Sarah WaterRaven's Blog: Raven's Hollow

This month I am SUPER excited to announce the first ever anthology published by Raven’s Hollow Art & Publishing! This April 21st Happily Ever After will be published and available in ebook and print! The ebook will be available on all major platforms and the paperback will be available to order online from Amazon and other paperback retailers, including Barnes & Noble and Walmart!

In the past, my books were only available on Amazon, however, I am trying out Draft2Digital for this anthology to see if I like them, and to make my paperbacks more widely available. If things go well, I might publish Docherty and The Necromancer series through them as well ^_^ 

Anyway! Below I have a snippet from my short story, Revenge Served Sweet from Happily Ever After. The anthology is a collection of high fantasy short stories about the quest for happiness. Whether it’s a young spellcaster looking to get into a magic academy or a goblin wanting revenge on the human who took his leg, Happily Ever after is a unique collection of fantasy short stories that I hope everyone can enjoy ^_^

I will be back in touch on the release date, so expect to hear from me one more time this month Pre-orders are available and linked through the button below ^_^

By Sarah WaterRaven

Devion leaned against the bartop and stared into his mead as the tavern owner continued his story. The owner’s voice was pleasant and easy to listen to, the kind of speech that was well practiced and accustomed to strangers. “The tavern has no name, ya sees. It’s been burned down more times than I can remember, been swallowed up by an earthquake, trampled by a giant, and last month, she exploded…”

Devion nodded, though the details of the explosion were lost on him. He was a couple of drinks in—maybe more than a couple—and had gotten distracted by a noblewoman who had entered the tavern.

Despite her attempts to hide her face under the hood of her cloak, Devion hadn’t missed how beautiful she was.

He had no doubt she was a noble, given the expensive velvety green of her cloak and the silver embroidery that made up the trim, but the daggers lining her belt and the strange scaly leather that made up her breeches had him especially curious.

What’s she doing in a place like this? He wondered.

“So, as you can sees, I can’t name the place. Otherwise, it gets destroyed. Me father, bless him, he tried ta name ‘er, but being so close to the Warlord’s castle, not a single beam nor brick is from the original building. There’s been the Angry Boar, The One-Eyed Goat, Two-Beams, on account of there being only two beams from the previous tavern. And the Pickle Barrel Tavern, on account of there being only pickles left to serve after that last explosion… So’s, no point in namin’ her. We just call her Tavern now, ya sees,” the tavern owner finished and then picked food from his teeth.

Devion took another sip of his mead and then waved his hand. “But isn’t Tavern really just another name? It is a tavern, yes, but now it’s The Tavern. No matter how many times it gets knocked down, you gotta call it something, and Tavern is a name, my friend. My thoughts? Why not move the location of the tavern farther away from the Warlord’s castle, instead of rebuilding in the same spot only to have the building destroyed again?”

The bartender stopped wiping the countertop and pursed his lips, giving thought to what Devion had said.

“You’re not wrong…” the bartender replied and then paused before continuing, “but everyone comes here to kill the Warlord and that means business is guaranteed. I’ve never had a slow day. I just can’t always keep the building standin’.”

Devion arched his brow but saved his response. It was true. It was likely half of the people in the bar were hired assassins, warriors with vendettas, or spies from border kingdoms. Everyone wanted the Warlord dead, including Devion.

Speaking of murdering warlords, Devion wondered if the noblewoman he’d spotted was here to do the same thing.

He stepped back and stretched, casually scanning the tavern as he did, and spied her in the back corner. Given she hadn’t been trying to hide her status with less obvious attire, he assumed she’d taken the first open seat and wasn’t trying to avoid anyone in particular.

Devion was probably going to die tomorrow, so he chugged the rest of his mead and then ordered two more and headed over to her.

“Evening, my lady. May I join you?” he asked, relieved he hadn’t slurred his words.

A smirk crossed her lips as she looked up at him. She was stunning to behold. It made it difficult for him to focus—and breathe.

