Sorry I've been MIA

I'm usually very creative during my birthday month, but a lot happened earlier this year, the good, the bad, and the ugly, so I'm playing catch up with a major room cleaning and overhaul. I also need to update lots of paperwork and documents.

Writing one small scene for comic. May just upload about 5-10 pages again to my Instagram. Just want folks to know a new art piece post is up on IG: handdrawnbycarmenjr. 

My technique for this webcomic draft series: I draw the comic strictly in pen, NO PENCIL, and on dot grid paper! I tried all the expensive comic book paper out there to no avail. Couldn't get past a first chapter. Took me months to complete a scene! 

Spent so much on pencils, illustrator pens, special markers, etc. Kept changing the style of the comic since about 2011(probably earlier than this, but I can't remember).

Now I buy in bulk art pens and dual-tip markers from FiveBelow and mechanical pencils from Dollar Tree. I also found a cartoon style that makes my life easier and gives the comic its unique look. It takes me on about a week to complete a 5-10 page draft!

And using my digital display tablet and laptop free art software to edit and make the comic better for readers!

Will chat again! Take care, Dear Readers.

Graphic Novel WIP coming along

Since restarting the graphic novel project from 2018, I realized as a creator I can better pace the main romance and love story between the main couple. I always include romance or intimate love in all my stories but the humor for a slice-of-life romantic comedy works even better for me in graphic narrative form.

I have plans to either traditionally or self-publish this work-in-progress. I have my equipment for other single illustrated one-time projects but for this particular comic, I do plan to get some digital equipment in order to complete it faster. And by completing, I'm talking about being able to finalize each "episode" or "chapter" within this vast story. 

 It's so warming to see a comic I'm amateurly posting/online "publishing" and it's already getting critical feedback from other writers. For the hundreds of pages I posted on Instagram, I've received so many positive comments and even readers telling me their Team Yanina and Peter!

I know my blog has been wordy and text-heavy lately. I will post some draft work from the Summer to Winter graphic project. Just continue to bear with me and my adventures in being a creative writer and illustrator.

And continue to support the love story between Yanina and Peter! Thank you, my dear readers and take care.❤♥️😍💖❣💕💘 

My writing research leads to a rant-thread about reparations

Doing research on Reparations and what role Norway and Denmark played in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, and the utter ignorance and stupidity of the comments after reading one of the articles left me breathless. The same arguments that Africans sold their own into slavery, why should I pay, blah blah blah. First off, you fools aren't paying these reparations.

It's institutions, organizations, and in some cases, local governments that will be allocating these Reparation funds. Regular citizens will not. So. Just. STOP. Furthermore, let's get something straight about the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. 

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was different from any other slavery that was and is still being practiced. The closest to it was Sharecropping(USA Jim Crow era) but took some of its ideas from Western European Serfdom(100s of yrs earlier).

Most other cultures and countries that had slavery, even in the ancient Roman Empire, gave their slaves the chance to earn their freedom. To even gain citizenship. Also, slavery practiced in many cultures had it limited TO INDIVIDUALS.

Slaves were often prisoners of war, but still accorded certain dignities. What made the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade so very different was that it PUNISHED future generations. Your children and children's children would STILL be enslaved even after you've died.

Furthermore, even after the abolishing of Slavery, the US South still held on to their slaves and other countries continued the "practice" such as Denmark. Also, lest we forget that the Sharecropping system(which is STILL in existence in the US TODAY), was a direct retaliation to the US South having to literally FREE THEIR SLAVES under punishment by the North.

Not to mention that governments around the world, especially from nations that took part in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade have levied steep penalties and loans to African nations that are still paying TO THIS DAY.

As well as Black communities in the US that continue to struggle on their own because of wealth, businesses, livelihoods, and other forms of power stolen from them. The Robin Hood Legend is misunderstood just like the idea of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the idea of Reparations. We often say that Robin Hood stole from the rich to give to the poor...

But this is false... It was the rich, wealthy, and powerful, as they've always done and continue to do, to STEAL FROM the poor, the destitute, and the powerless. Robin Hood was simply taking back and returning what was stolen from the poor to make the rich richer and made the poor poorer. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade stole much of what would've helped had it remained. 

Folks have to understand that a lot of organizations and institutions and even Old Wealth families gained a lot from the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade at the detriment of OTHER nations and communities. Before you get angry at me for saying this, question yourself and why. 

This isn't ABOUT YOU. It is about a global wrong that was enacted on many countries and global communities who are still in present-day pain. True freedom, equality, and equity is only achieved when EVERYONE is free. 

And that means paying back countries, nations, and communities that suffered and continue to suffer in the present day.

What I've been up to...

Fixed text in a comic strip submission via Paint. I also have another mini-comic story with a couple of panels to fix and expand a rushed last page into two full comic pages. 

