Posts Tagged ‘pencil drawing’
Book Launch! Adventure on another planet!
On Saturday, September 17, from 11:00 to 4:00, I will be at Dog Eared Books in Oromocto to launch the next book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series — Meniscus: The Struggle.
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This book is number 11 in the series and features brave humans, aliens (both endearing and nasty), and strange worlds to explore. I will be there to talk about alien abductions and alien worlds, my illustrations, alien genetics and other books in the series. And you’ll have a chance to explore Dog Eared Books, its huge selection of second hand books, books by local authors and unusual gift items.
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If you love adventure, science fiction and a touch of romance, you will enjoy this series. Join Abra as she and her friends try to understand the alien Dock-winder language and find some secret to overthrow the evil overlords.
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In the book. and the Series, you will find some interesting characters: Drag-on, the Hooplore (looks like a lump of wet spaghetti); Don’est, the Dock-winder child (consistently annoying); Nate, the evernell (his whiskers explode when he is afraid); the Gel-heads (green and slimy); and the Dock-winders (aloof and autocratic).
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I will have a life-sized Dock-winder and Gel-head with me. You have to see them to believe
them.
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Hope to see YOU there!
All my best!
Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)
adding books to Little Libraries
Had some fun today. Drove around to a few Little Libraries in our area and left some of my books. I was impressed to see books for both kids and adults. The Little Libraries were well constructed, keeping the books dry and safe.
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I left copies of my books in the Little Libraries on:
Smith Road in Geary, New Brunswick
Beaumont Lane in Rusagonis, NB
The Covered Bridge Park in Rusagonis, NB
Covered Bridge Estates in Nasonworth, NB
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I left two books in each Little Library, some poetry, some mystery, one science fiction:
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If you haven’t visited a Little Library before, try it! Look for one of my books or a book that would interest you or your child. I saw all genres of writing, some Nora Roberts, a ‘Game of Thrones’ and lots of mysteries. Just take a book to leave in exchange for the one you take!
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If you would like to read one of my books, they are available at Westminster Books in Fredericton and Dog Eared Books in Oromocto.
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All my best,
Jane
now available: a glimpse of dragon
a glimpse of dragon, second poetry book in the ‘glimpse of’ series, is now available at Westminster Books in Fredericton.
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The book is illustrated with my black and white drawings and considers extraordinary things in ordinary life. These are poems about comets in the sky, ghost cars in the covered bridge and dragons lurking in the campfire.
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campfire dragons
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dragons prowl
in balsam
backcrawl in amber
blisters of pitch
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dragons lurk
under mantles of smoke
blacken the stones
spurt throatfuls of fire
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dragons leap
to the Draco sky
watch us grow small
with sparking eyes
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close their lids
and sleep in flight
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You can also order a glimpse of dragon at Amazon, click here.
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I hope you enjoy ‘a glimpse of dragon.’
Jane
a glimpse of dragons
This year, I am continuing to gather my various poems into categories for publication. I intend to publish three books of poetry in the ‘a glimpse of…’ series.
So far, I have published ‘a glimpse of water fall,’ a collection of poems about waterfalls and the way lives can sometimes take a ‘downwards’ turn. In 2012, the manuscript for a glimpse of waterfall won Honorable Mention in the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick’s competition for the Alfred G. Bailey Prize.
Next year, I will publish ‘a glimpse of sickle moon,’ poems journeying through the various seasons of the year. In 2020, the manuscript for a glimpse of sickle moon won Third Prize in the Bailey competition.
Later this fall, I will publish ‘a glimpse of dragons.’ This poetry collection is about the mysterious events in my life that take imaginative reasoning to understand. The title comes from the idea, in the Dark Ages, that unexplainable celestial events were the actions of dragon-kind.
I have gathered six types of poems into this collection and I illustrate many of the poems.
1. those ordinary things in my life that seem imbued with magic;
2. my ‘observations’ of dragons;
3. unexplainable events in my life that would fall into the category of ghost stories;
4. my encounters with magical people;
5. poems about my deep appreciation of sky and the awe that accompanies trying to understand the reality of space;
6. a tribute to the crow, an animal I feel kin to, and the dark women I associate with crow-kind.
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The poetry book ‘a glimpse of dragons’ will be published by kdp and available in paperback on Amazon in December. The book will also be available from Westminster Books in Fredericton.
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Take care in these days of pandemic,
all my best,
Jane
Meniscus: Rosetta Stone – now available
The tenth book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series is now available:
at Westminster Books in Fredericton,
at Amazon (click here) as an ebook or paperback,
at the Fredericton Public Library,
and from me.
