Category Archives: home page

Aug18

Back to Work Day!

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“Smile Honey!”

“Don’t wanna!”

“Ah, c’mon! It’s the first day of school!”

“I don’t want to! Everyone hates me.”

“It’s your job. You’re an internet writer and artist. And now that the kids are going to school today you have to update the blog.”

“I can’t. I’m sick. I have to stay home”

“You work from home.”

“Damn it.”

I don't want to smile.

I don’t want to smile. Smiling sucks.

 

I actually had it pretty good this summer. I spent oodles of time with my kids coming up with stories and adventures and projects, and introducing them to my MMORPGS. But I didn’t get much work done. That’s how it goes, and frankly I’m not sorry I had a blast with my kids. But it’s time to dust off the parts of the keyboard that aren’t: QWEASD and get my working pants on.

So, here’s some stuff I’m working on now:

Book 4 of the Linus Saga: Working Title “Inquire Within” It’s a more serious missal where we get to meet all of his brothers and sisters and see how they interact.

Linus Saga Prequel: I’m working on a novel where we see a young asshole-ish Linus meet Deirdre for the first time and what eventually culminates in their marriage. Should be fun.

Madame Bluestocking’s Pennyhorrid 2: Working Title: “The Lost Mines of Nadoras” in which Kelly and Lynald become claim jumpers hoping to strike magic in an abandoned zynythstite mine.

I’m also working on some commissions that I might reveal in the fullness of time, if the clients should allow it, and I’ll be bringing back Character Spotlight Wednesday this week starting with Quince.

Pass the Coffee. It’s going to be a long 9 months. Goodbye, Lord of the Rings Online. It’s been fun.

 

 

 

 

Apr10

Spoon Full of Sugar 2 (update)

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This is HabitRPG and it will change your freaking life.

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This image is from HabitRPG and does not belong to me.

Okay, so I’ve been doing Habit RPG for about 3 weeks now vis. my last post on it. And I’ve been doing so well that I thought it was worth an update. I LOVE THIS SITE. Can I say that enough I LOVE THIS FREAKING SITE.

Usually my daily routine involves me sitting down at 8am, fully intending to be productive…which fizzles out by about 9:30am. The following six hours will usually be me staring into space and going “what am I forgetting?” I’ll usually remember one or two things on my have-tos, but I’m pretty much in a fog all day because all the have-tos flutter around in my brain like moths, confusing me with their vast numbers, and I’m trying to drum up the motivation to even care.

Occasionally I’ll try a hand-written list, but those get lost, or quickly become obsolete and disorganized. And while I might get through the essentials I’ll forget to take care of myself and the house. That will get lost in the brain fog of trying to remember what I’m supposed to be doing. Dishes will sit in the sink and draw fruit flies, I’ll forget all the light bulbs that need to be changed, all the clothes I promised to fix sit in a pile collecting dust, etc. I’ll also forget to take asthma medicine, or use lotion on my face, or to exercise.

Besides, with all this weighty responsibility there lacks a certain thrill or flare or purpose. I can’t tell myself that I’m doing it for myself. I actually don’t like myself very much, so that’s crap motivation.

BUT now with HabitRPG, I’m a rogue named Trixie Von Klepto a party of four and we’re fighting an evil Santa Claus monster that’s threatening poor polar bears! If I don’t check off all my daily tasks than my party members will die and the polar bear will be doomed to be more white fluffy fringe on the Santa monster’s jacket! I have to save them! I have to help! My martyr complex shall come to the rescue!!

So what’s all this mean now? Nothing more than that I’m now able to do 20 pushups and 60 squats (whereas one used to make me pant and sweat 3 weeks ago). It means that i’m getting my assignments done in a timely fashion. It means I’m building up my internet presence and marketing more efficiently. It means my house is clean and inviting. It means that I’m always medicated and have glowing sun-protected skin; I’m remembering to pray more often and make smarter eating choices. I’m also happier and feeling less like a freelance sponge anchored to the couch and filter-feeding off of boredom.

Hell, my kids noticed that I was using this to keep myself organised and they begged for an account to help them remember their chores and to share games with each other! Now they’re trying to earn 100 gold so I’ll treat them to Sweet Frog FroYo.

My only complaint is that with all this rushing around working, cleaning and exercising, I’m starting to go to bed earlier… like I’m TIRED or some junk! HA!

In case you were wondering, I’m not trying to sell this to you or anything. I haven’t been contracted by the staff and I’m not doing this for money. THIS IS A FREE SITE that only runs off donations. It’s only that when you find something amazing like this you want to share it with everyone! And I do. I want this happy vibe I’m getting high off to go around to all my friends.

So, if you’ve been looking for a way to keep yourself on track (freelancers and crafters, I’m looking at you), or are looking for a new FUN way to add spice to your daily doldrums, I highly recommend this site. Go forth and do! Trixie Von Klepto and I hope to see you in the future!

