BOOK V Cover Update: Mood and Lighting
July 30, 2011
CAROL PHILLIPS is working away on the horrific cover to Book V, The Temple of the Exploding Head. It’s coming along quite well with the enhanced lighting adding mood and drama to the scene.
As Carol puts it:
Light and shadow is a really important part of creating mood in a painting. It can take a boring painting and make it look really awesome, or if done incorrectly, can make it look flat and dull. I learned early on it was important to pay attention to your various light sources and always keep them in mind while creating your piece. It is a key point in creating a believable environment, character or creature and can make or break your artwork.
"The Temple of the Exploding Head" by Carol Phillips
It’s also important to keep in mind if your light is warm light ( fire/ candle) or cool light (could be found out doors). It is especially challenging when working with both cool and warm light sources on a piece like the Temple, but using warm and cool lights can add a lot of drama and interesting colors to a piece.
Look how the warm fire light brings out the depth of the Temple, lighting up the back tiers giving the viewer a hint how wide the Temple is, while the cooler lighting provides a sense of loftiness and imposing height. With the lighting in place, you can see what was previously hidden behind the more prominent tiers of statue and pillars. With the orange light, the Temple looks more unsettled, more wild and dangerous, which is the impression the viewer should be getting. I can only imagine what the scene will look like when the character layers are turned on.
See the difference when only the cool lighting elements are displayed. The Temple looks calm, peaceful even, like a football stadium before the football game starts. Even though the place is festooned with horrific images, the lighting makes it seem at peace. It also loses all of its depth, with the deeper parts of the temple lost in shadow. The Temple seems much taller rather than wide in the cool lighting.
Book V, The Temple of the Exploding Head will be available for purchase November 2011.
copyright 2011, Ren Garcia and Carol Phillips
“The Machine” is Ready for Release
July 19, 2011
The second book in the Temple of the Exploding Head Trilogy is finally here!!
The Machine
Lord Kabyl of Blanchefort, his cousins Sarah and Phillip and their friend Lord Lon of Probert quest to recover the three pieces of a fabled machine lost for centuries: The Oberphilliax.
Their quest will take them beyond the safety of the League to the Xaphan city of Waam where an ancient Black Hat and her vile army of Spectre henchmen await their arrival with great anticipation.
The Machine sees Kay and his cousins visit distant Xandarr where he is confronted by the manifestations of his three Gifts: Waft, Cloak and Sight. Each will test him to his limits and if he falters for even a moment, he will die.
And, if he manages to survive that, then there’s the city of Rostov where death is a roll of the dice away, Dee, with the creature lurking in the water and Waam with its Black Hats and roving army of Spectres. To be a Shadow tech Male in Waam is to be hunted and killed without question … and Kay is a Shadow tech Male. The chase is on.
The book features cover art by Carol Phillips, and is lavishly illustrated with over 25 full page maps and drawings by Carol Phillips, Fantasio and Eve Ventrue.
Book Specifics:
Publisher: Loconeal Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9825653-5-3
Release Date: July 26th, 2011
Pages: 309
Thank You, Adam Ant
July 14, 2011
Adam Ant
The simple truth is a lot of things added their influence. The League of Elder series is a veritable Rabbit Stew elements thrown together to form the bedrock of my ever-growing universe. My home in Ohio provided much of my inspiration, my wife, Erin, as well provided a grand contribution, and the usual bits stuff also added to the pot (movies I’d seen, books I’d read and the subtle weave of morning dreams that refused to fade from my memory).
But, undoubtedly, a big part of the colonial-retro look of my stories comes from one singular source: Adam Ant.
Adam Ant--Punk Rocker and Self-Styled Madman (From Prince Charming)
In the mid-Eighties, Adam Ant was taking that well-travelled step from being a speck on the fringe of things, from a punk-rock freak a-la David Bowie whom all parents fear, to a force in the establishment, accepted and welcomed into the pop culture with open arms.
Adam Ant, all Pop'ed-Out in Friend or Foe, a very influential album for me
To me Adam Ant was the embodiment of cool, of sexy and fresh, or daring and bold and I wanted to be him. I wanted to be just like him. I painted my face and grew long my hair (I didn’t quite succeed and ended up with the eponymous and dreaded mullet).
Captain Davage--Ant-like in his dress
I hope Adam Ant continues his recent comeback from years of obscurity, mental health issues and other set backs and once again thrills young people, as he did me.
