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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Beach Cars and Van




I'm just giving you a sneak peak of a few more of the files for the beach paper dolls package..now I just need to publish the thing! I swear I'll get it all ready soon. The paper dolls themselves and their clothes are all done. I am just have so much fun making more files. We will be on vacation next week, so I am trying to get the package together before then. I'll be taking my laptop too and working in the hotel room. Back to Jacksonville I go!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

RavenCon


This last weekend Robin and I attended the three-day long speculative fiction convention in Richmond, VA, otherwise known as RavenCon. I realize that there are a few of you out there now who have read both The Crown Conspiracy and Avempartha and would prefer I was chained to my keyboard, or had my legs broken by Kathy Bates, insuring I do nothing but finish book three. I’d rather like that too, well not the broken legs or chains, but the time to write. For the last few weeks, I have had preciously little time in that area. I am reminded by those who promote me (namely Robin) that it is just as important (perhaps more so) that I cultivate an audience for the books I already have published. So while I was just getting on a roll and making great headway on Nyphron Rising, I stopped, packed up the car and headed down to Richmond.

Until I started promoting my first book, I had no idea what a fan convention was, now I discover there are dozens. Most of them are the same thing held at different times of the year in different locations, many of them close to each other, so that the same people appear at each. Some are older, some are larger, but they all appear to be the same idea. Writers and artists of reasonable note are guests who give talks, readings or serve on panels discussing topics of interest to the fandom. There are an assortment of activities such as movies, shows and bands; a gaming room where those interested in table top games converge, an art room and the dealer’s room.

I was in the dealer’s room, a large hall in the hotel filled with vendors selling everything from board games and dice, to medieval clothing hand-sewn from hand woven cloth. There’s always a handful of not so famous authors who use the venue to introduce their books to an audience of genre fans. I was one of those and spent three days behind a little table stacked with my books. Yet even in such a richly targeted environment, it isn’t easy to convince people that a book you wrote is worth buying.

I discovered early on that the bar of expectations for authors in the dealer room isn’t set very high when a woman purchased The Crown Conspiracy. I asked what it was that sold her on it and she replied, “I read the first page and there wasn’t a single misspelled word!” It wasn’t exactly the kind of vindication I was looking for, but it got her to buy it, and more importantly to read it.

If you’ve been following this blog you know that I went to MarsCon back in January, and to my delight several people who visited it came to RavenCon. I knew who they were instantly—they were the ones who walked directly up to my table, picked up Avempartha and said, “Sign it. I loved the last one.” Better than this, as I had hoped, a few people bought Crown saying a friend had bought it at MarsCon and raved about it. Despite this, there were no lines waiting feverishly for me to sign their copy, and we sold only a handful more than at the last Con making us wonder if attending these cons is worth the effort. I am signed up for at least one more “ConCarolinas” in Charlotte NC at the end of this month (May,) I will have to see what transpires there before making a decision.

Friday, April 24, 2009

More Camping Items...Part of Camping Bears Package coming soon











Roasting marshmallows

AS CUT:

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Beach Bears and Babies, Summer Titles and More








Look at this cute package I'll have out soon. You can paper piece your way through your summer vacation at the beach or shore with this package oF paper dolls, bears, and all the accessories for a day at the beach. I have made up some nice page titles as well.

As soon as I get everything separated into files, I'll be releasing these. I have a collection for bathtime and camping too, all about ready to go.

Thanks for looking!

Friday, April 17, 2009

Cowboy Boot: New Favor Box NOW FOR SALE $3.00







Get everyone talking about your clever decorations at your next Western themed event! Order the svg file to make this boot, which is a favor box, you can tuck something about the size of a deck of cards into. This sample is about 6 inches high. I was able to cut it the boot from one 5x8inch piece of paper, and another 7x8 sheet of paper in one cut. The embellishments were done in a second cut from a piece of silver card stock. You get a variety of embellishments that you can choose from to truly customize each pair of boots.

The hat is not a box, just a simple circle, with the hat outline, made of two pieces you cut in one cut. My daughter suggested you use it for a drink wrapper. If you had some bandana napkins, it would make a cute napkin ring.

I'm adding the boxes as a purchase option in the THINGS FOR SALE area to the right.