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Trixie Von Klepto by Monica Marier

Apr7

MMORPGs and Character Exploration

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If I haven’t let my geek flag fly enough lately *snort* let me amend that by confessing that I love my MMORPGs. I’m not a gamer by any stretch of the imagination. I only play a few games, namely Lord of the Rings Online, DC Universe Online, Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter, and Star Wars Old Republic. My first real video game was LOTRO back in ’10. There was something about it that caught and hooked me and it wasn’t just visiting all the people and places in Middle Earth that I’d always dreamed of seeing. I made a few of my characters, Linus and Deirdre chiefly, because they lent themselves well to the fantasy genre and I already liked them.

I wanted to make an Elf character, and someone else was using “Morfindel,” so I made Vilori Reagan. He was only a little tertiary character in my book, nothing special, but then something astonishing happened. As I played with Vilori and made more decisions, I began to learn things about him! I learned his likes, his dislikes, his point of view, his motivations and pursuits and dreams!

That’s what gave rise to the Vilori Reagan as he exists in Runs in Good Condition and not just a crotchety one-liner guy.

It didn’t stop there, either. I got to know Linus and Deirdre better too, as well as some of my upcoming characters. Now if I don’t know what a character’s about, I create a character for them and pay very close attention to how they work. What tasks do they like, what don’t they like. Do they like fights or avoid them? Are they abrupt or surreptitious? Do they help people for money or because they feel altruistic? What hobbies do they have? These are all things most writers like to explore to make a fleshed out character.

And maybe, if you’re lucky, some really hilarious incidents will make it into a book, (Like the fact that in Halfling Towns, all of the lamp posts hang their lights at just the right height to conk Linus on the head.)

So just thought I’d toss that out there. MMORPGs are a great way to unwind and kill things when the world looks stupid, but it’s also an enjoyable way to get inside your characters’ heads and get your hands dirty.

 

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Picture courtesy of Lord of the Rings Online and belongs to Turbine Entertainment and Warnr Brothers Home Entertainment

So if you see a Character on the Landroval server that has a name like one of my characters, say hi! it might be me. 🙂

Apr3

Getting to Know Morfindel

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(Note: This is a repost after the first page got deleted. Apologies)
Character Wednesday!

I had a request for one on Morfindel Cunlias this week and I’m happy to oblige.

Here’s Morf!

morfindel

Morf comes from both the Linus Saga books and its parallel dimension CRIT! He’s a young Elf, only 20 when we meet him, who still has a lot of growing to do. He tries to do his very best at all times, but usually ends up stymieing himself with his own naivete and impulsive nature.

He started off as a nuisance newbie hanging on Linus but over the series he’s starting to become Linus’ best friend… a bond that’s put to the test a lot when he falls for Linus’ oldest daughter.

SO! Some fun facts.

* To answer most people’s question, his surname, Cunlias, is pronounced “Koon-lees.”

*His mannerisms and personality are based on one of my best friends.

*Morfindel thinks of Linus as a father figure, even if Linus would rather think of him as a younger brother. He tends to gravitate to fatherly figures after being raised in a male mission since he was three. It also explains his avid attraction to women yet his complete inability to comprehend them.

*He has yellow eyes (those exist, I’ve seen them!) which hint at his true roots. More on that in future books.

*I cut Morfindel’s hair off out of spite because I hated drawing it in the comic. Much sooner in the book, and those tresses’ days are numbered in the comic too. I HATE long hair.

*Morf hates raisins. The monastery used raisins to sweeten a lot of dishes for the children and Morf  got thoroughly sick of them early on.

 

That’s all for this week! Let me know who you want for next week.

Mar26

Character Wednesday- Vilori Reagan

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I decided that Wed. posts will focus on the characters of my novels and maybe illuminating them a little more for everyone. So to kick off our first CHARACTER WEDNESDAY here is:

VILORI REAGAN

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We first meet Vilori in Runs In Good Condition. He’s a 200-year-old curmudgeonly Elf on Linus’s campaign staff. He doesn’t like Linus much at first and will continue to call him a “thundering moron.” He was a Ranger back in his younger days and one of the first members of the original Rangers Union. He’s married and has two grownup children that we’ve never met. 

Some things we don’t know:

*Vilori had a very sheltered youth and wasn’t even allowed off the family estate until he was fifty years old.

*He created the first “desk job” for Rangers solely so he could spend his days indoors and so he had an excuse to leave home every day.

*Vilori did most of his early work with a Human man named Harcourt, his best friend. When Harcourt grew old and passed away a lot of Vilori’s love for the job died too.

Vilori’s story will become further entangled in Linus’ as it progresses. Keep reading for more info and I hope you like this new feature.

If you have any further questions about Vilori, please post them in the comments!

Testing… 1…2…3…

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I remember back in ’09 as the date drew nearer to my first release date, Hunt Press said I should a) get on Twitter b) be on Facebook and c) get a website. I had one instant reaction which was, who the heck goes to websites? Well it’s been 4 years since, but yeah, here I am. I needed a website.

I have no clue what I’m going to do with it, or what all’s going to be on it, but I’m going to have one, by Gumby. So pardon my dust while this all gets straightened out and finalized. Should be one heck of a trip.