicated by the presence of blue eyes. As you will see from looking at this lovely image of Ranavalona, the current queen, her eyes are not blue. They are red, like all diademed sifaka. From this you might assume that Ranavalona is not the niece of the previous queen. And you would be right. Ranavalona was chosen by the previous queen, Ramavo, as a suitable mate for her brother, Radama. Ramavo alas, died soon after and less than a year later, her brother also died. Leaving no heir. Therefore, Ranavalona inherited the throne more or less by default and is considered by some to be an usurper.

The fact that her son, Rakoto was born rather more than 180 days* later, is the cause of some of this conflict. Nor does he have the requisite blue eyes and aside from all that, he's male. Therefore, there is no heir - legitimite or otherwise, to inherity.

Even when a mated pair, Radama and Ranavalona were less than happy. Ranavalona had her eyes only for the throne, and Radama had his only for the beautiful silky simpony, Solange. He resented his sister for choosing someone else to be his mate. In an effort to beat Ranavalona in providing an heir, Solange begged a medicine from Mephistopheles, a herbal concoction that would make her ripe for mating in the wrong season. It worked. When Ranavalona realised that the silky was pregnant, she was furious and made various attempts to poison the unborn kit and its mother. During this time, Radama accidentally took some of the poison and died. Solange fled, fearing for her life. Ranavalona took command of the Hunters and sent them after Solange, who was killed near the Vezo-maky village of Madiorana. Before she died, however, she gave birth to a daughter, Aurelia, who exhibited the royal blue eyes.

Ranavalona is not evil. She is determined and dedicated to her country. She has strong views - and some strong prejudices, that are, however, detrimental to those of her subjects that do not agree with her. She is not afraid to eliminate any perceived threats by violent means where necessary. She is also well aware that Aurelia is necessary to her position. Initially she wanted the kit dead - so that her own daughter would inherit. But when her kit was born not a daughter, but a son, Ranavalona struck trouble. Sons cannot inherit. Now she needs Aurelia alive so that she can manipulate her. I suspect Aurelia will not take well to the manipulation.

Ranavalona also has a dislike of foreigners. Although there used to be regular trade between the monkeys of the mainland and the lemurs of the island**, this link has all but been severed. After she took the throne she announced that the few monkeys left - which are teachers and seekers of wisdom, must depart the island forever or they will be put to death. Most left. The Queen's Hunters are currently seeking the few that stayed and killing them. She believes that their ways are corrupting the traditions of her lemurs. Also, she does not want the four-foured lemurs - the Eulemur species, to learn. Some sifaka, especially those living in Narivo, can read and write, but Ranavalona fears that if the "lesser born" Eulemurs learnt, then it would lead to social unrest.

The royal bloodline are the only sifaka's that do not have French names, and the name "Ranavalona" was not her birth name, but one given to her when she became Radama's official mate.

She is a diademed sifaka of striking colouration. The black "V" crown on her head is distinctive and surrounded by a fur "cap" that is more silver than grey. This cap extends down her head and to her shoulders, and down her spine getting paler until it fades to white halfway down her back. Her facial mask is black, but the mane of fur around it, pure white. She has a white "collar" under her chin and a creamy-white belly. Her arms and legs are furred in golden-orange and her hands are black. She has red eyes.

Diademed sifaka are probably the most striking of the lemur species, and it is why I chose them for the royal bloodlines. Ranavalona is based on the real Ranavalona, the butcher queen of Madagascar. It you think Lemurian politics are complicated, trying researching Malagasy ones...

* Gestation period for sifaka
** Which explains the presence of antelopes on the island

Mr Mephistopheles

2011-08-12T22:28:00.006+12:00

It's been a week now since I introduced you to my Lemurian characters, so it is high time that I put up another one. This fellow has been a character of mine for around 12 years now. His character career started in my ill-fated, go-nowhere novel "Quest for Lemuria" where he co-starred with Astrid and a girl named Kaitlin. When that novel fell flat for the third time, I moved him here, into my "epic lemur novel".

His name is and has always been Mephistopheles.

Mephistopheles is an aye-aye, also referred to as an "aiay". Like all good aye-ayes*, he acts as an advisor, in this case it is to the Queen Ranavalona (you'll meet her tomorrow). His middle finger is slender and bony, the so-called "magic finger". Mephistopheles also claims to have the ability to communicate with Lemures (lemur spirits of the dead) and can fortell the future. This is not entirely accurate and has led him into a bit of trouble, especially when it concerns the existence of Aurelia and the gender of Ranavalona's unborn kit (Rakoto).

After Rakoto's birth and subsequent fostering-out, he becomes the kit's closest acquantince, almost a friend. He educates the kit and develops a fatherly affection for him. He is serious and stern in nature, and does not quite understand humour.

He is a lemur of medium size, with grizzled grey-brown fur, darkening to black around his rump and tail. His belly has a slightly reddish tinge and he has a little tuft of white fur under his chin that extends in a stripe down his belly. His ears are large, dark and hairless. His muzzle is shorter than other lemur species, and his golden eyes, surrounded by paler fur, look larger than they actually are. He sometimes wears a cloak, as some of the diurnal lemurs find his appearance a bit distubring.

(* "Madagascar" reference)

And here's a selection of images of Mephistopheles (and other aye-ayes) from over the years:

2000

2005-2006

2009

2011-08-06T18:34:00.003+12:00

The lighthouse at Cape Reinga in bookmark format and about to make the long journey to Vietnam.

And here's Little Grey

2011-08-06T18:22:00.005+12:00

Getting sick of lemurs yet?

Little Grey is a varibolomadinik. Or as we say it "Western Gentle Lemur" (or "bamboo lemur"). The other bamboo lemur species live on the east coast of Madagascar, and the western gentles are only found in small pockets on the west. Why so small? Because they have a fairly limited diet - they are the pandas of the lemur world, that is to say, they eat bamboo.

This young lemur lived with his mother, aunt and his cousins near a small waterfall. That is until the day the varijatsy bandits came along (you'll meet one of them later). Then, his mother was viciously murdered and he was kitnapped and taken north, to be sold into slavery. Rather traumatised by these events, he is a melancholy fellow. He is friendly enough to his fellow captives, but happens to be quite shy. However, he does have something they do not - knowledge of the forest that they manage to escape into.

Overall, his fur is a greyish-brown, with his belly being more grey and his back having more hints of brown. His face is grey and his eyes are deep red. He has a relatively flat head, and tufted ears. His muzzle is shorter than the Eulemur species, and he is small in size.

