Posts Tagged ‘Meniscus: The Village at Themble Hill’
Meniscus: The Village at Themble Hill
Meniscus: The Village at Themble Hill
by Alexandra Tims
an illustrated long poem
fourth in the Meniscus Series
science fiction – romance – adventure
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Follow the adventures of Odymn and the Slain!
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Meniscus: The Town at Themble Hill
… On the alien planet Meniscus, against all odds, a small group of Humans works to forge a new life together. When a Dock-winder drone pays them a visit, Odymn and the Slain trek along the heights of The Fault, to make certain the community is not in danger of invasion. They find a new way to scale The Fault and a perfect location for building a new village. Matters are complicated when Odymn is injured on a parkour run and the Slain’s former girlfriend joins the group. Faced with a dangerous journey through the Themble Wood and the hardships of building a new community, are the Humans in more danger from themselves, the alien landscape, or their Doc-winder overlords?
… In the fourth book of the Meniscus series, The Village at Themble Hill chronicles the first days of community life on a planet where Humans are not allowed to associate and freedom is always at risk.
home is the safest place … so build a home …
www.amazon.com/Meniscus-Village-Themble-Alexandra-Tims/dp/1546475982
Excerpt
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“What is that sound?”
says Odymn.
Looks north-west.
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Green light creeps
towards zenith,
blinking its way.
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The Slain rolls to standing.
Grabs Odymn’s arm.
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“Hide,”
he says.
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Slips over the limb of banyan.
Pulls Odymn after him.
Covers her with his body.
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Tugs at his armour,
five snaps per side
(its electric current
detectable, trackable).
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The armour detaches.
A grid of inert copper
between them.
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Above, the drone
nudges sideways,
sinks among the trees.
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Odymn holds her breath.
The Slain lays his mouth on hers
but she peeks around him,
wants to see.
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The drone hovers
a minute or more.
It blinks, effortless
on its cushion of air.
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Then it rises.
Swoops
to the north-east.
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The Slain lifts Odymn to her feet.
Finds a path
through banyan,
in the direction of Garth.
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Flawless navigation in dark
and Odymn wonders
what amethyst eyes see
in places where light
does not shine.
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About the Author
Alexandra Tims is a botanist, writer and artist living in rural New Brunswick, Canada. Her first five books in the Meniscus series, Meniscus: Crossing The Churn, Meniscus: One Point Five – Forty Missing Days, Meniscus: South from Sintha, Meniscus: Winter by the Water-climb, and Meniscus: The Village at Themble Hill were published with CreateSpace in 2017 and 2018. She has also published two books of poetry, within easy reach (2106) and in the shelter of the covered bridge (2017), under the name Jane Spavold Tims (both with Chapel Street Editions, Woodstock). In 2016 she won the Alfred G. Bailey Prize in the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick Writing Competition for her manuscript of poems about bird calls. She is a fan of science fiction – books, television and film, including Star Trek, Stargate and Firefly. Her websites feature her drawings, paintings and poetry.
Other books in the Meniscus Series
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Meniscus: Crossing The Churn
Meniscus: One Point Five – Forty Missing Days
Meniscus: South from Sintha
Meniscus: Winter by the Water-climb
Copyright Jane Tims 2018
Now available … fourth in the Meniscus Series: The Village at Themble Hill
The new book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series is now available. In The Town at Themble Hill, humans on the alien planet Meniscus continue to search for freedom and a safe place to live.
My heroine Odymn, who is expert at the art of parkour, sometimes also called free-running, navigates the landscape with runs, leaps and vaults. She never falls. Or does she? Find out how Odymn copes with a loss of her independence.
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Meniscus: The Town at Themble Hill
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… On the alien planet Meniscus, against all odds, a small group of Humans works to forge a new life together. When a Dock-winder drone pays them a visit, Odymn and the Slain trek along the heights of The Fault, to make certain the community is not in danger of invasion. They find a new way to scale The Fault and a perfect location for building a new village. Matters are complicated when Odymn is injured on a parkour run and the Slain’s former girlfriend joins the group. Faced with a dangerous journey through the Themble Wood and the hardships of building a new community, are the Humans in more danger from themselves, the alien landscape, or their Doc-winder overlords?
