Announcing the DragonEye, PI Serial Story, World Gathering

I'm doing another serial story.  This is the precursor of Magic, Mensa and Mayhem: shorter, rougher, and lots of fun.  You can find it at http://dragoneyepi.blogspot.com. In the meantime, Vern shares his feelings about World Gathering and Magic, Mensa and Mayhem.


Karina has written up some of our more harrowing cases, so I was surprised by her choice for the first novel.

"Why would you want to write up that one?" I demanded. Actually, but the tone of voice, I really meant to imply "Not that one. No. never!" but I'm working on being a kinder, gentler dragon. Often, that just comes out as passive-aggressive, but I’m working on it.

However, Karina got the implication; she just chose to ignore it. "Come on, Vern.
It's funny."

"It's embarrassing. One fiasco after another--"

"I snorted coffee out my nose, it was so funny when you told it. "

"Because it's embarrassing."

Then Grace had to step in on her side. "But it is funny, and you know it."

"Oh, so you think she should publish it? You, know, you weren't exactly on your best behavior, Sister Magic-Grudge-Match." I don't normally resort to calling Grace names, but I was in a mood and I could already see where this argument was heading.

She had the (pardon the pun) good graces to blush at the memory of her duel with the Green Muse Euterpe, but she also fought back a grin. Even nuns are human. "It was funny."

We argued more, but well...

Magic, Mensa and Mayhem came out in Amazon from Swimming Kangaroo a few years back.

Print: http//tinyurl.com/mmmamazon
Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/mmmkindle

It's Vern in his glory days!

Bought this at the art sale at WorldCon because it is Vern in his pre-George days. The title of the work is even "Lunch"! This is a man who understands Vern.

Incidentally, Magic, Mensa and Mayhem was quite a hit at WorldCon. Made me happy, especially with Live and Let Fly coming out, but I had to admit to being surprised. It's over a year old and the cover was the most cartoony of all the ones at the table. the usual reaction I get from people is "Is this manga or for kids?" but at WorldCon, folks just thought, "What fun!" Guess the lesson is never assume what a group will like based on other groups.

W000t! Magic, Mensa and Mayhem Places 4th!

Magic, Mensa and Mayhem, the first DragonEye, PI novel, placed 4th in the Preditor and Editor Polls for best sci-fi/fantasy novel. W00t! Thanks, everyone!

Surely you know about DragonEye, PI, but if not, learn more here. Be sure to register before Valentines' Day--I have a present for DragonEye fans!

Animoto--simple but limited video creation software

I'm working on my book trailer course, and ran across this video creation software. You put in some captions and some pictures, pick music they provide and it mixes it for you. It's kind of neat.

This took me about 2 hours because I first made it too long. (Even though it said use 14 pictures, it would only take 9.) Still it's cute. What do you think?

Magic, Mensa and Mayhem: Interview with Copy Editor, Jennifer Walker

Jennifer Walker was the copy editor for Magic, Mensa and Mayhem. She not only did a terrific job of catching the silly errors that I missed even after many revisions and critiques. In addition, she noticed a few bad habits that I'm now watching. She's made me a better writer. More about Jen at: www.authorjennwalker.com

How did you get to be a copy editor?

After editing my own work and that of my coworkers, friends and family for several years, doing a lot of studying to remind myself of grammar rules and working with my mentor, who has been an editor at several different levels for several years, someone passed along an ad from Swimming Kangaroo Books saying they were hiring copy editors. I applied and took their test, and was informed a short time later that I was one of the top two scorers on the test. I was offered the job, and I have been working there ever since.

What's the difference between copy editing and content editing?

The content editor examines the manuscript for errors or areas of development related to plot, dialogue, characterization, continuity and style. This is a more high-level approach than what the copy editor does.

The copy editor is one of the last people to look at the manuscript before it goes to print (there are still proofers who come after). The copy editor is primarily responsible for correcting any mechanical errors, such as grammar, punctuation, spacing and spelling. The copy editor is also another set of eyes to catch continuity errors or point of view shifts previous editors did not catch--after all, we're all human and things slip by us!

What do you enjoy about it?

