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So, sticking with the title of this blog you can guess what’s been my focus for the last month. Things are progressing with the release of my second novel, The Secret Cage. This has been amidst an eye-rolling surprise from Redbubble, the POD company who is our main provider for our merchandise. That’s mugs, t-shirts, stickers and more. In between that and trying to push for reviews for The Witch’s Foundling and The Secret Cage, it’s been a busy month.

This might be why I came up with our latest design for our store: Not today, Bear! Not today! If you’ve heard of the old saying, “Some days you get the bear and some days the bear gets you.” Well the latest design deals with sounding off about that struggle. It will be available (for now anyway) at our Redbubble Store.

With this new change, SillWill Studios is a bit better off than a lot of accounts in that, under the new Tiered system, we qualify as a Premium Account. It means we’re exempt from most of the new fees. Many creators will not be. This has prompted many artist to leave Redbubble. It’s a tense time and another example of the challenges faced by Indie artists.

So, what does this mean for SillWill Studios? Partly, that we’re looking into offering our designs on a variety of platforms. Whenever we get things sorted out, we’ll let you know here or in newsletter. While P. O. D. has been a complete game-changer by opening up avenues for artists and authors to get their designs and stories in front of an audience, there has been a foreseeable downside.

With everyone getting a kick at the can, the marketplace for designs and stories can be immense. That’s where the challenge of marketing comes in. With the limited budgets faced by Indie artists and authors taking the potential pay-cut represented by Redbubble‘s changes will leave many people scrambling even more to grab a piece of that audience-pie.

Speaking of Marketing, in a broad digital landscape, sometimes the personal touch means a lot more. So, if you happen to be in London, Ontario on May 20th, come and say Hi at The Bread and Roses Bookshop. It’s on the second floor of the Western Fair Farmers’ Market. We can talk novels and illustration and how to get your work out there. It would be great to hear what you might be working on too.

I plan to discuss Print On Demand in more detail in a further blog but if anyone has any questions about the process, feel free to shoot us a question. You can do it here or reach out to us on Facebook or Instagram. It would be great to hear from you. Until then, when you see that Bear coming at you just say:

Another title for this blog might have been, “What to do when the well runs dry?” That question, or a variation, is something creative people are frequently asked. I’ve done blogs in the past touching on the subject but I thought I’d take a look back at it. Partially due to the fact that I struggled to choose a topic for this month. Not being prepared to turn to ChatGPT, I asked myself what is it that inspires me?

Firstly, I don’t recommend waiting around for the Inspiration Fairy to show up. Staring at a blank screen or page can instill a sense of stress, even panic that can stifle creativity. In such a case, I recommend you do something unrelated to the artistic endeavour you’re engaged in. Take your dog for a walk, chat with a friend, sew a quilt, climb a mountain, lead a rebellion against a fascist empire to impress a romantic interest – just a minute, let me jot that down.

Secondly, having interests outside your writing or art can actually help you broaden your imagination. This in turn will grant you more resources on which to draw for inspiration. Love to garden? Perhaps it inspires you to create the story of a homicide detective that is hunting a serial killer with a fetish for rare plants. Or perhaps you’ll draw a charming flower fairy for a children’s book.

Collect vintage toys? Perhaps you write a rom-com about two rivals competing to purchase an antique toy from an eccentric collector. Or you use toys to create an installation about the decline in handmade items in competition with mass-produced cheap toys?

Or while watching a scary movie, you question the behaviour of a malevolent spirit and your wondering inspires a scary story of your own.

Such was the case for my first novel, The Witch’s Foundling. I can’t even remember the name of the horror/scary film I was watching but it featured a ghost, killing people in revenge for the injustices they suffered in life. I recall thinking, “Why is the ghost killing innocent people who never did anything to them? What kind of story could you create, centred around a spirit that sought to atone, rather than hurt?” Thus, the character of Samdriel was formed. Very quickly the image for his first meeting with Sally followed and I built the world of The Witch’s Foundling from there.

Other artists can also be a source of inspiration. As a big fan of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, choosing an isolated, Victorian manor for my main setting felt like a natural choice. I loved the creepy, gothic aesthetic in terms of mood and location and how the 19th century societal structures could affect/constrain my protagonists. Overlaying that approach, the quote from author Maya Anjelou provided some guidance: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you make them feel.” With that in mind, I tried to build a strong emotional foundation to my Gaslamp/Gothic Fantasy. All together those sources have been enough for me to write five books. (Only the first and second books are out though.)