Bowl Naked
RG
TOTEH Characters: Paymaster Stenstrom
July 7, 2011
"Lord Stenstrom of Belmont" by Eve Ventrue
Stenstrom isn’t the normal sort of modest, unathletic fellow occupying the role of Paymaster. At 6’7 he is a towering man, taller even than Captain Davage. He is the son of the famed Fleet captain Lord Stenstrom the Older who commands the warship Caroline. He carries the traditional LosCapricos weapons of his House, the NTHs, a pair of pistols said to be capable of slaying virtually anything with a single shot. He also wears a long dark green coat once worn by the defunct Hoban Royal Navy–Stenstrom is rarely seen without his HRN. As a final odd note, Stenstrom wears a small mask covering his eyes.
He hails from the House of Belmont, an old Zenon House on his father’s side and the House of Tyrol on his mother’s. The House of Tyrol are an odd, silver-haired lot living on the eastern coast of Esther, and consider themselves a tribe apart, through no official recognition has been given to them as such. Stenstrom’s mother, Lady Jubilee of Tyrol, is a notorious socialite and suspected witch. Her indomitable personality is well-known–she was under Public Wergild for over twenty years, meaning someone had formally posted a vendetta against her. She bore Stenstrom’s father 29 daughters ahead of him as a result of an oath she took. She feared for the life of her husband as he spanned the stars in his Fleet ship and swore he would have no sons until his boots were firmly planted on the ground for good; thus twenty-nine Belmont daughters. It has been said that Stenstrom the Older had to resort to sorcerous methods of his own to gain a son, purchasing a questionable tincture on Bazz said to ensure the birth of a son, and thus Stenstrom the Younger was finally born.
Private Taara de la Anderson is one of Paymaster Stenstrom's closest friends (painting by Eve Ventrue)
His mother was said to be enraged upon his birth and swore to murder him in his crib, though she quickly came to love and adore her handsome son. Seeing the younger Stenstrom clamoring to follow his father to the stars, Lady Jubilee took steps … extreme steps to prevent him from joining the Fleet. Stenstrom has hinted she put him to an obscure ritual known as the Tyrol Blood Oath. Plunging a red-hot dagger into his heart, she made him swear he’d never join the Fleet as either a crewman or officer, least his wound burst open. She updated the Blood Oath over the years, adding the Astro Merchants, Billings and Merchant Marines to it. She was convinced the stars were no longer in his future.
A Tyrol Sorcerer
Paymaster Stenstrom is well-known for his ability to perform a number of feats considered to be Tyrol Sorcery taught to him by his mother. Though he has no Gifts of the Mind, he can fade into the shadows and pass unseen. He can also make small to medium-sized items appear and disappear with just a wave of his hand.
Flight From Bern
As a youth, Stenstrom went off to school at the University of Bern studying accounting (a pre-approved course of study). A disinterested student, his fiancée, Lady Lillian of Gamboa whispered in his ear and told him of a way to get around his mother’s curse. His oaths had made no mention of joining the Fleet as a civilian and she hit him upon the notion of becoming a Fleet Paymaster. The requirements of the position demanded he be an attorney or an accountant of vast tenure. Having no tenure, Stenstrom fled Bern upon his graduation and went into hiding in Calvert, accumulating his tenure at the barrel of a gun. Soon he secured a job as Paymaster aboard the Sandwich, a rusting Fleet frigate, which was illegally running Kanan grain spirits to the Xaphans. Due to his House standing and his fortune, he was not well-liked aboard the Sandwich and was widely shunned.
Lt. Gwendolyn, Lady of Prentess, threatened to knock Stenstrom's teeth out (painting by Eve Ventrue)
Stenstrom’s Mask
Along with his HRN coat and his NTHs, Paymaster Stenstrom is known for wearing a black mask at all times. The mask was a source of constant speculation until he revealed the mask contains several magical pieces of metal folded up in the cloth called “hermelins” which prevent his soul from being torn apart by demons sent by his mother. Without his mask, he’ll perish in short order.
Paymaster Stenstrom is introduced in Book IV as Captain Davage’s Paymaster aboard the New Faith. He will become the Main Character in the League of Elder Second Series starting with Book VII, The Sands of the Solar Empire, coming soon.
Copyright 2011, Ren Garcia and Eve Ventrue
Book V Cover Update
June 29, 2011
"The Temple of the Exploding Head" by Carol Phillips
We had a number of challenges to address with this particular cover. First of all–how do we convey the sheer size of the place?? The Temple is a mile long and half a mile wide–that’s a rather large area to say the least. It’s also a thousand feet high and filled with over 100,000 bad guys: the Vatican has nothing on the Temple as far as size goes. To tackle this problem, Carol opted to give the place a slightly more confined, penned-in feel while giving clear indications that there is a lot more Temple than what can be seen at a glance. Also, there’s a constant thunderstorm raging inside the temple, which Carol has boiling up in the heights (I always remember my mother saying to come in from the rain where it’s safe–where no harm can come to you. I wanted it storming on the inside of the Temple as if to say: “It’s NOT safe in here!)