My name is Jennifer, and I'm a grammar nerd. I like gaining a better understanding of grammar through my work, and it improves my own writing as well. I am in the process of editing my first book for the third time after several months' break from it, and I'm finding a lot of things I did not before. By contrast, its sequel, which I wrote this year during National Novel Writing Month, is much cleaner.

What are your editing pet peeves?

Authors who argue with me! Just kidding... I would have to say my pet peeves are sentences that are so long I can't follow them and a point of view that shifts back and forth so fast I feel like I'm reading a tennis match.

Tell us about editing Magic, Mensa and Mayhem—any funny stories you want to share?

I have to say, MM&M, as I resorted to calling it because I could never remember what the Ms were or what order they were in, was the most enjoyable manuscript I've ever edited. It had remarkably few errors, was well written and hilarious. My husband kept demanding to know what had me laughing out loud, so I would have to read him passages. I swear...I didn't say that to kiss up. It was actually that good, and I'm picky!

Vern wants you to feed his ego, so tell us what you thought of him and the book in general.

I think Vern and Grace are wonderful, rich characters. I love the relationship they have--respect and affection in their purest forms. Fun interactions between characters are what draw me into books, and that's one of the things I loved about MM&M. By the time you finish, you feel like you know these "people" and want to live next door to them. Well, not all of them--just Vern and Grace.

Interview with a Content Editor

Great books are often the result of more than just the writer's efforts. I was very impressed with the thorough editing job done on Magic, Mensa and Mayhem by the editors at Swimming Kangaroo. The book went through a couple of edits--one for content and one for copyediting. These editors not only found errors I'd missed after a half-dozen edits and an equal number of critiques, but also alerted me to some writing habits I had and didn't realize. They created a better writer as well as a better book.

Today, we meet Linda Anderson, who was the content editor.

What does a content editor do?

The main job of a content editor is to read manuscripts for plot--Does it makes sense? Does it have any holes?--and character development--Are these people believable? This means we get to read books before anybody else does, which is a wonderful privilege, let me tell you. We also make sure sentence structure is correct and do a little grammatical tweaking if necessary. We are supposed to leave spelling and punctuation and such to the copy editor, but I think most editors of any variety would not be willing to let a typo escape if they could help it.

What do you enjoy about it?

Just about everything. I love to read ... I read to unwind the way a lot of people watch television to unwind. I have a hard time getting through a day if I can't read at least a little bit for pleasure sometime in my waking hours. (Because as we all know, reading while sleeping is hard!) I also get a major thrill out of being able to help polish someone else's creativity. That makes me a kind of coach. Or to put it another way: I am not the one who makes the cake, but I get to put the icing roses on.

How did you get started in the job?

Take one daily reader with a preference for fiction in general and science fiction in specific, give her a several-decades' long career in writing and editing news stories, add one friend who is a budding science fiction writer with the need for a little nagging to finish his book, stir in the opportunity to volunteer to be his editor and you've got my recipe for becoming a content editor. My friend sold his book to Swimming Kangaroo and mentioned to Dindy how much he liked my editing. She agreed to give me a chance as an editor. And here I am.

Are you a writer as well? If so, how does this help your writing?

I am a writer in the sense that I've got more than 25 years' experience writing news stories, but I'm not a writer in the book-writing sense, unless you count those 54 pages of a young adult novel that I started back in the mid-1990s and never finished. Yet. So yes, content editing could help my writing enormously by exposing me to new writers and different styles, showing me different possibilities and different concepts. But of course that means I'd have to dust off that manuscript ...

What impressions did you have about Magic, Mensa & Mayhem?

MM&M was my first experience with Vern and a terrific experience it was. (I hope it was good for him too.) I loved the puns, I loved the alternate universe setting, I loved the way all the different beings were just part of everyday life, I loved the crime solving part and I loved with Vern. I also appreciated how gently the religious message was conveyed. In these days when so many Christians seem to think the only way to spread the word is to smack people over the head with it, I loved how Vern and Sister Grace did the same thing in a much more gentle fashion. Believe me, those of us with sore heads appreciate it.

Any funny stories to share about editing it?

Not really funny stories about editing it. Parts of it made me laugh while I was editing, does that count?