Sometimes my illustrative work allows me a break from writing and exercises other parts of my brain. These complimentary interests keep me investing in my imagination. My palomino Pegasus is an example. In my second novel, The Secret Cage, lightning has a symbolic significance. Can’t say if that directly influenced the creation of my latest design you’ll find on our Redbubble store, but it certainly didn’t hurt. Can you picture yourself riding a mythical beast like this across stormy skies? Or maybe you’d just prefer to read about it? Let us know on our Facebook or Instagram pages.

A couple of weeks ago, I revealed the cover to The Secret Cage, the second book in The Witch’s Foundling series on the Facebook and Instagram pages for SillWill Studios. At least, I revealed the front cover. Below, I thought some of you might like to see the entire cover, including the dustjacket for the hardcover edition. I am truly pleased by the results from Tellwell Publishing with the look and I hope you are as well.

First, the full paperback cover.

Now for the the dustjacket for the Hardcover.

In the case of The Secret Cage I approached the designers at Tellwell with a fairly firm idea of what I wanted to see. For The Witch’s Foundling series, I envision keeping the young woman’s silhouette being repeated for each book; supporting images and colour scheme will change. This is intended to create a connection between the books in this planned five book series while allowing each book to have a distinctive look.

Each of the various formats, paperback, hardcover and ebook, require adjusted parameters so choose a design that translates well for each format. However, if you too are an aspiring indie author, remember that a cover needs to reflect the tone and genre of your story. You want a cover that is eye-catching but if it does not attract your target readers you risk poor reviews. And nobody wants bad reviews.

There are numerous factors to consider when trying to choose a cover design. This isn’t a concern if you’re a traditionally published. Such a decision will be made for you by your publisher. If you’re an indie author, you need to focus on different factors when it comes to the cover for your novel. These factors are: genre, target audience and if it’s a standalone book or one of a series. There are lots of independent book cover designers out there as well as services like Tellwell Publishing. They offer all the services from editing, cover design, interior design and more at one place. What you choose will depend on your goals and budget.

Moving on to the ‘More’ of “Book Covers and more” is my latest illustration (because I do that too). I’d like to introduce you to Miss Clover O’Hallahan, The Leprechaun Catcher. She promises to humanely address any leprechauns, fairies, sprites and kobolds who may be infesting your home. You can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in peace and not worry about what might actually be in your green beer and know the mischievous creatures will be released into their natural enviroment far from your home. You can find Miss O’Hallahan at our Rebubble Shop on a number of high quality items. The fridge magnets are particularly cool.

Gotta love that quote from Mark Twain. It goes a long way to describing my approach in my novels. It’s also descriptive of another well-known term, Artistic License. It’s where an artist or author disregards the actual facts of a story to present it in a manner they feel most compelling. Under many circumstances ignoring the actual truth, then representing a story as real, is greeted with derision, even contempt. However, at other times Artistic License is appreciated for the entertainment value that results. It’s all due to how things are presented. A stretching of the truth is generally accepted – if it’s clear that it’s being done in the first place. This can reveal itself in different ways.

In my novels of The Witch’s Foundling series, a large part of the action takes place at the country estate of Briarstone Manor. I never say specifically where in England but I was inspired by Yorkshire with it moody moors. However, I needed some pivotal scenes to take place in a forest setting. At the time of my stories, late 19th century England, a lot of resources had been used for the massive, domestic engineering projects of the day. Thanks to conservation efforts, forests are now more vigorous than they were. However, back then it would have been different.

A modern image that conveys a sense of the moody setting for The Witch’s Foundling and The Secret Cage. This is what I envision for the enviroment around Briarstone.

The other point on which I take some Artistic License is with the relationship between Sally, the protagonist of The Witch’s Foundling and The Secret Cage and the servants of Briarstone Manor. Such relationships traditionally adhered to a rigid hierarchy. Servants did not talk with their masters unless directly addressed. Sally’s conversations with some of the staff would likely never have occurred in a true Victorian household of the time. However, I figured, Sally’s outlier status could have made such interactions possible, even likely. Also, due to her questionable background, the servants would not necessarily see her as higher in the social order.

