Posts Tagged ‘art’
New Urban Mystery: Dancing with Trees
A new Urban Mystery is available! Dancing with Trees is the 5th novella in the Series. The story is set in Fredericton, New Brunswick. An artist, Katie, who is cataloguing interesting trees in the city, happens on a mystery associated with the trees. As she walks the city streets, she encounters a strange dancer who shares a special relationship with each tree.
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Fredericton, known as the City of Stately Elms, has long been celebrated for its old trees and urban forest. The story was a natural for me – during my career as an environmental botanist, I often worked with trees, including those in the city.
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The Urban Mysteries are short, at only about 20,000 words, and each one is a quick, easy read. So far, there are five novellas in the Series:
- Office Green: set in Halifax, NS
- City Grotesque: set in Saint John, NB
- Roundabout: set in Fredericton, NB
- Hollow Hotel: set in Saint John, NB
- Dancing with Trees: set in Fredericton, NB
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The books are available at Dog Ears Books in Oromocto, New Brunswick, and 2nd Story Books in Harvey, New Brunswick. They are also available at Amazon.ca, under my pen name, Alexandra Tims.
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Hope you enjoy these books!
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All my best!
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Jane Tims
(a.k.a. Alexandra)
what is a ‘Meniscus Peripheral?’
On the cover of each of my new Urban Mystery novellas is the subtitle ‘A Meniscus Peripheral.’ What is this strange thing? Some new treatment for failing knees? A more accurate way to read your measuring cup?
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No. A ‘Meniscus Peripheral’ connects each of my Urban Mysteries with another series I write, the Meniscus Science Fiction Series. The science fiction series tells the story of Humans who have been kidnapped and taken, against their will, to the planet Meniscus, somewhere out in the Galaxy.
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The novellas in the Urban Mystery Series (Office Green, City Grotesque, Roundabout, and Hollow Hotel) are written in the same universe as the Meniscus Science Fiction Series.
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In the Meniscus series, the aliens of planet Meniscus, the Dock-winders and Gel-heads, visit Earth seven times (in 1982, 1988, 1995, 2008, 2013, 2020, and 2023), harvesting Humans for transport to their planet and to a life of enslavement.
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Some of these Humans escape to the wilds of Meniscus, sharing adventures and building new Human communities.
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Look for titles in the Meniscus Science Series, starting with Meniscus: Crossing the Churn.
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In A Meniscus Peripheral, the world of Meniscus and the associated alien abductions are always mentioned, but not explained. Each of the abducted Humans mentioned in the novella are living on Meniscus, alive and well.
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For example, in Roundabout, the story begins with a car, deserted in the middle of a traffic circle. The owner of the car is identified as Mary Fitzgerald, a twenty-year-old student of the Community College, studying Information Technology. No one ever sees Mary Fitzgerald again. But…
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On Meniscus there is a character named Aagle, also known as ‘The Stone.’ She is a formidable member of the Blood-Let resistance movement. She was abducted from Earth in 2020 as she was driving around the Victoria Circle in Fredericton!
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Reading the two series together will reveal more about the backgrounds of some of the characters on planet Meniscus.
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Both series of my books are available at ‘Dog Eared Books‘ in Oromocto and, soon, at ‘2nd Story‘ in Harvey. Drop in sometime to enjoy browsing through these great local book stores! Reading is so much fun!!!!
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All my best,
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)
Hollow Hotel – a new Urban Mystery
This week is the release of book 4 in my Urban Mystery Series: Hollow Hotel. There are three previous titles in the Series: Office Green, City Grotesque, and Roundabout. These are novellas, each a quick read and packed with adventure and mystery.
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Set in Saint John, New Brunswick, Hollow Hotel features three young climbers who attempt to scale the exterior of the old Saint John Hospital (now demolished). They get into all sorts of trouble: with the climb itself, and with a group of thugs who have taken up residence in the abandoned building. After a brutal fall from the dome of the hospital, one of the climbers must team up with a homeless woman to save her friends.
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The book is available through Amazon Canada, or Dog Eared Books in Oromocto.
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All my best,
Alexandra Tims
(a.k.a. Jane)
City Grotesque: what is a ‘grotesque?’
A grotesque is a type of architectural sculpture that represents a fantastical or mythical figure. A gargoyle is a type of grotesque directing and carrying water from a roof or other surface.
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At the Chubb’s Corner Building in Saint John, New Brunswick, there are 16 sculptural grotesques above the third floor windows. Although a couple of them seem to represent actual people who lived in Saint John in 1878 (when the building was constructed), most are strange, unknown figures.
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In my book, ‘City Grotesque,’ a contest is held to find modern look-alikes for the sixteen grotesques. The protagonist, a young artist working in the City, tries to find some of the grotesques with unfortunate consequences.
