People who garden might be able to guess which plant inspired this seemingly monstrous image of the marigo bush. More on that below.
It’s hard to be patient:
It’s now past the 60 days/2 months mark, and I’m still waiting for my International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs). Yes, this has had a significant impact on my release schedule for my new series, The Root of Infinity. Assuming I get the number in the next few weeks, this forces me to delay the release of book two, The Boundless, as I would only be placing the printed copies of book one, Conjunction Born, on the market this month.
I have been keeping busy. Book three, Pillars of Time, manuscript will be sent to my editor this fall, with a planned release date of March 2027. Don’t worry, I ordered enough ISBNs to cover the release of books three and four (book four, tentatively entitled World Jumpers, which will most likely be the finale of this series). Plus, I’ve been finding inspiration in nature. Below is another sketch I made depicting a scene from my novels.
How I draw:
I always envied those artists who could draw images out of thin air. For me, I need to see an image to draw inspiration from. My sketches are composites of different objects I find interesting, photos I’ve taken, and even images of objects, mostly plants, found in my garden.
This sketch will be used for an updated cover for book two. It’s a combination of images of ancient staircases, different photos of gnarled trees, and a YouTube tutorial on how to draw leaves
The kind of crest (which we find out in book two, The Boundless, why it’s there) was inspired by a knot on the tulip tree in my garden. (By the way, it’s called a tulip tree because the flowers on the tree look like tulip flowers.)
Now this image was something I just finished this past weekend. This sketch of the marigo bush (A fictional bush whose poisoned-tipped thorns will produce a painful rash and temporarily block the ability of Cheids to perform magic) was a joy to draw. Have you guessed what common garden plant this is?
Here are two images from the photos I took and used to inspire the sketch. It’s a plant that actually appears this way (with its red tip) in the spring. (Hint: It grows on the side of houses and buildings).
If you guessed Boston ivy, you’ve got it!
Okay, back to writing book three, Pillars of Time. Look out for the release of book two, The Boundless, on September 20, 2026.
And hopefully the print editions of Conjunction Born… any day now?
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