The Celestial Arborium
March 26, 2011
"The Great Tree and the Windage of Kind" by Justine Marie Hedman
MEMBERSHIP:
Members of the Arborium are made up of powerful, outworldly beings. Any being that can successfully pass the poorly understood Criteria of Deuum may join. Usual members are made up of Elemental Spirits, Djinn, Wind-Walkers and Nargals. The Great Elemental Spirit Bathloxi is a preeminent member and giver of laws, as well as Mincoil, Anabrax, and Carahil. Notable Djinn in the order are Maiax and Bar-Igura and Ibilex. The cat-god Mabsornath is a powerful Windwalker. Regardless of their origination, the gods of the Arborium always appear as various types of common animals.
"Maiax, Bar-Igura and Ibilex" by Carol Phillips
The members of the Arborium have the ability to see the future and may or may not take steps to avert a future they do not like. Involving themselves in such things is dangerous, as upsetting the Universal Balance is a sure way to bring about tragedy, as with the infamous Death of the Bodice tragedy caused by the Djinn Maiax, which led to the painful extinction of the Bodice and the fall of Maiax as a demon. Therefore, members of the Arborium are careful not to use their vast power too much.
DEMONS
Demons are considered to be Arborium Members who have abused their power or swung the balance in one direction or another. Demonic power is invariably destructive and can lead to no good end. Maiax became a demon after he caused the death of the Bodice.
THE WINDAGE OF KIND
The Windage of Kind is the “hell of the gods”. It has been described as a gloomy set of industrial buildings at the bottom of the Universal Tree. Members of the celestial Arborium who break the by-laws of the group are sent there, often times for millennia. Those imprisoned within are often seen gazing red-eyed through the many dark windows of the place. Occasionally those held there are pardoned or forgiven and receive a second chance and are released.
"Mabsornath" by Carol Phillips
All of the members of the Celestial Arborium have a Secret-Talker, a person whom they share all of their secrets. The Secret-Talker is a method the gods use to consolidate their power with the universe, and to police each other, as, in theory, if a member commits an offense then it will be made known through the Secret-Talker, however, in practice, the gods go to great lengths to hide and mystically protect their Secret-Talkers. The gods are not allowed to directly accost or engage another’s Secret-Talker, a member of the younger folk must do it, often at the direction and peril of the gods themselves. Carahil’s Secret-Talker is Mabsornath–a Wind-Walker who is also a member of the Arborium.
copyright 2011, Ren Garcia
Millennicon
March 21, 2011
James Barnes with Loconeal Publishing setting up our table
I met the incredible Stephen Zimmer, author and filmmaker, and plan to hit a few shows with him this summer. There was also the amazing duo of T.R. Chowdhury and T.M. Crim of The Shadow Over Shandahar series (who are joining me in the Loconeal fold–Welcome guys!) Can’t wait to hit the circuit!
Of all the wacky events I attend, the craft shows and bake shows, yard sales and pretty much any place I can set up a table, conventions are by far the hardest to attract buyers. People there are often on a mission for a certain kind of book, either by genre or author, and aren’t really interested in looking for anything else. Also, there’s lots of competition from other authors who are sharing space with you on the floor. Still, perseverance will win out in the end and if you’re tough and do plenty of smiling, you’ll come home with fewer books than you brought with you.
Note the monitor. It's displaying Carol's remote desktop with the illustration she's painting
That she is.
"Lt. Kilos and the Cat God Pub," by Carol Phillips
She knocked in the cobbles and added texture to the village in the background, rolled in some fog and added the “Octagon” to Elyria (the moon). She really wanted to have it finished before the Con ended, but that’s how life goes. People had various questions for her–mostly regarding layers, as Carol has over a hundred created for this painting and only very few of them are labelled. Next time, we’ll have to mic her up so she can talk as well as paint.
Next–I’m going to Piqua.