More Designs (Carol Phillips)
Pillar detail (Carol Phillips)
As Carahil has been a usual fixture of the past books, he’s present here in this one as well: can you see him???
I’ve always had a love for the work of Keith Parkinson going way back to my unprincipled D&D days in college and I wanted the cover to be as beautifully creepy as his works used to be (Keith Parkinson’s passing was a great loss for us all)
And then there’s Kay hiding behind a pillar, a fly in this evil ointment. Sort of like when the criminologist comes on in Rocky Horror Picture Show and everybody boos, his presence indicates that the party’s over.
copyright 2011 Ren Garcia and Carol Phillips
My friend, author Michelle Davidson Argyle, needed volunteers to promote a Blog tour to assist the victims of the Earthquake/Tsunami/Nuclear disaster in Sendai, Japan, and I am happy and honored to help.
Take it away, Michelle:
One of the largest earthquakes ever recorded hit the city of Sendai in the Tohoku region of Japan on Friday March 11. The magnitude 9.0 quake unleashed a deadly tsunami that slammed into Japan’s east coast, leaving a swathe of devastation in its wake. Thousands of people lost their lives, and many are still missing or injured. Thousands more have been left homeless and destitute.
As a testament to the generosity of the world’s citizens, emergency appeals have been swiftly set up in the aftermath of the quake, but I’m sure many of you, as we did, had the same thought: our donations seem so puny. There must be some other way we could make a difference!
With that in mind, Stories for Sendai was born!
The Stories for Sendai Anthology is a collection of 19 short stories and one poem. Some are inspired by the events of the earthquake in Sendai; others are simply stories of hope and inspiration. All are uplifting and worth reading. Please consider buying a copy of the anthology and spreading the word about this wonderful, uplifting little book. All proceeds go to relief efforts to aid Japan.
Stories for Sendai will soon be available in paperback or Kindle format.
You can find a list of the contributing authors and their stories here (http://storiesforsendai.blogspot.com/2011/05/final-line-up.html)
You can visit the Stories for Sendai blog here (http://storiesforsendai.blogspot.com/)
coypright 2011, Michelle Davidson Argyle
Book V Cover Update
June 22, 2011
Carol Phillips is plugging away at the cover for Book V: The Temple of the Exploding Head and it’s coming along nicely.
"The Temple of the Exploding Head" by Carol Phillips
"The Horned God" by Carol Phillips
Kay is missing
Sam is also missing
Monama victims in cages swinging from chains
Fire
Carahil in chains (Carahil is a constant feature of all five covers so far.)
The gods
Dead bodies everywhere
Killanjo having a rave
Lots of Phallic Symbols
Paraflies
Lightning
More Phallic Symbols
And, last but not least, the Horned God Himself.
Oh, I can’t wait for this cover–it should make for a memorable conclusion to the TOTEH trilogy.
Copyright 2011, Ren Garcia and Carol Phillips
Book V Update
June 13, 2011
Book V, the exciting conclusion to the Temple of the Exploding Head saga is due to be published in November, and, even though Book IV still hasn’t been released, things are starting to happen!
The manuscript is off at Loconeal for editing. It’s the largest of the three books, topping out at about 120,000 words, it also contains the largest single fight scene I’ve ever written with over 11,000 combatants!!
Concept for the Cover of Book V, by Carol Phillips
As it is the Horned God’s temple, all sorts of horrible things are going on inside, and we’ll have to temper it down a little for the cover. Certainly we’ll have the Horned God himself in the background, along with several Priestesses and a number of sacrificial Monama victims. There will also be a number of captive gods in the scene ready to be handed over to the Horned God’s servants, the Kestrals. I’m debating as to whether or not Sam will be on the cover.
Will Kay be able to put a stop to all this foulness?? We shall see…
Banner and table cable for Book V (art by Fantasio)
It all should make for a busy summer.
copyright 2011, Ren Garcia, Carol Phillips and Fantasio
TOTEH Characters: Killanjo
June 9, 2011
THE XAPHANS HAVE KNOWN OF THE FLESHLESS DEMONS THAT STEP OUT OF THIN AIR FOR CENTURIES. The outlying League worlds also know of them. On Onaris, they’re called Jennybacks, on Bazz: Fa Zemlas. The most common name for them is the Xaphan name: Killanjo.