He has not yet had much of a role to play in the story.

Hrm, I think I might be a bit burned out of drawing lemurs. Maybe I'll switch back to birds for a time. Or hedgehogs. Anyone fancy hedgehogs?

Meet Matthieu

2011-08-05T23:29:00.004+12:00

Matthieu is a Verraeux's sifaka. He lives in the Spiny forest near Madiorana (Karazana's Vezo village) with his parents and his younger sister, Celeste. He is also one of Aurelia's first friends. When Aurelia meets him, his parents are away visiting a neighbouring family and organising a future mate for him. Sifaka lemur, unlike maky, form long-term, monogamous pairings.

Like all sifaka, Matthieu and Celeste consider themselves the upper crust, and far more civilised than their boistrous neighbours. Unable to walk on all fours, they move by dancing and leaping through the trees. Matthieu is polite and kind, and Aurelia quickly charms him. Celeste is rather more vain and self-important.

Typical of his species, Matthieu is a medium-sized sifaka. He is probably around three years of age. His fur is mostly white, save for the thin fur on his belly, where the grey of his skin shows through. The top of his head is a rich chocolate brown, and this extends down the back of his neck. He has golden eyes. His hands and feet are black.

Matthieu's hobbies include playing the traditional game of fanoraona with his sister, sunbathing and foraging for food. He has received a modest amount of tutoring and is more educated in politics than his maky neighbours.

Final Chimera for Summer

2011-08-05T21:36:00.003+12:00

Whilst Summer is off in the hospital, bringing her little leorabbit into the world, I thought I'd work on her older daughter's chimerical creature. Now, this lass was a trickier one - she was born in the Year of the Ox, but her star sign is Libra. Libra is symbolised by a set of scales. Now, scales do not hybridise well. So I suggested maybe something WITH scales, but Summer decided to let the girl decide instead. And she likes monkeys.

Oxymonkey was a bit trickier than the other two. The first effort was an abysmal failure, but on the second go, this handsome fellow stepped from the page. He's more monkey than ox, and that monkey is a squirrel monkey.

I hope they all like it. And now, I guess, my commisisons for that family shall end.

Unless Summer and her husband would like one each?

And since Summer mentioned me in her blog, I feel I shall mention her blog. As you can see from looking through it, Summer is a wonderful supporter of local artists and I am sure her children's bedrooms must be truly delightful (I rather want to buy this felt cuckoo clock. If I had a child, I most certainly would, it would look awesome in a nursery).

Here's Astrid

2011-08-03T22:04:00.006+12:00

Astrid the Avahy has a very special talent - she can communicate with the birds. This ability had her initiated into the Sisters. The Sisters are a community of female lemurs that reside in the Stone Forest of the Tsingy. Much folklore surrounds them - they are considered a sacred order - almost religious. Alledgedly, no males are permitted within their realms. Each species of lemur is represented by one of the Sisters.

Brought amongst the Sisters at a young age, Astrid barely remembers her parents. She is sweet and rather naive, always wanting to think the best of others. She loves birds, and has made her home in a shallow cave high in the rocks, where her feathered friends come and go as they please.

She is a small sifaka, with brownish grey fur. Her belly, thighs and the insides of her arms are a pale creamy brown. Her muzzle is black, and she had dark rings around her eyes. Other than that, her face is white. She also has a white patch on her upper thighs.

Like all Avahi, she is most active at night. However, as her avian friends are diurnal, she spents a fair amount of the day lazing in the sun and sharing gossip with the birds.

She is pictured here with a Madagacar Fody and a Madagascar Lovebird.

Astrid has yet to appear in the story, but I expect her arrival will be imminent. She has been a character of mine for a very long time. In fact, here are some rather earlier renditions of her:

These two are from 2009 and drawn in my attempt at the style of some other artists (I forget which ones, sorry). I kinda like them, even though my anatomy leaves more than a little to be desired:

And here's one from the archives! Before I started seriously drawing, I was planning a novel called "Quest for Lemuria". In fact, I've written it about four times and am still not even slightly happy with it. Since then she has changed her name three times - initially it was Astarix, then Astaria, but now I have settled for the less pretentious Astrid. I think it suits her.

This image clearly shows the affects of 10 years of diligant practise and a moderate amount of study can lead one to achieve in terms of art. I'm sure I have somewhere a a slightly better rendition from about the same era, but am unable to locate it, so it has probably fallen victim to my original lack-of-a-computer. On the plus side, because I didn't trade art then, I probably still have the original around somewhere. In a box under the bed I imagine.

Fidgety Mijifajifa

2011-08-03T07:53:00.003+12:00

Mijifajifa is a Boenga - a Red-tailed Sportive Lemur. He is a trader of the Western forests and collects and exchanges all manner of stuff - mostly junk. Some of it he trades for, but he is not opposed to stealing. His role in the plot is a minor one so far, although he may occur later. He is selfish and whiny and changes his loyalties to best benefit himself.

In appearance, he is a small, lanky lemur with grey-brown fur which deepens to chesnut around his shoulders and tail. Like all boenga, he is mostly nocturnal, although he does peddle his stuff during the day at times.

In this passage he has just stolen something from Aurelia and she has wrestled him to the ground after chasing him down:

“Mijifajifa,” he whimpered. “I'm a boenga."
My name is Aurelia,” Aurelia replied “I'm a sifaka.”

“Smell of fish and maky,” Mijifajifa mocked. “And monkey. Reek of monkey. You big smelly monkey's friend? Queen not like that. Kill him. Kill you too. Kill all the monkeys and all the friend of monkeys too.”

“You speak bold threats for someone I've just thrashed,” Aurelia growled. “The Queen will kill me? Queen's got to catch us first. But you... I have you here in my grasp. What's not to stop me killing you now?”

“Not threat,” he whispered. His orange eyes widened. “Warning. And you sifaka, sifaka no kill,” he whimpered. “Sifaka eat no meat, draw no blood. Sifaka gentle.”

“Are they?” Aurelia asked. “Tell that to the sifaka that murdered my friend.”

“You kind sifaka, good sifaka,” the little boenga pleaded. “Not hurt Mijifajifa. Let Mijifajifa go. Take box of pictures. Friend, yes?”

“What did you want with these?” She asked. “Why are you stealing Chike's maps?”

“Maps? That what they call? Know they show places. Places to go. Others want them. Good for trade. Take to market. Trade for medicine. Medicine for sick kits, no?”