Bowl Naked
RG
Millennicon–Live Paint with Carol Phillips
March 15, 2011
"The Cat God Pub" by Carol Phillips
One of the things we’ll be doing is a Live Paint. Artist Carol Phillips will be working on this unfinished pic of Lt. Kilos standing in front of the elusive Cat God Pub, via Wi-Fi and a 17 inch monitor. She’ll even take questions via text while she’s working. It should be lots of fun.
Come and see us at Millennicon.
Cincinnati, Ohio
You know you want to …
RG
LoE Books I & II to be Re-Published by Loconeal
March 7, 2011
Books I & II in the LOE series are being re-published by Loconeal Publishing.
Book I: Sygillis of Metatron: Go back to where it all began with the original LoE book: Sygillis of Metatron. Meet Captain Davage, Lt. Kilos, Ennez the Hospitaler and the deadly Black Hat Sygillis of Metatron. The Loconeal edition of the book features more maps and interior art by Carol Phillips, Eve Ventrue and Bea Matarredona-Garcia.
When Captain Davage does the unthinkable and refuses to allow the Sisterhood of Light to execute a captured Black Hat, he places his soul in grave danger. The Black Hat, Sygillis of Metatron, notorious in the League for killing an entire squadron of Marines by herself, sits in her cell and dreams of killing the captain.
Trade paperback $18.95
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Book II: The Hazards of the Old Ones: The second installment in the LoE series, The Hazards of the Old Ones is back in all its glory. Packed with maps, and over twenty interior illustrations by Carol Phillips and Justine Marie Hedman
When the Elemental Spirit Carahil foresees the death of an entire world, he places his soul, and those of the people he loves most, at risk to save it. As Carahil is about to learn, the greatest hazard of being one of the Older Folk is to care too much. Hell awaits should he fail.
Trade paperback $18.95
Both books available April 2011
copyright 2011, Ren Garcia
The Surreal 6×9
March 4, 2011
IT IS A SUBLIME EXPERIENCE HOLDING YOUR OWN BOOK IN YOUR HAND FOR THE FIRST TIME.
It’s difficult to describe. You feel happiness, of course, and a bit of pride as well along with satisfaction and a tinge of sadness for having come to the end of a long journey
.
For me, it’s surreal. All the daydreaming and planning, pacing a trench in the patio stones, all those late nights typing away, all the editing and tweaking, all the fuss. Drafts and drafts–revelation and innovation. More editing. More hair-pulling.
There’s the moments of frustration and indecision, and you cry aloud: “Is this really worth it?” I used to have hobbies and a semblance of a life. My annoyed wife waiting to go to the movies. The world outside my basement and the more nefarious one churning in my own head.
And then there it is, sitting in your hand, bound and glossy. A rectangle of you all painted and pretty.
Bowl Naked.
RG
Book Four Cover Finished
March 3, 2011
"The Machine" by Carol Phillips
This cover is crawling with a lot of things I’ve always wanted to incorporate in past covers but couldn’t. I love cityscapes. The Book I cover had a cityscape, but that one was the dead city of Metatron. This one is the vibrant, living city of Waam full of the bizarre (like the Princess Marilith vending machine). I also wanted to see Kay, his cousins Sarah and Phillip and Lord Lon–finally from my head to full paint.
The Bondarunga aspect is clear with all the weird-looking buildings and vehicles floating about. The flying statue with the Spectres standing on it is a classic Bondarunga vehicle–and, by the way, you’d never get me to ride on one of those snorting beasts.
copyright 2011, Ren Garcia
Book IV Cover Almost Complete
February 26, 2011
"The Machine" by Carol Phillips
This cover is quite different from the previous three covers for a number of reasons. The previous covers all have a distinct fantasy flavor to them, from the gothic city-scape of Metatron to the wooded Hazards of the Old Ones, Carol’s roots as a fantasy artist shine through, however, The League of Elder, is a space-opera after all, so I wanted book IV to highlight that. This cover also displays all four of the main characters, which hasn’t happened before (notice Sarah is not “turned on” in this still), as well as two Black Hat temples. Weird Bondarunga vessels and buildings are scattered all over the place.
