Nov12

Hell is in the Details

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It’s NaNoWriMo time!

It’s been almost 2 weeks now since I started on this year’s NaNoWriMo. I’m busy working on a prequel to the Linus Saga, in which we get to meet young(er) Linus as he meets Deirdre for the first time. I’ve been doing NaNoWriMo’s since ’08 and it’s consistently how I get most of my writing work done.

But I get distracted, hell everyone does, but my worst foible is research. I LOVE research. I’m an absolute Hermione when it comes to getting all the facts and trying to magick up my own rules for my world. It’s led me down a few rabbit holes like the article hole, the Wikipedia hole, and the ever dreaded Elven Dictionary hole (although that one’s probably just me.)

Case in point, today I have spent an hour trying to research poop. That’s right. POOP.

I need to know how Dragons poop. Do they have pellets like raptors? Do they grind things up with gastroliths or maybe their bodies make their own calculi? Do their bodies do something incredible with the parts they can’t digest like fossilize them or do they incinerate the their waste in their own furnaces? How does that work?

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This doesn’t exist apparently.

Will all of this make my book all that better? Who can say? Who all out there is interested in how Dragons poop? If only one person is nodding right now, then congratulations. You’re the reason I’m looking up bezoars and mineralization. I’m doing this for you.

Okay, I got to get back to it now. I’m about 200 words away from hitting 20,000. Good luck to everyone else out there doing this! And good luck staying out of the rabbit holes!

~Monica

Nov4

Candy! Lollipops! Flu shots!

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WARNING: MOM STUFF

Today was a pretty funny kind of day, so I thought it deserved a post with my own interpretation. Today there was no school because it’s voting day, so I decided to bite the bullet and take the kids to the minute-clinic to get flu-shots done. Now, those of you with kids know that this is not something you plan out loud. If you tell your kids in advance that they’re getting shots they tend to spend every hour and sleepless night up to then. This requires you to be more (ahem) covert about your intentions.

So this morning came the announcement,

HEY KIDS! Get in the van! Mom’s gonna go vote, we’re going to run an errand *cough*, and then we’re getting self-serve frozen yogurt!

Which means I kind of feel like this.

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Candy! Lollipops! Ice cream! All for free, kiddies! (Image property of Warner Bros.)

So we pile into the van and on the way to the clinic, I drop the bomb. Guess what, guys? You’re going to have to EARN it. Panic ensues, but it’s too late. We’re already down the road. Thank God for child locks.

NOPE. (property of Warner Brothers)

Now, I do know that the flu vaccine comes in a nasal spray, but I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, so I kept mum on it. When I got to the pharmacy I did ask about the nose spray. The lady behind the counter said, “Yes, but we only have ONE.”

I entertain the notion of letting one kid have a nose spray and the other a needle for a split second. It played out pretty much like the ending of The Good Son.

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Yeah, never mind. (property of 20th Century Fox)

“No, We’ll all take the needle, thanks.”

So a few pinches and a few tears later, we’re out and eating frozen yogurt while showing off our battle scars.

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Mission complete! You have earned XP 2,000 and gained item [pumpkin pie froyo] and earned title “the Child Deceiver.”

I can’t say the kids feel like I was entirely fair to them, but that’s life. It’s a motto I keep repeating to them, courtesy of one of our favorite movies, Labyrinth. That one moment when Hoggle wails Sarah’s frequent lament, “IT’S NOT FAIR!” And she counters…

…BUT THAT’S THE WAY IT IS. (Property of Tri-Star films)

Life isn’t fair, and it’s not going to be. But that being said, just because things are unpleasant doesn’t mean that it’s not for a good reason. And like The Doctor says:

Well said, sir. (property of BBC)

Now to repeat this whole thing NEXT YEAR.

Goody Gumdrops (I don’t know the source for this one)

Nov1

Inktober Finale

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As hard as it was to keep up with this challenge, I’m a little sorry to see Inktober go. It’s made me hone my skills, challenge my abilities, discipline myself, and put my neck out a little as I delved into what I wanted to do, what I hoped to do, and what I never dreamed of doing.

The latter is my final farewell piece. The rough blocking for this had been penciled on my sketchbook for over a year, and I’ve never had the courage to finish the pencils and ink it. I’m a little nervous about how it came out, but I’m proud of myself for trying. Here it is, Mickey Mouse in… DRACULA

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MICKEY MOUSE in DRACULA by Monica Marier, Fan piece only, not for sale.