While I work on my scifi series, and other projects, I have some unpublished comics I did submit. 

Presently, I still search for more SFFH/Speculative Fiction markets and graphic/illustrated narrative markets too. 

Since I do short fiction, essays, and comics, I'm looking into literary journals and magazines. 

My journey continues. I hope you, my dear readers, will continue it with me.

A Message to My Dear Readers

I feel like this blog is getting academic but I'm a different person than I was several years ago when I finally hammered down this blog. 

In the yesteryears, I kept trying my hand at different blogging platforms and kept losing each one. I also didn't have a clear message for why I would maintain a blog. 

Now I'm posting old notes and other information I've gleaned from journals over time but I feel it's important. As I grow as a creative, so much that creativity be expressed and when I change and evolve, that will reflect in my creations. 

So again, my dear readers, thank you for staying with me all this time and I hope you will continue to do so. Also, to take something from the Hunger Games films but with a little twist and in the spirit of this blog: May the opportunities be ever in your favor.😃🙋🏿‍♀️

When Art Imitates Life Imitates Stories

Most of my comics are set in present-day United States. But I try not to use specific states so I can make up cities, towns, and districts/counties inspired by actual unique events, demographics, and regional culture. However, there remains a veneer of realism I want to convey with a sense of universalism for the readers.

This is also a tremendous help and opportunity for me, the creator, to do research on different states as I may be unable to visit but can figure out the aspects and unique locales. Then I can begin to work out geography for that story and its characters.

What I posted to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

My birthplace is now the epicenter of this pandemic, exacerbated by lies, misinformation, and leadership by folks who have no business running a flea circus or ant farm. My current scifi story takes place in the near-future in my original 'hometown' and even at one of the Presbyterian hospitals! Now, with so many of our hospitals overrun by this plague and suffering under the guidance of a presidency that's more regime than administered, I can't, in all good conscience, continue this story for now. I'm a Floridian by choice but still a New Yorker by fate, and I'm hurting for my original state and for this country. 

What have I been up to? [Video URL]

Link will open up to my Instagram TV - I talk about what's been going on since last week and this week in the wake of this pandemic.

What have I been up to?

When Research Is Always Necessary...

Have been so busy researching grants, hunting for work, looking for the next publishing opportunity, and writing the next story in the feline fantasy series that I just remembered I was suppose to, for the longest time, research three Indian languages (need to figure out which one my Desi characters will speak - whether it's Punjabi, Bengali, or Gujarati) and Dutch-Arab populations in the Netherlands (which background my Dutch character comes from) for two separate comic stories! Ay!

14 Answers About Being A Writer

Answers to questions I've been asked over the years...

1. Yes, I'm published. More than once. In fact, check out my blog: http://theangrygoblin.wordpress.com 

2. Yes, I've been paid. No, I don't believe in the 'It's for exposure' myth anymore.

3. I write mainly short stories because I tried writing novels and found I took too long to finish them. I wanted to get my stories out in a hurry.

4. I don't want to get into novels now even though the market favors them because my writing leans more towards the short fiction style.

5. I am already juggling enough projects and working on more than one genre and can't get into other genres and industries now.

6. I write Furry/Anthro, Science fiction, Fantasy, Slice-of-life, essays, short memoirs, and articles. My subgenres are Dark Fantasy (the closest I'll get to writing Horror), Epic Fantasy, Sword-and-sorcery, Space operas, Historicals, Dramas, Comedy, Action/Adventure/Thrillers, and Romance.

7. The above already explains the amount of projects I'm juggling. I'm constantly coming up with story ideas and some need more time to formulate.

8. Just because I have a story idea doesn't mean it's ready to go out on the market*. 

9. When I've completed a project, that doesn't mean I can immediately send it out to market*.

10. 'Marketing' involves a host of steps: knowing what to call your project, which presses/publishing houses/university publishers may accept, reading through submission guidelines, querying editors, and that particular format history.

11. I mentioned above, "What to call your project". People often think that a writer (finally!) finishes a project and away it goes! NO! Certainly Not! You will need to submit it in a particular format beforehand. And if you don't know what your project is, then you won't know what form to put it in for submission.

12. It's good to give advice to a writer, but, unless you know how the market works, don't take what the writer is saying as a reject of said advice. 

Usually, writers who have been in the game for a while (like me! It's been about 22 years😳), we have learned what works, what doesn't, and industry standards those outside may not.

13. Also, to learn and make a career from writing is actually difficult! Just learning how to craft a query letter to interact with editors, reading and learning how to understand contracts, not to mention the breadth of knowledge you acquire depending on WHAT YOU WRITE are all challenges. 

14.  Lastly, if you truly TRULY want to help a writer, buy our works, our stuff, advertise for us, let people know where and when we have things published! 