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This story is one of three Urban Mysteries I have written. To get a copy of ‘City Grotesque,’ visit Dog Eared Books in Oromocto or order from Amazon.ca by clicking here.
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I hope you enjoy learning more about some of the grotesques in the city of Saint John. For more information on the interesting uptown architecture, click here.
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All my best,
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)
cover reveals for five Urban Mysteries
I have been busy, working on a novella series called Urban Mysteries. These mystery stories are quick reads, set in cities where I have lived or worked: Halifax, Saint John and Fredericton. Each story follows the adventures of a young woman whose interests get her into deep trouble. The books are illustrated with my pencil drawings and I create my own cover art.
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I will release the books in two groups, the first later this month. The first set of three books will be:
Office Green – Hannah’s work, tending to office plants in Halifax, means she sometimes sees more of the people in the city than she should;
City Grotesque – Eleanor decides to help the Heritage Conservation Group in Saint John to find look-alikes for sixteen sculptures in the city, and one of the look-alikes does not want to be identified;
Roundabout – Katie, making an artistic record of the travel in the new roundabout in the city, notices how regularly a particular van uses the traffic circle.
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The second set of books will be released next year:
Hollow Hotel – Helen goes urban climbing with her friends and must rescue them when they have a terrible accident;
Dancing with Trees – Katie is making a record of the trees in Fredericton and encounters an urban legend to be unraveled;
Hunting the Dragon (cover image not yet available) – Hannah tries to find the thieves of a local art installation.
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As you can see, I will be releasing the series under my pseudonym, Alexandra Tims.
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I’ll let you know as soon as the first three are available for reading!
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All my best! And Merry Christmas!
Jane Tims (a.k.a. Alexandra)
creating a cover: identifying a motif
As I prepare to release my new Urban Mysteries Series, I still have some work to do. Because I both write and illustrate my books, I also do my own covers. Selecting a motif or theme for a cover takes some thought.
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Most of my books focus on a central theme. The fifth book in the Urban Mystery Series (currently titled ‘Dancing with Trees‘) is set in Fredericton and tells the story of an artist who is making an drawn record of the trees in the community. As she draws, she encounters a mysterious woman who appears and dances with some of the trees. The woman is associated with an urban legend of a man and woman who hid a treasure in a local tree and vowed to only retrieve it together.
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Creating a book cover is a little different from ordinary painting. A cover must:
- represent the themes and symbols in the book;
- entice a reader to know more about the story;
- present a strong focal point;
- leave room for the title, and sub-title and the author’s name;
- consider the style of other books in the series.
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When I chose a theme for the cover of my book, I already have about twenty drawings to illustrate parts of the story. I choose one of the drawings and modify it to represent the story as a whole. The painting can be embellished by including various symbols from the story. In the case of my Kaye Eliot Mystery ‘How Her Garden Grew,’ I include a Grinning Tun, a sea shell that appears in the story, over and over.
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In the Urban Mystery, ‘Dancing with Trees,’ trees and dancers are central motifs. So, for the cover, I chose to paint one of the drawings in the book.
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I work with acrylics and seek to use only a set number of colours in the cover painting. This is partly to allow the font and colour of the lettering to show well on the cover. It also reduces the busy-ness of the image for the reader.
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In a few days, I will be able to reveal the look of the final cover for ‘Dancing with Trees.’
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All my best,
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)
nuthatch: bold acrobat
Sometimes I hear a knocking at the door and answer, to find no-one there. Instead, a nuthatch is tapping, banging a sunflower seed against the shingles. Later, he will sound off in the grey woods, ‘yank, yank, yank.’ He is one of my favourite birds: the red-breasted nuthatch, Sitta canadensis.
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This nuthatch is slightly smaller and has a shorter beak than its cousin, the white-crested nuthatch. We have both but the white-breasted species has a faster-repeating ‘song’ to announce its territory.
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The red-breasted nuthatch has a reddish orange breast, a short tail, and sturdy feet and bill. It has a white eyebrow and a black line on either side of its eye. Perhaps its neatest trick is to walk upside down on branches, head downwards.
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In my poetry book, mnemonic: soundscape and bird song, I pay tribute to the red-crested nuthatch in a couple of poems. Here is a stanza from ‘woodland mnemonic’ …
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nuthatch, bored, pulls
endless rope, yank, yank, yank
hangs upside-down, beats
a seed against the shingles
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In the book are 53 poems about bird song and other sounds in nature, and 15 illustrations of birds found in New Brunswick. Some poems are merely descriptive, others see bird calls and songs as metaphors for various life events. For a copy, contact Chapel Street Editions here, or Amazon.ca here.
