C.S. Robadue's Blog, page 13

Out Into the Blue

SEPTEMBER 2015, last day of the month, high time for an update and the latest news from WaveGarden Arts. The return of Autumn and cooler temperatures has always seemed a natural launching point for hunkering down with material and editing. Have completed another draft of the new book project and it is shaping up quite nicely. There will not doubt be multiple rounds of further edits (and it hasn’t yet made its way in to the hands of my editor, but I’m really looking forward to that and getting an initial reaction to the text!!). Feel this story needs a little more time in this sort of cocoon stage to spin and form.

Have been enjoying green tea mornings, reading a bit of science fiction (‘The Martian’ by Andy Weir, excellent read), and revisiting some old friends and mantras through watching a handful of James Bond movies.

Once the ‘finished’ draft of the new book has been sent off to my editor I’m going to switch focus and work on the illustrations. Like in ‘The Adventures of August Winter and the Blackstone Academy’ I plan on having small chapter heading illustrations as long as full page scenes. The more custom details in books the better as far as I’m concerned. As it is all a form of art to me, everything hidden in place perfectly, that creates an experience and a sharing of vision and imagination. It’s a beautiful thing when done well.

Have some imagery in mind, but I’ve only selected maybe half of the chapter images thus far (in terms of creating my own notes and lists for what to draw). So a lot of the finer points are still very much in play. That will be an undertaking for October and beyond, now the focus remains on the writing and editing.

Thanks for stopping by and catching up, feel free to comment, and offer up some Fall insights of your own!

– CS

10 Books to read as you savor the rest of summer

SOUTH COUNTY INDEPENDENT – Newspaper here in Rhode Island deserves my thanks and kudos for including ‘The Adventures of August and the Blackstone Academy’ in their roundup of books by local authors. The list was included in the August 6th edition of the paper and I was quick to bike over and snag a copy of it on my way home from campus. Flipping through the paper one would discover the full color picture of The Adventures of August Winter cover on the front page of the ‘Arts & Living’ section.

Was a welcomed surprise to hear about the inclusion of my book through the grapevine and I very much appreciate the editors at the Independent for selecting it. Thank you!

Have taken to the outdoors to breathe in inspiration for the coming weeks of writing and editing the new book I’m working on currently. Completed a fifty five plus mile (88 km) bike ride on Saturday, touring some of New England’s beautiful coastal and riverside locations. Plan on keeping that mojo going as far into the Fall as my resolve, plunging temperatures, and snowdrifts will allow. Enjoy the start to your respective weeks everyone, take care!

– CS

Reading, Writing, and Hiking

JULY 2015 – Finds me knee deep in the creative process! Piecing together the third draft of my next book and really getting my hands dirty with the editing and re-writes. Have made some big changes to the framing of the plot from the last draft that I see as elevating the storytelling. Which I like to think all goes in the readers favor [Which is a beautiful thing!] with more mystery and intrigue being woven in to the chapters.

I’m sure the writing process has been compared to climbing a mountain before, and I see it as an apt comparison. This month I took that challenge literally and did just that! Feel as if I’ve stumbled onto a new passion as I so enjoyed the physicality of the climb as well as the rewarding views at the summit of the mountain.

For the climb that is the writing process, I’ve been setting daily goals for number of new pages to add and so forth. I tend to clock in three pages of writing on a good day. Not quite massive numbers by any calculation, but it is bankable and an enjoyable pace. There are no shortcuts and good things take time to develop.

Have snagged a few new books to read, with ‘Armada’ by Ernest Cline taking center stage at present. He wrote ‘Ready Player One’ which has been one of my favorite reads from a contemporary fiction author. As it has been pointed out to me many times, most of the works I read are by authors from ages long gone by, haha.

I am certainly looking for more current works to read, so if you have a favored title or author that you think I might enjoy checking out, by all means pass the good word along!

‘Travels’ by Michael Crichton also made its way off my reading list and on to my desk. Finished it last week and felt inspired with my intellectual curiosity further stoked. I relished the sections when he talked about his writing as they were scattered through the pages amidst anecdotes from his exploration of the world (hence the title ‘Travels’). Such a fascinating fellow that achieved an incredible amount in his lifetime.

Curious about the view from the summit? Here it is, enjoy, and may you discover many adventures of your own in the coming months!

 

Narragansett Times Article

NARRAGANSETT TIMES – put out an article on ‘The Adventures of August Winter and the Blackstone Academy’ by C.S. Robadue recently, which was awesome to see in print. Catherine Hewitt broke the story which landed on the front page of the Wednesday edition of the paper. Story covers the rough creative arc that brought August Winter from imagination to the shelves of libraries, bookstores, and to favorite reading spots of those lucky enough to snag first edition copies of the book!

Narragansett Times Article 2015

Was an honor to be featured on the pages of the Narragansett Times and a special thank you goes out to Catherine Hewitt for the interview and write up! The book is now available in several local libraries as mentioned, with more to come in the months ahead. Copies are available for purchase online through amazon or at Books on the Square in the East Side of Providence or at Symposium Books in downtown Providence.

Narragansett Times Article 2015

Still looking to expand the audience for ‘The Adventures of August Winter’ and reach new readers. And if you are interested in a fun Summer read, definitely check it out! The book is certainly targeted towards an eight to twelve year old audience, but there is a lot to love for the inner child in all of us.

I personally have been doing a lot of reading lately myself. Most recently I finished the book ‘Mistborn: The Final Empire’ by Brandon Sanderson, which is a swords and sorcery (with an excellent magic system at that) book that came highly recommended. Especially for fans of the genre and the work of Robert Jordan, Terry Brooks, or Anne McCaffrey there is a lot to like there. Found myself most intrigued by the elemental based magic system.

