Rachel Roberts's Blog, page 2

Earth Day ’10

Hey, everybody! I hope you’re all out there enjoying the beautiful springy weather. Twigs are budding, flowers are blooming, and fer-elfs are making pies from freshly picked bubbleberries – ahhhh, the perfect way to enjoy a spring evening J As a lot of you know, April is Earth Month, and April 22nd is Earth Day. I think it’s fantastic that people all over the world are focusing on what they can do to help the environment.I wanted to get involved and do something hands-on, so I volunteered for a group called Heal the Bay. They’re a nonprofit organization in Southern California whose mission is to protect the water quality of the streams that flow into the Pacific Ocean so we can keep the water clean for all our aquatic friends. I participated in their Stream Team program – cool name! The Stream Team helps maintain habitats in Malibu Creek State Park. It’s a huge park, so there’s a lot of work to do. My assignment was to remove invasive non-native plants that had overtaken a slope near the creek.Before the land was preserved as a state park, it was used for raising cattle. The hay that fed the cattle brought a lot of seeds that were not native to the area. When the seeds sprouted into fields of grass, it became a big problem. Not only does it choke out the plants that are supposed to be there – like mugwort, stinging nettle, and blackberries – it makes it very difficult for the native oak trees to repopulate. That’s because their acorns need to fall on bare ground in order to take root. All the native vegetation grows in clumps, leaving plenty of space for the acorns to fall on dirt and sprout into baby oaks. But if the acorns land in a thick carpet of invasive grass, they can’t take root, and the population of oak trees starts to dwindle. And when native plants die out, animals no longer have the food and homes they need to survive. I was amazed that even one plant can endanger an entire ecosystem. It just proves that our environment is a delicate, interconnected system that needs every plant and animal to thrive. Maintaining habitats is a never-ending job, requiring constant work and vigilance.It took several hours, but with a few dozen volunteers, we got the job done.

Earth Day ’10 (04-22-10)

 

























This Earth Day, everyone can make a difference. You might find an opportunity to volunteer, but there are plenty of important things you can do on your own:



Recycle
Turn off lights and electronics when you leave a room.
Conserve water – take shorter showers and turn off the water while you’re brushing your teeth.
Use reusable cloth bags instead of paper or plastic bags
Don’t litter!!!
Use a refillable water bottle instead of pre-packaged bottles of water

Once you start practicing these good habits, you’ll be preserving the environment and inspiring your friends and family to follow your example. Wild places and wild animals need our help every day of the year, and when we all work together and do our part, that’s real magic!

Happy Earth Day!

Rachel

Rachel’s Boggle Blog

What’s up Team Magic!

The final volume of The Warlock Diaries is here, yay!

There’s something extra special in the new manga: a clue in the back of the book will guide you to a secret page on the Avalon site with an exclusive download of the new Be*Tween song! Check outOzzie’s blog for all the info.

Creating the Avalon manga adventure was all about teamwork. I was lucky to collaborate with a talented team who brought Avalon to life in a way no one had ever seen it before. My favorite part of the process was looking at the pages right after Shiei drew them. Even though I knew what was going to happen, it was always a surprise to see how Shiei divided the script into panels and designed all the pages. Take a look at how this short section of script I wrote was turned into an amazing spread by Shiei!

The mages and mistwolves sing the wolfsong to summon the Spirit Pack. ADRIANE

Great Spirit Pack,

please guide us to our friends.

The sky opens up and an arcing pathway of stars appears: the Spirit Trail. To the sides of the path are billowing clouds of mist. The Spirit Pack arrives and greets the mages.

SPIRIT PACK

Welcome, wolf sister.

ADRIANE

Thank you Spirit Pack Leader.

SPIRIT PACK

Run with us.

 

As you can see, Shiei did an amazing job translating the script into illustrations. A lot of times she’d pick up on aspects of the story I hadn’t even thought of. And it just got better and better as the letterer placed the dialogue and the shading artists refined the illustrations. (Check out the manga section of the Avalon site for more info on how the manga is created! avalonmagic.com/manga05.php) It’s awesome to have so many people adding their creativity and enhancing the story every step of the way.But Team Magic didn’t stop there. When it came time to add something musical to the magical mix, music mage Debra Davis wrote an awesome new Be*Tween song called “Golden.” The song perfectly captures the team spirit of Avalon, rocking out with friends to make magic happen.Now it’s your turn to join the team! Feeling “Golden” inspired me to write, Shiei to draw, and Debra to create music. Good things happen when you’re doing something you love and are full of inspiration. What will you do when you’re golden?Your friend,

Rachel

THE LATEST HAPPENINGS @ AVALON CENTRAL!

Hello, all mages! I’m back, baby!

Where have I been? I’ve been ferreted away producing the most amazing musical extravaganza ever to hit the magic web! No, it’s not the Farthingdale Community Theater’s production of Taming of the Boggle. This is something even better: the exclusive, magic web-wide premiere of the brand new song from Be*Tween! To celebrate the release of Volume 3 of The Warlock Diaries, the most famous fairy band on the web is going to spellsing their new hit Golden right into your ears.

 

How do you get this spectacular free download? Here’s what you do:

1) Get your paws on Volume 3 of the Avalon manga, The Warlock Diaries.

2) In the back of the book, there is a question. Read the book carefully, and type your answer into this secret link http://www.avalonmagic.com/avalon-the-warlock-diaries-exclusive-song/

3) If you answer correctly, BOOM BanG BLiNG – get ready to wigjig all over your house!

 

And now, a special guest: Be*Tween guitarist, Andiluna!

OZZIE: Welcome to the welcome page, Andi!

ANDI: Hey everybody!

OZZIE: First question: the song is called Golden. Did you name it after me?

ANDI: The choice was either Golden or Ferrets Just Want To Have Fun, so we went with Golden.

OZZIE: What was your inspiration for the song?

ANDI: Sylina, Crimson, and I tour the magic web spreading good magic with our music. Golden is about feeling so good and empowered that you almost glow. You know, all those warm fuzzy feelings.

OZZIE: I’m feeling a little fuzzy.

ANDI: When you’re golden, you have the power to make things happen.

OZZIE: So, what kind of snacks do you need when you’re writing music?

ANDI: Thanks to you, we had twelve boxes of oatmeal cookies to keep us rockin! But you can return the liver snaps to the Pet Palace.

OZZIE: Any advice for music mages out there?

ANDI: If you want to be good, you’ve got to put in the work. Practice. The more you know, the more you’ll be able to develop your own personal style. And it’s important to keep an open mind to all different kinds of music. You never know what’s going to inspire you!

OZZIE: All right, I know you’ve got to hit the portal and make it to your next gig. Thanks for stopping by. Good luck, rock on, peace out, paws up!

ANDI: Ferrets rule!