Vern wants to know what you loved most about him in this story.

To paraphrase the gang at Cheers: VERRRRRNNN! I have a weakness for dragons. I've been a big fan since about 1979, but when I met Vern -- who can talk, make puns AND solve crimes-- I knew I had found my dragon. I think he's just about perfect. I mean, a wisecracking detective who is also a dragon -- what's not to love? Do you think I could ever sweet-talk him into giving me a ride? Just a short one, not too high ... I tend to get motion sick but I promise to be careful.

(Vern said if she's take some Dramamine, he'd consider it.)

An Interview with Vern of DragonEye, PI

I had a terrific time last night at The Writers Chat Room. I didn't count how many people were there, but the list ran down the page! Vern made a special appearance as well and his 15-minute stay lasted an hour. Here's the transcript for those who missed:

Vern: Hey, everyone.
Lisa-mod: welcome to TWC, Vern
Lisa-mod: it's nice to have you here
Vern: Thanks. Nice place
Vern: Glad to see all the people. Grace wants me to tell you not to feed my ego. Ignore her
Lisa-mod: Vern, how are you today?
Kim Richards: I think we're more afraid of you then her.
larriane: I can't think of a thing to ask a dragon
Vern: chilly. be glad when the winter is over. Our warehouse doesn't hold heat well. however, Grace has a warming spell for me. advantages to living with a mage
skip miller: Do you have wings?
Vern: Kim--good thinking, though she can be pretty fierce
Vern: absolutely--gorgeous ones, love to snap them!
Tony Lavoie: Vern, how did you, a dragon, manage to get yourself bamboozled into working for the good guys? If I understand that aright?
Vern: hey! I was one of the good guys!
Tony Lavoie: okay...the other side, then.
Vern: as far as getting dragooned into service for the FCC (which isn't the other side), I have George to thank. God bless St George, the magically overpowered pain-in-the-tail.
Linda::?Do dragons really breathe fire?
Vern: By the time we were done sparring, I'd lost my height, weight, flight, fire magic and most of my knowledge. He then offered me the deal: earn it all back through faithful service God and Man...
Tony Lavoie: So he was just stronger than you...?
Vern: and his creatures through the Faerie Catholic Church. I've been everything from Pope's pet to plow dragon to scribe to warrior of Christ...
skip miller: What kind of magic do you do?
Vern: He had God on his side, Tony, it was kind of an unfair fight. I held my own.
: Right now, my magic is more in the area of heightened senses, ability to hover, a few low-key spells, some healing. Dragons don't have a lot of natural magic as it is. Done
Vern: Linda asked if we breathe fire. Yes, but not like your legends, all clumsy and out of control....
Linda: Do dragons have emotions?
Vern: I can light a cigarette as easily as I can set a barn afire--and do it with panache. absolutely, we have emotions. Vices, too
Kate: Vern, how do you manage to interact with mortals without losing your dragon magnificence ~ and your connection with faeries and other magical beings
Vern: oh, Kate, it aint' easy, especially in the Mundane world. Do you know how many times I've had to...
Vern: put up with folks wondering if I'm HOUSEBROKEN, for pity's sake? No respect!
Vern: I try to be patient, and remind myself that just as for every good deed, I get some kind of reward, bad deeds will set me back. Sometimes, though, it's worth taking the chance. Done.
Lisa-mod: What’s it like hanging out with Mensans?
Vern: They're a good crew, usually more able to accept me for what I am and less inclined to think I was an animatronics joke by Leno. Still had some....personalities, like the guy who followed me around like ...
Vern: he was a National Geographic writer and I was a new species of predator (well, I'll give him the species part), or Melchior Rawlings. Talk about uptight artist! whew!
Vern: even with all the craziness, we did have a good time. Mensans are like anyone else--some are truck drivers, some are multiple PHDs, some are both. All just people. And all only human (except me) done
Vern: and...ugh...Coyote
Tony Lavoie: Vern, how do you get your stories to Karina? Do you dictate them to her directly, or write 'em down first and deliver them? Do you meet regularly with her to give updates and such?
Vern: She feeds me; I tell her stories. It's a good relationship. I blogged about it earlier this month, BTW. You can read it on my website DONE
AnnLewis: Speaking of websites, how do you like yours....do you find it user-friendly for dragons?
