Blog Promo: Annika Sams Photography

The illustrator for the Dark Veil series officially has a WordPress website! Check it out here. It hosts mainly photographs so far, but she is also quite talented in the area of painting and sketching. She’s just a very wonderfully talented person who’s trying to get a start on this wonderful web hoster that is WordPress.

Here’s some images of hers to get you an idea of how good she is.

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Sadly, most of this is older stuff, but you can see her newer photos on her blog! She’s heavily into the surrealism scene, so it shows in her work all the time. Check her out and give her a follow if you like!

The Cure for Everything

As much as I have tried to run from being sick, it has totally not worked. I probably now have the flu, based on the headaches and couching and lack of energy and all that fun stuff. A lot of people think being sick is a drag. Nope! Being sick can be fun if you make it awesome. For instance, soda’s carbonation helps alleviate headaches. But what’s an extra soda for good measure? Or two? I mean, we gotta keep the headaches away somehow. Plus I can stay inside my dorm all day, do nothing, and no one judges me.

Speaking of sodas, I’m not actually sure if the soda actually alleviates anything or I have become accustomed to doing so. Back when I was wee lad, my mother used to use Ginger Ale as the remedy to everything. She’s the real expert here, move over, pharmacists!

Stomach ache? Ginger Ale.
Puking? Ginger Ale.
Bad cough? Ginger Ale.
Sore throat? Ginger Ale.
Near death? Ginger Ale.
Broken heart? Ginger Ale.
Can’t drink liquids or you will be put into a coma? Ginger Ale.

And we could only use Canada Dry Ginger Ale as a remedy for some reason. I think Canada may just be magical in some way.

I only poke fun at my mother because I love her. It’s just the way our relationship works. We banter like this back and forth a lot. I also let her know I love her, don’t be too upset.

Also, the lack of energy means that I’m less apt to go full add on my assignments. Because of this, my assignments for photography class have improved drastically. I actually take my time to set up the shot, make sure it’s not blurry, get it in focus, and generally don’t treat it like a point-and-shoot. Now I have great results!

This guy looks like he's channeling the spirit of Thorin Oakenshield looking over his gold.
This guy looks like he’s channeling the spirit of Thorin Oakenshield looking over his gold.
I found out if you just wait on it you can get some really alive-looking water.
I found out if you just wait on it you can get some really alive-looking water.
You've never seen a happier dude than this guy after I took his shot.
You’ve never seen a happier dude than this guy after I took his shot.

So I’m actually pretty ok with being sick. I should be sick more often.

Now, for the book updates and stuff…

I officially have to think about where everything is on the map. It really distresses me, because now I have to think about things. I have to think about noggard (dragon-like creatures) flight speed. I have to think about walking distances. I have to think about where certain cities and landmarks are in comparison to others. Would the people of Jevruun have to walk through the Espya Mountains to reach their final destination? How did the armies of Gammas Va’El and Asynthandt not meet up on the way to Oriwind? Why did I make such ridiculous names for all these cities?

I’m sure everything will be easier when Annika and I begin the map.

Until that time, I’ll be chugging Ginger Ale, bundling up and enjoying the oncoming weekend.