"Killanjo in the Mirror" by Carol Phillips
The Killanjo are terrible to behold. Their bodies are bent and mal-formed and are always skinless. As such, they drip and reek. They often have extra appendages fused to their bodies. They are said to wear delicate golden masks covering their bleeding, mutilated faces.
Killanjo often are seen in command of Berserkacides and use them to do most of the fighting and killing. The entire House of Monama appears to greatly fear the Killanjo, that they “watch them” at all times and then force them to do their foul bidding. The ancient Remnath hero, Atrajak of Want, led an army of Monamas against the Killanjo in a series of battles called the Hidden Wars. In Atrajak’s writing, which has been banned by the Sisterhood of Light, he mentions the Killanjo themselves were slaves of a greater enemy he called “The Golden People“, of which virtually nothing is known.
The Killanjo are also conjectured to be out-of-joint in time, possibly from the future. Their skinless, semi-pickled appearance is ideally suited to project their bodies from the theoretical rigors of time-travel.
Lady Sammidoran has a vision of Lord Kabyl of Blanchefort being attacked by Killanjo (by Fantasio)
They are also said to have several key weaknesses. They fear their own reflection and cannot look at it and, accordingly, will flee from mirrors. Also, they are not reported to be overly strong fighters, having to rely on their spells or their Berserkacides to fight for them.
copyright 2011, Ren Garcia and Carol Phillips
TOTEH Characters: The Sisterhood of Light
June 2, 2011
"The Sisters" by Eve Ventrue
They are often seen walking the streets in the various cities on Kana in their flowing white robes and winged headdresses. They are generally attractive, but rather stern-looking ladies, somewhat tall and rather elongated in form. The Sisters can barely speak verbally, instead using a complex form of empathy to communicate and employ specially trained Marines to speak for them when in public. They are also virtually blind: their incredibly powerful minds do all the seeing for them.
Many citizens of Kana demonstrate their love and admiration for the Sisters by buying them lunch or dinner when happening upon them in the cities. On such occasions they prove to have voracious appetites and a love of rich foods.
History:
According to Sisterhood publications, the Sisterhood of Light was formed early in the EX time epoch on Kana. Their purpose was to commune with the High-orbiting Elders and deliver their news to the people. When the Elders bestowed the Gifts of the Mind to the tribe of Vith, the Sisters took it upon themselves to investigate these Gifts. Their investigation continues to the present day.
It is said by some that the Sisters are in fact much older a sect than they let on, having been in existence since the CX time epoch on Cammara, which would make their order almost 300,000 thousand years old.
Programmability:
The Sisters seeking Programmability from Captain Davage, while Countess Sygillis protests (Carol Phillips)
"Hiei" by Carol Phillips
The Sisters maintain twenty-five strongholds across Kana, each presided over by a Grand Abbess. Most of these strongholds are not open to the public. Only the chapel of Kurtis in the Great Armenelos Forest is readily open to the public. Many strongholds, such as Attilan, Twilight 4 and Deep 7 are forbidden and may not even be looked upon by the public at large. Air traffic is carefully routed away from such sites. Other sites, such as Hiei, Bern and Barton are partially open to the people provided they observe strict Sisterhood rules.
Enemies of the Sisterhood:
Being such a powerful and long-lived sect, the Sisters have made some persistent enemies over the centuries.
The Black Hats
The vile Xaphan sect of Black Hats are the enemy and constant foe of the Sisters. Once Sisters themselves, they followed the teachings of the Grand Abbess of Magravine who was obsessed with the odd and little-known Gift called Shadow tech. They gathered in secret, covering their faces with black sashes and performed things forbidden. Eventually, they splintered from the Sisters and fled into Xaphan space where they have been at war with the Sisters ever since. Though fearsome in power and armed with a number of illegal Gifts, an average Black Hat is no match for an average Sister and generally avoid them on the battlefield if at all possible.
The Hertogs:
The Professor, husband of Lt. Kilos and suspected Hertog (Bea Matarredona-Garcia)
The Order of Lacerta
Though kept quiet for centuries, the Order of Lacerta is a gathering of “Fallen Sisters”. Occasionally, members of the Sisterhood become disenchanted and flee, often times into Xaphan space. These “Lacertas” generally don’t last long as they are pursued and hunted down by Torrs Twilinger. Lacertas often hire themselves out as mercenaries and paid bodyguards for Xaphan warlords. They are fearsome adversaries, possessing all of the Sisters’ power and none of their inhibitions. They revel in wealth and rich foods and fabrics. They become addicted to chemicals, narcotics, tattoos, piercings, smoking and unprincipled sex.
copyright 2011, Ren Garcia, Carol Phillips, Bea Matarredona-Garcia and Eve Ventrue
The Temple of the Exploding Head 