Vern: I love it--you did a great job designing it.
Kim Richards: lol...the mental image of Vern hunched over a keyboard
AnnLewis: just wondering if the type was too small
Vern: No, no. Manny Costa made a great set-up for me...
Vern: it's on a rolling platform set to my height when I'm reclining. I have a virtual keyboard that shines onto the floor, which saves a lot on keyboards. (Claws are hard on them) done
Kate: Vern, any advice for a mortal who would really like to meet a dragon and get to know him/her
Vern: My eyesight is better than humans. done
Vern: You're not going to find any here except me. the rest tend to keep to themselves, but if you want to visit one, bring something unique..and if you want to feed them, fat cow beats skinny virgin any day of the week done
Lisa-mod: So you aren't a vegetarian?
Vern: ROFL
Lisa-mod: Talk to us a little bit about Grace...you seem to like her...a lot
Vern: Grae is the best friend I've ever had--and being immortal, that says a lot...
Vern: She's smart and strong in the spiritual sense, has great common sense...
Vern: isn't afraid to put me in my place (rare among humans, frankly)...
Vern: she has an incredible singing voice--it's how she channels her magical power and how the Power of God works through her...
Vern: She likes my jokes and knows how to scratch behind my ears just right.
Lisa-mod: That scratching behind the ears sounds very important :)
Allen the serial: how does a dragon turn detective?
Vern: I just happened into it. I was living in the garage of the Little Flowers Parish when the priest Fr Rich was called to administer last rites to a dead man (Yeah, a little late)...
Vern: turned out the field had been possessed by magic and killed him. I figured it out. And after that, people started coming to me with their problems. It's a living, and since I don't have a green card....
Vern: it's something I can do under the table as it were.
Kim Richards: Now that you've been on this side (in our world) for a while. will it be hard to leave should you ever get all your powers back? I mean [i]earn[/i] your powers back.
Vern: NO. I can always visit, and the Mundane world is no place for a full-sized dragon. done
larriane: how big are you now?
Vern: 12 feet from snout to tail; 5 feet at the shoulder when sitting (cat like)
Vern: not quite a ton, but magic and weight distribution keeps me from falling through the floors done
Allen the serial: How does your dragon talk, what is there language?
Allen the serial: Is he only one?
Vern: you mean how do I talk when not speaking Human? It's growls and purrs, snaps and snarls.. body language. You might consider it more animal than "human," but it's more complex than humans can understand....
Vern: I knew at one point thousands of languages. Now a couple dozen human ones and a handful of Faerie. And why do you keep referring to me in third person? I'm right there. Done
Vern: no, I'm not the only one
larriane: like a whale? language that is
] Vern: since I don't speak whale, I wouldn't know. If it's anything like on ST IV, then no, not as squeaky or grunty. done
larriane: they sing. do you?
Kim Richards: Has anyone ever confused you with a dinosaur?
Vern: larraine--no, I don't sing. I purr, though
Vern: Kim--yes. no-brained idiot human who also though he was the avatar of an Egyptian God. Even had the poor taste to yell "Die Barney!" while spraying me with insecticide. Long story.
KarinaFabian: "Amateurs" which is available for free to those who join the DragonEye PI website done
Lisa-mod: too funny
Vern: you didn't get a snoot full of insecticide
Kate: Vern, As big as you are, how are you able to uncover clues and solve them without a perps' knowledge or giving yourself and Grace away
Vern: well, in general they aren't hanging around the scene of the crime when I'm looking for clues...
Vern: but I also have a stealth charm Grace created after watching a documentary on the B2
Vern: I'm also very stealthy naturally--comes from being a predator. done
Linda: Are you afraid of anything?
Vern: Tough question. Everyone's afraid of something. Still, being immortal gives you a long-term perspective. I can be hurt. but I survive eventually.
Vern: zombies. zombies weird me out. not fear so much as loathing. Imagine that casserole you stuck in the fridge coming back to life wanting to eat you.
larriane: already answered my question. how long do you think before you earn all your powers back
Vern: No idea. "God's ineffable plan" is beyond me even at the height of my wisdom. done