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“An orchestra of other surrounding sounds prompt the author’s poetic rendering, revealing a world chock-full of interesting information for those alert to its resonance. mnemonic offers a doorway in which to first stand, and then engage a journey from poem to poem into the author’s immersive experience of the great world’s soundscapes and birdsong.”
– publisher’s comments on the book
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Enjoy your day and take a little time to watch our neighbours, the birds, and listen to their songs.
All my best
Jane
Rock Project: update
News about my ‘rock project.’ We have been building a side road to our driveway, to serve as a turn-about and also a walking trail. I have been working on embellishments for the last few years. For more about the ‘rock project’ click here.
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I bought a cement bench for our side road! I had put my name in for one at Scott’s Nursery and when I went to get seeds this week, it had arrived. The fine staff at Scott’s put it into the truck for me (it is very heavy). At home, my husband lifted the two pedestals and placed them in the chosen spot. Then he rigged two straps around the flat seat and lifted it into place with the tractor. We had prepared a bench platform, but after the wind storm, it is still filled with downed trees!
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I had my first sit on the bench after it was stable. On a hot day, it was so cool to sit on! Now I have more incentive to go for walks around the ‘loop.’
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All my best!
Jane
a botanical alphabet
In the last couple of years, I have had the happy task of helping Jennifer Houle, award-winning author, produce her new book, A Child’s Botanical Alphabet. The book takes the reader through the alphabet with examples from the world of botany, plants local to New Brunswick and the Maritime provinces.
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My specific work was to produce the drawings for the book and undertake its formatting on the way to it becoming a published book. I also wrote ‘Notes for the Curious,’ to enable caregivers to give a little more information to children abut the plants they encounter in the book.
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The images in the book began as black and white pencil drawings. Before this, I had never done digital illustrations, so I began by colourizing each drawing. After this, I leaned to do grades of colour and shading. In the end, I did the 26 illustrations, one for each letter of the alphabet, and other images to illustrate the life cycle of the luna moth and fill in the story we wanted to tell.
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I also experimented with background colour and learned to present the images in the proportions of the final book. For the first time, I attempted images that would bleed to the very edge of the page.
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The book is an old-fashioned approach to learning the alphabet, but also a way of encouraging children to look closely at their surroundings and interact with them. To help with this, we have shown that plants are part of a larger community of plants and animals. The book shows the life cycle of the luna moth–we have hidden the luna at various stages of its life throughout the images in the book. We also encourage children to collect, with respect, examples of the plants they find and to learn about the other plants they see. Where I have left parts of the images without colour, the children are invited to add their own colour to the book.
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At last, A Child’s Botanical Alphabet is ready to present to the world! Both paperback and hardcover versions of the book are now available at Amazon.ca by clicking here. On May 11, Saturday, we will launch the book at the Kennebecasis Public Library in Quispamsis, with a special presentation and art activity for the children. After that, the book will be available in both paperback and hardcover at various events, including 2024 Book Fairs in Moncton-Riverview (July 27), Saint John (September 14), and Fredericton (October 19).
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We hope you enjoy this wonderful book! We are looking forward to showing it to you and introducing children to the world of local plants.
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All my best!!!
Jane
Cover Painting for ‘Meniscus: Reckoning’
In preparation for the release of ‘Meniscus: Reckoning,’ the next book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series, I have finished the painting for the cover.
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The painting is based on the pencil drawing ‘Travelling the Lip.’ It shows six travellers as they cross the treacherous El’ban Elevations, on their way to rescue James, imprisoned in El’ban. The group, in order, are Kotildi (the wild alien ‘wolf’), Belnar (one of the Slain), Odymn (heroine of many of the stories), Daniel (also a Slain), carrying Danny (Odymn and Daniel’s baby), and Don’est (the Dock-winder child, with her long neck).
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To be consistent with other covers, I need a distant view of the Meniscus moons (Cardoth roe and Cardoth grill’en), a mid-range view of the travellers, and a nearer scene from the book. Campfires are a common theme in the story and who better to sleep by the fire than wolf-like Kotildi?
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I was pleased with the painting. For a couple of days, I showed the travellers as black silhouettes against the Elevations. In the end, I gave them some colour, to suggest clothing and hair. I love the browns, blues and yellows in the painting.
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To make the painting fit the space on the book cover, I made some alterations in GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program). I brought the moons closer to the mountain silhouette and moved the fire and sleeping Kotildi closer to the travellers. In the end, the image fit well with the cover design. Here is a sneak peek at the final cover.
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I am now re-reading Meniscus: Reckoning for the last time, making a few revisions as I go. I have also sent the proof to my beta-reader for her reactions.
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I plan to release Meniscus: Reckoning in early May. I am looking forward to my reader response!
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All my best!
Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)
nichepoetryandprose 