Art!, Original Characters, The Heartwood Trilogy, Writing Journey, Writing!

Tarot Deck

mary v.

God I’ve been woefully neglecting this blog because of all the work it is marketing for the book. I keep thinking about it, but talking about my creative work is kind of a chore right now, which makes it feel strange doing it for pleasure.

I’m down to the last few weeks before release though. Today I ordered business cards and I’m planning to start doing some trips to local bookstores to drum up interest for the launch party. My dad was ready to do that for me today but I wanted my whole package ready to bring with me haha.

I just finished up and sent out for printing six tarot cards inspired when I was talking to my friend Taylor who owns a crystal salon. I had her put together some crystals for my raffle box for the launch party and then we got talking about doing a reading there. Which made me want to finally after years of toying with the idea, make some tarot cards. This would not have been possible before I discovered the symmetry tool bahaha.

I don’t even think I had written in here that I updated Lucienne’s name on a whim to Chamomile hahaha. It was when someone typoed her name to Lucien and I realized that not only is it generic these days, it doesn’t really have any bearing in the Lilydale world. I said Chamomile as a joke and then it just kind of brainwormed into my head.

Ummm what else. I got some new secondhand trauma from a client yesterday but on the bright side it very circuitously made me realize that Andrew’s mom was accidentally based on Jamie Lee Curtis in the new Halloween movie. Shrugs. Haha.

Ummm what else

I feel really happy that drooling over The King’s Maker has made me so much better at hands which has allowed me to give Andrew the sexiest goddamn hands ever like whaaat, every single fucking time 10/10 gorgeous motherfucking digits

ok well I’m out of steam so goodnight

Art!, Original Characters, The Heartwood Trilogy

The Auburn Knight

mary v.

Apparently my class was inspiring to me. The first three days this week I worked on this on the projector during Super Stories and I honestly love how it turned out. The color palette is so autumnal and soothing. And the fox turned out hella cute. So did Andrew’s billowy shirt. I’m not crazy about his eyes but if I really wanted to I could just redraw them. But I don’t want to. So whatever. I posted this process video as my first Tiktok too.

Art!, MicahxAndrew, Original Characters, The Heartwood Trilogy, Writing Journey, Writing!

Updates & Pride Month

mary v.

Hi blog! I have been very distracted and consumed for the five or so weeks since joining a writer discord server which has propelled me into the writing world in an exciting, but overwhelming way. I’ve gotten three critique partners who are blazing through my work and responding to it in the way I always hoped readers would respond to Andrew and Micah and co.

I also found an absolutely phenomenal typographer who’s been working with me to decorate Deny Me, The Nightshade Boy‘s cover.

Um, also, I don’t know that I’ve announced on DIC that Deny Me is the final name of the book? The trilogy is:

Deny Me, The Nightshade Boy
Relinquish Me, Your Broken Knight
Promise Me, Lord Heartwood

Overall I’ve been happily committed to my self-publishing route, but I’m also looking at indie presses going…if they would pay for printing, is that so bad…?

I’ve really hit my stride with Twitter and I’m happy with my growth trajectory within the writing community. I wanted to write my numbers but it feels lame, even though it seems like for unagented writers that I’m hitting the Sweet Spot for good engagement and a sense of community.

I’ve also been working on lots of promo art and just ordered some acrylic pins and glitter stickers this morning of Micah looking ADORABLE

But I had to neglect Andrew during this round and that makes me sad because he turned out SO SWEET

Anyway these will be fun to display for Super Stories next month.

My discord server was pretty jazzed about Pride Month starting yesterday. I’d already decided I wanted to make Pride-themed stickers for my cast but yesterday I got the itch to just start a full-scale drawing of them and add them with their lil Pride flags. It led to some interesting discussions regarding Micah since he evades any sexuality identification for all of The Heartwood Trilogy. There’s an undefined sexuality flag, and a couple of clients and I thought that there was a flag with question marks, but when deciding Micah’s design re: flags it ended up being the snappiest just to do a queer rainbow flag.

Sam is a favorite among my readers so I was excited to include him in this. Just so weird since he’s the only new character in the cast!

I was also yearning for the beach so I made this painterly one of Andrew and Micah looking super queer, and also because I’m obsessed with bucket hats rn because I drew a pfp for one of my readers (Olive!) and they were wearing one and I fell in love hehe.

And yes, I did draw Micah’s rig too exaggerated the first time and had to shrink it ehehehe.

We’re re-watching New Girl (again) and my first CP Vic loves New Girl too so I ended up turning Andrew into this Nick Miller quote hehe.

I want to release bookmarks as a bonus for preordering so I cooked up this whimsical magical beauty.

So yeah, as you can see, my focus right now is on promotional work for DENY ME, but I’m excited by how good a lot of the stuff looks.

Myoku Needs a Tag

looking extra gay (apparently)

mary v.

I had to incorporate the main All Time Low lyrics that have been keeping me sane in some very tumultuous times and wanted another solo Micah to offset the surplus of Andrew/Micah fanart I’ve made this last year ha.

I was thinking a lot about this drawing I made in like my junior or senior year of high school when I think I was coming out of my Goth Kid phase. The V certainly hasn’t changed at all and like ? how did I not know that he and I were queer? So confusing. Anyway that’s all I’ve got.

I’ve been working on a revamp of My Mental Breakdown but I’m using a website builder that’s really complicated and tedious and making the menus SUCK so I’m not there yet.

Art!, MicahxAndrew, Original Characters, The Heartwood Trilogy

better vibes

mary v.

I tried to force it on darker stuff but it didn’t work, so I started a drawing yesterday to practice on fine lineart and ended up putting a line from one of the new Fall Out Boy songs in it BECAUSE OF COURSE

The new All Time Low album comes out in TWO. HOURS. and then the new FOB album comes out next Friday and I. CAN’T. AHHHHH

Like literally how could they do this to me I’m not going to emotionally be able to handle myself O.O

Micah lookin’ real fruity

Mm okay so I ordered a print of that painting I did of Andrew a few weeks ago and didn’t wrap my head around the dimensions and

it turns out I ordered a POSTER SIZED PRINT of him ahhahhaha I love it and it’s really intense

My office has an A-frame ceiling and I posed with him tonight and then found out how creepily he lines up for a bad under-chin selfie with me so, you know. Weird times. Bit surreal. My handsome gay.

Art!, Emotional Breakdowns, Myoku Needs a Tag, Original Characters

serious boys

mary v.

It’s been a rough and emotion few weeks
And it shows haha.

My portraits are…real dark.

This one was from last week because I was hooked on a Chevelle song, tale as old as time am I right.
And I think someone I followed on Instagram posted real glowy eyes so I popped em in at the end.

all. this. time. felt slow. we’re alone. underground. where we’ll grow. endlessly.

Here are two Chevelle drawings from the mid to early 2000s. I know Micah in that one is probably 2004, Sotoka’s most likely 2005 or 2006.

Honestly this other one I thought of during a session so I don’t know specifically why it came to me buuut. It wasn’t even going to be Andrew at first, but it didn’t seem like Micah’s vibe so I switched them haha.

It’s called

Murder on My Mind

Yahahaha it made me think of this one. Which is definitely from 2003.