Her silver eyes shimmered like an open chest full of treasure, and her auburn hair cradled her face in long, beautiful locks. Devion yearned to pull the hood of her cloak back so he could admire all of her.

“Tall, dark, and carrying an offering? How could a lady refuse?” Her tone was inviting and playful.

Devion sat down with a thud, spilling a bit of his drink. All of his confidence and charm dripped onto the floor. He hadn’t expected her to say yes.

“I, uh, worked up the courage to come ask you if I could sit with you, but didn’t prepare any material,” he admitted. He moved some of his thick black curls out of his eyeline.

“Hm. Let’s start the way travelers do when they first meet,” she said as she pulled the hood of her cloak down. Devion gripped the table as the bounty of her hair was released in waves of autumn.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered.

She smiled and blushed.

Devion cleared his throat and added, “Forgive me, I—I… My name is Devion. What’s yours?”

She eyed the second tankard he’d brought with him and asked, “Is this for me?”

“Oh, yes. Yes, of course. I mean, it was either that, or I drank two because you turned me down.”

She laughed, pulled the mead toward her, and took a sip. Smiling, she said, “Well met, sir Devion. This is delicious.”

Devion wouldn’t have called it the best mead he’d ever had, but perhaps it was her first time trying it.

She sipped her drink again and then said, “I am called Leoness. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Devion.”

As the night went on and drinks were poured, conversation got easier—a little too easy. In fact, despite his intentions to enjoy what was likely his last night on earth, Devion admitted to Leoness that he’d come on a mission of vengeance. He’d come to kill the Warlord.

She sat quietly, absorbing his confession, before she spoke again. “It is no secret that many in this tavern have been tasked with such a mission, but why you, Devion? You don’t seem like the type of man who takes orders nor do you seem like someone who lives the lonely and secretive life of an assassin—and if you were an assassin, forgive me, but telling a stranger about your mission isn’t the smartest of moves.” She giggled, her cheeks coloring.

Devion’s eyes fell. “He killed my family—and not just my mother and father. My brother, Derek, and my wee baby sister, Lara. Also my cousins, my aunt and her son, and my grandmother. He wiped us all out.”

Leoness reached across the table and put her hand over his. She searched his eyes. They shimmered again like treasure in sunlight. “Not all.”

“All,” Devion assured her. He pulled away and shook his head. “I am a ghost.”

Leoness sat back and held her mug thoughtfully. “A shame. I would have liked to have known Devion in life. He seemed like a good man.”

He looked away from her and out at the night through the brand new window. “It would have been nice. Alas, tomorrow, I intend to make sure no one else has to suffer as I have at the Warlord’s hand.”

***

Despite his hangover, Devion was up early, finishing breakfast. 

He’d left The Tavern late in the night and stumbled to his campsite in the woods, where he had been camped out in the same spot for a week and had set up traps and alarms to ensure no one could sneak up on him and slit his throat while he slept. Getting to his bedroll safely last night had been quite the task indeed.

Since his arrival, he’d been shadowing a band of warriors—and if Devion weren’t mistaken, an assassin from the tavern as well. One night, he swore he’d glimpsed a black tattoo peeking out above a man’s collar that resembled a serpent’s tail. The black vipers of the Sirian Assassins Guild were feared across the continent, and the mark of their guild was unmistakable. If an assassin had come from Siria, it meant the Warlord’s army had finally crossed the river and begun enslaving the border cities of Siria.

The warriors below his campsite were another thing entirely. They were loud and obvious. Devion marveled at how their campsite hadn’t been raided by the Warlord’s patrols already, but that was the way of the Fridrik tribes. They were never sober and charged fearlessly and head-on into battles. Thankfully, his camp overlooked theirs and tonight, when they hopefully made their assault, he’d ride their coattails to victory.

For now, he thought it best to spend the morning warming up and scouting the forest for any potential threats.

A warm bed with a beautiful woman would have been his ideal last night on earth, but staying at the tavern would have made him an easy target.