Outside of reading and adventuring my days have been filled with working on a new book to share with the world in the not-too-distant future. But more on that in subsequent ‘news’ postings. Until then, happy reading, adventuring, & stay awesome everyone! – CS

 

Meanwhile on Westminster Street

WESTMINSTER street in Providence Rhode Island, home to Symposium Books, now carries ‘The Adventures of August Winter and the Blackstone Academy’ on its shelves. Luke, the store manager, set aside some time for us to meet several Fridays back and we discussed the book and including it amongst their offerings from world class authors. Really appreciated his time and insights. At some point in the coming months it is likely that I will return to do an author reading at Symposium Books thanks to Luke’s invitation.

As you can clearly see it is a brilliant looking bookstore with large inviting glass windows. All of Westminster is such a charming area to walk around with brick sidewalks and a lovely old world sort of feel. For directions and more information regarding Symposium books, click on the image above to be transported to their website!

 

Now Available In Stores

BOOKS ON THE SQUARE in Providence Rhode Island is the first bookstore to carry copies of ‘The Adventures of August Winter and the Blackstone Academy’. I am so happy that they were excited about adding it to their collection (as they have thousands of AMAZING books there!) and I can’t wait for people to discover it there. The shop itself is wonderful; located in Wayland Square on the East Side of the city (not far from where August attends school at the Blackstone Academy! Which makes it the perfect place for it to be the first place his adventures are available locally).

Charming really is the best way to describe Books On the Square and they are super pet friendly there and allow you to bring your four legged friend with you while you shop.

Books On the Square is located at 471 Angell Street in Providence, RI 02906. And know that you’ll be walking in the footsteps of August Winter himself, as he too has passed the shop many times before with his friends! Want to say a special thanks to Susan of BOTS for being so incredibly helpful and introducing me to the world of Indie Bookstores!

Click on the image above for more information and to visit the Books On the Square website!

 

Blackstone Academy Trailer

Broke out my number two pencil & some paper recently and with the help of my scanner and adobe after effects made a short animated trailer for ‘The Adventures of August Winter and the Blackstone Academy’! By short, I mean short, as it clocks in at under 45 seconds. Drawings are rough and gestural a bit at times, but that was the look I was going for since it was a quick piece and intended to be atmospheric.

Creating the raining visual effect took a bit of doing as most of the articles I read for adding rain animation required using plugins that I didn’t have. Necessity being the mother of all invention I went with a classic way of creating a rain effect using a screen layer over the drawings. With a bit of tweaking and some motion it created a pretty strong rain effect that I’m quite happy with and will likely use again in the future.

Would be cool if some people find the animation on youtube and checkout more of WaveGarden Arts work and the book itself! Had fun making the trailer and I might do other quick pieces like that in the future. Depending on the critical response and how much time I have.

Want to see the animation for yourself? Here it is, check it out!

Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a comment!

– CS

 

Goodreads Giveaway

Less than a week left in the goodreads giveaway of five signed copies of ‘The Adventures of August Winter and the Blackstone Academy’ by C.S. Robadue. Is a chance to snag a copy of the book if you haven’t yet been able to pick one up for yourself. Did I mention the best part of all, it’s free?! And I’ll be mailing out the copies myself as soon as the giveaway ends after April 1st. So check it out if you are interested!

Will be wonderful to introduce the world of August Winter to new readers and I am psyched that this opportunity exists. Thanks to goodreads for offering the infrastructure to do so. Wonder who will be selected at random for a copy??! Will it be you?? Only one way to find out!

[ Click here or on the ‘goodreads’ image to be taken to the page for the giveaway, and then click the button ‘Enter to Win’ ]

 

In Cataloging

NARRAGANSETT library helped me to achieve a lifelong goal this week and I want to thank them very much for the honor and opportunity… to have my book be an official part of the library collection!! Has always been a dream of mine to have a book that I had written be in the public library card catalog, and that day has finally come! Couldn’t be happier about it and I am thrilled that both children and adults will be able to read my work. I dropped a copy of ‘The Adventures of August Winter and the Blackstone Academy’ at Narragansett Library on Friday and just yesterday it was added into the system (Thanks Lynn!!) It is such a wonderful library and I have many great memories there and discovered so many authors and books there that had a profound affect on who I am and who I will become! It feels awesome to be able to give something back and share a story of my own.

Thank you Narragansett Library!!

Will be delivering copies to other libraries around the state of Rhode Island in the coming weeks and months. And plan to do some book talks to discuss the creative process and share the art style with local audiences. The journey continues!

– CS

Good Homes!

AWESOME to see copies of ‘The Adventures of August Winter and the Blackstone Academy’ arrive at locations across the country! Have had reports (including photographic evidence!) of early arrivals in a handful of states already. Want to thank my very earliest readers so much for your support and encouragement, you’re the best! Really does mean a lot! And it makes me smile to know that these books are going to such good homes! Can I stop writing in exclamation points?! Nope! Not today, too excited! haha. (Will try and contain the enthusiasm over here). Wonder where the next copies will land?! These are exciting days, what can I say!!

Have been enjoying all the Wintery weather and the time for reading that it affords. My ‘to read’ list is exceptionally long as I’ve received so many great recommendations from folks over the last year or so. Intend to dive right in as well as get myself fired up to continue work on my next book. Have enjoyed reading about other authors and what writers inspired them and which talents are held in special reverence for their works. Who are some of your favorite authors? I find myself drawn to the Classics personally, but do make an effort to pick up titles by contemporary visionaries as well.

Today I dabbled a bit more with both my Goodreads and Amazon Author pages. Added some additional content, including a brief bio that I whipped up. Check that out and let me know what you think!

Later my friends!

– CS

PS: Happy Groundhogs day everyone (for those of you reading this for the umpteenth time, my apologies! haha).