She sniffed him. He smelt of forest and the sweet scent that was male lemur, but there was no trace of disease on him. No trace of other lemurs, either. He's lying, she decided. There are no kits. No mate either.

“They're not your kits, are they? You're all by yourself.” She cuffed him again. He whimpered. “Where is this market?”

“North,” he said. “Baobab Alley. Big market. Many lemur come. Next full moon. Much to trade. I could lead you. I could be your guide.”

She stared at him, incredulous. “You want to help us?”

He nodded. “Sure, sure. I help you – you help me, yes? Long way to go through trees. I ride in little boat with you. Show you best way.”

A first glimpse of Rakoto

2011-08-02T23:09:00.004+12:00

Rakoto is yet to fully establish himself in the plot, but he is cast in a major role for Act 2. Indeed, if the story goes as planned (ie: Aurelia deigns to take a back seat), he will be the Focus Character of the second part, which I shall write for NaNoWriMo this year.

Rakoto's mother is Queen Ramavalona, the Lemur Queen of Madagasika. He was born some time after the King's untimely death and was something of a disappointment to his mother. She was hoping for a girl, you see, to inherit the throne after her.

I shall now get Celeste and Matthieu to give you a little education on Lemur politics:

"... Sifaka royalty is passed down from female to female, understand? The Queens rule,” explained Matthieu.

Aurelia nodded. “It's the same in maky society, the females are the bosses.”

“Okay, maybe they are not so primitive,” Celeste smirked at her brother.

“But not all of the Queens have the time or inclination to produce their own heirs,” he continued. “So this task falls to their brothers. The Queen choses a mate for her older brother – one of fine breeding and good health, and it is their duty to produce a daughter to inherit the crown.

“However, in this situation, Queen Ramavo died early, before her only brother, Radama, had the chance to produce an heir. So, by default, the crown passed to his mate – Ranavalona. It was supposed to be temporary, until they fathered a daughter. But before that opportunity arose, the Queen's brother died.”

“Under rather suspicious circumstances,” Celeste interjected...

So as you can see, when the kit proved to be a male, Ranavalona was rather disappointed. So disappointed that she had her advisor, Mephistopheles (we'll meet him later) take the kit away and foster him on another nursing female, a Tattersall's sifaka called Araminta. However, Aramainta already had a kit of her own - older and bolder than the fosterling and had no real attachment for Rakoto. Although she supplied all his needs - food, warmth and grooming, the poor kit grew up with no affection and being bullied occasionally by her real kit.

As he grew older, his mother showed more of an interest in him. Here Mephistopheles stepped in too, teaching him social etiquette, politics and furthering his education in the manner that ruling class Sifaka need to know. Mephistopheles grew rather fond of the kit and Rakoto learned to love him as a father*.

Rakoto is a Diademned Sifaka with some distinctly different colour patternings. His black "hood" and white forehead are atypical of his species, but are a colour variant found in real world Diademned Sifaka. For the record, neither his mother nor the late king had this colouration. Anyhow, Rakoto's head is black, with the colour continuing in a stripe down his spine and terminating at the base of his tail. His body fur is mostly silver-grey, with orange fur on his lower arms and his legs. His tail is silver. His belly is creamy-white. He has orange-red eyes, like his mother.

As he has yet to play a role in the plot, his personality is not yet fully understood. However, I intend for him to be shy and quiet, preferring his own company or the company of books. He does not relate well to kits his own age, but has formed a strong friendship with his mother's advisor. Other than that, he has a somewhat sulky nature and avoids conflict where possible. He is a thinker, not a fighter.

* When I say "as a father" I don't mean as his real father. Although Rakoto's paternity is rather in doubt, there is no way the Queen's Advisor is his father. Honest. It's not genetically possible.

Noir the shadow in the night

2011-07-31T22:57:00.004+12:00

Every novel worth its salt requires a villain and in this one, it is Noir. Noir is the head of the Queen's Pack of Hunters. This is a most exalted position for a male to achieve, as in lemur society in general, females outrank males. Noir has enjoyed several years in service to the Queen, and she favours him.

Noir is a Perrier's Sifaka, or Radjaka. These critically endangered lemurs live only in an isolated pocket of rainforest in Northern Madagascar, but Noir travels rather a lot. His fur is pitch black, as is his naked facial mask and hands.

Noir rides a bongo buck, generally described as a "red antelope" in the story. Antelope are not native to Madagascar and in my fictional equivalent they were an early import, brought in to provide the lemur-kin with milk and transport, to replace the zebu and goats found in the real-world Madagascar. His other companion is a fossa, named Kaikitra (translates as "bite"). She is obedient only to him, and like all fossa has a taste for lemur flesh. Occasionally Noir lets her indulge. Mostly she acts as a threat or deterrent, and is rather useful at helping him get the information he requires from his subjects.

In personality, Noir is cold and cruel. He is faithful only to his queen, whom he loves in his own slightly warped way. He likes to kill, but is quite practical about such things and does not cause ultimate chaos in his wake, curbing his blood-lust until it is less likely to cause hassles. As the leader of the Hunter Pack, he must constantly demonstrate his dominance over the females and demands respect.

So far he has been the hardest character to draw.

Noir interrogates Celeste

And now we have Fiantrana

2011-07-30T23:00:00.005+12:00

Rana was supposed to be the main character of the novel. In fact, initially she was called "Katta" to reflect my online nickname, Kat. However, when I started naming the other lemurs using Malagasy words, I thought I should do the same for her. So I gave her the name Karazana, which translates as "kind". Except I didn't realise at first that it was a noun, and meant "species". So after some research I changed it to Fiantrana, which means "compassion".

Fiantrana is kind. She is about three years old and at the start of the book has just lost her first-born kit. The unnamed male kit was deformed. As she is a nursing female, she plays nursemaid to her mother's latest kits - twins. When she is called by the Ombiasy and given the white sifaka kit to look after, she is at first a bit reluctant. This strange, alien youngster holds no real attraction to her. But, her generous nature wins out and she winds up raising the kit as her own. As Aurelia's personality becomes more apparent, Fiantrana warms to her, and eventually feels for her as a real mother would - protective and loving.

Fiantrana is a typical ringtail lemur, or maky. She is of medium size and lean of build. Her tail is long and striped. Her face is white, save for the black patches around her eyes and muzzle. A black band runs across her forehead, and above this her head is reddish-brown, a colour that runs down her spine, spreads out along her shoulders and eventually concludes at her tail. Her body fur is silver-grey, except for her belly which is a pale creamy-grey. Her hands and feet are black. She has no visible scars yet, but by the end of the story I expect she shall bear some.