Direct others to our websites, social media platforms, etc. Attend the signings, book festivals, take our workshops, and introduce others to our works. Aaaand, if you know a writer personally, buy us coffee or tea, or our favorite snacks, give writing tools and supplies as gifts. And furthermore, give us TIME.

Thank you for reading.😊

It is INKTOBER time again!

I have been so sick, with the Hashimoto's, my vacation in Jamaica with mom, and trying to enjoy my birthday in September, that a longtime tweep had to remind me this blog hasn't been updated since August! So let me do a rundown of what I've been up to:
1. My "Summer to Winter" graphic novel is finally fully-forming. I'm drafting pieces that I later upload to Instagram that gets very positive feedback.
2. I've been chatting and lamenting in private chat with fellow writers.
3. I cosplayed and attended my first convention in a good long while.
4. I'm trying to research whether to host comics or send out to markets.
5. Re-evaluating what I'm doing for 2020.
6. Caught some kind of flu virus that didn't make me feel like I was going to be dead.
7. I completed the second story to my Scifi series! It follows after 'The Human Network', which is still available through Kyanite Publishing, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.com (all links and their details are available on my other blog: The Angry Goblin on WordPress).
8. Another guild member and friend beta-read it and I made changes.
9. I'm also doing Inktober 2019, and I'm actually following the prompts this year! As soon as you finish this post, you can hop over to my Instagram: handdrawnbycarmenjr. Also, you can get a sneak-peek of my graphic novel in progress!

And now that things seemed to have returned to my kind of normal, I'll be blogging again.

Until next time, Dear Readers, be kind to yourselves and unwind.

The Unseen Within

I was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease.

This isn't fatal and it's tied in with the thyroid disorder I have struggled with since my Baccalaureate days. I spoke to a dear friend who suffers similarly and, because that friend had received diagnosis of their Hashimoto's before me, was able to recognize and point out my symptoms to me.

I don't think I have posted about my thyroid problems for some years on this blog. I constantly tweet about it but it has been a long time since I covered and blogged about it on Pretty in Print.

Such diseases and disorders that affect the thyroid, hormones, glandular, and chronic aches and pains are often cited as 'Invisible Illnesses'. Since being diagnosed with Grave's Disease back in 2002, I have become much more aware of my body, my lifelong allergies, and other conditions. I notice that I place such on my characters in my stories.

As my readers have been following this blog, I recently had a short story published. It is science fiction yet I'm acutely aware of what my alien character and his human mate are going through. Allergies take a strong position in the story. As well as female hormonal health, migraines, and understanding the difference in how many pain receptors the different sexes have.

I've been continuous with the story. There are scenes that recall the struggles of a being negatively and positively affected by this planet. Because he does not originate from here, there are precautions he has learned to take in order to survive. I don't see many scifi stories that tackle these issues about what our planet could do to off-world visitors that would not necessarily kill them but might still make them consistently suffer.

Invisible illnesses and diseases are just that. One hurts. One aches. Diet has to be changed. Certain physical activities altered. I'm wearing more compression footwear and wrist supports now. Even to bed. There are more and more foods I have to remove from my daily intake. I feel like an alien. I don't feel like I belong on this world but should have been born on another.

During my MFA program, I met a faculty member who has become a sort of unofficial mentor to several of us. Her name is Sandra Beasley and she wrote a book called Don't Kill the Birthday Girl which not only chronicles her life as someone who has numerous food allergies, but the book is also a medical guide. It's not just a funny memoir but an informative medical documentation.

I want people to understand that folks like myself want understanding and empathy. I let some at my workplace know about my diagnosis, and I was given the response that at least it isn't fatal.

That isn't the point.

There are things to change and alter but it can still bring much of a shock and fearfulness for the future. I know I won't die from this, but it still is a frightening disorder.

Lifestyle must change. Life goals must be changed. The person you thought you were has now been forever colored. What you *knew* about yourself was a lie and you weren't ever at fault. But the world wasn't made for you. And only those within these illnesses or are deeply connected may understand.

To purchase Don't Kill the Birthday Girl, click here.
To understand Hashimoto's Disease and other glandular/thyroidal issues may click here.

When Artwork Imitates Writing

Just completed a draft sketch of my feline witch characters and it made the gears start turning again for my story.

I did what is called a 'gesture drawing' and it's when the artist draws a person or people quickly but in a dynamic way.

I started saving my art references not just in Google but as screenshots on my phone so, in case the internet is down, I can have easier access.

Drawing, sketching, drafting calms me but also makes me closer to my characters. Once I have a visual on them, questions occur, personalities start to become real, and I learn new things about them.

If you want to see my work-in-progress, you can hop over to my 'secret account' on Instagram: handdrawnbycarmenjr

More from the Land of Twitter - Part 2

When I start to draft these scenes, I'll post on Instagram. One of the styles I use is as free-form as possible with little background and not as many panels. My comics look more like illustrated books for grown-ups.