AnnLewis: Vern, can you explain the relationship between the Faerie Catholic Church and the Church of Rome here in our world? Does going to Mass at the RCC count for the same in the FCC, and do you go?
Vern: We're close enough that we recognize each other, yes.
Vern: we each have our own popes, of course and our own histories. The FCC is far more powerful and involved politically, It has to be. with magic, Evil is less subtle in our world
Vern: I do attend Mass at Little Flowers Parish. Even receive Communion, Wasn't baptized though. Dragon souls are different from human souls. done
Sally Franklin Christie: Do you have dewclaws, or thumbs and do you ever wish for humanish abilities? Done
Vern: kind of between dewclaws and thumbs. Not easy to handle a pencil. What human abilities would I want? done
Tony Lavoie: Vern, You say you're not afraid of much...do you not fear for your soul should you fail in your task(s)? Or is that not a player in your case?
Vern: I've been human btw. Weird experience. Kind of fun in its own way
Vern: My soul is not in danger if I fail in my tasks. If I were to give into temptation and foresake my tasks...that's another story. And yes, that would be scary, and take some kind of extreme circumstances. Dragons in general are very...
Vern: God-loving creatures. After all, we were made form the greatest of His imaginings. Why wouldn't we be?
witzkedm: Does the use of magic every get you in trouble?
Vern: My use? depends on what you mean by getting into trouble. I don't misuse my magic, but that doesn't mean trouble doesn't find its way to me. However, the mix of magic and tech causes no end of trouble....
Vern: (shrug) keeps me employed. done
larriane: have you got any feedback from the church here on how they feel about MM&M
AnnLewis: (This Catholic likes it!:)
KarinaFabian: Guess that one's for me. I've not brought it to any Church authority, if that's what you're asking.
KarinaFabian: I've had lots of positive feedback from Catholics in general. My daughter and son have a godfather who is a priest and I'll be sending it to him. It's his style.
KarinaFabian: so far the only "negative" feedback I've gotten was from a lady (non-Catholic) who thought all dragons were Satan
Vern: please! I'm not the dragon in Revelation. I only have one head!
KarinaFabian: yeah. I mentioned that. She looked at me a little blankly. done
larriane: we love ya Vern
Vern: Of course you do
AnnLewis: Vern, when you say you can be hurt but can't die, does that mean you really cannot be destroyed at all, that you'll always live until the end of time? What if you were blown up into itty bitty pieces or disintegrated?
Vern: Of course you do
Vern: Even if I am disintegrated (ouch ouch) some part of me, whatever was the most whole, would eventually come back. Might take a millennia. I do try to avoid that. done
Allen the serial: what is your favorite meal
Vern: I like so many things! Large is nice....
Vern: depends on my mood. Sometimes, I really appreciate fine cuisine or very spicy chili...
Vern: sometimes I'm in the mood for something I hunt down and kill myself, fur flies and all.
Vern: (it's an acquired taste) done
Walt: What's the ETA on [i]Live and Let Fly?[/i]
KarinaFabian: late 2009. I just did the content edits and it's off to the copy editor. We start on the cover art in June/July, Dindy said.
KarinaFabian: I have a fun idea, but we'll see if Roe can do it. Don't you love the cover Roe did?
Sally Franklin Christie: What advice does a Dragon like yourself have for new worldbuilders and their inhabitants? Done
Vern: Grace says, "God endowed each of us with a creative spirit. Use it well."
Vern: Guess I'd say have fun with it? I'm not much of a writer, myself.
PaulaL: Vern, any comments about the Nag Hammadi manuscripts?
Vern: No. You a reporter?
Tony Lavoie: I'd be interested to hear what Karina has to say about Nag Hammadi, tho.
KarinaFabian: Someone would have to tell me what they are first :)
Lisa-mod: Karina or Vern, anything else you’d like to say before we close up for today?
Vern: Feed the dragon. Buy the book.
(Grace swats Vern on the nose)
Vern: Ow! actually. thanks to everyone for coming. i was not pleased that the first DEPI story was one of our most embarrassing cases...
Vern: but I'm glad so many people are enjoying it.
Vern: Check out the website--I love to blog about stupid criminals, so if you ever come across a YouTube video, send it to me and I'll blog it.
Vern: Otherwise, just remember: magic and tech do not mix. Good night!

