R.D. Vallier's Blog, page 8

Urban Palaces, Hidden Motel Gems

I realized I was turning my sour grapes yesterday into whine, instead of wine. A miracle happened in that my son fell asleep, and stayed asleep as long as I kept driving. Him napping is rare, so rare that it was probably the marking of a messiah being declared in a remote, distant village or something. Anyway, since I was stuck driving in a city I decided to take photos of what I found inspiring. I focused on these “urban fariytale palaces,” since they were easy to capture without risk of death. But, man, I wish I got a shot of the gas station marquee with the two red 1s ... it just screamed “secret code.”

I caught a train in this one!! ^^ Yay, trains!!

Kudos if you can identify what city I was losing my mind in.

We also got a motel for the night. I am obsessed with crappy motel rooms, and have stayed in some hideously wonderful doozies in my time. From the outside and the price, I thought we were going to get a time capsule of a place.

But no! The owners have poured love into this place, and the inside is adorable, well stocked, and obviously cared for. I love finding these hidden gems. :)

Now to entertain a toddler until 9pm. Check out time is 11am. I already had to have a locksmith come out, and it wasn't even 8am yet. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in ...

Also, I MIGHT actually make my 500 entry goal. I'm at 378 and 12 days left. Here's a giveaway link. Please share if you think someone would be interested. :) It is open to USA and Canada, as well as Australia and Great Britain ... because they need love too, to hell with the postage.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Darkshine


by R.D. Vallier

Giveaway ends June 16, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

My New Interview with Mercedes Fox

Mercedes Fox was kind enough to post an interview on her website. I always feel so weird doing these, but I realized I had never considered who my favorite character is. Or my least (which was a lot easier to choose).

Here is the interview: https://mercedesfoxbooks.com/meet-aut...


Right now I am trying not to cry and go crazy. This work contract is asinine and I am basically herding a 2 year old from 4 am to 5pm solo, without a motel or home base, just the car. I thought trying to get things done at a closed mall with a children's play area was genius ... but I was wrong. It is proving to be a disaster. The poor kid is sleep deprived because HR can't figure out where to send my husband. I've been driving 4 to 6 hours a day getting him to hospital training only to be told the other hospital needs him. Oh, and it is 2 hours away. I think he has worked a total of 3 hours in 3 days. At least he is paid for fulls.

Ok, just had to leak that frustration out of me somewhere. *sigh* I'm afraid to book any motels because they last time I did it ended up being a last minute hospital change and it kept us 2 hours from where we were supposed to be ... which meant waking the kiddo up at 4am again to get us there in time.

Finished Owl

Here’s the finished barn owl for the Goodread’s Giveaway. Three more to go, with the chickadee up next. This is fun, and a much needed distraction. :) I’m going to be traveling for the next 4 days and will miss this early-drawing-and-writing-in-a-greasy spoon routine.

Delano's Barn Owl Friend (Giveaway Test Sketch)

Here are the test sketches for Delano’s barn owl friend. I like it, and will use this design for the Goodreads Paperback Giveaway . Color, Ink, and Pencil stages shown.

First Giveaway Illustration

I like the original sketch more. I had to simplify all the lines to get it to fit without black ink going everywhere. I added more details with color pencil, but it isn’t showing in the photo. Oh well. One down, four to go. Please ignore the dirt under my thumb nail.
Giveaway Link

I’m irritated with the paperbacks. The proof came back amazing, but the printer who did the large run made the whole book a tad off-set. It still reads okay, but it makes me twitchy. I might be the only one who would ever notice though (so maybe I should just shut up hehe). Oddly enough, the cover borders are better than the proof ... So I have no idea what went on there.

The Off-Grid Homestead

My husband and I are building an off-grid homestead by hand, using raw materials we collect from the land (lumber, clay, stone) and landfill finds. I thought I'd start sharing some pics. This is phase 1, which will eventually be just the kitchen/dining area. It is about 6 months of work, and still needs more coatings of lime, and whole bunch of other things.

Our electric is mostly solar, with some propane. We're trying to get rid of the propane and convert to just wood. We have an outhouse and will be upgrading to a composting system soon. (oooh fancy!) I'm having issues with the outhouse pic, but will post it later. It is a 2 seater because we are elitist like that. ;)

I'll take and post more pics later. I don't have internet on the homesite ... or a desk to write on, for that matter ... so I go to a cafe from 5-8am every morning for internet. (I usually park our pickup in our pasture between 3-4:30am, and write with pen and paper.)

Speaking of which, the second book just got gasoline added to it. It always happens so fast. I'm slogging along, then the characters all seem to step forward and say: "You think you know what you're doing?? You're so precious!" And then they take over. Now I'm just another spectator along for the adventure, trying to write fast enough to keep up with the stories they tell. I love that moment. Absolutely love it.

First Sketch in a Book

image:
Here are some wing designs--as I see them--that I drew in a novel (not for the Goodreads giveaway). A lot more frustrating to pull off than I anticipated...


Giveaway link

Moth Sketch for Giveaway (in stages)

Here's the moth style I'm considering for Darkshine's 5 paperback giveaway. The 3 drawing stages in reverse order. Color, Ink, & Pencil. I'll probably thin the legs.
Thoughts?

Also, Darkshine's sales on Amazon end today. Ebook is $0.99 (usually $2.99), and Paperback is $9.99 (usually $12.99)

And, of course, the Giveaway :)

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Darkshine


by R.D. Vallier

Giveaway ends June 16, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

I love Aussies.

Darkshine's $0.99 ebook sale ends tomorrow (the paperback is on sale for $9.99, too). Amazon link and a Giveaway for a freebie listed below. Alright, now that that's out of the way ...

I love Australia. In 2012 my husband and I backpacked that country for 3 weeks, and it was friggin amazing. I was like a wildlife fan girl, squeeing all across the outback and shores. If you love wildlife, awesome people, and sexy accents, go to Australia.

And now I love Australia's Amazon! Darkshine hit their top 100 in urban fantasy yesterday, making it my first best sellers list. :) It only lasted a day, but that's damn cool for a no-name storyteller like me. (And Erin, I know you played a part in that with your review. So a big heartfelt "THANK YOU"!) I'm trying to figure out how to do giveaways for that country specifically, but it looks like their website doesn't give me the option. Boo. :( I love giveaways. They're fun!!! (Plus it makes me feel like I'm supporting my book, without being a total whore.)

Okay, here's some links:
Darkshine's $0.99 & $9.99 sale, ends tomorrow:
https://www.amazon.com/Darkshine-Book...

Here's the giveaway for a free ebook, just for Goodreads people:
https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/dc9671e...

I can't draw foxes, apparently

image:

Here is a pen and pencil experiment. I'm not happy with it. At all. Foxes are not easy for me. :/ I'll keep working on it, and try to get the pens that don't bleed to look better, too. Or maybe I'll just stick with birds. I love birds.

If anyone has a Facebook or blog or [insert 1 of a gazillion social media outlets], I'd really appreciate it if you posted my giveaway for the 5 paperbacks. I'd like to do more in the future, but I can't justify it unless I meet at least 500 requests. Right now I am at 257 with 28 days left. Thank you. :)

Here's the giveaway link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...