I also wonder if there's any way I can get short comic stories published by lieu of indies, really small press, and literary journal publishers? I notice there's more journals that have comics and graphic arts in their submission guidelines.

This is what I'm looking at and have been submitting to. I want editing as well. Just like with my short stories.

I'm lazy. So, so lazy. I want to work at my own pace. I'm not good with deadlines
(But getting better) and feel I'd do worse with comic submissions. Especially if it were a regular comic publisher.

From the Land of Twitter

When I get an idea in my head, or I'm nursing a story, I'll either jot it in one of my journals or I'll rant about it in a series of tweets (or lately, in a Twitter 'thread'). Here's my latest rant expanded so there's more here than on my Twitter timeline.

I seem to take a lot of influence from the story Country Mouse, City Mouse. That theme became my canine Mafia furry historical stories. Yet, lately, I ended up thinking about an old idea remade into a graphic novelette. Will revise old drawings accordingly before I draft the scenes.

I already have a squirrel and a rat characters. And no, the rat isn't a bad guy but a love interest. I'm so sick and tired of certain animals being demonized in stories. Such tales have real-world impacts. Right now, wolves are still hated and feared globally. And sharks are thought of as continuous eating machines.

My influences with Romance will come from Harlequin and Avon. I'll use regional ecology where my main characters are indigenous animals to a given area.

In this case, my squirrel will be from the  Midwest and my rat will be from the Northeast. Both characters will be urban beings but have early ancestral roots in a rural past. And I'll say no more.

When I start to draft these scenes, I'll post on my Instagram. I'm also struggling to find a publisher for these ideas. Where can one get short comic stories published? And at my own pace? I'm not good with deadlines, and even worse when it comes to artwork. In the meantime, stay tuned, Dear Readers.

The Art of Plugging Away

Wow, I haven't done an 'Art of Plugging Away' post in a LONG time!

One of the side effects since updating my characters to Caribbean(or the diaspora), I realize I don't know how to spell most of the food/drink I've grown up with and have taken for granted.😄😍

Will list those words I had to do an Internet search on for an upcoming post.

I'm ranting again

There's so many reference books I'm enjoying reading now while I'm also writing and scripting. I also have some miniature sketchbooks I've been keeping in my purse so ideas don't escape me while I'm at work or out and about.

Will post some of those books because you all may want to read one or two titles!

Anyhoo, I'm still working on the science fiction short story and have a new feline fantasy short story that's been years in the making. If I can finish that as well as two others, I can feel I'm back in the furry game. I actually feel bad that I have not gotten a new Tabber the Red story published in a minute. I'm actually sad.

The artwork for it is also slow in coming and I don't want to make the excuse it's because I worked on other things but it's the excuse and reason I have to make. Because, while I'm working on one thing, something else gets put aside.

It's the reality of being a creative type and it gets me angry when other people don't understand this. Or even think that I and other types are *gasp* wasting our time/fooling around!

From the Twitterverse

I did about two pages from the current sci-fi series and felt I wasted my day.

The scene is quite important and if I keep it in my Jamerican's POV, it truly shows the alien-ness of her child's father, someone who's been masquerading as human for so long. There's still more to write from this scene.

Also, for the Google Docs manuscript from the same series, I haven't finished the SMS-patois scene between her and her bestie Barbadian friend. I need to continue to type and revise THAT scene and the scene right after before I can consider it DONE.

However, this morning, I re-watched a favorite Korean film of mine (I bought the VCD almost 13 years ago) called "My Little Bride" and then watched a new film that was wonderful, and a bit raunchy (tee-hee), also from Korea called "Love Clinic" so that was good.

Reclaim One's Heritage

Been struggling with a science fiction story. And then a friend from MFA program volunteered to beta-read it. Now I did most of the grammatical edits.

What's bothering me is one of the scenes I've decided to change from the alien's POV to the Jamaican-American's POV. I'm Jamaican-American or Jamerican and realized that though I can say a few words in Jamaican Patois/Patwah/Patwa, I'm illiterate when it comes to writing, reading, and can only spell certain words.

Was about to post on my Caribbean/Diaspora writers group page about me having to rewrite what a texting social media language but realized this is the difficult tasks and decisions a writer will come up against. So, I'm currently researching, remembering, and will read more on my culture's poet laureates. And while I'm remembering, will be reclaiming.

Yo Ho Ho! It's the Writer's Life for me!

Can't watch "The Shape of Water" (as much as I want to) until I finish that side project about a young grad student falling in love with her research subject, a mer-man. I wrote most of this story long before even "Avatar" -did some artwork on it, also- and still had people comparing my story to that film. This also happened with the dog historical being compared to a cartoon in the 1990s. Oy, the writing life.