Devion had been stupid to get drunk and spill his guts to Leoness. She was a noblewoman, and for all he knew, she could have been the Warlord’s daughter. He’d spent his youth training for this day, and he may or may not die because of drunken over sharing. Still, he couldn’t deny those brief moments of happiness he felt being with someone who would have been special to him in another life.

He swallowed his last bit of breakfast before fastening his sword scabbard to his waist. Securing his buckler to his arm, Devion pulled his hood over his head, then gripped his crossbow and slung it over his back.

Whatever happened tonight, he had no regrets.

To continue Devion’s adventure, you can purchase the anthology on April 21st in ebook or paperback or pre-order the ebook below!

Toodles!

WaterRaven

Happy Belated Chanukah and Merry Belated Winter Solstice to those who celebrate! Merry Belated Christmas and Happy New Year! I wish happiness to everyone this season and many blessings on whichever holiday you celebrate.

For my family, we celebrate Chanukah and Yule/the Winter Solstice. Similar to how I grew up, our family is a mixed home.

It’s been a really busy year. At the start of 2022, my first ever audiobook was released. I went in totally green and bumbled it a bit, but the narrator did an incredible job and the book came out amazing. The Demon’s Tears audiobook has received great reviews and I am looking forward to working on the second audiobook in 2023–finances permitting! I’d really love to work with Rob Brinkmann again on the second audiobook, so here’s hoping he’s available in 2023 to bring the Detective and team back to life!

After the audiobook was published, I opted-in to publishing an anthology of stories with my online writing group. The anthology is a collection of fantasy stories with happy endings. We titled it Happily Ever After. After the events of the last couple of years, my writing group and I just wanted to bring some happiness into the world. I was very excited about the idea and got working on it right away. However, the project was a lot more work and way bigger than I had anticipated, and ended up taking over the majority of my year.

I started the year out with big plans, BIG, but they trickled to the wayside as the anthology consumed all of my time. From chasing writers down to finish and submit their stories, to herding them to Google Docs to finish their edits, and then going back into the stories to continue editing, wanting to push them to be their best with my co-editor Kit Daven. The authors were great sports about me hounding them in dms, e-mails, and calls. Honestly, I probably triggered a lot of social anxiety–my bad guys! It was a lot of work, beyond anything I had anticipated, but we did it. We all did it.

There were some tears every time I thought of my own books and projects waiting for me, especially when I realized the year was almost over, but working with the authors and my co-editor, Kit, and bringing this unique collection of stories to life, I knew I would be beaming with pride once I held a copy of our book in my hands. It’s been an incredible experience and I can’t wait for our stories to get out there and inspire readers.

Speaking of things shaping me into a better writer–I started reading again. For the first time in years, I burned through a book series, then another, and then another, and this was all thanks to TikTok–I know, I feel crazy just typing that. Before I joined the app, I probably said I hated Tiktok and would never make an account at least twice a day. However, after I got into a social media slump, my friend and co-author from the Happily Ever After anthology, Ryan Toxopeus, had a long talk with me about Tiktok and why I should join.

@sarahwaterraven

My first couple of months on Tiktok. Thank you so much to everyone who’s followed me, commented, liked, and welcomed me into this community! #authorsoftiktok #authortok #authortoker #booktok #booktoker #writingabook #bookcommunity #author #authorsoftiktok #authorsontiktok #authorsofbooktok #booksandart #artist #fantasyart #fantasyauthors #2022 #goodbye2022 #goodbye2022 #fyp #fypage #fypシ

♬ goodbye 2022 – jovynn

After much internal debate, I decided to check the platform out. I quickly got away from the FYP (For You Page) when I opened the app (not caring for the chaotic content it suggested at first) and immediately searched for #booktok and #authortok…and I fell in love. Once the algorithm adjusted to my interests, I saw this whole new world of book lovers and writers, sharing, connecting, and creating content that made me laugh and filled me with the desire to read again.