Character- and world- building interdependent

When it comes down to it, I'm more of a character writer than an idea, plot, or world writer; however, in a world like my DragonEye, PI, world, the two are very interdependent. The characters build the world, yet the world defines the characters, and the plot and ideas tell me what characters need to make an appearance.

For example, in Magic, Mensa and Mayhem, I needed someone to do some discreet searching--and if they could botch the job in a funny way, all the better. We all know the legend of the brownies--the Shoemaker and the Elves, the brownies who are supposed to clean your house for milk, there are plenty of legends, stories, even filk songs. I decided it'd be fun to have the brownies search and, as long as they were in the area, do what comes natural and clean, fix and finish things. Sometimes, that's a big help; sometimes, it's an annoyance, like when they re-arrange things to their logic, not yours. (Kind of like when your mother offers to do your dishes and puts things away according to where she'd put them.) Sometimes, it's a pain, like when they finish your crossword puzzle book. Sometimes, as artiste Melchoir Rawlings discovered, they decide for you your work isn't finished. ("My art! My beautiful art. Oh, it's too much to process! Deep breaths, deep breaths!")

So now I have good-intentioned, havoc-wrecking, independent-minded brownies loose with people who'd love to capture, hire or exterminate them. I have to keep them safe!

Here's where the worldbuilding comes in. I started with an idea I got from someone's terrific effort of explaining Santa Claus's Christmas deliveries: Santa operates in a state of quantum flux that allows him to be in constant motion. The reason you can't see him on Christmas Eve, is the idea that you can either know his position or his motion; so, if you see him, you know where he is; he can no longer be in motion and the whole quantum flux things ends with you getting coal in your stocking.
That's a pretty bad explanation of something I read several years ago, but it was enough to apply to the brownies: They operate in our dimension in a state of flux, so you can only know the things they've done. You can't observe what they are doing directly. Further, if you know you are seeing a brownie in action, that belief plays into it, too. Based on that, I set up the rules of the brownie world.

And then the story demanded that I find a way around them. So I decided to play heavily on the uncertainty principle and the idea that you can observe the effects as long as you don't observe them. And I came up with Schrödinger the Cat purse. Shro' is a play off a Japanese legend that the souls of cats can come back as other things--in this case, a purse that a Mundane Japanese woman purchased of the Interdimensional Internet. Which meant hammering out the idea of Interdimensional trade (the details of which are still fuzzy, mind you), plus the whole InterDimNet, which brings up some fun in the next novel...

So, plot breeds character, character breeds world, world influences plot, while at the same time develops the characters.

Welcome to the inner workings of my mind!

BTW, I've posted the chat transcripts for last night's worldbuilding seminar and the launch party at www.fabianspace.com. Check out the news section on the homepage for the links.

My Novel's Journey: the Dragon and the Prairie Dawg

Magic, Mensa and Mayhem started out as a lark and a favor returned for a favor given.
I was working on a story I'd hoped to sell to the anthology Ten Plagues. It sprung from combining the Plague of locusts with a testimony I'd read about someone who said the fairies had a war behind is house, but in the form of flies. The story turned out great, though it ended up in The Sword Review rather than Ten Plagues. However, "war as insects" sounds really stupid, so I had decided to dress that up by translating it into Gaelic.

I asked around my groups and a friend directed me to Shirley Starke, a Mensan in North Dakota. She gave me the phrase, and I sent her the story as a thank you. She asked if she could run it in the ND Mensa newsletter, The Prairie Dawg. Of course, I had to say no, but a serial story sounded like a fun idea. World Gathering was coming up in Florida that year, so we came up with the idea of the Faerie creature wrecking havoc at a Mensa Convention.

Magic, Mensa and Mayhem was born.

Later, when Dindy Robinson at Swimming Kangaroo asked if I had a DragonEye book, I realized how easy it would be to novelize the serial. It's been an interesting exercise, as the serial, which is done in 1000-word spurts, has fewer characters and complexities, and thus ended up with a different ending as well. On the bright side, you can read and enjoy both on their own terms.