Maky do not form longterm partnerships, but live instead in large family groups. They are only "in season" for one day of the year (different days for each member of the troop). During that time there is much competition between the males for the females. Thus the father of Fiantrana's kit is not of particular import.

Fiantrana is kind and gentle, but she is also willing to step in and discipline an unruly kit if the need arises. She is not spontaneous, and prefers to think things through before jumping into decisions.

Here's an extract (Fiantrana has just walked into a fight between Aurelia and another young lemur called Mafana):

“What is going on here?” Fiantrana asked.

“Your little parasite stole my zaza,” Mafana said. “And she's been stealing stuff from all the other maky too. She's been hiding it in the woods.”

“Is this true?” Fiantrana turned her golden eyes to Aurelia. The sifaka had scrambled to her feet and now crouched low. Sand clung to her pelt. She could not meet her foster mother's gaze.

“Yes,” she admitted. “It's true.”

Fiantrana just sighed and her shoulders slumped. Her look of disappointment made Aurelia feel more sorry than Mafana's bullying ever could. “I am most disappointed in you,” she said. “You must return everything immediately, and apologise. Starting with this kit here.”

With Fiantrana watching, Aurelia had no choice but to hand the doll back. “I'm sorry,” she muttered as Mafana snatched it from her hands.

“You will be,” Mafana replied, grinning wickedly and flashing her fangs.

Then Fiantrana cuffed her. “Learn some respect, Mafana,” she snapped. “You've recently received your true name. It's time you stopped acting like a weanling.”

Mafana looked suitably abashed and Aurelia hid her smile.

Meet Aurelia

2011-07-29T16:41:00.002+12:00

Aurelia is a Silky Sifaka, referred to in my story as a "silky simpony" as that is another Malagasy name that is more specific to her species (although it also includes diademned,Tattersalls and milne-edwards species).

This is not typical Silky habitat. Silkys are a rainforest lemur found only in Marojejy and are critically endangered. In our world, that is. In Aurelia's world, their tribes live in the north but occasional individuals leave to try and make a name for themselves in the city - in this case, Narivo (in the central highlands). Aurelia's mother, Solange, made such a journey. However, she was forced to flee from the city, heavily pregnant, and ended up birthing the kit far to the west, near the spiny forest. She died shortly afterwards, and Aurelia was raised by ringtailed lemurs (maky), specifically a young female called Karazana and Karazana's mother, Reniko. We will meet Karazana tomorrow.

Aurelia is spirited and stubborn. She is always asking questions and wanting to know more about what is going on around her. She likes an audience, and although she was teased somewhat in her younger days, has a charisma that draws others to her. She also loves to spin a yarn, and make up elaborate stories.

Her fur is pure white, with highlights of gold around the shoulders and spine (not visible here), which show a little of her father's heritage. The other legacy from her father is her bright blue eyes. The only non-human primate to have blue eyes in our world is a particular species of black lemur found in northern Madagascar. However, as my novel is not set in our world, the blue eyes have a different significance. Her fingers and toes are black, as is her face, although as she grows older, her face will lighten to pink.

Sifaka are the more elite, the upper-crust of lemur society and they practise manners and etiquette and fine speech. However, since Aurelia was raised in a maky fishing village, she has no such manners. She's also got a quick-temper and will nip or cuff if forced into a situation.

When I first set out to write this novel, Karazana was scheduled to be the main character and Aurelia was supposed to spend the first half as a fairly helpless infant. However, Aurelia quickly took over, forcing Kara into the background and essentially taking over. I'm letting her have her way now - I sense she knows better how her story will go then I had.

As she is the main character, there are plenty of extracts for Aurelia already in my blog, but here's a few of my favourites:
Aurelia meets her mother
Aurelia explains her heritage

Introducing Sneak

2011-07-28T22:20:00.007+12:00

Sneak wasn't meant to be a main character in my novel. He was introduced at one point because I wanted Aurelia to have some playmates her own age. Once he had befriended her, he wanted to stick with her for a while and insisted I let him come along on her journey.

He's a young crowned lemur (Eulemur coronatus) which are known in the story as "varika" (the Malagasy name for several lemur species, just to be confusing). He is boistrous and speaks his mind, sometimes coming across as a wee bit blunt. He's also been known to stretch the truth, exaggerate or outright lie. But underneath it all, he's a solid and loyal friend, willing to defend those he cares about. His family is a large and extended tribe, and his older brother is a piroquer called Hery, who plays a minor role in the plot.

Sneak's name is not his "real" name - eulemurs (that is to say, the so called "true" lemur species) do not name their kits until they reach 5 months of age, because infant mortality is so high. Consequently, everyone nicknames him "Sneak" because of his tendency to creep around places he shouldn't, to overhear conversations he shouldn't and to otherwise learn a lot of stuff that he's really not supposed to know. He also has very nimble fingers, and is good with knots - possibly something he has learnt from his older brother Hery.

When he receives his real name, it will probably be Misokosoko.

Sneak and his family live in the mangrove village called Belo-sur-Tsiribhana - which is named after a real village in Madagascar, although looks rather different. Constructed at the mouth of the river, the Belo-sur-Tsiribhana of my story is built in the mangrove trees, which are connected by rope ladders and platforms to form habitations. The lemurs travel around the trees by leaping or swinging, and also use boats (piroques) to travel around the waterways, transporting foods and goods. It is unclear what their principal produce is, but they do a lot of fishing. The village is one of mixed species - primarily varika (brown lemurs and crowned lemurs), komba (mongoose lemur) and tsibahaka (crowned sifaka and deckens sifaka). They are ruled by a council, represented by one member (usually female) of each of the prevalent species. Sneak is the son of the crowned varika Counciller.

In appearance, Sneak resembles a typical young male crowned lemur. His fur is a silvery grey for most of his body, but his arms and legs are furred lightly in orange from elbow/knee to fingers/toes. His tail also is orange. His belly is pale grey/white. Across his forehead is his "crown" which forms a V above his eyes, also orange in colour. The top of his head is black. His eyes are orange-red. His hands are furred in orange, but his fingers/toes are grey and his nails are black. He has no visible scars (yet). As he grows, this orange will spread to replace the silver fur.

