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Cutie Queues - a homemade font!

CutieQueues.ttf is on DaFont!

CutieQueues was created by hand using my iPad, a stylus, and the Notability app along with a PDF template from MyScriptTemplate.com. Enjoy!

EnterTheMirror.com

I am now publishing under the pen name Catiana Nak Kheiyn because that is the name that I use on my Divine Memorabilia column at Blogos.org. In an attempt to begin to make a name for myself in this ocean of writers, I am trying something new: the serial novella, published online at EnterTheMirror.com!

The Mirror Has Three Sides is a serial novella that is published on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. In short, it's a young adult science fiction novel, combining fast-paced adventure, fantastical creatures, and innovative sci-fi technology with twists of teenage angst and witty humor. Sound like something you'd like? I certainly love it. ;-)

Synopsis: Bannert and Golden, lifelong teenage friends, escape reality by using a miraculous mirror that leads to an extraordinary library with books that open portals to fairy tale worlds. Unfortunately, this is no magic mirror. It holds a terrible secret that will ensnare them in a plot that tosses them across time and space to find and rescue the only man who can save them.

But wait! There's more! This isn't just a passive serial novella. No, no... It's an opportunity for YOU to share your art and photography skills to help illustrate this story right on EnterTheMirror.com! Wanna know more?

Join me over there to read as this story unfolds throughout the week. The excerpts are short and digestable, but the story stayed engaging. Oh yeah, and leave comments! I love me some comments. ;-)

Avian Runes by Inkaholics 12

We are working hard to finalize the last few Inkaholics books, dating all the way back to the beginning of the summer. The June writers group, Inkaholics 12, wrote an incredible fantasy story about a woman who must escape the clutches of dark magic called Avian Runes. Here's the synopsis:

Letto the rune crafter is an albino changeling—part hawk, part human—whose magical body is the target of a wicked consortia and their leader. Through some unseen enchantment, Letto’s ability to transform is taken hostage, sending her into uncontrollable fits of painful metamorphosis. As fate sweeps her deeper into a plot to murder the Court Magician of Hydridge Castle, Letto finds her only hope of escape falls into the hands of a pair of thieves and their unsavory professional network.

Will Letto find strength enough to fight for her freedom while her body is under the spell of evil forces? Will her thieving friends find hearts of  selflessness after living a life of greed? When the final moment comes, will Letto be able to save the one person who seemed to start it all?

Opening Paragraph Critiques!

I recently found out about this funky blog called "Teens Can Write, Too!" It's a great resource for teen writers—very encouraging and they are just now starting to grow.

Anyway, there's an opportunity for young writers ages 13-20 to get their first paragraph critiqued by the blog author (for free!) just by commenting on THIS POST. (<--Click that. Don't post it here. ;-))

The blog owner is a high school student named John who loves reading and writing YA fiction. Check it out!

Teens Can Write, Too!

No Idle Hands Here

You know those times when you don't really have enough minutes to finish a project properly but there are too many minutes to just sit around doing nothing either? In those times, I get strange graphic design ideas, and this was one of them:

I decided that, for some reason, I needed to update my Facebook cover photo with a custom one. I had had a clever (but stolen) image there for awhile which featured two beloved comic icons of 80s pop culture:

But it was time to change, and I had 40 minutes, so I looked up writing quotes and found this gem of quote from Stephen King's On Writing, a book that is part biography and part writer's guide--an excellent resource. (Though I must always give the caveat that it does contain a sprinkling of King's token profanity.)

The background is the scanned image of a page from one of my tutoring sessions. The red spatter is stock photography. The font is Urban Jungle.

Clockwork Conspiracy by Inkaholics 11

I'm super excited to announce our first steampunk Inkaholics novella, Clockwork Conspiracy by the Inkaholics 11 Writers Group. We had all of our writers from Inkaholics 9 in this group as well as one high schooler whom I met through NaNoWriMo's insanity last year--yeaaah!

One of the surprises that came from this story is a character named Agent Pierce. He appeared out of nowhere in one of the writers' scenes, and he ended up sticking around until the bitter end, charming the daylights out of me and my assistant editor. You get to meet this wonderful character in this delightful novella!

Magic & Mayhem are afoot.

Arminta Cogurae is known as the oddball of Brazenglass, but that doesn’t stop her from happily inventing novel machines and improving her fellow citizens’ timekeepers.

But life is not always pleasant in the city, especially under the watchful eye of the Red Flint Agency, an organization devoted to the suppression of magic. When Arminta and her young apothecary friend, Fred, are inadvertently entangled in the manhunt of a known criminal, they find themselves drawn deep into a national conspiracy.

The tinker will need to breech all boundaries and entrust her liberty to a few Red Flint agents and a stranger who has ensnared her very livelihood into a wicked design for war.

"Carl" by Inkaholics X

Just as we're beginning a new Collaborative Writers Group (Inkaholics 12), two more books are coming to their final stages. The Inkaholics X Writers Group novella, Carl: the Uprising of a Leprechaun Madman, is now available!

This incredible story tells the background of a minor character from The Case of Dr. What by Inkaholics 007. There are some blatant nods to prior Inkaholics books in this one that make it extra special. Here's the synopsis:

Carl isn’t your average leprechaun.

Sure, he has the green bowler hat and short stature, but he’s also the son of Mickey McPherson McWharle, son to Michael Marscapone McWharle, the Godfather of the Leprechaun Mafia. Trouble is, Carl doesn’t like being a hitman for the Family. All he wants is a peaceful life and a lovely companion.

With the help of his new friends Qué, a 6’ 6” meerkat, and Phish, a goldfish detective with telekinesis, Carl takes a leap of faith and attempts to leave the Leprechaun Mafia Family. His actions spawn a series of events which only get more dangerous and forbidding with every passing day.

Will Carl find the balance between the good in his heart and the evil in his genetic makeup? Or will one side rise up and reign supreme?

Comic: My Life in Line

One of my dear friends (and my Inkaholics assistant editor!) has a love-hate relationship with Colorado. The last time she visited, we ended up at Public Health to get her a tetanus shot. The time before that, I drove her down a mountain to go to the Emergency Room. She halfway jokes that she has an allergy to my state. Thus was born the inspiration for this:



I feel quite honored and loved that she keeps returning despite her misadventures...

Prophecy's Keys: Pieces of Souls by Inkaholics 9

We are super excited to present the latest novella from our young writers, Prophecy's Keys: Pieces of Souls by the Inkaholics 9 Writers Group. This group is pretty sure they are going to want to write a prequel and/or a sequel, so we have boldly added "Book 1" to the title.

All of the writers in this group were completely new to Inkaholics Groups, but I think we have them hooked because every one of them just finished being a part of Inkaholics 12. (More on that later!) Here's a little bit about this classic fantasy story from Ink 9:

Morgana is a fresh graduate of the Kentis Institute of Magic, but her wizard’s staff is already misbehaving. In fact, a dark power hidden inside the ornamentation has shrouded an entire village in a madness-inducing mist.

The young wizardess vows to correct the situation and finds help in a clumsy apprentice blacksmith and a paranoid, recluse dragon. But a wicked creature from her past interferes with their quest at every turn, or is he drawing them right where he wants them? Has circumstance brought these three together? Or are they a part of an ancient prophecy that connects them in more ways that they could possibly imagine?