I have just been loving all the cheesy Valentine's Day cards flying around the internet today! This was super last-minute, and I only had my little Netbook (my backup writing laptop) to use, since my Macbook Pro's battery exploded, but I made a little something for all of you guys. You guessed it, obnoxiously sappy Haven Valentine's Day cards! My way of wishing everyone a fun holiday! Here's all four together, if that floats your boat. :) And remember everyone, holidays are only as fun as you make them. That being said, V-Day can still be awesome when you're flying like Han... Solo. :) All yours, A.R. Ivanovich
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Photo sent in by Burdy M. Glossy Dark Paperback Seeking New Home Great news! I'll be giving away a free signed copy of Haven on Friday, February 1st. If you'd like to have a chance to win, "Like" my Facebook page here. The drawing will be random, so everyone who likes my page has an equal chance of winning. The winner will get a private message from me, requesting a mailing address, so keep an eye on your incoming FB messages. If you already "Like" my page, then you're ahead of the curve. A New Look You've probably already noticed, but I've finally gotten a bit of new art up. A full view of the beach race can be viewed in Visual, HAVEN Concept Art section of the website. It's been nice to give my brain a break every once in a while to listen to some music and do some War of the Princes inspired artwork. There's more to come, so keep checking in. I may even do some sneak-peek art from the upcoming sequel. Fan Made Art Check out the Visual, Fan Art/Photography/Cosplay section of the site. A gorgeous, hand made, Haven themed necklace was sent in by an especially awesome reader. Thank you for that, Ericka, it's incredible! Sequel Updates Well, everyone has been asking, so I'm happy to finally be able to make a small, general announcement. Haven's sequel will be released within the first half of 2013. I can't be more specific right now, in case I'm able to get everything edited and published sooner. I worked in the video game industry for three years, and if it's one thing I've learned, it's not to commit to a release date that could compromise the quality of the project. This book may seem like it's taken a while to come out, but the reality of the situation is, I'm an independent author, I've shuffled day jobs, moved several times, and even gotten married since Haven was first released. But I'm a dreamer and a fighter, and though the road has been bumpy, there's nothing more important to me than getting this series out. Let me tell you, I couldn't be any more excited than I am. :) I hope that January has treated you all well. Be sure to make some time in your life for an adventure. Everyone needs one or two of those.
All yours, A.R. Ivanovich Reenactment screenshot. Don't worry, he can't hurt us anymore. Hello everyone! Several awesome people have been commenting on my blogs, asking to be added to Haven's sequel notification list. Firstly, I love you, and thank you. Unfortunately, my blog comment form is a cruel, wicked, dream crushing monster. It doesn't allow me to see the email address you've entered. So, for now, I've disabled comments to my blog, not because I don't enjoy hearing from you guys, but because my blog comment form is a selfish jerk. If you've left a comment asking to be added to the list, please fill out the far superior Contact Form here, or email me. Facebook works too. In other news... I'm way behind on responding to fan mail, but don't feel unloved! I've just been working really hard... yes on writing, please stop throwing cats at me! I will take a day to sweep through and respond to messages sometime next week. Better late than never! I refuse to be a faceless stranger, stifled by self imposed professional propriety. I hope you feel the love... because it's totally there. ;) I've also sorted out some technical difficulties that were stopping me from doing more art. Rest assured, Shenlong (my Wacom Cintiq) is fired up and ready to go! Also, I know it's just a silly dream of mine, but I would absolutely love to see some Haven fan art! Any doodlers out there? Happy winter everyone! All yours, A.R. Ivanovich The list
I've mentioned this in a few places now, but I thought I'd make an actual post for it. If you're a Havenite at heart and you want to be sure you're the first to know about the release of War of the Princes book two, message me with your email address. You'll be added to the notification list that will announce the release date of book two. That being said, I'm working feverishly on Haven's sequel. Stay tuned to this blog, Facebook and Twitter (@ARIvanovich) for updates! A reflection The ocean was so blue yesterday, it was almost a shock. Sure, the colors here are always vivid, but yesterday was something special. It was almost unreal. I couldn't keep myself from staring. Good thing I wasn't the one driving! The horizon line was so crisp, so sharp, a perfect line. When looking at such a sight, it's easy to understand why we once believed the Earth was flat as a table top. I happily imagined galleons and sea monsters next. The image got me wondering, was a perfectly clear horizon more commonplace before the industrial era? Is it an endangered sight? Here in Hawaii, it's volcanic emissions and cane smoke that fogs up the view, but additionally, I'd imagine that the cloud of pollution humanity creates is gradually dulling our world. I wish it wasn't the case. I wish we could turn back the clock just a bit, make some better decisions so that everyone could see what I saw yesterday. It really was beautiful. All yours, A.R. Ivanovich Hello everyone!