If I stayed within the confines of historical accuracies there would have been a lot of interesting scenes that never would have occurred. In cases like this, I followed what I wanted for the story instead. Not to mention that if you’re going to have witches, ghosts, sorcerers and demons running around, you’ve already stepped outside the normal bounds of history.

In the end, Artistic License is fine for fiction, not so much for non-fiction. The book scene today is abundant with alternate histories fiction, time travelling adventures and gothic, Gaslamp Fantasies like my novels. It always comes down to your goal for your story. Ultimately, as an author you get to decide what that is. As a reader, you get to decide if you’re willing to allow for that deviation into the fantastical, or not. How do you feel about “Artistic License”? Let me know on Facebook or Instagram.

I couldn’t let you go without showing you my latest illustration, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Here’s one blind date to be wary of. Our lovely gorgon, Medusa is really only into Valentine’s Day for the chocolate. So, if that’s your favourite part of that particular celebration of romance you can join forces with her. This illustration can be found on an abundance of high-quality products in our Redbubble Store. Check it out and enjoy the some yummy goodies all for yourself.

This blog will be rather short as the holiday season has found me pulled in many different directions. So, straight to the good news … It’s happening! Book Two of The Witch’s Foundling series is coming out in 2023! I had hoped for a release in February but it looks like it will be in March. Not too bad though. I hope you’ll be as eager to read it as I was excited to write this next adventure of Sally and Samdriel.

For those who have yet to read the first novel of the series, you’ll know I revealed the title of the second book in a special preview. For those that haven’t read it, this will come as more of a surprise. I really pile on the the adventure and raise the stakes in the next book, so I recommend you buckle up for a battle where cost of victory may be to lose everything.

This isn’t the final typeface for the book but it does convey the mood. The second novel in The Witch’s Foundling series is …

For a little more information about the story in this book, I’m including the blurb that will accompany the listing for the book, once it’s available. Let me know what you think.

“Disappointed in her rejection by the arcane Society of Seekers, witch’s foundling, Sally Founder resigns herself to life as the companion of Lady Bellingham. Secretly, the Host to the disembodied spirit of Samdriel, she yearns for more. Her wish is unfortunately granted, after a chance encounter with evil at a London ball forces Sally and Samdriel upon a path that could lead to the discovery of their mystical bond.

Having to deal with guests at Briarstone Manor suffering from their own tragedy and a scarred young man seeking revenge, the pair has their hands full. With werewolves prowling the estate’s borders, the young woman must find a way to protect her secret and her loved ones. As a bloodthirsty enemy looms in the darkness, Sally learns that secrets can be like a cage and the cost of freedom could lead to the destruction of everything – including her heart.”

I hope you’re intrigued and will join the adventure. Stay tuned here and on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news about this and other projects.

It’s hard to believe that it’s already December. Well, not too hard considering the number of Hallmark Christmas movies running on the TV and the commercials pushing gift shopping. To that point, I’m making my pitch for supporting indie artists, authors and small businesses. As we wrap up this year, in more than paper, I rendered a New Year’s Dragon. You might have expected a Christmas Dragon, perhaps? Since I did one last year, I decided a celebration of the upcoming 2023 was more in order.

The Old Year’s Dragon is introducing the baby New Year’s Dragon to the world. Get ready to party! As usual you can find this design with all our other dragons at our Redbubble store. I hope this image conveys optimism and hope for the New Year. For me that will include more than just illustrations. The second novel in The Witch’s Foundling series will be coming out in February 2023. Stay tuned here and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to catch the latest news on the release. If you thought Sally and friends had a hard time in the first book, wait till you read the second. Things are about to get uniquely challenging as the adventure continues.

Consequently, the supernatural threat is unprecedented as well as the price to be paid defeating it. If you’ve picked up a copy of The Witch’s Foundling then you would also have had a glimpse of the teaser I included for the second novel. For those that haven’t, the next novel in the series is called The Secret Cage. You’ll be hearing a lot more about it in the coming weeks and months. Meanwhile, I’ve been playing with iMovies and put together the little trailer below. I hope you get a kick out of it. Talk to you next year.

Picture this: You’ve worked and slaved over your creation – novel or other endeavour – you’ve offered it up to the world. People welcome it enthusiastically and compliment you accordingly. Then, weirdly, you are flooded with doubts. You start questioning if your work is any good. Maybe you were fooling yourself and the people were only complimenting you ‘to be nice.’ Congratulations, you’re now neck-deep in Imposter Syndrome.

