Chrysanthemum Dawn: comic script preview

Here’s what I’ve been working on in between episodes of The Well Below the Valley. (The text is recreated below, for screen readers and/or people who don’t want to squint.)

Right now, I’m still learning how this process is going to work. For a traditionally published comic, the writer would hand a script like this to the lead artist(s), but since I am a team of one, I just need to have enough information that future me can remember what I was thinking. I also haven’t started storyboarding yet, so I’m guessing on layout and panel styles. Pacing in sequential art is a complex process of guiding the reader’s eye around the page, and it’s something I’m going to have to learn by doing.

Thanks for coming along on this journey with me! I hope this little snapshot intrigues you.

Text is recreated below the cut:

Continue reading “Chrysanthemum Dawn: comic script preview” →

The Well Below the Valley, Episode 4: Lost Daughters

A bleak, leafless tree against a sepia-toned sky. Text reads: Space Whales Press presents The Well Below the Valley, an audio drama

Table of Contents

Dramatis Personae
(in order of appearance)

Professor Josef DIETRICH, colleague of the murder victim. Male, mid 40s, German accent. 

Detective Chief Inspector ISKANDAR Meshkia, a man who has held many titles in his life but none more important than “Baba.” Male, late 30s, strong Turkish accent.

Dr. ERNEST Wilde, botanist and puzzle enthusiast. Male, early 30s, Northern English accent.

Eloise “ELLIE” Westmont, a private investigator of many skills. Female, mid 20s, posh English accent.

FREYDÍS Emundrsdóttir, the late professor’s next of kin. Female, late 20s, slight Icelandic accent.

The memory of MUSTAFA Effendi, Iskandar’s childhood friend, now deceased. Male, early 30s, could speak with a Turkish or English accent.

The memory of HALIME, a princess in her father’s eyes, now deceased. Female, about five years old, could speak with a Turkish or English accent.

Mrs. JUDITH Rosenfeld, who was very proud the day she installed a telephone in her building. Female, late 40s, slight Yiddish accent.

EMILIA Niyazova, flapper and velocipedist. Female, early 20s, slight Russian (actually Kazakh) accent.

Constable John TAYLOR, just doing his job. Male, early 20s, London accent.

Constable ANTONY St. John, fencing enthusiast and important alibi. Male, early 30s, London (specifically Estuary) accent.

Chief Superintendent Winston PEMBROKE, Sr., a representative of the system. Male, early 60s, English accent with audible mustache.

Scene 1: Int. Oxford Faculty of History – Day

Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley, Episode 4: Lost Daughters” →

Song of the Week

Quaker City Night Hawks, “Some of Adam’s Blues”

Good morning!

I didn’t have any comic updates last week–so sorry! Friday got away from me. I’ll have something for you this Friday. The script is coming along, but it’s already way longer than I had planned. I was hoping everything I wanted to get to in the first issue would fit in the standard 22-24 pages, but I’ve hit that number in my script already, and I have several more scenes to get through.

I just have to remember that I’m doing this by myself, for the first time, armed only with a drawing tablet, Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics (plus a lot of online resources and some of my favorite comics), and a dream, so it’s a learning process.

On Wednesday, I’ll have the latest episode of The Well Below the Valley up here for free reading. I’m an episode ahead of you right now, and I think we’ll have one or two more to finish this first arc (corresponding to Part One of the Call of Cthulhu module).

This month, I’m going on a Tiny Book Tour! I’ll be stopping at Story Keepers Books in West Allis, WI on Thursday, March 13 (5:30-7), and at Studio Moonfall in Kenosha, WI on Friday, March 28 (4-7). I hope you can come to either or both! At Story Keepers, I’ll be doing a reading and a Q&A session, while the Studio Moonfall event is more casual. In either case, I will be signing books (and you can pick up some copies if you need them) and hanging out to talk about whatever readers want to talk about.

I think that’s all for today. I’ll have more petitions next week. Thanks for reading, and stop by again!

New Patreon Post: The Well Below the Valley, Episode 4

And I the unworthy Brother Bran begged the Northmen to spare us with the promise of greater riches to the north at the hollow island. 

They departed with their plunder, and they will not return.

I fear I have done the unforgivable, and I pray God might have mercy on our humble souls and on the souls of the heathens.

A brand-new episode of THE WELL BELOW THE VALLEY is now available on Patreon! Our intrepid investigators meet the late professor’s next of kin and uncover one of his many secrets, decoding the document he had with him when he died.

Song of the Week

Allison Russell, “Persephone”

Good morning!

I had a lovely time at the Spooky Frog Book Fair! Thanks to everyone who climbed the stairs to see us. I hope you enjoy the books!

The newsletter will go out on Friday, so if you haven’t signed up yet and want to (there are bonus cat pictures in it), you can put your email in the box at this link. Be sure to check your inbox for a confirmation, or it won’t add you to the list. If you signed up at the book fair, I’ll be adding you today; no need to do anything.

On Wednesday, the next episode of The Well Below the Valley will be up on Patreon! We’ll get to know some new characters and solve the puzzle the late professor was carrying around in his briefcase. I’ll be working on Episode 5 this week, as well as the first issue of the comic. I’m hoping to finish the comic script soon and get started on storyboarding, which is a much more interesting thing for you to look at, but I’ll see if I can post a bit of the script on Friday as a fun teaser.

