When last we visited the recently abandoned crew, Jarvis was doubling down with the colony’s defenses. Every member of the crew takes up the challenge and they’re able to complete the wall and its defenses without major troubles. Despite all the strange creatures that have tried to overrun the settlement, the crew’s determination and passion for survival have kept them alive. However, this strange new world is unwilling to present them with strange new adversaries...

When I pulled the results of the genre poll, my stomach fluttered when I saw a Mystery in the mix for the month. I don’t normally write in this genre, but I’m happy about the opportunity to stretch my abilities. Each time I craft a narrative using an uncomfortable genre, I emerge from the journey a little more formed. So, I dropped behind my computer and started poking at my keyboard...

Fresh off Marcus’s conversation with some of the rural leadership in the remnants of the Western Region, he finished his report and sent it back to Nathaniel. When the leader of this fledgling new colony received Marcus’s missive, he read through the expected words. He cursed the bureaucracy that kept Kethra in power and immediately dispatched an aide to bring Talia in for a meeting...

Another Sunday brings another collection of links to my art on DeviantArt. In this collection there are two pieces that make me smile. The first is the Marble Skull Amulet, and the other is Bone Stones. Both doodles below were a lot of fun to make and added a lot of knowledge to my toolbox. As I laid my stylus down with those images, I’ve fallen into a comfortable workflow...

All my creative outlets are therapeutic. It doesn’t matter if I am drawing something on my tablet or recording the events transpiring on one of the many worlds that exist in my mind. Despite the self-imposed restrictions and deadlines creating additional stress in my life, it doesn’t matter. When I finish each piece, the stress it created melts away, chased off by a beaming smile...

Despite liquified textures making up a bulk of this week’s collection, one of my more interesting doodles, Jade Star Amulet, entered the mix. Thankfully, Infinite Painter has a tool that duplicates the strokes of my stylus. So, I set it to produce five sets of strokes. With each successive layer my amulet took shape, but it was lacking something. I wanted to insert some gemstones into the arms and center-alt of my amulet...

With the completion of Fundraising and Private Friend, I focused every creative muscle towards the completion of my last story for April. While I haven’t written a lot of ghost stories before, my favorite one is Journey of Thanks. It was the second one I wrote, and I lucked into an amazing concept. The story’s protagonist is a ghost, doomed to haunt a city unable to interact with anyone. The only direction given to our protagonist is a note fused to his palm...

I love liquifying textures. Using that technique assists me in creating some wonderful drawings. And during the week of April 18th, a majority of my art showcased that method of creation. For those pieces, after I liquified the black and white textures, I needed to infuse it with color. But instead of painting the swirled textures by hand, I used a Gradient Map. Thankfully, most digital art applications have some built-in gradients for use with that tool. However, since I’m eager to build my artistic muscles, I prefer making my own. Fortunately, creating those collections of colors and their interactions is as amazing as it is simple...

Despite publishing Fundraising, my back is still against the wall and I’m staring down the barrel of my deadlines for April. Thankfully, I’ve had some experience with tight deadlines and each time it’s fed my creativity. As I shifted my focus to my Fairy Tale, the looming deadline wasn’t any exception. Within the first few moments, the core concept of this story crystalized. This tale is going to focus on a young boy named Luis and his unique ability to see fairies and their kin...

This might make me sound like a broken record, but it’s worth repeating. There is something therapeutic about Photoshop’s liquify tool. Even if a specific use of the tool doesn’t result in a finished piece of artwork, it gives me a chance to zone out and mentally recover from a rough day. But in the instances where I can coax something out of the chaos, my heart soars to the highest of mountain tops. Despite those instances not occurring as often as I’d like, using the tool is a wonderful thing. And when I’m not soaring at those peeks, I’m still pretty close to it...

Despite not my dislike of writing comedies, finding a comedy selected in the monthly pool wasn’t the reason my writing spiraled out of control this past month. But when I carved out the time that I needed to write my stories, I poured everything into the tales and started crafting my comedy. I’ve looked into writing comedies in the past and discovered a couple pointers that I wove into the fabric of my narrative. But before I could leverage those techniques, I searched for a prompt...

While I’ve been getting my artwork published on Patreon and DeviantArt, I haven’t been able to give my site the attention it requires. As a result, there will be several of these art round-up posts mixed in with the links to my exclusive flash fiction for my patrons. Thankfully, part of what’s been distracting me from these posts has given me plenty of inspiration for my art. Armed with fresh inspiration and a renewed dedication to meeting my self-imposed deadlines, I’m eager to present you with another selection of my artwork...

Happy Easter, everyone! I hope everyone has a beautiful and memorable day with family and friends. While I dove into the picture for Easter, I pulled upon all the tips and tricks I’ve been learning to create the basket of Easter Eggs. As my skills develop with landscapes, I’ve also started painting hands. One Udemy course that I’ve gone through has detailed the basics of drawing fingers, but I’m still having trouble with that, so I’ve started my painting efforts by tracing royalty-free pictures of hands...

While Aurora waits for the conclusion of the selection of the final triumvir, the Federation is tasked with its initial action. Caitlin calls for a tribunal to sit in judgment of Olyver. Three planetary leaders head to Aurora and listen to the evidence gathered by Quinn’s agents. As the tribunal concludes, they render their verdict and give Olyver an opportunity to speak his mind...

The stories that I wrote for my Patrons this month have been close to my heart. I started March off with a drama that focused on a man who had to deal with Unwanted Answers. After completing that tale, I shifted my attention to the fantasy. While I stepped away from detailing another story focusing on my favorite grumpy wizard, I did not stray far from his world. With the first two narratives written, I turned my focus to my newest character, Samuel, a spell slinging bounty hunter in the Wild West...