ECCC here we come…

We will be at Booth 505 at Emerald City Comic Con this weekend. ECCC is the premier comic book and pop culture convention in the pacific northwest!  If you are looking for us, we are exhibiting under my name: Elizabeth Guizzetti.

 

Here is what you will fine at our booth:

Out for Souls & Cookies 5 will debut this weekend and we have copies of all the back issues including the Christmas Special.

We also have paperback copies of Other Systems and all three issues of Faminelands.

We will be giving away swag. We will be having a huge giveaway at our booth.  You can win everything from sketches to postcard sets to books.

Aubry Andersen will be in my booth representing Fuzzy Hedgehog Press selling paperback copies of  The Winter and The Spring as well as Zachary Bonelli’s novel Voyage: Embarkation

We hope to see you there!

Out for Souls & Cookies #5 Cover Reveal

So who wants to see the cover for Out for Souls & Cookies #5: The Final Negotiation?

Lord Fluffcakes finds a memo stating Satan is heading to a comic book convention to make a few deals with fame-hungry indie comic creators. Can Rosamundian and Tychobraticus stop their servant from making a deal with the devil? 

Out for Souls&Cookies #5 will be available March 29th for $4.00 at the ZB Publications Store or at Emerald City Comic Con.

What do I do while waiting to hear back from publishers? I start a new project!

I admit it, right now, I’m feeling vulnerable about the fact that I have a ton of things up in the air…

ECCC is coming. It’s my biggest event of the year. I’m not even going to pretend that doesn’t freak me out.

Out for Souls & Cookies #5 is progressing a page a day just like normal. In fact I should be done by March 1st on my current schedule which will work fine, since that is when Maria will come down to Seattle to take a look at it prior to ECCC. And for everybody else…I hope you come back on March 1st for the cover reveal.

The Martlet is at Angry Robot. No word.

The Light Side of the Moon is at 48Fourteen.

I’ve three short stories out in the ether, I’m waiting to hear back from. One at Flash Fiction Online, another at Lightspeed and another at Analogue.

As always I’m crossing my fingers, but that doesn’t quiet the anxious voices. So what should I do? That’s right, go through the queue and find a new project!

On Monday, I started a new project from this idea:  Is the life of one worth the life of billions?

Dalya Hayes and her husband Oliver Fisher are locals who run a Museum of Oddities and the Visitor Service Center in the small town of Sitka’s Quay. They watch the summer crowds. Some visitors are just families out for an all-American vacation, but some visitors seek to restore their magic in the grove and lake outside the village.

One day, a visiting sorcerer, Jonah Leifson, comes to town. He believes these old Gods will bring back peace and prosperity to the world. Jonah gathers other sorcerers with the same political motives…..

Now for the rest of the blurb, sorry but you’ll have to wait. I don’t want to give away too much, especially if I change the plot half way through or something. 😉

Finished the outline, and wrote the first two chapters which right now I am calling Sitka’s Quay.

As I said, the protagonists are married…so I began writing. The rough draft of the first few chapters has been written. I started it with them in their museum. The antagonist enters.  They give him a map of the grove but wife senses the danger. 

So I think this book is off to a good start. I’ve researched some ancient Sumerian Gods, ancient ceremonies, running a search party, and small town life.

Note: I think the heat level is still sweet. Way more kissing and sensuality than I wrote for The Light Side of the Moon, but certainly not erotica. I would be embarrassed to write anything much more risqué. Seriously, not only am I known for comics, but my mom reads my stuff.

2013: #ECCC Confessions from Booth 1006

Okay I started this on Facebook, but then realized this was really a blog post. So some of these are repeats from this morning. These are things I actually said over the course of this weekend and thoughts going on in my head.

2013: #ECCC Confessions from Booth 1006: Exhibiting as Elizabeth Guizzetti

Maria and I in the booth!

How does it feel to be a woman in a man’s field?

In my head: huh? Man’s field? What do you think this is 1950?