A lot of people will have no idea how you’re feeling. One thing I’ve learned about Imposter Syndrome over the years, it’s how pervasive it is. It’s amazing how even highly-successful people struggle with it. According to Anna Lou Walker in her book, “Ditch Your Inner Imposter“, there are five main categories of this Inner Imposter. Recognize yourself in any of these?

These categories can overlap and how rigidly they apply, depends on you. If you would like more detail, check out the book they were drawn from by clicking here. However, you’ll find there are numerous books about this subject. Imposter Syndrome has been around a long, long time.

I hope this little touch on a broad subject has opened your eyes the next time you question if you’re not good enough. It can take a lot of work but you and your work are worth it. It will also teach you to discern between ‘sage advice’ and ‘crap criticism’. Even when it’s coming from yourself.

For the Year of Dragons that I’ve been illustrating I had some trepidations about November. As the most prominent ‘holiday’ in this month (where we live anyway)is Remembrance Day. I looked for ways how a dragon could fit and be respectful. In the end, I decided to leave the red poppy exclusively to the veterans and have a purple dragon represent the purple poppy. This particular flower commemorates the sacrifice of service animals in war. I felt an angelic dragon drawing her wings around these animals would convey the sentiment I was hoping for. You too can offer your own sanctuary to the Dragon of Remembrance and honour all the animals that have served alongside our troops.

Two weeks ago I hosted an in-person book signing for The Witch’s Foundling. It went wonderfully and my guests seemed to have a good time. Especially those that won prizes. It was something I’m planning on doing again but it also illuminated some other issues I’ve been having. That’s where ‘Shiny Object Syndrome’ comes in. Expected or unexpected, I’ve been finding myself repeatedly distracted or diffused by different projects. Or a cat. You know how they are.

For the author, the biggest source of ‘shiny objects’ are the sheer volume of ideas you can come up with. Case in point for me: I’ve already begun writing on a spin-off series for The Witch’s Foundling. The story of two of the supporting characters, Tobias Dahlrimple and Agnes MacGregor, took off in my imagination. I had developed a backstory for them to help me in the writing of their characters. However, The Witch’s Foundling is Sally’s story so, all the information was not used within those novels. Yet, still …

Huh? What was I talking about? Oh, yeah, Shiny Object Syndrome or, if you’re any type of creative: “The distraction of a thousand ideas!” Fortunately, for me, I can divert some of this energy into my illustration work. Hence our ‘Year of Dragons.’ However, the challenge of regaining your focus remains. Part of that redirection depends upon having faith in the primary project and the goal you have for it. It helps if you remember what you loved about it in the beginning. This requires some skill of discernment as to whether the new idea is truly better than what you have going or something to put aside.

I resisted writing The Witch’s Foundling as I had other things on my plate at the time. However, images of the inciting incident for the story kept persisting so, I bought a spiral bound journal and started writing in my spare time. I did this more to exorcise the idea than thinking it would go any further. Well, you know what happened there. Yet, jotting down –not necessarily writing a whole novel – your distracting idea in a book set aside for that purpose can help grant you some control over all that wonderful creative energy.

A cool blog post that breaks down Shiny Object Syndrome is found at the Everhour site, written by Isaac Dumet. There, effective methods to work through diversions are offered. In 6 simple steps, too. FYI – Everhour is a time management app – I’m not affiliated with them but if you’re really far gone, it might be good to check them or other time management apps out.

Now, I want to point out Tip #4 – Limit the number of Projects running at a time – for me that means some of my time is dedicated to my writing, some is for my illustrations and some for my day job/rest of life. The best aid to sticking to those goals is trying to remembering Tip #6 Reduce time on social media. That particular addiction is promoting a sense lately I’ve spent too much time aimlessly scrolling so, my goal is to be more intentional with social media. It’s a struggle since as an introvert, lurking on the different platforms is the most natural for me. As you can see, the positive of recognizing Shiny Object Syndrome is reflecting upon and re-focussing on those priorities that best serve your creative goals. Perhaps you have hacks already that work for you. If so, please share. You never know who else could use the help.