Here is an extract when he introduces Aurelia (who he is calling "Fotsy" because that's the name she's given him) to his family:

“Salama,” Sneak greeted the plump varika. “This is Fotsy, she's a friend from far, far away. She's come to learn a bit about us varika. Fotsy, this is Mpahandro – she's my great aunt and our tribe matron.” He grinned, licking his lips, “she also makes a fantastic banana and rice custard. You have gotta try some. It's like the bestest, most delicious thing ever.”
“Oh you little flatterer,” Mpahandro nuzzled him with teasing affection. “How did you know I was just rustling some up for dinner?”

“I can smell it from fifty trees away,” Sneak laughed. “When do we eat?”

“Soon,” she said, “you can help me dish if you like.”

“Can I lick the pot?”

“Only after everyone has eaten,” she chuckled. “And you should show some manners in front of your fine sifaka friend. You don't want her to think you're an uncouth barbarian, do you?”

“Oh,” said Sneak, “I'm sorry.” He turned to Aurelia. “Fotsy, would you like to help me lick clean the pot?”

Right, here's some conversations with Sneak: Sneak discusses Piroquiers and Sneak explains "tag"

Stay tuned because I am working on a number of character illustrations at the moment and I will introduce you to all the characters - Karazana, Mijifajifa. Rakoto and of course Aurelia. As well as Noir, Matthieu, Chike, Mephistopheles, Maohy and maybe Daniel, if I ever find a way to work him into the story.

Yes, I have a huge cast of characters...

Snow Day!

2011-07-25T12:52:00.005+12:00

I've lived in Christchurch for around 18 years. We moved here in 1993, the year after the so-called "big snow of 1992" which was the regions heaviest in 30 years. It was so bad that they lost power, many farmers lost their sheep and an ice-skating rink's roof collapsed under the snow fall.

So, although we've had patchy snow some winters, the last time we had real, genuine, stick-around-and-make driving-hazardous was about four years ago when I lived at my old flat. It melted during the day and turned to slush.

Today has trumped that. I woke up early to the eerie orange-white glow of fluroescent lights reflecting off the snow. Outside the world was transformed by white. After a quick check of my car:

... I decided that backing out the long driveway would probably result in me running into a wall and I didn't fancy shovelling the whole thing only to skid on slippery, pot-holed* roads. So I thought I'd catch the bus.

No buses - so I decided to walk.

Now, I've walked to work on numerous occasions - it's a 5-6 km walk partly through Hagley Park. But walking in the dark and the snow was a surreal experience. For one thing, the streets were so quiet - a few inchworming cars slushed past me, and one bold cyclist, but the world was like a desolate white wonderland. The piles of bricks, the broken houses, all covered in a shroud of snow. My broken city had been painted in beautiful hues. Halfway there, I "picked up" one of my co-workers and we walked through the park together. Haunting and beautiful - the black of the bare trees a stark contrast against the white of the snow. We passed a lone skiier, taking advantage of the large stretch of (at that point) pristine snow. During the last stretch, we hit a full-on blizzard, which was not pleasant.

Arriving at work, there were not enough to run the business, and with fears of worse weather to come, we decided to remain closed. And thus we began the long walk home.

It was actually fun - the first half at any rate. Snowmen were being constructed by the sides of the road, and snowball fights - I even copped one from a passing car. Children out playing on snowboards. We watched a few people get stuck in the snow, and require a push and I was indeed grateful that I had not driven. After leaving my companion, things got worse. The snow started coasting down and the footpath was about 15cm deep - slippery and treacherous. By now my body temperature had melted the snow on my clothing and I was soaked as well. I struggled on, afraid to stop and finally, thankfully reached home and a change of clothes.

Yes folks, I walked 12 km in the snow.
How's that for a work-out?

You can see how deep the snow was by this picture of our backyard table:

But, Hagley Park was beautiful.

But will I walk to work in ankle deep snow again? Well maybe when...

* to be fair, most of the potholes have now be filled in, but the roads still dip and rise unexpectedly

Mad about Madagascar

2011-07-24T22:36:00.008+12:00

It's a beautiful, magical island, trapped in time and containing more unique wildlife than you can imagine. It is also a fading, lost paradise. Only about 10% of its native habitat remains and although new species are still being discovered, we're at risk of losing them all.

Here is some of that wildlife:

Cuckoo-roller, Helmet Vanga
Ringtail Mongoose, Durrell's Vontsira
Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur, Sucker-footed Bat
Lake Aloatra Bamboo Lemur, Long-eared Tenrec
Giant Jumping Rat, Red Fronted Lemur
Vasa Parrot, Crested Coua
Long-tailed Ground-Roller

Still writing...

2011-07-19T23:34:00.002+12:00

Okay, so as my story had got to a sort of drag-on-side of things, I decided to take it back a step. Instead of them ending up wandering through the Tsingy, I thought, why not let the bandits get them?

So... it looks like Sneak and Aurelia have been captured by the "bad guys" (well, not THE bad guys, just a couple of OTHER bad guys. There's a lot of bad guys around here...) and Karazana and Hery have been dumped into a boat, pushed off into the river and left to starve/bleed/dehydrate to death. Or maybe not, as they may very well wash up on a sand bar and be rescued... Anyhow, their fate will be revealed later. But meanwhile things don't look so rosy for our heroic kits. Sneak is destined for the saphira mines, and Aurelia... well, it's not been specifically declared but it definitely involves some sort of slavery and may involve her becoming a "pet" to... oh I don't know... a rich sugar merchant? Or coffee, vanilla... cocoa... I wonder if any of these are actually native to the island? Does it really matter? My lemurs ride antelope, after all!

Anyhow, I cannot help but wonder if the watching of "Game of Thrones" has made my story take on a distinctly darker edge.

Daily Wordcount: 1,446
Total Wordcount: 60,179

One of their captors stared at him. “You didn't break him, did you Forovato?” He asked. “If his arm is broken he is useless to us. We might as well leave him here to rot.”

The most brutish of the group shook his head, making the bones in his fur rattle. “I only squeezed him a little,” he said. “Weakling.” He spat at Sneak, the globule striking the kit in the face. It trickled down his forehead and into his eye.

Aurelia growled. Her captor cuffed her again. “Be a good pet,” he snarled. “It'll make things easier.”

“If you hurt me,” she snapped, “then I won't be so pretty anymore.”

“That is indeed true,” her captor agreed, his voice deceptively mild. “But we can hurt your friend. He's as good as useless to us anyhow, not worth more than a flawed stone.”

“He's worth twice any of you!”