Due to goliath forces of great importance in my life, I have been away from the internet for some time; to which many respond, "Dear gods, man! How did you survive?" I know this is difficult to believe, but it is possible. I'll admit, at times the separation anxiety was nearly unbearable. Thankfully, I am yet living after my hiatus from the web, and things will be as they were. In addition to continuing to write, I'll be actively responding to missed fan mail, and putting together some more Haven art for this site. Briefly, I must note, I love the fall. The crisp air, autumn colors and abundance of pumpkins brings me nothing short of maniacal joy. I hope you all are loving it too! All yours, A.R. Ivanovich I was recently featured in a Behind the Gate Interview by fellow author Alyssa Rose Ivy. As with all of my interactions with this lovely and talented woman, I had a lot of fun responding to her questions. The interview includes some behind-the-scenes info about Haven's creation, updates about the War of the Princes series, and some random qualities of mine, for the curious. ;)
You can also enter a drawing to win a free kindle copy of Haven (War of the Princes). Check out the interview here. All yours, A.R. Ivanovich Thank you, human ingenuity. I love you, I really do. There are a couple writing applications that I'd like to share with any other writers who may be interested. If you already know about them, awesome! Screenshot of Write or Die, desktop edition. Write or Die Versions: Mac/PC/Linux/iPad/Web This cheery little app acts as a keenly persuasive motivator. Write or Die tracks the amount of words you type per session, allows you to set word goals, and even compete with a friend online using Word War. Sounds pleasant enough. Well, everything is sunshine and rainbows in Write or Die, as long as you're typing. If you stop typing for longer than the determined amount of time, you will be prodded (one way or another) to keep your fingers rattling on your keyboard. • Gentle mode reminds you politely to continue writing. • Normal mode turns your computer into a weapon of auditory destruction by playing an annoying sound until you resume typing (Punish yourself, your way, by choosing your own sound file). • Kamikaze mode is every writer's worst fear. When you've sat idle for too long, this feature will erase what you've written, word by word, until you get back to work. Seriously, the thought gives me nightmares. There are several customizable features, and it really is fun to test your limits. One drawback is that you have to type your work directly into the application for it to function. It's understandable, but I wish there was an "other applications" mode. I'd enjoy this app most when doing writing exercises, challenging friends, writing short stories, and flash fiction. Personally, I wouldn't use it for lengthy work like novel writing. I use Scrivener for that, and it's far more practical (for me, but everyone is different). If Scrivener was a living being, I would jump on its back and hug it forever. With that, on to Scriv! Scrivener (2.2) Versions: Mac/PC After years of using regular text and word applications (like Microsoft Word), Scrivener comes as a massively useful writing tool. This huggable software keeps all of your work, notes, bios, research, drafts, and manuscripts neatly together. It's an organization lover's dream, and also helps keep an author's sanity in tact during complicated writing projects. The interface takes a little bit of getting used to, but after the tutorial, its value swiftly becomes clear. A pair of screenshots taken from Scrivener showing two window sizes. Scrivener (or Scriv as I like to call it), is fitted with organizational templates for fiction, non-fiction, scriptwriting, and even lyrics and poetry projects. The Corkboard feature allows you to visualize the layout of your work using note cards on, well, corkboard. Each note card represents a folder or a file. These cards can be labeled, stuffed with text, reorganized, color coded, and even stamped with their status (Draft, Edit, Complete, etc). If you'd prefer, you can even swap the note card for any uploaded picture, which makes for excellent fun when deciding what you want your characters/locations to look like. You can create multiple Corkboards for different sections of your project. As an example, I have Manuscript, Character Bios, Locations, and Bestiary Corkboards for my War of the Princes series. Scriv is easy to write in, offers a multitude of text options, formatting, spell check, word count (including word count statistics and targets), outlines, and is a generally a catch-all for writing projects. Not to mention, if it's one thing I adore to obsession, it's the capacity for customization, and Scrivener delivers! Really, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot more awesomeness that this program offers, but this blog does not need to be a novel. Meet Scrivener! I highly recommend it. If Scrivener was a scholarly old man as in the days of yore, I'd probably still jump on his back, accidentally kill him, and spend the rest of my days living like a monk in solitude to atone for my dangerous levels of exuberance. Write or Die screencast video. Scrivener basics video.
