Fantasy Tim Hortons

Ceres is in San Francisco, and Balthazar is in Reno. I haven't yet decided whether they're in fantasy versions of those two cities or, Dark Tower style, occupying the site of actual postapocalyptic ruins.

Melchior is from Seattle, and Los Angeles is down there somewhere. Maybe it's become an island by this point, I should probably figure that out.

Gasper is Canadian. In fact, I'm going to say that all orcs are Canadian. Tim Hortons is powerful, and I would not be the least bit surprised if were the only thing to survive the magical apocalypse intact.

Maybe this is cheating, but listen. If this sort of fantasy geography was good enough for Final Fantasy XV, it's good enough for me.

2020 Writing Log, Part 35

– I posted Chapter 41 of Malice on AO3. Finally! Only five more chapters to go!!

– I edited Chapter 31, Chapter 32, Chapter 33, Chapter 34, Chapter 35, Chapter 36, and Chapter 37 of Malice. Editing this mess has taken about six months, but I’m almost caught up! Thankfully, these last several chapters have been much easier to edit.

– I edited and submitted a two-page story and an accompanying illustration to the anthology of this year’s Philly Zine Fest.

– I submitted an application to be a writer for Memorabilia, a fanzine about the culture, history, and archaeology of Hyrule in Breath of the Wild.

– I also submitted an application to be a writer for Phobias, a zine featuring original horror-themed short fiction, comics, and illustrations.

– Both of these applications were surprisingly time-intensive, but I enjoyed putting everything together. I think the sort of work I do is a perfect fit for both projects, and perhaps this is my hubris at work, but I went ahead and cleared my entire writing schedule for December so that I can focus on the stories I’d like to submit to these two zines and Ties of Time (the Legend of Zelda zine I submitted a writer application to about two weeks ago). Fingers crossed!!

– I created an illustration to use for my third horror-themed short fiction zine, Haunted Houses. If all goes well, I should be able to send everything to the printer early next week!

– I created an illustration to use for the second announcement post for the Legend of Haiku zine I’m organizing. If you’re interested, you can find the post (on Twitter), (on Tumblr), and (on Instagram). I’ve already gotten some amazing submissions, and the WIPs I’ve received from the cover artist are phenomenal. This is going to be a gorgeous zine, and I’m really looking forward to sharing it!

– Speaking of which, the artist I commissioned to create a sticker to go with the zine sent me the final draft of the design, and it’s lovely. We went through a few color palettes, each more beautiful than the last, but I think the one we finally settled on is a perfect fit for the themes of the zine.

– I drew a short comic about Balthazar from The Demon King. I tried making a comic with this joke earlier this year (here), but I thought I’d give it another shot.

– I commissioned one of my longtime favorite fantasy artists, Marty Tina G., to create a character design for Gasper from The Demon King, and it’s exactly what I imagined. I am in head over heels in love with this strong and beautiful lady orc warrior!