Her captor gave a slight nod to Forovato. Flashing his teeth, the large lemur seized Sneak by the scruff of his neck, lifting him off the ground. Forovato slashed him across the cheek. Pressed his claws against the injured kit's throat.

“You want me to kill him?” He asked, looking not at her captor, but straight at her.

Aurelia shook her head and dropped her eyes. “No.” She whispered.

Given my tendency to use Malagasy words for the names of the lemurs (although sifaka get French names), each of the "names" actually means something. Basically, I go through the Malagasy dictionary here malagasyworld.org and find a word that describes the personality or nature of the character. I suspect if anyone translates them back, they might be quite amused at how unflattering some of these names are.

Skunk

2011-07-17T08:11:00.004+12:00

I have been commissioned to design a skunk bookmark. Because the first one I came up with didn't hook over the page very well, I made a second one, which hooks better but still not as well as the lemur - mainly because skunks have shorter tails.

As an additional extra, I also made a Skunk Totem card:

If your totem is the skunk - you are fearless but peaceable. You enjoy spending time by yourself, but when in the company of others you are shown respect. In turn, you too also know when to give respect and when to demand it.

Still writing...

2011-07-13T21:35:00.005+12:00

Today I received my "Birds of Madagascar, a photographic guide" in the mail from The Book Depository. It fits nicely with my "Mammals of Madagascar: a complete guide" that arrived some time before then. OF course, given the vast amount of both birds and mammals that we didn't see when we were in Madagascar, now I want to go back and see what I can identify. I wish I'd had the bird book then, actually.

Did I mention I also have this beautiful dvd? Madagascar BBC
And over 30 toy lemurs, many of which are plushes and some of which were handmade in Madagascar?

You might say I'm a bit obsessive. In fact, go on and say it. I don't mind.

Anyhow, with all this wonderful inspiration (although the DVD made me cry and I've only watched 1/3 of it) you might think I should be writing. And you'd be right. But alas, it's been hard to be motivated and I'd come to a bit of a stalemate. But I am trucking through it.

Anyhow, today I managed 1,280 words, bringing my wordcount up to a grand total of 65,507 words.

And I drew up the lineart for a helmet vanga. Whilst watching "Game of Thrones". Now talk about dark... I've read the books, and those were bleak enough... But in the first episode there were two beheadings in the first ten minutes and another death before the end. Indeed, when we finished today's episode (#3) I turned to my husband and said "wow, that's weird, nobody died."

Anyway, suffice to say, my story is taking a bit of a darker twist. But not really - or not yet anyhow.

And Karazana and Aurelia are currently playing with fire. Literally.

“Misaotra.” Aurelia took from the collection the stick and the moss. “If we twist the moss around the stick, we can light it with your firestone,” she said. “And you can carry it. In your mouth.”

Karazana mused the suggestion for a moment. “That could work,” she said. “Let's try it.”

The first few attempts ended up with the moss falling to the ground, but on the fourth try, it stayed put. Aurelia waved it about. It didn't fall off.

“Now for the fire.” Karazana pulled out her firestone and the small lump of metal. Aurelia held the stick steady, bracing it against the ground. Crouching over the moss, it took several strikes before Karazana managed to unleash the fire in the heart of the stone. Sparks showered down onto the moss.

There was a hiss, followed by a roar as the flame devoured the moss and began licking its way along the branch. Long tendrils of fire snaked out, singing Karazana's whiskers. She yelped and it tumbled to the floor, sputtering to its death against the stony ground.

The maky rubbed her face in the dirt. The stink of singed fur hung in the air.

“Are you hurt?” Aurelia cried, hopping over to her and licking her forehad and ears.

“I... I don't think so,” Karazana muttered, looking up. Dirt and dust clung to the fur of her muzzle and chin, but she seemed unscathed. “But let's not try that again.”

2011-07-09T17:53:00.004+12:00

I discovered the concept of "Toy Photography" thanks to the blog: Lens Addiction in which it was mentioned (although she had not done any of it herself). So I decided it was a fun project - after all, toys don't move and you can therefore take your time to line up the shots. I also have a rather large collection of toy animals called "yowies". My mother and I went mad collecting them, and I cannot help but wonder if we were the cause of their demise - ie: we stopped and therefore sales of them declined below which made them worth making. Needless to say, you can't buy Yowies off the shelf anymore, but the toys are still out there.

Please excuse the fact that I can't remember the names of most of these species.

Scorpion vs spider:

Beware! A snake lurks in the leaf litter...

A pretty moth roosts on a winter flower:

(note that the finger holding it in place is carefully cropped)

Eek! It's a Carpet Python!

A tiny treefrog seeks moisture where he can find it:

Another for Summer

2011-07-09T17:48:00.001+12:00

And here is my second Chimera of the Day:

Lion/rat for Summer

Metafilter Mutant

2011-07-09T13:47:00.004+12:00

My husband found this on metafilter:

Where can I find someone that I can pay to do a custom drawing of an imaginary animal for me?

It's a little silly - my girlfriend has some favourite animals (3) and I wanted to find someone who'd sort of... draw an imaginary animal that's a combination of all 3, just for s***s and giggles.

And since it's such an unusual request, any idea how much it would cost? Thanks.

Since this is exactly the sort of thing that I regularly do, he put my name forth and I received the commission. The combination turned out to be giraffe/zebra/elephant.

So, here is the results:

Interesting enough, there is a real mammal that looked a bit like this - macrauchenia

And I have another commission to work on too - for Summer, the lass I drew the lion/rabbit for. Now I'm making her a lion/rat for one of her other children.

Starfish!

2011-07-02T21:49:00.003+12:00

For a special lass who shares my birthday. I hope she likes it.

If anyone knows what species it is, please tell me! Photoreferenced from this picture.

As you can see, I've accentuated the colours - as per always.

SocNoc, day 30

2011-06-30T22:01:00.006+12:00

June is over. Thank goodness.

I am not proud of my efforts this month. Although at times the story did flow rather well, at others it slumped like a lead balloon. I feel mentally fatigued. Which is odd, because my NaNo novel last year was energising, not exhausting.

My final wordcount was 62,414 of which the last 3,914 will be deleted and the plot will take a new turn. So I still achieved the 50k even taking into account the 4142 words written before the month began.

So in a way I have achieved my goal, but I have still ultimately failed. I wanted it to be good, I wanted it to reach a final point that was exciting and cliff-hangerish. Instead it just meanders on and on and achieves nothing.

If anyone is interested in reading the 58,499 of this story that is decent, please drop me an email.