Couple of petitions for this week:

Via Left Click: Stand against the expansion of Guantánamo Bay for immigrant detention

Via Native Organizers Alliance: Stop racist mass deportations

Via Our Revolution: Stop weapons sales to Israel

That’s all I’ve got for today. Take care and have an excellent week.

The Well Below the Valley, Episode 3: Oxford

A bleak, leafless tree against a sepia-toned sky. Text reads: Space Whales Press presents The Well Below the Valley, an audio drama

Table of Contents

Dramatis Personae
(in order of appearance)

KURT Cross, car owner and actor on his current most steady job. Male, early 30s, New York accent.

Eloise “ELLIE” Westmont, the only actual consulting detective in this cast. Female, mid 20s, posh British accent.

Sebastian MILTON, dealer in rare books. Male, mid 50s, London accent.

Detective Chief Inspector ISKANDAR Meshkia, descendant of a long line of Ottoman cavalry officers. Male, late 30s, strong Turkish accent.

Mrs. Mary HOWARD, concerned mother of a missing son. Female, mid 40s, London accent.

Dr. ERNEST Wilde, field medic turned adjunct botanist. Male, early 30s, Northern English accent.

Professor Josef DIETRICH, Oxford professor of history and a friend of the late Professor Ragnarsson. Male, mid 40s, German accent. 

Professor Frederick HALE, Oxford professor of history and lurker in basements. Male, early 50s, posh British accent.

The voice of Professor Emundr RAGNARSSON, speaking from beyond the grave. Male, late 50s, Icelandic accent.

Scene 1: Ext. South Bank market – Day

Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley, Episode 3: Oxford” →

Song of the Week

Jensen McRae, “Dead Girl Walking”

Good morning!

Wisconsin readers: tomorrow is the primary election for State Superintendent of Schools. I’ve been working at a polling place every election for the past few years, and usually for these local races, I spend most of the day reading (and get through 2-3 entire books). I really want to encourage you to get out and vote. These smaller offices have more of an impact on your daily life than positions at the federal level, and a lot of the resistance to illegal executive orders over the past few weeks have come from state-level authorities. If you need help registering or finding your polling place, myvote.wi.gov has everything you need.

I’ll be at the Spooky Frog Horrifying Book Fair this Saturday! This is my first event for the new year. I’ll be joining a delightfully eclectic collection of horror authors and artists from 11-5 at The Factory on Barclay here in Milwaukee. Here’s the Facebook event with more info.

On Wednesday, Episode 3 of The Well Below the Valley will be up here for free reading. I’ll be starting Episode 5 this week, and I hope to have some more updates on the comic as well by Friday.

Petitions for this week:

Via MPower Change: Tell Microsoft to stop partnering with Israel’s genocide

Via The Juggernaut Project: Denounce Trump’s hateful attacks on transgender Americans

Via Campaign for a New Myanmar: Call for a global arms embargo on Burma’s military junta

Via Win Without War: Don’t fund Trump’s Guantánamo Bay immigrant prison

That’s all I’ve got for today. Take care and stay warm!

New Patreon Post/ The Well Below the Valley, Episode 3

Leather seats, a modern suspension, and we’re not being shelled. What more could you ask for?

Our intrepid investigators all pile into a Model T and drive to Oxford University in search of clues in the latest episode of The Well Below the Valley, now available on Patreon. It will also be here next week for free reading, but Patreon subscribers get early access and bonus art. I’m working on getting you some more rewards, too, as I get some of these projects off the ground (comic-themed stickers, maybe?).

I am also happy to report that Episode 4 is done, which means I have a backlog for the first time in years!

Song of the Week

Delgres, “Vivre Sur la Route”

Good morning!

This week, I’m working on Episode 4 of The Well Below the Valley, as well as the script for the first issue of Chrysanthemum Dawn. Episode 3 of The Well will be up on Patreon on Wednesday! It’ll be here for free reading next week.

I am still a ways off from posting any of the comic. After scripting comes storyboards/thumbnails, and then the actual drawing, plus lettering and other formatting worries. I am both blessed and cursed to live in a time where I can do most, if not all, of this myself, rather than relying on a small army of artists. In any case, I’m very excited to be making this idea a real thing, and I hope to have more things to show you soon.

Here are some petitions I’ve gathered for you this week:

Via Amnesty International: Save USAID, save lives

Via Rep. Rashida Tlaib: Permanent ceasefire and self-determination for Palestinians

Via Native Organizers Alliance: Stop mass deportations

Via Civic Shout: Denounce attacks on transgender Americans

That’s what I’ve got for today. Take care and have an excellent week.

New Patreon post: some more concept art

I didn’t have time to scan/render this one, but here’s a pencil sketch of a temple built into the side of a cliff and a giant robot skeleton embedded there. As always, my Patreon is only $3 a month, and you get access to early chapters and bonus art. Plus, you get to support an independent creator and keep her cats happy.

I’m currently scripting the first issue of Chrysanthemum Dawn! It’ s happening! After that comes storyboarding/thumbnails, and then the actual drawing.