The setting is in the Xaphan city of Waam. Our heroes in the foreground are being hunted by two separate groups: the Spectres are after our hero Kay, and the lovely Thomasina the 19th and her ladies are after Phillip. If Carol’s lined it up correctly, Thomasina should land right down the center of the spine.
Some old characters have made their way onto the cover. The gigantic vending machine the good guys are crouching behind is our old friend Princess Marilith of Xandarr, who is a popular folk hero in Waam. Also, as he’s appeared on all the previous covers, the elemental spirit Carahil is here as well–can you find him??
copyright 2011, Ren Garcia and Carol Phillips
Sarah’s Hair
February 23, 2011
I’VE GOT A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM!! I need to pick a hair-style for Lady Sarah of Blanchefort, and I can’t decide. Cover artist Carol Phillips has given me lots of options and I’m at a loss. Here’s your chance to throw your two-cents in and have a say in how the cover for Book IV, The Machine will look.
Sarah is a rather brusque tom-boy, a hot-head and a bit of a loud-mouth. She loves the thrill of adventure and is an eager companion of her cousin, Lord Kabyl of Blanchefort. She’s basically a big kid. I describe her in the story as having a long head of straight blue hair, like her grandmother had. She doesn’t spend a lot of time fussing with it. She pulls it back into a bouncy ponytail and a rolled-up set of bangs, quick and easy and that’s it.
Here are the choices:
Choices A and D are most like how I describe Sarah in the story. However, given her rather girl-like nature, pigtails aren’t out of the question.
Go ahead, take a look and give me your thoughts.
Copyright 2011, Ren Garcia and Carol Phillips
TOTEH Characters: Carahil
February 19, 2011
"Carahil" by Carol Phillips
His sister, Lady Poe of Blanchefort, listened to the dinner-time stories and was captivated. She was a newly trained Shadow tech female and was fast discovering her considerable talent for creating Silver tech familiars. She decided to put her new-found skills to the test and create an exact replica of Carahil, using vast amounts of Silver tech and the detailed recollections of Lord Davage in the process. She located a dry fountain basin in the Telmus Grove and began the long process of creating Carahil, running herself dry several times. As she worked she became very fond of the unfinished creation and began adding more to the mixture than she first intended. She added libraries worth of knowledge and arcane lore, cook books, joke books and other such things she thought would make him well-rounded. When he was nearly ready, she added the essence of a kindly dog from the kitchens. That evening, Carahil opened his eyes for the first time.
Carahil Figurines, by Carol Phillips
Carahil has a fondness of lost and little creatures and will go to great lengths to assist those he feels need help. He loves giving gifts when he can. Considering himself to be “incredibly good-looking”, Carahil’s gifts are usually tiny images of his own likeness. He is also a relentless prankster–those he favors are often victims of his pranks.
Image of Carahil in Waam, by Carol Phillips
Carahil’s Secret-Talker is Mabsornath, the former Cat God of Zall-88. Mabs appears occasionally in a place called the Cat God Pub. There, the answers to many questions may be had and the voices of those far away may be heard. The Cat God Pub appears in different guises to different people and it never is encountered in the same place twice. Carahil and Mabs are thought to be romantically involved.
Copyright 2011, Ren Garcia
Book 3 Cover Finished
February 18, 2011
"The Dead Held Hands", cover by Carol Phillips
I think this one is my Carol Phillips favorite so far. Full of color, I love the composition and feeling of movement. Carol always adds a little “surprise” to the spine of each cover so that it jumps out and catches the eye while sitting on the shelf. In this case, she added an image of Castle Blanchefort in the background.
In addition to the amazing cover, there are over twenty maps and illustrations waiting inside the book, drawn and painted by Carol Phillips, Fantasio, Eve Ventrue and Chantal Boudreau.
The Dead Held Hands will be out March, 2011 from Loconeal Publishing.
Copyright 2011, Ren Garcia and Carol Phillips
The Temple of the Exploding Head 