I have admittedly become addicted and discovered a whole new way of creative expression. I do some of the trending sounds and memes, but what I love is making silent vlogs. Vlogs that showcase short clips of what I am working on, be that writing, drawing, or editing etc. and snippets of my day, like making coffee or snow falling in my garden ^_^ I either go hard on memes or go creative and inspirational with silent vlogs. I don’t seem to have an in-between lol, but either way, I am really enjoying creating and connecting through videos, something I never thought I would say.

So, overall a busy year, with lots of learning and some bumps along the way, but a new year is just around the corner. I’m looking forward to my next blog post, discussing what’s coming up in 2023 for Raven’s Hollow, there are a lot of exciting things I’m looking forward to announcing, and I will definitely be finishing Soul Prison and doing everything in my power to get that baby published. I know some of you are ready and waiting for it. I apologize for the delay.

What about your 2022? Did you work on anything? Read any good books? Hop onto a new social media platform or dust off an old profile? I’d love to hear about

Till next post–

WaterRaven

Hello and welcome to my belated Preptober 2022 blog post!

Preptober is a relatively new event where writers the world over prepare for a national (and international) event called Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month). Nanowrimo is a month long writing challenge to finish a book in one month. Preptober is all about preparing for that challenge. Whether you need to outline your story idea or cook ahead, preptober is here to get the ball rolling for Nano success!

It’s belated, but in honor of the prep, I created digital and printable calendars. Additionally, I created a list of tasks you can write down on your calendars and complete, either for yourself or to share on social media as you go ^_^

Feel free to save both the printable and digital calendars below. My list of preptober tasks can be printed and found below as well.

Wishing you all the best this upcoming NanoWrimo!

-WaterRaven

It’s here! The Detective Docherty and the Demon’s Tears Audiobook is officially out in the world!

If you’re ready to experience the world of Detective Docherty in a whole new way, here’s a link with store options, including Audible, Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, and more:

Below is the retail sample, which I added a little candlelit razzle-dazzle to, and I hope you enjoy! It’s not long, but it’s a great pick for the sample. Rob Brinkmann, the narrator, picked it and honestly, I think it’s the perfect spot. It not only shows his diversity as a narrator and how he brings each character to life, but it also gives a little peek into the magic of the Dochertyverse without giving anything away

It may come as a surprise for some to learn that I was raised Jewish. That I went to Hebrew school on Sundays and not Church. It may also be surprising to learn that while my home was mixed, I did in fact have a Bat Mitzvah and lit the menorah each Chanukah.

My mother’s family is British (with Scottish in the background that I cherish) and my father’s family is Jewish. I grew up calling the hats we wore to synagogue yarmulkes (the Yiddish name), and eating a lot of bagels and latkes. I love potato knish and charoset, and I grew up with a mezuzah at our door. We celebrated Passover and to this day, I sing to my son in Hebrew.

My mother had Jewish ancestry on her side and I was converted into the Jewish faith when she and my father came together. In Orthodox Jewish faiths, Judaism is carried through the female line, however, we are Reform Jews and I grew up within the faith and had a Bat Mitzvah.

My experience growing up in a mixed home was wonderful. You have both sides of your family and both sides of you. I do my best to embrace both my Judaism and my British ancestry. I myself do not practice the Christian faith, but identify with the more tribal and spiritual path of the British tribes before Roman colonization.

It’s a complicated backstory, but I think my readers will piece together a lot of connections to my current book series. I know that mixed homes and the children raised in them can be complicated, but it can also be beautiful. I know it’s not always the case for everyone, but in my own life, it brought different people together instead of dividing them. I saw how people can love and be connected, regardless of race and background and the darker parts of human history. My mixed home formed a love for everyone, regardless of race and religion, and a longing for everyone to come together, as our family had done.

I am proud and love both sides of myself and my family.

I was two or three episodes in on the new Disney Plus series, Moon Knight, before a Facebook post informed me that Marc and Steven were Jewish. Now, going onto Youtube, I found a couple of content creators that had combed through the episodes for “Easter eggs,” and revealed a quick flash of Marc and Steven’s Star of David in Episode 2, and a quick glimpse of a mezuzah, but I, the average watcher, hadn’t caught them. Up until that point, I had thought Marc and Steven were either Egyptian or Latin American because Oscar Isaac was born in Guatemala and the show has a heavy focus on Egypt and Egyptian Gods.