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Even if you haven’t read any of the Meniscus stories to date, this book will introduce new main characters and begin a new story.
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Abra, translator and historian, has found a previously unknown Dock-winder manuscript. She thinks it may contain a clue to overcoming the evil Dock-winders but first, she will make a hazardous journey to Hath-men, the centre of the Resistance movement. Join her as she faces dangers in the Meniscus woods and capture by the disgusting Gel-heads.
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All my best
Jane
(a.k.a. Alexandra)
planet meniscus: the strangest character of them all
In my new book, Meniscus: Rosetta Stone, there are several new characters. Perhaps the most unusual is Drag-on, one of the Hooplore.
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The Hooplore is a species native to planet Meniscus:
sentient, telepathic; resemble nests of cooked spaghetti; roll and bounce like tumbleweeds; rather aloof from other Meniscus aliens and helpful to Humans.
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The Hooplore do not eat but gather nutrients as they roll across the substrate.
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Drag-on is known by the broken strand of ‘spaghetti’ he drags behind him.
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Drag-on is a friend to James, who lives in the village of Hath-men. When James was first brought to Meniscus as a child, Drag-on rescued him, and raised him to be the leader of The Resistance. When Abra arrives at the village, Drag-on becomes her friend and protector.
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Drag-on communicates telepathically. Touch his strands and his thoughts will fill your head.
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Hope you enjoy reading more about Drag-on!
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Copies of the book Meniscus: Rosetta Stone are now available from:
Westminster Books in Fredericton ( York Street)
The Fredericton Public Library
Amazon (click here)
the author – contact me and I will make certain you get your copy.
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All my best,
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Alexandra
(a.k.a. Jane)
how much for a trip to space?
Yesterday, October 13, 2021, will be part of Star Trek history since William Shatner (a.k.a. Captain James T. Kirk) took a real journey into space, on board the space tourism ship, Blue Origin’s New Shepard. The cost of a ticket is variable, but in the range of hundreds of thousands into the millions. I said to my husband, “I’ll pass. I’ll just let the Dock-winders come and get me, and ‘take’ me to Meniscus.”
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So, if you are a reader of the Meniscus Science Fiction Series, you will know that the Dock-winders of Meniscus have visited (or will visit Earth) seven times: 1982, 1988, 1995, 2008, 2013, 2020 and 2023 (two years from now). Each time, they harvest Humans for transport to their planet. In every Meniscus book, there is a list of characters and the years they were taken. Next year, I will be publishing three novellas, short urban mysteries, in the Meniscus Peripherals Series. In each book, set on Earth, there will be a mention of a Dock-winder abduction and a connection to a Meniscus Science Fiction Series story.
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If you are not fussy about being ‘taken’ to Meniscus, for free, you can still be transported to the Meniscus world, for the small price of a paperback or e-book. There are now nine Meniscus adventures (ten if you include 1.5), and the tenth in the series, Meniscus: Rosetta Stone, will be released tomorrow, Friday!
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The books in the series are:
Book One – Meniscus: Crossing The Churn
Book 1.5 – Meniscus: One Point FiveBook One – Meniscus: Crossing The Churn
Book 1.5 – Meniscus: One Point Five
Book Two – Meniscus: South from Sintha
Book Three – Meniscus: Winter by the Water-climb
Book Four – Meniscus: The Village at Themble Hill
Book Five – Meniscus: Karst Topography
Book Six – Meniscus: Oral Traditions
Book Seven – Meniscus: Encounter with the Emenpod
Book Eight – Meniscus: The Knife
Book Nine – Meniscus: Meeting of Minds
Book Ten – Meniscus: Rosetta Stone
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Reading will transport you to Meniscus, second planet in the solar system of Tathlet-Amblyn, a double sun. Meniscus is a world of woodlands, deserts and mountains and the cities of Prell District, North and South. The plants and animals are peculiar and sometimes dangerous. And water moves upward, not down. Rivers do not flow and water is hard to swallow. The Humans who find themselves on Meniscus are the slaves of the Dock-winder system. But sometimes they are able to escape and, with other Humans, build relationships and communities and have exciting adventures.
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Meniscus: Rosetta Stone will introduce two new characters, Abra and Trath. Abra, an historian, finds a manuscript written in both Dock-winder and Gel-speak. Abra believes translation of the document may reveal a secret to overthrow the Dock-winders. She sets out for Hath-men, a village where The Resistance is centred. But traveling alone on Meniscus can be very dangerous.