Denise

TROLLS AND GNOMES FREE SVG FILES



Let the heads troll!

http://www.mediafire.com/?omnyg0rnyjm



Troll family
http://www.mediafire.com/?tgnugn3zzvz





http://www.mediafire.com/?xmwm2y3lmmf

Tinkering Under the Hood

With the publication of Avempartha, and all its associated marketing materials out the door, I can at last relax a bit and get back to, well…work. Unless reading this post is the first you’ve heard of me, you know that the six books comprising the Riyria Revelations series are complete. Complete is however, a relative term. The story is all there and I have gone over each volume enough to say they are in better than draft form and yet those who proof and edit for me might not so much agree. In anticipation of a general audience, they delight themselves in crash testing my work, looking for weakness, confusion, inconsistencies, and screw-ups. In this way, they submit to me arguments for adding new sections or hacking out passages.

The whole first chapter of Avempartha, (a scene detailing the attack on the Wood family that led Thrace to journey to Colnora), was cut from the book. The third chapter concerning Arista’s trip to Ervanon, was at first cut, (because of its long-winded historical nature that everyone felt would bore readers to tears), then replaced, (because it was determined that the information was important), then extended for clarity’s sake. Other minor plot-holes led to massive rewrites to patch them—all of which made the book better. Following this comes the detailed and lengthy process of line-editing and proofing—a seemingly never-ending quest. So, story-complete, and print-complete are two very different things.

This leaves me presently working on book 3 of the series entitled: Nyphron Rising. I went over it during the cold winter months then submitted the manuscript to my editors (namely Robin) who, as usual, found fault. She requested two new sections, which in reviewing the book alongside her arguments; I extended to five, much of which has to do with a consistency of presentation and an attempt to maintain the “stand alone” nature of the novels. As the series grows, it becomes harder to keep the reader apprised of previous events. I now realize that I don’t have to—I merely need to provide enough information to make the present book understandable. That’s still tricky to do using a mind that can’t forget that it knows everything about the story.

So, for those of you who’ve already finished Avempartha and are clamoring for the next in the series—book 3 is up on blocks in the garage getting an overhaul. It is already much better than it was and growing a bit in length. (Don’t expect to see a 700 page book coming your way any time soon. The novels do grow longer as the series goes on with book six being more than twice the length of book one, but this is a gradual thing. Some of you may already have noticed that book 2 was a little thicker than its predecessor.) Right now however, Nyphron Rising is covered in a tarp, with parts laying all over the place. The next few months I will be caught up in book signings and general promotions,
but with Avempartha out the door, I can at last get back to work on it.

Now if you excuse me, it’s a nice day so I’m going to prop open the garage door and tinker. Gonna need to tighten the screws on Melengar—where did I leave that three-quarter inch sentence?

EMERGENCY VEHICLE SVGS...FREE



Get the emergency vehicle svg here. They are all in one file, you will have to separate if you only want one.

http://www.mediafire.com/?rxwuzmweewg

Please check out my items for sale, in the things for sale box at the right of the page!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

PLEASE CHECK RIGHT COLUMN OF PAGE FOR THINGS FOR SALE

Please check the THINGS FOR SALE box to the right of these blog entries. I've gathered all the items into one area. I've got the Paypal buttons and shopping cart working. This will make it much easier for you to order my items and feel more secure about it. There is no shipping charges, as the files will be emailed to you.


I'm still taking time each day to provide FREE svg files(Like the pool hall things below) and answer all the questions on two different Yahoo groups.

Thank you!


Denise

Pool Balls and Cues and even a Rack..free svgs


Do you play pool? If so, here are some free SVG files you might be able to use.

You can download them from here:


http://www.mediafire.com/?ly0zm1zgqdw

They are color separated for cutting. Cut the colored ball, put the white circle with the number cut out of it, on top of the black circle, Place on ball. Add stripe first if striped ball.


Pool Player

Get the file here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?zeehwh3mzoz

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Fireman Decals ...Free svgs


Free svg file:

http://www.mediafire.com/?nnwtglnwj2m



To get your free copy:

http://www.mediafire.com/?zmzz3mdjnyg

Bears Go Camping...Files Coming Soon




I am having fun making these bear scenes and accessories. I'm working on how to package them, so they are flexible, yet easy to use too. Not everyone has inkscape and wants to fool with it. I've got a bath scene to cut too. Keep tuned!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Совет да любовь

А у нас торжественное событие.
Моя невеста готова под венец.
Нет, ну все таки невесты это что-то. Вчера еще стояла на столе с заколотыми кверху ушами, а сегодня уже при всей своей красе.