However, for "Lore of the Ringtails" there shall be no future and it shall forever be related to the "unfinished stories" folder on my desktop - along with "Quest for Lemuria" (mark 1, 2 and 3), "Scavengers of the Deadlands" (which was actually not too bad) and too many others to count.

On the positive side, I can start concentrating once more on "Midsummer Knight's Quest" which I believe DOES have a future, even if it is gathering dust in a warehouse somewhere.

SocNoc, Day 28

2011-06-28T22:05:00.004+12:00

Wordcount: 1,263
Total Wordcount: 61566 (less 4132)
Percentage: 115%

I have recaptured the flow in a rather subdued manner. But with only two days to go, I really must spend tomorrow night doing nothing but writing. I've still got a considerable amount of plot to work through until this part is done. So much, in fact, it seems highly improbable I will get it done before the end of the month - although friday - July 1st, my next day off, will likely be a Good Writing Day. Especially if I decide to disconnect the internet!

A crow dropped from the sky, claws reaching for her. It struck her, knocking her from her feet. She slipped, bouncing, down the rockface, until her long fingers hooked into a crevice and caught.

Another dived, striking a burning blow across her back.

“Go away,” she shrieked, but there was no way to fight them off, no way to defend herself, not without slipping to her death.

Another sliced by, a whisker's width, the flap of its wings stirring her fur. She tried to pull herself up, onto the ledge, but it was too narrow. Her feet flailed, seeking purchase, but finding only the unforviging smooth face of the rock.

The crow landed above her. Peered down at her with one dark, beady eye. She could have sworn she saw laughter in those eyes.

Then it pecked her fingers.

She released her grip, reflexively, slipping down the rock face. I'm going to die, she thought. After all I've been through, I'm going to die like this.

Then a ledge of rock forced all the wind from her lungs and all thoughts from her mind. It took her a heartbeat to recover, and another to stagger upright. Everything hurt – every muscle. Her back felt sticky with blood and she could barely bend the fingers of one hand. And the crows were diving again. So many crows. Four, five, six... there were too many, moving too fast. Best not to count, best just to hide. But hide where? In that dark hollow perhaps?

With one last desperate effort, Aurelia flung herself into the dark hollow. She struck something cold and hard in the gloom, crawled to her feet, turned to face the entrance. The fur on her spine bristled, her lips drawn back. If any birds dared to follow her in here, she would grab them and pluck them and make them sorry for hurting her.

No birds followed. They waited outside for her, cawwing to one another. Laughing.

Aurelia shrunk back and crouched down. She knocked the cold, hard thing again. This time she stopped to look at it.

Recoiled at the grinning face, the sightless gaze.

Even in the darkened interior of the alcove, she could see it was a skull. No, not a skull, a skeleton. Bones picked clean. By time or crows? She shivered, feeling the chill touch of its lemures, haunting the cave.

“What happened to you?” She asked it. “Did you die here, alone? Or is this your tomb?"

SocNoc, Day 26 - Caught in a Rut

2011-06-26T19:50:00.003+12:00

The inevitable has happened. Having achieved my goal of 50k words my motivation has suddenly burned out. It is not as though the characters have reached a point of stalemate - Karazana and Aurelia are about to enter the Tsingy and meet the sisters. Noir is well on their tail. It is just that I am getting to the part where I wonder... what is the point? No one is very going to read this book. I have no idea where the second part (to be written in November, alledgedly) is headed. And it is all just a pointless, long-winded waste of time. I would probably be doing better were I... I dunno, drawing NZ birds or something. No, wait, I've drawn them all already.

*sighs* At least I finished "Aroha's Grand Adventure" I should really submit revision#3 that for publication.

Food is Art, Photography Swap

2011-06-26T19:12:00.005+12:00

I'm into hosting photography swaps at the moment, mainly because they allow a different sort of creativity. And since I'm into photographing food, I figured I might as well share it with people.

So here's some of my tasty offerings, these ones I made myself:

Kumura and Banana Salad (with cashews)

Nachoes with some sort of mushroom patty (at a guess)

Autumn Waffles with summer fruit

Chimera Commisison - Leorabbit - coloured

2011-06-24T21:47:00.002+12:00

Now with colour, but no background yet. Or whiskers.

SocNoc, Day 24 - the day I reached 50k

2011-06-24T19:47:00.006+12:00

Wordcount: 5,048
Total Wordcount: 55,753 (less 4132)
Percentage: 103%

What'll you know... The day I reach my 50k is the day my internet and phoneline decide to crash and burn, meaning that I cannot sing it to the world until possibly as late as Wednesday.

Actually maybe that's why I wrote so much – no Facebook, no AFA, no interweb distractions. Although just because our phone isn't working doesn't mean I didn't spend some time talking to my mother. They set up a call divert to my cellphone. This meant I had time to colour my leorabbit commission.

Plot is progressing nicely, although Part 1 it will not be completed with 60k, maybe 70k... My chaacters seem to be able to fall into another plot arc, and even when they get to the Sisters in the Tsingy, they will then have to be there a while before Noir catches up with them (he's about 5 days behind them at the moment, but he's on antelope so might be moving faster than they are).

Aurelia felt very much like wrestling with him (a nameless komba kit). Just to see if she could ignite some sort of spark. He seemed almost listless. But then again, maybe he was just a bit dim-witted.

“Wanna play tag?” She asked.

“What's that?” Asked the kit.

Wow, two words, Aurelia thought, and a question, that seems like an improvement.

“It's a game,” Sneak explained. “We'll play it with this stick here,” he picked one up and waved it about. The nameless komba kit shrunk back as though he were about to be beaten.

What's wrong with him? Aurelia wondered.

“Anyhow, in the start I'll have this stick. I'll run off with it and you and Au-err Fotsy here have to catch me and take it off me. If you get the stick, then you've gotta run off cos we'll be chasing you next and trying to get it off you. Understand?”

The kit nodded, still wide-eyed. “Why?” He asked.

Sneak frowned. “Why what?”

“Why would you want the stick?” The kit showed he was capable of managing a full sentence.

“Err, so that we'd be chasing you instead.”

“Why would I want you to chase me?”

Sneak scratched his head with one foot, baffled. “Um, because it's fun.”

“Why?”

Sneak frowned. “Why what?”

“Why is it fun?”

