The Dragon hourglass Blog
Balancing Life, Writing, and Mental Endurance
Earlier in 2023, I updated my website and email branding to share that tagline. All three concepts have been important to me since my very first steps as an author; long before my shiny new logo, my website read “mental illness in fantasy worlds” but I thought it was time for an update and some specificity.
Art of the Yokai Calling Cover
Three years after the original publication of Spirit of the Dragon, on the verge of publishing Blood of Dragons and concluding the Yokai Calling series, I began my hunt for a cover artist for the omnibus edition of the series. I wanted to go big because until that point in my author career, I’d opted to design my own covers instead of hiring an artist.
In hindsight? Doing it all myself probably wasn’t the best idea… but I had a lot of fun doing it, learned a lot about covers and design in general, and got to play around with another artsy thing that I don’t get to do very often! So all in all, no regrets, but by the time the end of the series came along, it was time to splurge on a pro. 🙂
The Evolution of a Book’s Cover Design
Today marks the 4th birthday of Spirit of the Dragon! Woah, I can hardly believe that four years ago today, I officially became a published author. It’s been a wild ride with highs and lows, bumps and turns, but what’s stayed true from the very beginning is my love for the stories I’ve written and continue to write. And that all started with Spirit of the Dragon.
Ark Adventures: But First, We Must Have Wolves
We’ll continue my tale of ongoing Ark adventures with details regarding the first leg toward mine and Alex’s quest of defeating bosses on The Island. First, a little more detail about the bosses themselves, as I’ve been sparse with them so far…
On the island, there are three mysterious obelisks. Blue marks the Northwest corner of the map, Red marks Southwest, and Green marks approximately East. While travelling long distances, we often use them as directional markers because you can see them from very, very far away.
Shintoism and Folkloric Wartime Propaganda: Momotaro and World War Two
During my last year before I graduated from the University of British Columbia, I had the opportunity to attend a World Mythology class. Although most of the class was dedicated to defining mythology and pre-religious belief systems and classical mythological texts such as the Enuma Elish, I did have the opportunity to study Japanese mythology and folklore as part of my personal projects. One such project was my essay Shintoism and Folkloric Wartime Propaganda: Momotaro and World War Two.
Dragons of Yumihari #3 – Kagi Dragons
“Kagi” is the term for this species used by the Ishoki people, those who lived in Seiryuu before the warlocks came and claimed the land as theirs. Colloquially, Kagi dragons are also called Sky Whales for their whale-like shape that differs quite a bit from traditional dragons but marks their capacity for flight, unlike true whales. This species is all but unknown to the Seiryan people as they dwell in areas where spirit energies are extremely powerful, which tends not to be in Yumihari at all. The Channel of Stars and other places in the cosmic sea—the Nightmare—are such examples.
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