И как полагается с букетом.


Портрет крупным планом :) Для потомков...


Ну и чтоб ни один заяц не устоял: белье и подвязочка.


В зайце должно быть все прекрасно :) Хотела я сделать так, что б она и присесть могла. Поэтому набила тушку послабее. Но дама оказалась с кандебобером. Не то что сидеть, даже стоять отказалась. Выглядела как пьяная, помятая пионерважатая. Пришлось прибегнуть к пластической хирургии: оторвать ноги и поднабить то место, где эти самые ноги теряют свое гордое имя :)
Зато такой попес позавидует и Дженифер Лопес :)


Материалы: хлопок, атласная лента, кружево.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Bear Paper Doll Piecing SVG files..Coming soon





I've been working on a file of bear parts so you can reposition its arms and legs. I then have all the components you need to accessorize your bear. There are tops with different necklines that you can combine with different type sleeves. There are dresses and pants and short and shoes...and purses and hats...you get the idea, a play pen of stuff you can use to make your dressed for success bears!

Here are a few that I've made:



Because of the flexibility you have to move the bears arms and legs around, and make different styles of clothing, you need to be an inkscape user to effectively use this file. Once I have made a set of dressed bears, like the wedding party, then you can just import them into scal and cut them. If you want to be able to make perhaps a hunter or fisherman or a ballerina, you would have to open the file in inkscape, and pick the pieces you want to make your outfits, build your bear.Hey maybe that is what I should call it: Build a bear...but I think that name is already taken...OK Piece-a-bear! The only inkscape skills you need are to drag and drop, delete and path...union(to join the bear parts back together, or add the sleeves to the shirt for example).

I could use a few testers...If you have some free time, email me at dhoffman@spacey.net.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Wedding Dress and Tuxedo Favor Boxes...Make Your Own with SVG Files you Buy Here



Dress your wedding favors in wedding day couture with the pretty Wedding Dress Favor Boxes and these darling tuxedo favor boxes. These high fashion boxes are a fun way to present your guests with little tokens of your thanks, from delectable sweets to soaps to any small gifts you can imagine. Place them at your guests’ place settings for a warm welcome to your wedding that your guests won’t forget!


These tuxedo and dress favor boxes can be used on New Year’s Eve and at formal charity galas, in addition to weddings!

If you would be interested in getting the svg files, to make these on your Cricut, please go to the Things For Sale at the end of the blog. There are paypal buttons and a shopping cart set up for you to order the files for $3.00. That is $3.00 for both files!

Thanks for looking!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

More OTOY video's

Jules Urbach talking about cloud rendering:

http://neuronspark.com/videos/rendering-in-the-cloud/

An early concept video of LivePlace from March 2007, commented by Jules Urbach. Doesn't use voxel raycasting. Shows scenes created by JJ Palomo from 3DBlasphemy, currently at Big Lazy Robot VFX, and working together with OTOY:

http://metanomics.net/otoy

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Зайса

В нашем дома появился замечательный сосед. Вернее соседка. Дама из приличной семьи (приличную семью еще шью). Боюсь, как бы не получилась история в стиле "была у лисы избушка ледяная, а у зайца лубяная".... а то жить нам самим будет негде :) Везде будут зайцы.




Как настоящая леди она при шляпе



И при сумочке. Сумочка из кружева. Розочки сама крутила. Чему только не научишься. Кому интересно как это делать, смотрите тут.


Да простит меня моя дама, но не глумления для, а искусства ради.


Сначала раскроила белые панталончики, но они не смотрелись. Просто зеленые показались скучноватыми, поэтому ткань-компаньон для нижнего белья рисовала сама акриловыми красками.

Thus Spake Michael...

I was recently interviewed by the Story Institute concerning my books and writing in general. To hear (vaguely) what I sound like, listen to the podcast at: podcast.

All Dressed Up for Easter : Easter Accent Free SVG File




Here is the file:
http://www.mediafire.com/?zlg0nmqztwj
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