… In the fourth book of the Meniscus series, The Village at Themble Hill chronicles the first days of community life on a planet where Humans are not allowed to associate and freedom is always at risk.
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home is the safest place … so build a home …
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Get the paperback version of Meniscus: The Village at Themble Hill here. The Kindle version will be available soon. For readers in the Fredericton area, Meniscus: The Village at Themble Hill will be available at Westminster Books after May 1st.
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Copyright Jane Tims 2018
from a first drawing to a final cover
This month I completed publication of the third book in my science fiction series. I published my books with CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform and have loved the outcome. I also chose to use one of the CreateSpace templates for my covers, an efficient choice but one that let me easily download my own painting image for each cover.
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As a sort of retrospective, I think it is interesting to see the progression of the three covers, from drawing to painting to cover (all paintings are photography of J.D.R. Beaudoin):
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The next book in the series, Meniscus: The Village at Themble Hill, will come out in January 2018. Seems a ways away, but time to start working on the cover. This cover may change in overall design but will feature the moons in the background with poor Odymn tumbling through the trees. This is the black and white drawing I will work from.
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Copyright Jane Tims 2017
my eraser is my friend
I spent a quiet morning drawing a new image for the fourth book in my science fiction series.
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Meniscus: Crossing The Churn and Meniscus: South from Sintha have been published. I am now waiting for editing and a proof of Meniscus: Winter by the Water-climb (to be published in July). In the meanwhile, I have some time to continue work on the fourth book, Meniscus: The Village at Themble Hill.
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The Village at Themble Hill is the most tragic of the four books to date. Odymn, sometimes reckless, breaks her leg and then falls from a tree. How did she get in that tree and will she survive?
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I am the first to admit my drawings are not perfect. I have no specific training and my hand does all the work so it takes all the blame. However, I love to draw. It is engrossing and being able to illustrate my own books has helped me tell my stories.
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I begin by reading the text of the story to choose a scene I want to illustrate. I usually have the composition of the scene securely in my head as a result of the writing. Then I pose my little wooden model, find some photos to help me with the human form, and get to work. I have decided to show you the stages for a particular drawing.
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In this scene, Odymn and the Slain have decided to explore The Fault, to make sure there are no unknown ways for the Gel-heads to gain access to the new Human settlement. The Gel-heads have invaded before, carrying off prisoners and trying to murder those they leave behind.
The Slain pulls his map from his pack.
Yellowed vellum. Corners worn.
Ink marks gloss the edges.
The Slain’s finger follows The Fault.
“We’ll go scouting,”
he says. “Make certain
there are no other stair-steps
carved in rock.”
“No other water-climbs,” says Odymn.
She hears what the Slain does not say.
He tires of life in Garth —
rules, duty rosters
and expected conversation.
“When do we leave?” says Odymn.
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I begin with a quick sketch to establish the position of my characters. I use a 2B pencil and eraser. I think the eraser is the most useful of my drawing tools!
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Then I start to consolidate the lines and sketch in some background.
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The next step is to establish some of the shadow in the drawing. As you can see, a Q-tip is almost as important to me as the eraser!
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Odymn is always the easiest to draw. She is a bit quirky, so her facial expressions mask her beauty. The main challenges are her hair and her nose which always tries to develop a hook.
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The last thing I draw is the Slain’s head. He is a most difficult character/subject. I always get him too young or too old, too dark or too light. Sometimes he insists on looking a bit like a caveman!
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The final drawing is almost exactly the scene I saw in my head. Odymn and the Slain look a little uncertain about what they will find on their adventure. As you can see, when you use an eraser, you also need a brush to shoo the eraser bits away without smudging the drawing.
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With a few minor edits, this drawing will accompany this part of the story in The Village at Themble Hill. The Slain and Odymn will have some dangerous adventures as they travel along The Fault.
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What do you think of my process and my final drawing?
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Copyright Jane Tims 2017
nichepoetryandprose 