At this time, I was excited when I realized Marc and Steven (and another personality that will be coming to light) were Jewish superheroes. A Jewish Superhero. My heart expanded. I was so excited, up until I saw episode five.

In episode five, Marc and Steven’s Jewish background is fully revealed when Steven learns that they had had a younger brother and that their mother had recently died. We see their family observing Shiva (seven days of mourning), for both of them. Later, Marc and Steven are wearing a yarmulke, or kippah, and refuse to go inside, because as we’ve discovered in this episode, their mother blamed Marc for his brother’s death and beat him, causing the development of his disassociative identity disorder.

So, a quick flash of a Star of David and a mezuzah, if you’re looking for them, and a couple of minutes of Shiva and yarmulkes. Okay, it is a superhero story and it is the first season, and I can see why some in the Jewish community are happy to see representation, as I would have been, if a single Jewish actor had been cast to play the main Jewish roles–and if the storyline had followed a little closer to the source material. Not completely, but a little closer.

The actress who plays Marc and Steven’s mom is Brazilian and I cannot find anything online that suggests she’s Jewish. Marc and his younger brother, Randal, were played, I believe, by two Latin American boys, and their father, I am not sure what his nationality or faith is because I can’t find it. And, as many of you know. Oscar Isaac is not Jewish.

Please, understand that I am all for representation, and I fully believe that more Latin Americans (and many other ethnicities and faiths) need to be represented, and as I’ve stated above, I come from a mixed home and support representing that as well. However, not a single actor was Jewish? That we know of? And if there is one, why only one?

Oscar Isaac has done an incredible job and I am not upset at all that he was cast to play this role. I support it and I hope he continues to be our Moon Knight, but why aren’t there Jewish actors in the other roles? Why aren’t there Jewish people playing Jewish characters?

Michael Fassbender who played Magneto and Ian McKellen who played Magneto before him, were not Jewish. The Jewish superheroes (and sometimes villains) are not being played by Jewish people.

Stan Lee was raised in a Jewish home. Wanda and Pietro in the comics are Magneto’s children and that identity was removed in the MCU, likely because the MCU did not own the X-Men at the time, but they could still have been Jewish. Their Judaism was erased.

Why are we being erased?

In the Moon Knight comics, his DID is caused by a series of anti-Semitic murders, but in the show, it is caused by the loss of his brother and because his Jewish mother beats him. DID is created, very sadly, through significant childhood trauma, and here was a moment for the series to show that anti-Semitism still exists, and they instead replaced it with an abusive Jewish mother.

Marc and Steven’s father was a rabbi in the comics. Is he in the show? I don’t know.

I am a small voice with a small platform, and I am not perfect, but I had to say something. I asked the director of Moon Knight, Mohamed Diab, on Twitter if any of the actors playing Marc and Steven’s family were Jewish, but he hasn’t gotten back to me. I suspect it’s algorithm related and that he gets thousands of tweets a day, but I tried, anyway. I’d like to know if any Jewish people played main character roles in a series about a Jewish superhero.

I’d like to know where the Jewish actors are and why they aren’t being cast in Jewish roles. I’d like to know why they chose not to educate on anti-Semitism and created an abusive Jewish woman instead.

My heart is truly torn. Oscar Isaac has out done himself and displayed incredible skill and talent and raised the bar for superhero roles. It is great to see DID cast in a light that does not villainize it and seeing Egypt and the Egyptian gods is magical. Layla is Marc’s wife, a Muslim American woman and a Jewish man are married. It is beautiful, but where are the Jewish actors? Why is Judaism being erased, barely seen, or villainized?

I’m not asking for Moon Knight to end, but I am asking for the show runners of Moon Knight to do better. To be inclusive of the people and faith they advertised were the show’s focus with a Jewish superhero and to celebrate them and not portray our women as abusers and have our faith be a shadow in Marc and Steven’s traumatic past.