SocNoc, Day 23

2011-06-23T22:17:00.002+12:00

Today's Wordcount: 1,330
Total Wordcount: 50,914
(includes the part written before SocNoc - 4143 words)
Percentage: 93.5%

And I'm into the home-straight now! Tomorrow might be the day that I officially reach the 50k. Today is also distinctive in two other ways - one it is my longest working day - from 10 am until 9.15 pm and thus I am truly pooped, and two, it is my birthday.

So why am I working on my birthday? Because I don't see the point in taking the day off and besides, I am very fond of my co-workers and any excuse to get extra hugs from them is most welcome. One even gave me a cupcake. It's so cute I don't want to eat it yet - not until I've photographed it.

Anyhow, due to the late finish, I have not achieved my daily word goal for today. Not that it really matters, as it is only 300 words and I am sure to manage them tomorrow. My plan is to finish this part of the novel up to its grand climax (probably around 60k words) and end it with a cliffhanger, and then set the book aside for four months and resume it again for WriMo. As I am suffering a bit from Madagascar overdose.

Also, I need to finish polishing "Aroha's Grand Adventure", order a (hopefully final) proof copy and get it published so that people can actually buy it.

Socnoc, Day 22

2011-06-22T10:27:00.003+12:00

Today's Wordcount: 1,807
Total Wordcount: 49,529
(includes the part written before SocNoc - 4143 words)
Percentage: 90.8%

An early update today because I am starting work later - at 12 noon. Why? Because I am finishing around 8.30 tonight as I am selling books at Paul Henry's Press Liasons tonight. Therefore I can get my writing done in the morning.

Some time ago now I read a book about a child raised by a bunch of woodland animals and they then went on the run from something/someone. It was by Richard Ford and the first one was called "The Quest for the Faradawn". I cannot remember much about the plot, but I can remember one thing - pratically everyone who helped the heroes was killed.

And I hated this. It just felt so wrong to me.

Yet now I am finding myself in a similar boat.

I have killed off two characters so far, and implicated the death of a third. Today I came close to sentencing another THREE to death, along with possibly an entire tribe of maky.

This is not on. If I engage in this sort of behaviour then noone will want to read it.

Yet the desire is there. It's not my fauly Noir is a blood-thirsty murderer! But I guess now I have to work out reasons for him NOT to kill everyone who has put a spanner in the works of his plan.

You'll be pleased to know, that despite these promises, no one has died today.

Yet.

And just to show how evil Noir is, here he is questioning Celeste about her involvement:

“Do you know where the kit is?” Noir growled. He glared down at the brown-capped sifaka. She stared back up at him, her eyes wide with terror.

And with good reason, because crouching over her, huge paws pressed into her chest, was Kaikitra. And there was nothing any sifaka, anywhere, feared more than the touch of the fossa.

“I, I do not know,” she whimpered. “Please, get your beast off me.”

“Not yet,” he snarled. “I know she was here, another Hunter reported her presence. A white sifaka kit with blue eyes.”

His captive's eyes narrowed. “That Hunter killed my brother.”

“And this Hunter will kill you.” Noir made a motion with his hands and Kaikitra's large jaws closed about the female sifaka's shoulder. “Tell me, or I will command her to snap your arm. Her jaws are very strong, and I think a sifaka with only one arm would be very short-lived.”

The captive sifaka whimpered. The jaws tightened. Blood trickled out, staining the pure white fur.

“She wasn't with us,” Celeste whimpered. “She was living with the maky.”

“Very good,” Noir said. “For that answer, I shall give you a head start. Release, Kaikitra.”

The fossa opened its jaws and stepped back, allowing Celeste to scramble free.

“Now run, my pretty,” Noir grined. “Run as you never have before, because if she ever sees you again, Kaikitra will kill you.”

Celeste ran. She bounded off into the spiny forest, leaping up the trees.

Noir ran his hand along Kaikitra's short fur. He had no intention of sending the fossa after her, he needed it by his side. But it was still amusing to scare her.

SocNoc, Day 21

2011-06-21T20:48:00.004+12:00

Today's Wordcount: 2, 339
Total Wordcount: 47,716
(includes the part written before SocNoc - 4143 words)
Percentage: 87.1%

Sometimes when writing, an author will wind up writing a character into a situation in which the only way they could get out of it would be totally unrealistic. That is the situation I have managed to get Aurelia into today.

The situation?
Aurelia has been taken into the hospitality of a lemur called Clarisse, her mate, Gerard and daughter, Blanche. They are white sifaka and rather sophisticated and civilised. Aurelia, as we may have noted earlier, is not. Aurelia is also being pursued by some of the Queen's Hunters.

Now, Aurelia happens to have in her possession, a bag containing three books belonging to the monkey, Chike. Now, current politics have declared all monkeys as being outlaws and those who associate with them will be put to death or exiled. Anyone found possessing monkey-made memorabilia faces this punishment too.

Not wanting the well-meaning sifaka to be exiled or killed for the sheer fact that Aurelia had left her bag in their tree, Aurelia had raced back to claim it, disrupted a peaceful game of fanaraona and invoked the ire of her newly- appointed guardian.

Upon reclaiming her bag, Aurelia was supposed to dart off through the trees. This is where the problem lies...

Chike's books are bulky, and lemurs rely on speed and dexterity to leap through the trees. Given that Aurelia is only a young lemur, and has no way of carrying this bag except in her mouth or her hands, you can see the predicament she's in...

So here's what really happened:

Aurelia snatched up her bag from Blanche's shelf. She could not carry it in her hands and leap at the same time, so she held it in her teeth. She sprang into the next tree. The extra weight dragged her down and she missed the first branch, crashing several feet onto another. She regained composure quickly, and sprang along the trunk.
I can't do this for long, she realised. And I can't do it very fast either.

Her foot slipped beneath her, and she tumbled from the tree. Memories of the crocodile and its mighty jaws flashed through her mind as she plummetted through the air.

Splash. She hit the water hard. Dropped the books. Water flooded into her nose and mouth and her feet flailed as she tried, very fast, to learn how to swim. It was a lesson in which she was not succeeding.

I'm going to die here, she thought. Then something grabbed her about the shoulders. The crocodile has found me.

But it was not the crocodile. It was worse, much worse, for she was dragged up onto the pirogue and dumped in an unceremonious heap.

“Why look who dropped in,” said Melissande. “If it isn't little Miss Blue-eyes herself.”

(I suppose I am just very lucky that the Queen has just put out the instruction that Aurelia be taken alive, or else I could have this story finished most tragically, within 50,000 words. As it is, it will be at least 65,000 before I get it to the intended "termination point" for Part 1, with Part 2 becoming my NaNoWriMo project in November).