This brain child came out a while ago while I was reading Dracula and for some reason Van Helsing (who up to now was always Mel Brooks in my head) kept sounding like Ludwig Von Drake. It wouldn’t stop, either, the whole time my head kept ringing with voice of the adorable duck professor (Don’t cha know).

My thoughts began to spiral out of control as a larger cast of characters began to build in my head in a Rated G version of the classic monster movie: Micky and Minnie as the Harkers, Donald and Daisy as Arthur and the unfortunate Lucy. Then Goofy and Pete cast themselves as Doctor Seward and QUincy Morris respectively. I even finally got around to a Renfield (Mr. Toad). But Dracula refused to be cast. He was just… Dracula… a cartoon version of the dark Bela Lugosi, or else in shadow like some Ghost of Christmas Future. Elegant and otherworldly and utterly not of the friendly world of Mickey Mouse.

So, that concludes this year’s Inktober. I’ll definitely do this again next year! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Good luck to all the nanowrimo people tomorrow as we line up for the starting pistol.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Oct31

Inktober 30

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This 30-day horror movie challenge is starting to get to me. Guess what I’ve been watching lately? (heh)

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Vengeful Ghost by Monica Marier

Tomorrow will be the last day of this Challenge, giving way to NaNoWriMo. And I’ve decided in the vein of inktober, I’m going to try to post my “writing thought of the day,” on the blog. This will be part of the November countdown to the launch of my next book, “No Shoes No Service,” and include tips, observations and a lot of whining, as well as sneak peaks, sketches and teasers for my upcoming book. It’s book 3 in the Linus Saga, so I’ll also be constantly reminding you that the first 2 books, Must Love Dragons, and Runs in Good Condition can be purchased through Hunt Press or on Amazon.

Oct30

Inktober 29

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Nerdasaurus Rex by Monica Marier $20

Here’s today’s inktober. Tonight was Jack-o-lantern night, so I’ve been running around like crazy. It’s a quick sketch of a nerdy T-rex having an asthma attack. The short arm joke has been done to death, but this image popped into my head and made me giggle. Must be my asthma cutting off my air again. (heh) Laters!

Oct29

Inktober 28

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We’re in the home stretch! And right now I’m busy as hell working on Halloween costumes, so much so, that I could think of little else to draw today. This here is Pendleton Ward’s Fionna and Cake from Adventure Time. Which I usually love but right now I hate because needles and patterns. I particularly hate Cake right now, because I’m making a Cake doll with about 13 separate pieces. Also, I realized that she doesn’t look much like a cat because her character design has no whiskers!

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Fionna & Cake by Monica Marier

That’s it for today! Back to the costume! *groan*

Oct28

Inktober Day 27

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A bit of nostalgia for today. Growing up, one of my favorite movies (and one of my brothers’ favorite movies) was The Goonies. It introduced me to my love of pirates, treasure hunts, and adventures (and Cyndi Lauper). So, with no further elaboration, here are the boys.

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Goonies Never Say Die by Monica Marier 2014

I think this came out beyond my expectations. I think it helps that I can recall these guys’ faces almost from memory. I might end up making coloured prints of this. 🙂

Oct27

Inktober Twofer Part 2

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Yesterday I was out all day until well after midnight for RVACON so I couldn’t post my Inktober project. So I’m posting yesterday’s project with today’s. Both are kind of dark, because the venue was kind of dark, sorry.

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John Constantine by Monica Marier

I was inspired by the premiere of “Constantine” on Friday night to draw my version of how John might look. I tried to make him look a bit withered and weathered, like some of the chainsmokers I know. It came out a bit “Helsing” in the end which surprised me. (heh)

Today’s sketch is courtesy of my daughter. She LOVES spooky things and vampires, and zombies, and Halloween, but I think she’s been overdoing it lately as she’s starting to get nightmares, specifically zombie nightmares (boy, is she MY kid or what?). I decided to make her a picture of the friendly zombie from Skeleton Crew, ZOMBOY, to make her feel better. He’s hanging over her bed tonight with her newly adjusted dream catcher. Fingers crossed everyone.

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ZOMBOY (for Sophie), by Monica Marier

Oct24

Inktober 23

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Today I had to combine business with pleasure. The inks for the comics were SO time-consuming this week, along with preparing for my guest appearance at RVACON. And it was mostly because of the research and time dedicated to THIS panel which I’m posting here.

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The Romanies by Monica Marier

This is a shot of the Romany encampment that will be appearing in the upcoming Skeleton Crew page. I looked through dozens of reference photos of real Romany nomads to try and get a very authentic feel to all of these individuals. I can’t wait to see the finished page! Later!