Little snippets of info about centaurs in the world of Detective Docherty 😀 Everything a detective needs to get started.
Fanart
I received this beautiful piece of fanart by Teabvt and I wanted to share it with all of you. It’s so beautiful. I tear up every time I look at it! It’s just so wonderful to see the whole gang together 🙂 Detective Docherty, Alexandria, Ares, and Raven ^_^
Kelpie
Kelpie are one of the many fairy we meet in the world of Detective Docherty and I thought I would post him here to say hello!
Anime North Aftermath
If you attended the Anime North this year, needless to say, you know how hard it was to get up Monday morning.  And here I am, staying up late to write this… I’ll never learn 😉
Anime North was one amazing time. I mean–What a blast!Â
I hardly know where to start.
Let’s start with what it’s known for: the amazing cosplay. Â The Toronto Congress Centre, The International Plaza, The Crowne, Â The Sheraton, and hotels all around the airport, the streets; they were all packed with wonderfully handcrafted costumes. Seriously, the sweat, blood, and tears that went into these costumes was apparent in their beauty and intricacy.
Anime North has the largest vendor’s room I have ever seen in person and I love shopping for geek-gear, but I truly feel it’s the cosplayers that make the con. They create this enchanting atmosphere with all of your childhood and adult favorites that simply can’t be replaced. Without the cosplayers, there’d be no magic. Their energy and willingness to pose for pictures again and again keeps the convention going.
Being anime focused, most of the costumes were of course anime characters, however I did see a Newt Scamander, several Disney characters, and even a Deadmua5 costume! I was excited to see some anime characters I recognized as well, like The Seven Deadly Sins and Hiyao Miyazaki characters (my fave). I felt more at home this year than I did last year.
Apart from cosplay, Anime North has an incredible shopping draw, as I said above it has the largest dealer’s room I’ve ever seen. Â I had to restrain myself sadly, because I’d already spent too much $$$ on comics and books before the con, but I still walked the entire hall to window shop. Although, I happily admit I traded a book for some chocolate from Cakes Cove.
So many goodies! Wish I had more $$$
In terms of wanting to empty my pockets for shit I don’t need more precious comics, books, and collectibles, what I really wanted to see was Doll North. Sadly I only made it to an evening doll swap and never got to see the Doll North dealer’s room. I was bummed, but I had such an incredible time with my friends and on panels, I honestly cannot complain. The swap was great too and I still got to see some awesome dolls and accessories.
Speaking of which, I saved the best for last! THE PANELS. I live for being a panelist, the discussions, the networking, and connecting to people through common interests–panels are my absolute favorite. Anime North did not disappoint.
I had my first panel Saturday night at 6pm on World Building and was shocked when I saw a line up out the door and a packed room with people sitting on the floor. Here’s to those people who sat on the floor to stay and participate in our panel–Thank you!
The other panels I participated on were Self-Publishing and the Ghost in the Shell controversy. Each panel had something to offer and all of the panelists and participants made each one a great experience. I hope that I offered to the participants and other panelists insight and advice that they can take with them, use, and become successful with. Apart from panels, I live for creativity, and want to see more of it in this world.
Ruu-fi-ooooo!
I hope that for the Ghost in the Shell panel in particular, that some people left more open-minded than when they entered. The panel itself focused on the controversy that arose from the main character of Ghost in the Shell being played by a white-woman and while yes, she was a talented actress, and yes she looked exactly like the cartoon character (and yes it was a good film), the issue is much larger than that. Why wasn’t a talented Asian woman an option? Why wouldn’t she have been a box-office hit making millions? I hope that those who joined us for the panel that day, help to create a world where TV and film finally represent everyone who watches and participates in them.
Apart from panels, shopping, and being trigger happy with my camera, I had a wonderful time seeing my friends and spending time with my fellow authors. Over all I had a wonderful weekend and cannot wait till next year.
Anime North
I was invited to Anime North this year to participate as a panelist! I am pretty damn excited.
I’ve only been to Anime North once and sadly had a limited experience. I was in the Toronto Congress Centre and didn’t have a chance to really do any shopping, I didn’t get to attend panels, and didn’t get to check out Doll North, but this year it… is… ON!
I’ll be participating in three panels:
Saturday at 6pm: World Building
Sunday at 11:30am: Self-Publishing
and at 1pm: The Ghost in the Shell Controversy
Here’s the full Anime North schedule and locations of my panels:Â Click Me.