Marvel advertised a Jewish superhero. Where are the Jewish people?

-WaterRaven

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I’ve watched this trailer 20+ times since finishing the first season and re-watched the show twice. When I need to remember the magic and tragedy that is Carnival Row, but I don’t have time to dedicate to an entire episode, I dip my toes back in with this trailer; which is an excellent summary of the first season.

There is still so, so much to unravel in this series and I look forward to season two. While it may appear to only be a steampunk mystery, I assure you, there is a lot more at work behind the curtain of Carnival Row.

For those of you who fell in love with the medieval politics of Game of Thrones, Carnival Row has the plotting, scheming, and back-stabbing fantasy intrigue you’ve been missing since the finale of GOT.

When I had first seen the teaser trailer for Carnival Row, I immediately panicked, thinking that someone had somehow written and created the Detective Docherty universe and made it into a streaming series before me, and while there is a strong likeness, as I watched each episode of Carnival Row, I felt a deep, inspiring awe and kinship to the show’s creator, instead of competitiveness. I understand now that our two worlds are different but could easily compliment one another.

The title Carnival Row immediately invokes thoughts of circus tents, elephants, and terrifying clowns (they terrify me, they really do), but the show is set in a richly developed world that took fourteen years to bring to life and has nothing to do with the circus (insert sigh of relief here).

(Pacific Rim) wrote a ten page script seventeen years ago when he was in film school in North Carolina. Inspired by tales from Celtic mythology and stories of Jack the Ripper, Beacham created a short film called A Murder in Carnival Row, which would eventually be picked up by Amazon Prime as a series, allowing the world and characters to blossom into a garden of life.

Beacham would become the executive producer and (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) would expand the script into the series we see today.

In the opening credits, we are greeted by eerie cryptozoological displays of fantastic creatures in a museum, until we eventually zoom out to see a city, reminiscent of 19th century London.

It is a true steampunk setting, complete with horse drawn carriages, tea, and dirigible airships, but with centaurs, kobolds, pixies (pix), fauns (pucks), and trolls (trows) littering the streets of a ghetto called Carnival Row; separated from the wealthy human society of the Burgue by a single river.

The first season is a tragedy and a triumph and I hope that fans of fantasy, steampunk, and urban fantasy will give this series a try. I highly recommend it and cannot wait for the second season.

Carnival Row is available to stream on Amazon Prime. If you don’t have an account with Amazon Prime, I highly recommend one. Not only do I get free shipping on Amazon purchases, but I get to binge amazing shows like Carnival Row, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and The Boys (super dark humor and not for everyone). I think it’s pretty awesome that I am getting a streaming service and free shipping, but if you’re looking to just check the show out, you can sign up for a Free Trial with Amazon Prime and then cancel before the month is up Plenty of time to binge the first season and a couple of other shows before you need to cancel

If you already have Amazon Prime, I sincerely hope you give this show a try! If you have seen it already, I’d love to hear what you think about Carnival Row in the comments

Toodles,
-WaterRaven

Happy belated New Year! I am READY for spring!!!!1111one Get me out of this house already! 

It’s definitely been cabin fever over here. A couple of nice sunny days and I’ve pulled my seeds out for gardening and started the annual spring cleaning (PURGE), where I load up the Facebook marketplace and trading groups with free ads to get things the heck out of my house. How about you guys? Anyone else do spring cleaning or have spring traditions that you do? 

Aside from cabin fever, I’ve also got a lot of exciting projects lined up this year and I can’t wait to share more about them over the upcoming months.

Up first, I’d like to announce the Detective Docherty and the Demon’s Tears audiobook!

I had always wanted to do an audiobook and when daydreaming about it, I often imagined myself narrating it, but narrating the novel myself could very well turn into a year’s worth of work, putting a halt on progress for the next novels in the Detective Docherty and The Necromancer series, so I decided to cruise narrators on Find Away Voices to see if I could find a voice for my story.

