Goat Book Cover WIP 1

Art

A leaping goat, looking behind him and smirkingThis is Elvis. He is a magical goat who can create portals into other realms.

Designing my latest book cover has been a struggle…but I finally got my composition in order and now I’m working on the individual elements one-by-one. Different than how I usually work. This goat pose was tricky, but I think he’s well on his way now!

 

Writing Bundles Kickstarter – enriching and (possibly) career-changing writing book bundles!

Indie Publishing Friends, Recommended Reading, Writing

Please check out:

Writing Bundles

A Kickstarter Campaign Creating Five Writing and Publishing Bundles that Include 17 Writing Books.

Normally I’m not one to signal boost Kickstarters, but this one’s well worth a look. Veteran writers Dean Wesley Smith and his wife Kris Rusch have a Kickstarter going now where if you pledge $10, you can pick from one of five bundles of books on different writing topics. Pay a little more, you can get them in paper…get lectures…etc.

Here’s why this is exciting to me: Smith’s Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing blog posts (two sets of which are compiled in two of the books in the “Industry” bundle) literally changed the course of my writing career. At the end of 2016, I’d just finished the manuscript for Steel City, Veiled Kingdom (SCVK) and was feeling pretty down. It was a ginormous novel and I knew novels that big rarely do well with literary agents. It’d take years to shop around, and after that, they’d probably want me to change it, if anybody accepted it at all (which was a long shot).

Then I stumbled upon those posts and realized…yeah, I had ALL the skills to self-publish it. And no need for an agent at all. Three-ish years later, SCVK is out in ebook, soon to be in paperback, and in the meantime, I’ve got, like, a dozen shorts and a few other novels available on Amazon, BN, and libraries (among other digital storefronts) and more fiction on the way.

NONE of that would have happened without Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing–and in this Kickstarter, you can get it plus three other ebooks in the “Industry” bundle for just $10. And there’s, like I said, five total bundles on different topics.

It’s good stuff, folks.

If they make it to $9,000 before April 30th, 2020, everyone who pledged $5 or more will get access to SIX workshops on topics like Writing Sci/Fi, Writing Thrillers, Writing Time Travel, etc. I’ve done some of their free courses and have LOVED them so this is a great goal to aim for. Even if that doesn’t come true, the info in these bundles is invaluable–it was career-changing for me!

So please, check out this Writing Bundles Kickstarter. They’re covering topics I bet you never even thought about. 🙂

Pay-What-You-Want Piano Sheet Music to help you while away the time in quarantine

Music Composition

Dunno ’bout you, but I’m finally going stir-crazy around here. Yesterday, though, I took the time to do something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time: put some sheet music on my Gumroad store.

The first is an easy piano solo inspired by a former student’s kitten, called Jade’s Garden. What’s new? I added a version primarily made with 8th notes. You get both versions when you download it.

Cover for JADE'S GARDEN, profile of a seal-point cat in a lush yard with yellow flowersJade’s Garden: Pay-what-you-want at Gumroad

Second: I compiled all those simplified hymns I adapted into one printable PDF book called Sacred Hymns for Five-Finger Piano: an Easy Piano Collection for All Ages:

Cover for SACRED HYMNS FOR FIVE-FINGER PIANO, a lamb in a green fieldSacred Hymns for Five-Finger Piano: Pay-What-You-Want at Gumroad

Finally, just wanted to remind you I wrote an intermediate piano solo in the ambient spirit of Brian Eno and Harold Budd. This one’s $2.99.

A stony mountain seen through a warm glowing haze. Text reads: Mountain Bells, Intermediate Piano Solo, by Danielle Williams Mountain Bells: Buy at Gumroad

Hopefully I’ll get off my keister and post some more drawings–I scanned plenty earlier this year, just haven’t gotten around to watermarking them yet.

New Dark Fantasy Short Story Release: HELLO, WIZARD

Art, New from Pixelvania Publishing, Writing

Hello, wizard.

You know what I need to hear.

I’m listening.

Cover for HELLO, WIZARD. Eerie glowing text pops off a wrinkled piece of paper against a stone background.

Deep in a sunless dungeon, a father struggles to hold onto hope.

Then the glowing notes arrive. They offer freedom—for a very simple price.

But some things should never be for sale, even in the darkest places…

HELLO, WIZARD is a tense dark fantasy of integrity and temptation.

Read an excerpt over at Pixelvania Publishing.


This story may be short, but it packs quite a punch!

New fiction releases + status update!

Art, News from Pixelvania Publishing, Site Updates, Writing

Hi everyone! I aten’t dead, I just switched to Linux and have been busy writing and arting away! (If not always scanning, d’oh!)

I’m rethinking the kinds of things I want to feature on PIXELVANIA STUDIOS. But in the meantime, I wanted to let show you the covers totwo new stories I released: THE WITCHING LICENSE and DEBUTS AND DRAGONS.

Cover for THE WITCHING LICENSE: A green hand grabs a purple witch's hat trailing stars against a magical glowing blue moonMavis Burnsides is on her deathbed when her best friend brings her a Witching License. Now she’s got magical powers—and one last night to make up for a lifetime of regrets.

By turns sassy and touching, The Witching License is a gentle tale of regret, romance, and righting wrongs.

Read an excerpt at Pixelvania Publishing!


Cover for DEBUTS AND DRAGONS, featuring a green dragon wearing sunglasses, earrings, and a necklace

Though she’s not much to look at, dragon Sellafield Terrormouth never worried about snagging a mate for herself. But now that her little sister is about to debut in dragon society, Sella’s got one night to go from drab to fab. If she fails, she’ll lose her entire dowry—and quite possibly doom herself to eternal spinsterhood!

Can this plain dragon get herself a date, or is her future about to go up in flames?

Contemporary fantasy fans won’t want to miss this lighthearted (and scaly) look at love, friendship, and inner beauty.

Excerpt here at Pixelvania Publishing.


Both books are available in LARGE PRINT format, which is a thing I guess I’m doing now! They make great stocking stuffers, too! *eyebrow waggle*

Finally, y’all need to watch KLAUS if you haven’t already. Here’s why.