I wont have a table, instead I’ll be cruising. I’m looking forward to really seeing the con this year. I know it’s impossible to experience everything, but I’ll do my best 😉
Anyway, if you’re in the neighborhood, make sure to come drop in on a panel or stop me and say hi! I’ll be wandering about 🙂
Here’s hoping I don’t put too much of a dent in my wallet–I am a sucker for a good manga or comic.
WaterRaven
Free eBook POW!
Witches, elves, goblins, and vampires! Detective Docherty and the Vampire’s Mirror is free to download all week on Kindle!
Download Free: http://tinyurl.com/lpzhfvw
Synopsis:
It’s been eleven years since the Great Awakening. Not much has changed around Toronto, minus the rumor there’s a new Goblin King in town and that a series of gruesome murders and disappearances are plaguing the city. Are the goblins raiding again or could this be the work of a serial killer?
With the flood of bodies and missing fairy reports, the Detective and his team have their hands full. If things weren’t bad enough, the agency has been hired by wizards. Everyone knows wizards can’t be trusted, but how far can their deception go?
A shadow has fallen over the city of Toronto. Can the Detective, along with his assistants, Ares and Alexandria, stop this wave of murders? Will their relationships survive the oncoming darkness or will they be changed forever? And will someone please name that d*mn goldfish?
Download Free: http://tinyurl.com/lpzhfvw
Confessions of an Indie Author
I suppose many of you have heard by now about Chris Cornell’s death and while I was not a die-hard fan of his, I certainly appreciated his music. Audioslave debuted during some pretty pivotal years of my life and I cannot listen to that album without slipping into nostalgia or remembering how hot I thought he was.
I read his wife’s statement regarding her husband’s death, here, on Rolling Stone’s website, and I cannot help but to think about what a terrible waste his death was and about how that could have been me, so here are the confessions of this indie author.
Some of you may know this and some of you may not, but for a time, I was extremely depressed and incredibly anxious. I have spiraled a couple times in my life: in high school, university, and several years after graduation. Â In fact, I almost didn’t graduate university because I suffered a breakdown so serious, I refused to attend class and barely left my apartment for a month. I had to retake my courses and almost stayed an extra year.
I somehow came out of it, though it’s been a while now. I believe it was mostly thanks to a friend, some family support, and odd things, like random inspiration–but the truth is, anxiety and depression never truly leave those afflicted with them. They lay dormant inside, small seeds pressed deep in the recesses of the mind, just waiting for the right conditions to sprout.
And sprout they did a couple years before I turned thirty.
The anxiety came first. I became anxious about going to work because the truth is, I hated my job. I took some bad advice and decided that money was important and I needed it to feel secure and happy. I couldn’t sleep at night, thinking about how terrible my day had been and wondering what horrors tomorrow would bring, and then of course, my thoughts would continue on to the rest of my miserable life and my eventual death in what I considered to be a meaningless existence.
I was in a relationship with someone who didn’t love me anymore. Raven, my dog, died, and she was more important to me than I could ever fully express; a rock and a companion that had been there for me through some of the most difficult trials of my life. After she died… I broke. I split right in half: One side depression, the other side anxiety. I sat on my couch, day and night, crying or watching Netflix to try and distract myself from the incredible pain I was in. I just wanted to escape.
Without proper support from friends and family–because no one knew how to help me or understood how truly bad it was—I turned to medication, thanks to advice from my family doctor. I was on what I consider to be a very high dose. It stopped most of the crying and the physical pain I felt, but it also stopped everything else. I stopped caring about writing, drawing, work (I had gotten a part time job by this time), I stopped showering and I stopped going outside. I was no longer hurting in the same way as I was before, I was hurting in a new one.
Medication did not fix my problems or help me to help myself. Instead it took away the potential drive to do anything that might actually turn my life around and make me happy. I became part of the audience, watching the reel of my life, crying out for the girl on screen, wanting to help her, but I couldn’t. I was physically incapable of standing up and taking her hand and saying, “It doesn’t have to be like this. Come with me.”
I got kicked out of the house I was living in and fired. For the first time in my life, I had been fired and my boyfriend left me. He told me he didn’t want to take care of me anymore. Of course, while I had struggled this whole time, he had lived at home in his parent’s basement, working the job my father had gotten him, and could now afford to buy his own house. What a nail through the chest that was.
I was an island in an inconsolable sea of heartbreak, loss, and sadness. Losing those things that we use to define ourselves; a job, a pet, a lover, and becoming estranged from friends and family, I tried to take my own life. I had given it a lot of thought, because I had a lot of time to think about it.
The first time I really considered it I was in university. Unfortunately, I feel like once that thought pops into your mind, it ripples out through time, cresting and then breaking on the shores of your sanity at the worst of times. The life crash I was having was definitely the worst I’d experienced. I was ready to end it.