After sampling a couple of narrators, I found him, the perfect voice for Detective Docherty. With chapters alternating between Ares and Alexandria’s perspectives and the large range of characters and their accents, I needed someone with a great range, and I think that’s Rob Brinkmann.

Rob is a fantasy lover and has a great sense of humor. I was sold on a narration sample he’d prepared with multiple pirate characters, but this upcoming clip on Instagram is what really sold me. I felt in that moment that Rob completely understood my sense of humor and the lighter notes of Docherty, which meant everything to me.

I’ve never embedded an instagram post in my blog before, so I’m not sure if it will require you to have an account to view it. For those of you who do not have instagram accounts, Rob has a TikTok profile that does not require a login. You can view his profile HERE and watch some of his great videos! Otherwise, here’s the clip that showed me I’d stumbled upon a kindred spirit:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rob Brinkmann (@readbyrob)

I hope you get as much of a kick out of that as I do! Additionally, as an extra treat at the end of this post, Rob did a short on getting tongue tied while recording The Demon’s Tears, and I just love it! The sentence he was trying to say was, “Ares fetched the Detective’s” —trunk, I’m assuming .

So, that’s Rob I have listened to a sample recording of the prologue and first chapter and now it’s a waiting game. I am really looking forward to hearing my first polished chapter. If I am able to share a sample with you, I will make sure to do so before the audiobook’s release date!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rob Brinkmann (@readbyrob)

I hope you enjoyed this post and I will be back soon with more upcoming projects!

–WaterRaven

P.S. I died when I realized the music playing in the Docherty clip was from Super Mario XD

I’m an avid comic reader as well as a book lover, and I’ve been reading this really refreshing webcomic called When Jasy Whistles. It takes place in a small village in Paraguay, where a young chieftain is trying her best to bring her people back to their village. When she was young, it was full of life, but as she comes into adulthood, everyone has moved to the city and left her behind.

When a friend comes to visit, he mysteriously disappears and she finds herself on a journey through the land of the gods to find him.

I find this story refreshing because I am meeting creatures and gods outside of the ones many of us have come to know in current urban fantasy. There are also many breathtaking scenes.

There does appear to be a romance plot going on, so for those of you who aren’t a fan of romance, this may not be for you, however, there is a lot of action and even mild gore as many of these gods and demigods are violent and even eat humans. So, if you like romance but aren’t a fan of some blood, this may not be the read for you. It’s also not finished yet, so the jury is still out on whether we’ll get a happy ending or not.

So, if you’re looking for something to read that has an original storyline, a strong female protagonist, and a new world to experience, I highly recommend checking out this webcomic.

When Jasy Whistles on Webtoon

-WaterRaven

Happy New Year ^_^

Where to start?

I have all of these blogging ideas and a backlog of started drafts for my blog, but between working on improving my art style, looking after my wee fairy child, and writing a novella, I haven’t had much time for blog posts.

However, I am here to report that I am well and that I have been busy.

As I mentioned in a previous post, The Future of Raven’s Hollow and My Book Series, I would like to incorporate more of my artwork into my novels. With this in mind, I have been doing a LOT of practice, as well as taking online art courses through Schoolism. I haven’t had a chance to get too deep into my lessons yet, but I have completed one course so far that was a refresher on the basics. Things like color theory, line art, perspective, and values.

My first course was thorough and enjoyable and I’m glad I did it, but I realized I need to mix working in my comfort zone with learning new things to stay motivated. Too much art theory and technical practice and I stop enjoying drawing.

So while I have been working on things like conveying meaning through line art and shapes, I’ve also taken time to practice drawing humans and enjoying my go-tos for drawing, like dragons and unicorns

There are so many things I want to draw, like little comics, my characters, and illustrations, even fun stuff like fan art, and they are all on my to-do list, but I’m moving at a snail’s pace instead of racing through everything like I want to. It’s hard choosing what to draw with my limited time and I’m just so excited for everything.

So, expect more artwork on my social media, in some of my blog posts, and eventually in my novels! I wish I had time to write more, but I’ll check back in soon ^_^

Till my next post!

-WaterRaven