We're wrapping up "Word Gathering: Magic, Mensa and Mayhem" in a couple of months. I think we might go for an "Ask the Dragon" format for awhile. We're still exploring ideas.

Thanks again, Shirley and The Prairie Dawg!

BTW-- Magic, Mensa and Mayhem is now on Amazon!
Print: http://tinyurl.com/mmmamazon
Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/mmmkindle

My Novel's Journey: MM&M--Creating Vern

They say there are no new stories--just new ways of telling the same story. I found this irritatingly true when I was trying to come up with a new dragon story for an anthology called Firestorm of Dragons.

I don't know why, but I felt determined to get into this anthology from DragonMoon, so one afternoon, I cornered my husband and demanded he brainstorm with me. Rob has a brilliant mind; plus, as a cadet, he read every science fiction and fantasy novel in the Air Force Academy library and had been struggling to keep up ever since. If someone had popularized a particular take on dragons, I trusted him to know it.

He did, too. No matter what idea I came up with--from the dragon as a victim to dragon in human form, he remembered someone who'd done it before. After a frustrating half hour of "How about...?" and "Been done," we called a break to go watch TV with the kids.

Our favorite show at the time was Whose Line Is It, Anyway?, a comedy improve, where comedians do skits. Colin Mochrie and Ryan Stiles have a noir schtick that pokes fun at those movies of hard-boiled PIs of the 40s and 50s. As we sat on the couch laughing, I realized I could write comedy noir--with a dragon! Rob hadn't heard of one, so from there, I started mining the cliché's.

Wrong side of the tracks: Let's put him on the wrong side of the Interdimensional Gap.

Disrespected by authority, unable/unwilling to get an "honest" job: The Gap recently happened, and the two universes don't trust each other. People in the mundane universe especially don't trust a real dragons. One thing's for sure--the US isnt' giving him a Green Card.

Chip on his shoulder: What better for a dragon than a bad run-in with St. George. Of course, our St. George killed dragons, so I decided to twist that. Faerie dragons, I decided, can't die, so George would have to find some other way to inconvenience/incapacitate him. I decided to make Holy Mages, and George put a spell on Vern: he took away all his dragon glory--size, strength, flight, magic, fire--then told him he could earn it back by serving sentient beings under the direction of the Church. (I had no idea then how important this idea would be to the DragonEye, PI, universe.)

From there, I added a damsel in distress, a romantic lead, a diabolical plot, and got "Dragon Eye, PI."

"Dragon Eye, PI" appeared in Firestorm of Dragons--much to my joy!--and I had the opportunity to see how others treated the theme of "dragons." I was floored by the imagination of my fellow contributors.



And I'm so very grateful to editors Michelle Acker and Kirk Dougal, and Gwen Gades, publisher of DragonMoon. I could not have done it without you!

More character sketches for Roe!

It's so much fun to see what an artist can do with your characters. Sometimes, the resutls are...mystifying, like when a magazine artist made drew of my Rescue Sisters in a form fitting spacesuit--and gave her a figure that would have made Barbie jealous. And inhumanly large hands. Needless to say, the magazine ran a different illustration, but I kept a copy of the sketch in my files. To this day, I wonder just what I wrote in the story to have made him imagine a nun looking like that.

Roe Mesquita, cover artist for Magic, Mensa and Mayhem, has not read the book. He's been going off the descriptions I've sent him (and some pictures off the Internet.) A couple of days ago, he sent these sketches of the supporting characters:



I'm thrilled with the results. I love how with just a few details, he managed to capture the personality as well as the look of most of these characters.