I called my brother up to say goodbye to him. I should mention here that he did not live close and tried the best he could for me from afar. My brother may be younger than I am, but to this day he remains my hero. When I called him, he drove all the way from Toronto to stay the night on my couch and make sure nothing happened. He had to wake up early the next day and drive back to Toronto for work. I look back and feel terrible for how much I must have scared him.
But he couldn’t always be there, so eventually I found the time and I made an attempt. Luckily what I tried did not work and I woke up with a new appreciation. I don’t remember everything about that morning, but I do remember gentle rays of golden sunlight and staring for a long time at a maiden hair fern I had placed on the window ledge of the room I was staying in. I realized I didn’t really want to die, I just didn’t want this life. I wanted a different one, where I did what I loved every day and I loved who I was.
So, I decided to try. I went to see a counselor, I started to wean myself off my drugs (despite my Dr’s insistence that I keep taking them), and I got a shitty part-time job at a gas station. I was exercising. I couldn’t afford a gym membership, so I would jog outside and do what I could inside: push ups, sit ups, etc; things I couldn’t do when I was on my meds because I had no drive and no energy. I changed how I ate. I cut out wheat, dairy, and I went from vegetarian to vegan. It was hard, but very much worth it.
Weaning myself off my medication was incredibly difficult. I will not lie about that. Towards the end, I would open the capsules and count out beads to lower the dosage and reduce withdrawal symptoms. The withdrawal symptoms from my medication where terrible. My vision would get blurry, my eyes would feel like they were shaking, and the headaches would last days. The weirdest thing though were the “zaps” from withdrawal. It felt like little jolts of electricity were running through my system. There was nothing I could do about the symptoms though, so I waited it out. I worked when I could or I laid in bed. I reminded myself every day that the pain and discomfort would not last forever. It was hard, but I cannot express how happy I am that I did it.
Now that I think about it, I feel I should re-tract my shitty part-time job statement, because I was proud of that job and I don’t feel anyone should ever be ashamed of their job. At least they have one, at least they are trying. I did hate that I sold cigarettes, helping people to kill themselves, that our store didn’t recycle, and I hated that I drank more energy drinks than any one human being should ever consume, but it was my job. Mine (my precious). I had earned it, kept it, and I had money again and because of the growing financial stability it gave me, I was able to write again. I cared about writing again, which in turn meant I cared about my life.
Eventually I would be able to get out of part-time work and focus on full-time writing. And once things were more stable for me financially and emotionally I was ready. I met someone great, who supports my writing and who has vowed to love and cherish me through the good times and the bad. Together we build the life we want, everyday.
So, my life wasn’t amazing the moment I decided I wanted to live and live without fear. There were stepping stones to getting to where I am now, Â but change is possible. You don’t have to be stuck in a life you hate or are afraid of anymore, you can change it. Counseling was and is the core of my success. I cannot stress that enough. Without someone I could speak to and to give me tools to take with me into my every day life, I do not believe I would be here. Â My counselor did for me what friends and family could not. She gave me real tangible solutions to the problems that I faced.
With her guidance, I took control of my life. Exercise, a healthy diet, and a healthy mind were the building blocks that gave me a better and happier life, not a pill. I am not saying that no one needs medication or that exercise is going to solve all your problems, I am saying that you can take control of your life and through counseling, exercise, and healthy food, you can be your best self and take on anything, like publishing a book.
My anxiety and depression are not completely gone, I wont lie about that, but they no longer control me. When the storm comes and waters the seeds of doubt in my mind, I pick up a phone and I make an appointment and get help. I go for a run or a bike ride and I keep going. I know now that I can weed out the bad thoughts and feelings. I beat them before and I can do it again.
And you can too. You are much stronger than you think. Take a chance on yourself and live your life completely.
Ad Astra 2017
I’ll do my best to write this post before I forget everything from this past weekend. Ad Astra 2017Â was… THE BEST AD ASTRA YET! WOO!
Ad Astra 2017 was full of endless amusement, hilarity, and was without a doubt an all around good time!
Where to start? Well, it was wonderful to see my fellow authors again:
Jen Frankel – author of one of my fave books: Undead Redhead
Kit Daven – The Forgotten Gemstone *swoon* Another of my all time faves.
Timothy Carter – insert snort here–because Section K is hilariously awesome! As are all of Tim’s books.
Alisse Lee Goldenberg – Recently released Song of Hadariah, a great look into the world of Jewish Mysticism and a new look at classic fairy tales. I was lucky enough to read it before release!