I previously mentioned that one thing that works for me is to segment my work into writing, illustration and day-job/life. You can have more than one passion but it’s a matter of regulating the attention spent on the different areas. For day-jobs/life there is often not much personal choice available to you. However, that still leaves the rest completely under your control. I have my writing and my illustration set up as separate entities. Having a theme for my primary art projects has helped me keep a focus for that area. This is most recently seen in our latest dragon – Pumpkin the Halloween Dragon! There’s peril in the pumpkin patch! Watch out as our latest creature stalks the Jack O’ Lanterns. Or join him?

As an indie author it can be said on a certain level, once your story is finished, the real work begins. That’s because after all that lovely creativity, you’ve got to let go and present your baby to the wide world. The result from that step will be – you guessed it – Reviews! If you’re like me, an introvert, the thought of asking strangers for their opinion of your work becomes a massively intimidating part of your campaign to be successful. So, Reviews and how they help your sales and how you might get some? It can’t be too hard, can it? Well, it depends.

After your cover and your blurb, reviews can help you move sales along onto the road to financial success. It takes 50+ reviews on Amazon to get decent sales traction. But how to get reviews? One way is to simply ask on social media – Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, Pinterest, Goodreads, YouTube, Twitter and other platforms . Despite people complaining about Facebook it still remains the premiere social media platform. Instragram too has a good reputation for virtual book tours and bookstagrammers who can be approached for reviews. Just as a reminder always be super polite and give them lots of time to respond. If they don’t, move on. It’s also best to try establishing some sort of relationship and connection before you approach them for reviews. If you’re a complete stranger don’t expect to grab their attention right away. Most reviewers are incredibly busy and even if they accept your book, it will probably be put in a queue behind other books looking for reviews. Also, in this situation, you would provide the person with a copy of your book for free – most likely an ebook version though some reviewers ask for a print copy. So, if you approach someone in Australia that only reviews print books, consider the cost of shipping when you reach out. Other than that, you should never pay individuals for their reviews. Amazon, as example does not allow paid-for reviews on their site. However, there are ways to find people who may agree to review your book that does include a fee.

Beyond social media there are Review Services where you submit your book. The service then presents your book to their stable of readers. You do not pay a reviewer for their review, you are paying the service to find you readers. One such service is Reedsy Discovery. They charge a flat fee of $50.00 USD and will push your book to readers interested in your genre. They require your book be uploaded in PDF and EPUB formats. They do not guarantee that everyone who downloads your novel will leave a review or that it will be positive. With any service I mention here, you are taking a gamble, in a way, so pay attention to your budget. However, Reedsy Discovery does boast a 75% review rate (across the site, not genre specific) which is impressive overall.

A similar claim is made by the review service Book Sirens, the second site I’ve listed on. Book Sirens is more of a curated review service, in that you provide information on your book and then they ‘review for potential registration’. This means that if there is a glut of books in your genre being offered to their reviewers they may turn you down at the current time. You can always re-apply later. I got on. For this service, I provided my book in EPUB, PDF and MOBI formats. Their pricing system works differently too. You’re charged $10.00 USD to register and $2.00 USD for every reader that downloads – not just clicks on – your novel. You can ensure you stay on budget by capping the number of readers that can download. Now, there are larger, more prestigious review sites where you can submit your books, like Kirkus Review and The Indie Reader. However, those services run in the $500 USD range. Perhaps something to consider when you’re a more establi$hed and lucrative author.

Again, the services do not control what the readers say about the book – good or bad. However, the sites do offer help with particularly trollish reviews – even if it’s bad, we can respect an honest review but don’t allow the trolls any territory in your space. In any event, reviews for an Indie Author are one of the best way to get your book selling. Now, I have to go and try approaching some independent reviewers (politely, of course) and see if I can ensure more reviews. If you have read The Witch’s Foundling, please leave an honest review on Amazon, Goodreads or the platform of your choice. It really helps me keep this enterprise going and the next book coming!

After all this “Review Talk”, please check out the latest news about the Book Signing I’ll be hosting on the “News!” page of our website. If you can make it, I’d love to see you there!

Now, not everything here is about novels and reviews. I am also an illustrator, after all. So, I’ve continued with our Year of Dragons by creating the illustration for (drum-roll) The Back-to-School Dragon!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right? You’ll find our enchanting Prof. Dragon ready to receive students and go along to school on t-shirts, mugs, stickers, tote bags and more. Check it out at our Redbubble Store!