Galendor: I gave Roe a picture of Legolas for this one, and told him to age it a bit. Galendor looks angry because in the cover, he and Gozon will be fighting. I wasn't sure about the cheekbones, but I like him.
Gozon: Oh! Roe caught the aging powerful beaurocrat look very well. Gozon will always look like this in my mind now.
Sister Grace: By far, my favorite. Sweet and intelligent. In Live and Let Fly, Vern comments that he could be happy just watching Grace smile at him all day. Vern adores this sketch.
Kent is actually Garn, but that was my bad--I switched the names in the description. I love him, though, and Garn is who we need for the cover, anyway.
Galinda is just lovely, with a touch of pert. I'd always imagined Galinda with tight waves in her hair for some reason, but didn't mention them in the description. I'm glad I didn't--Roe's sketch is so Faerie Princess in the Mundane world.
Coyote: I didn't like Coyote much at first, and my daughter Amber agrees. We'd always imagined him more "boy band" and less "Geronimo." Rob, however, tooka look and commented, "Not what I expected, but he nailed him." So I looked at some photos online of Native Americans and that is the right face. However, the expression is wrong. No matter how conniving Coyote may be, it never shows on his face. He's the happy-go-lucky dog type--the kind that gets into your trash can and looks at you as if saying, "I found the bacon grease! Aren't you so proud? What a fun game! Can I have a cookie now?" I sent him back some photos of panting coyotes and happy Labradors to give him an idea of what I mean.

Fun Working with a Cover Artist

I've said it before and I'll say it again: one great thing about working with a small press is getting to work with the cover artist.

Roe has already considered my suggestions and come back with the next iteration of Vern. I love it. I feel like he's caught the fun side of Vern's personality, which, really, Vern has just been discovering himself.



The only thing I still didn't like are the eyes. In part, I'm not thrilled with the "googly" factor (the circle and lines surrounding the eyeball), but more than that, I've made a big point in Live and Let Fly that Vern has 270 degree vision because of the position of his eyes--but that he can only see directly in front of him because of magic. In Live and Let Fly, as his magic drains, he starts going blind in front of his nose.

I'd already sent Roe some links to illustrations of the eyes I was thinking of, so to make sure he understood what I meant, this time, I decided to draw them myself.


As you can see, I traced over his sketches and made my changes. I'm a good tracer. :) I know he'll make it look terrific.

Someone asked me about the style we'd chosen, and why we didn't go for something more grand. We deliberately chose a cartoony/caricature style because it best suits the tone of the book. I spent an hour in the bookstore looking at the different cover styles and deciding what they said to me. Even the painting-style covers of books I knew were humorous did not say "slapstick," and they tended to blend in with the high fantasy or even get pushed out of the limelight. However, these covers stand out:



Myth, Inc. by Robert Asprin (RIP) and Jody Lynn Nye are similar in tone to Magic, Mensa and Mayhem and Phil Foglio's covers reflect the book perfectly. I wanted the same for MM&M. In fact, if I'd thought I had a chance at getting Foglio, I'd have jumped, but I'm glad I got Roe Mesquita. He's great to work with.

We have a cover artist!

W00t! We have a cover artist for Magic, Mensa and Mayhem!

The other artists I'd mentioned earlier did some sketches of Vern, and although they are very talented, they didn't get the feel Dindy (the publisher) and I wanted, so we started the search anew. We considered about a dozen other artists as recommended by friends and acquaintances. I perused art websites and DeviantArt... I was getting worried.

Last week, three talented finalists sent their sketches. One by Gregory Price made me laugh.



It wasn't quite Vernish. I sent him some suggestions; lots of suggestions. Maybe I scared him? Either way, he had a family emergency happen after Christmas and could not have completed the work.

Another artist, Justin Shauf, Sent me this one at the last minute. Can you believe this is his first time drawing a dragon?



My daughter, who goes by Amblifier, had a great sketch going, but at 13 wasn't ready for the assignment, and didnt' get the sketch done by deadline. However, her concept was very good. You may see some of her stuff on my stories I sell as PDFs later. She wants to finish her sketch before I put it up.

So, we have Roe. Yay! Dindy found him on Deviant Art, and he's doing another cover for her, so we know he has experience. Roe is from Brazil and had a comic-book style that I wanted for MM&M. English is his second language, so I was very impressed that he was able to parse my long-winded description of Vern and come up with the sketches above. (I sketched the changes I thought needed to be done.)

I'm relieved the search is over and excited to see what the cover looks like.

Want to know how Vern felt about being sketched? Go to www.dragoneyepi.net and read it for yourself.