Cameron S. Currie – His book Shiv is next on my reading list! Can’t wait to read it. I absolutely loved his reading at Ad Astra last year.
Vanessa Ricci-Thode – Author of Dragon Whisperer which I have yet to read, though I’ve known Vanessa for years and frickin’ love her!
James Bambury – A short fiction writer with his own web comic out. I’ve had the pleasure of reading one of James’s short stories and it was, for lack of a better word: Great. I loved how simple and yet deep it was. Definitely a story that left me thinking. I also adore James’s web comic, Spacebox, check it out here: SpaceBox
Eric Choi – We had a Star Trek panel together a couple years ago and have been friends ever since! I haven’t had the chance to read one of Eric’s stories yet, but I definitely plan on it!
I also had the privilege of meeting other local authors such as the wonderful Matthew Bin, who I now plan on stalking being BFFs with 🙂
I usually have something either up my nose or obstructing my face when on a panel …
There were quite a few guests and guests of honor that attended this year as well. I had the privilege of being on panels with a couple of them. Authors such as Kristen Britain and even Brandon Sanderson, though truth be told, I only saw him in passing. Kristen and I got a chance to be on a fantastic panel together: The Ecology of World building. There were several other awesome authors on that panel as well and I regret not getting their names. Â I recall a lot of laughing and conversation continuously digressing to fungus and goo–both of which clearly play an important role in ecology, but overall I hope those who attended found the panel as informative and interesting as I did.
My favorite fellow panelist this year (sorry everyone) was definitely Michael Martineck (on my left). We bonded over our love for DC and Marvel. Our panel focused on both big comic franchises; what was working for them and what wasn’t, and even though we swore to be mortal enemies before the panel started, we became allies in our love for superheroes! We even stayed half an hour after our panel to keep chatting with some of the guests. Michael has written for DC in the past and is a published author. You bet I will be checking his stuff out. I only hope we’ll be reunited again some day.
I had to get a photo with Ann and Mike. Two of my first readers. They are both near and dear to my heart. They attended my first reading at Ad Astra and inspired me to continue to write. Thank you.
How to summarize the rest? I had a great reading. I was delighted to see a small crowd gathered at 9:30 at night to listen to me, hahaha, but there were people there! Thank you to those who stayed up and laughed with me–and laugh we did, while I described a fat nerd sitting in a cargo fan watching a religious fanatic kill a vampire hooker. That’s just the kind of class I bring to these events, folks.
When I wasn’t discussing comics, books, or ecology, I was schmoozing–schmoozing hard. Saturday night rolled around and it was a whirlwind of amazing. Josh and I attended a reading and book launch hosted by Kit Daven and Jen Frankel (though I missed Kit’s reading. Forgive me!) and then we attended Genrecon’s party (they nailed it) and then we stumbled over into the con suite to chat and hang there,–and finally–on our way back to our room to rest??? we somehow ended up on the dance floor. What a night! What a weekend!
Sunday rolled in way too fast. I wasn’t ready to leave, honestly. I wanted a couple more days, even a week, to keep the party going. Nothing pumps me up and gets me ready to hammer out another book like a good convention and this year’s Ad Astra certainly handed me a hammer of inspiration.
I can’t wait for next year. Thanks for reading–
Sarah
First Annual Cosplay Games
When I’m not writing, I like to stay active in the sci fi/fantasy community by helping out local conventions, like the Canadian ToyCon. Here’s a video I made of the last event we put together: The 1st Annual Cosplay Games!
Our next cosplay games will be held at the GTA Comicon in November. More info as we get closer to fall!
Hope you enjoyed 🙂
Sarah
Mission Accomplished
Detective Docherty and the Sorcerer’s Game is finished! Early releases of the eBook and trade paperback are now available to my patrons through Patreon.com, but will be available to the rest of the world in a couple of weeks! Hoorah!
It’s taken WAAAAAAY too long for this book to be published and I am NOT going to let that happen for the next two books. I want to see this series through and I want it to get to my readers faster. I have so many books and series planned that I simply can’t let each book take two years.
And so, this year, I am going to try to publish two books: Detective Docherty and the Dark Curse (book IV) and another book, separate from this series (title to be announced). It’s going to take a lot of work, dedication, and proper time management (something I know nothing about), but I’m going to try! Thanks to a couple patrons and those friends and family who have supported me outside of Patreon.com, I was able to get this last book published.
Hopefully with sales from Detective Docherty and the Sorcerer’s Game and the help of my patrons, I’ll be able to hammer out these next two books without the financial constraints that put this last book on hold.
Well, I guess I have some books to write 🙂
More updates coming soon.
Sarah