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Meniscus: Rosetta Stone will be available on Friday, October 15, in both paperback and e-book versions. Once I get copies, it will be available from me or at Westminster Books in Fredericton.
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All my best.
(The Dock-winders are fictional.
You don’t have to worry about them!)
Jane
(a.k.a. Alexandra)
An Upcoming Trilogy in the Meniscus Series
To the right of the post, you will see, in a column, a list of the nine existing books in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series. This summer, I am working on books 10, 11 and 12, a trilogy in that the books are connected in theme and story. The three books are (provisionally) entitled:
Meniscus: Rosetta Stone
Meniscus: The Struggle
Meniscus: Return to Sintha
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The books tell the story of how Abra, historian and transcription expert, works to solve the mystery of the Dock-winder language, hoping an ancient manuscript written in Dock-winder will contain a clue to the downfall of these oppressive overlords.
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The books contain many old friends from previous books in the Meniscus Series, including the people of Themble Hill. They also introduce two new characters: Abra and her husband Trath, a Slain.
From the list of characters at the end of each book:
Abra– an historian; transcribes, transliterates and translates Museum manuscripts from Gel-speak to English; brought to Meniscus in the 2013 harvest; taken as she worked in the library of the Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, Connecticut, translating a codex of Maya glyphs into English; used as a processor of the beelwort drug by the Dock-winders of the Prell-nan Ogle-hath syndicate; met her husband Trath when he brought raw beelwort to be processed; lives with Trath in the Museum of Dock-winder Legacy, Prell; as she works in the Museum library, she sometimes forgets she is no longer on Earth.
Trath – a trader; gathers wild beelwort for sale to the city syndicates and hospitals; brought to Meniscus as a baby by the Dock-winders in the 1988 harvest and genetically altered to be a Slain; makes his home in the Museum of Dock-winder Legacy, in Prell; addicted to beelwort; married to Abra.
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Here is an excerpt from Rosetta Stone:
“Why did you leave me?”
says Trath.
Abra lifts her head.
Stares at Garnock,
the Wandering Star.
Careful of her words.
“You are never home.
Never tell me
where you have been.
Hardly speak to me
when you are there.”
“You are always
in the archives,”
says Trath,
“with your books and papers.
Never seem to care if I come or go.”
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All my books are illustrated and include maps, a character list, a glossary and a Gel-speak dictionary.
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Meniscus: Rosetta Stone will be out this fall.
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All my best,
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)
taking an art course
I trying to add some diversity to my day, so I am taking a course from Domestika: A Meditative Approach to Botanical Illustration. I have been through the introductory videos and last evening, I began the drawing exercises. Where I am, I have no scanner or camera, but I will use some photos and drawings from past excursions to illustrate what I have to say.
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The first lesson is to observe simple shapes in the plant you want to draw. The instructor uses cacti for his subject matter. I am using water lilies of various types. I usually draw with pencil, so this is the first time I have used pen. I am a ‘maker of mistakes,’ so the eraser does a lot of work when I sit down to draw. Using pen sounds a bit intimidating, but I will prevail.
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The simple shapes associated with the water lily are the elongated outlines of flower petals, and the deeply-notched spherical outlines of the various leaves. For my drawings I chose Nuphar lutea, Nymphaea odorata, and Nuphar microphylla, all species found in New Brunswick.
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The above is a crude copy ‘by finger’ of one of the drawings I did, this one of Nymphaea odorata, showing the basic shapes.
The next lesson is a more accurate representation of the plant.
I am feeling that you have to go backwards to move forwards. We will see.
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All my best
Jane
drawings of waterfalls
For me, a waterfall is the most beautiful expression of water on the landscape. The feeling of water droplets on your face, the sound of splashing water, the sight of sunlight on fast-moving water. I have tried to capture these in my collection of waterfall poems a glimpse of water fall. The book includes forty-four poems and twenty-three pencil drawings of waterfalls and other water scenes.
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We have many beautiful waterfalls here in New Brunswick. Over the years I have visited quite a few. In New Brunswick, we are lucky to have two great resources for lovers of waterfalls: a great guide by Nicholas Guitard (Waterfalls of New Brunswick: A Guide, now in its Second Edition, Goose Lane Publications), and a very active Facebook Group – Waterfalls of New Brunswick.
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My poetry book about waterfalls, ‘a glimpse of water fall,’ is now available from Westminster Books in Fredericton and from Amazon (click here). Enjoy!
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All my best,
Jane
nichepoetryandprose 