Hope this was helpful!
All yours, A.R. Ivanovich Well, it's happened again. Another unlikely creature has adopted us. I think you know what it is, since my title isn't incredibly subtle. Forget you, air-of-mystery, I'm all about getting straight to the point tonight! ;) We found this ridiculously adorable beastie floating around in our river pool. Like completely rational adults, me and the fiancee scampered, squealing, straight down to the bank to try to feed her. I've taken care of ducks in the past, and some of them can be bloodthirsty man-eaters, so I approached with the caution of a giggling child, expecting to have my eyes ripped out all the same. Lucky for the both of us (and our eyeballs), she turned out to be incredibly tame! Since she is a Muscovy duck, she doesn't "quack", but makes very soft, "mememe" sounds. The power of raw cuteness melted our faces off, and we died. Fortunately, that last part didn't happen. Lucy seemed the best name in the universe for her, so that's what we call her. All was well, that is, until it began raining. Living where we do in a tropical jungle, our little peaceful river and its lazy pool can turn into white water rapids in a matter of moments. In severe storms, the river has been known to swallow our driveway and eat up half of our yard. Needless to say, it can become very dangerous for people and pets alike. Lucy was settled in, sleeping on the rocks in the middle of the river when the rains began. They didn't let up for the duration of the night. When I woke up the following morning, the river was rushing and Lucy was gone. After seeing how clumsy the duck was, I was terribly worried for her. Do heavy, domestic ducks have the sense to get away from the water? Could she hear the flood coming? She didn't reappear all day. I paced and paced. When the fiancee told me he could see her in the yard, I dropped everything I was doing. She was a little muddy and had a few burrs in her feathers, but Lucy had made it! To my surprise, she followed me away from her usual spot near the trees by the river, trailing me all the way up the yard to our house. It has been two days, and the river is rushing more powerfully than ever. Until it subsides, we have a very sweet Muscovy duck freely choosing to loiter on our covered, weatherproof deck. All yours,
~A.R. Ivanovich Well, it finally happened. I have a completely uncontrollable need to customize, well, everything. It was only a matter of time that my Twitter page would be affected. The result is a fairly simple image that I threw together. I'm attempting to make it available as a wallpaper too, but I'm not sure if it will work. Click on the image below for a close-up view. If you can't download it, just take a screenshot. I love sharing. You can see it up on my Twitter profile here. Following me on Twitter is also a nice thing to do. On a side note, because of my artistic nature and my ridiculously compulsive drive to personalize everything I get my hands on, my notebooks, sketchbooks and folders are riddled with collages, drawings, and bitty bobbles dangling from anything I can tie them to. I also take roughly 2 hours to create a character in any game where customization is available. Go me. As a result, I get teased by my gamer buddies and fiancee to no end. Well gamer buddies, I'm a free spirit... deal with it! ;) All yours,
~A.R. Ivanovich |
AuthorA. R. Ivanovich is likely typing away at her desk, with a cup of heavily caffeinated tea and a cat on her lap. Archives
October 2020
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