Spoken answers:

• When I started Faminelands six years ago, I didn’t know comics were a “male-dominated” industry. I just thought it would be fun to try to write a graphic novel. I have been doing indie comics and when I look around, I see plenty of other ladies. So I didn’t really break the “rules” as much as no one told me I could or couldn’t do what I do. More and more women write books all the time.
• I have never been discriminated against as a woman–or if I have– I was simply too dense to notice. Sometimes being thick is good. 😉
• I did not know Other Systems was hard scifi when I wrote it. I did not know I was breaking into a man’s genre. I didn’t even consider my audience. I wrote a book I liked and listened to when and where Dennis groaned when he watched StarTrek.

HERE IS MORE TRUTH. Not a single thing has to do with me being a woman. I want to be considered a great author, not a great “woman author.” My reproductive organs have nothing to do with writing! Here is some stuff that matters:

• I spent six months researching the gold rush to make Lure as real as possible. 
•  I am a good dog-mom/alpha-dog/whatever to Rosie and Tycho so they continually feed me inspiration for Out for Souls&Cookies.
• I wrote three graphic novels in the Faminelands Universe in a way that made me feel I never ruined the story.
• I am damn (a stronger 4-letter word is more appropriate, but don’t want to embarrass my folks) proud that my worst reviews of Other Systems is there is too much science, exploring and not enough romance. I spent three months researching scientific theory alone, so of course there was a lot of science! Come on people! 

When is the sequel to Other Systems etc?

• I am working on one now.

But when?

• I don’t just push out books to get them out on the market. Sorry, you have to wait, but good sequels take time. Don’t worry, I always announce my sequels early.

A follow up to #5: Do you want to know how to make [Insert title] better?

In my head: Oh my god, did they see Malak’s jacket on page 41 in Mareton’s Curse? It was not rendered with as much care as every other piece of an image and if that wasn’t bad enough, the crappy looking coat makes his head looks pasted on!!! NOOOOOO!

• No thank you, once a book is out, it is what it is. No one is more critical than I am, but I know better than to keep obsessing over it.

How is it to work with your bff?

• I love Maria, but we do sometimes disagree. That is a fact in any friendship, but how do we stay friends? We have had a business contract since the beginning of all of this.

Why did you write Faminelands?

• Because I like elves. I admit it. Now that the trilogy is complete, I am working on The Martlet for the same reason.

Hey There…

• No, you can’t buy me a drink later, I am married.

Follow up to Question 8: then where is your ring?

• See this tattoo? (On my ring finger on my left hand.)

Where is your husband?  (Actually this year he had the flu, but this question is asked every year and even if he wasn’t sick, it is not Dennis’ job to man the booth.)

• Well it’s [insert day] so he’s probably home playing computer games, but he might have gone to a movie or something. Dennis does not have to hang out in my booth for me to know he loves me. I don’t hang out in his office. What you think that’s different? You are wrong, because this is my job. And no, you still can’t buy me that drink.

I want to do indie comics or write books or…. ?

Most days I say: Well it’s hard work but I love it. I write or draw every day and by the end of the year I have a novel. I love the work. 🙂

It’s the truth, but somedays I wish I could say to an attendee: Look, I work 40-60 hour work weeks with very little financial reward. But to me it’s not about the money. Sure I would love to have the money. I would build a big pool of gold like Scrooge McDuck and swim in it. However I think writing and drawing comics and novels are worth it even if I don’t ever have a commercial hit. I’m not even trying to have a commercial success in the way most people consider it.

Seriously if I wanted money, I would write porn–oh sorry I mean “erotica” or go back to painting baby room murals. That’s where the money is, however, that is not who I am. I write stories that my mother will not be ashamed to show her friends, I can be proud of that I paste my name all over it and hopefully makes the reader see beyond themselves. I love to do the research, I love to stretch my skills and to see myself getting better and better every year. That’s my reward. IF and ONLY IF that reward will be enough, then stop making excuses and get off your sorry butt and get to work…. 

But if I ever said that I think Maria would kill me or at least push me out of the booth and tell me to go buy us cookies.

Faminelands #3 Mareton’s Curse has been released into the big wide world

Faminelands Mareton’s Curse is available starting today! You can buy it in our store.

Sequalization of the Webcomic has started!  From today until sometime next year, each Friday by noon PST, I will be updating Faminelands.com with a single page of the story. Page 2 is up now. If anyone wants to get caught up The Carp’s Eye and Living Stone are also there, just hit double back and you can go to the beginning.

Note: I use the physical page numbers on the webcomic. Also though I know I am doing it backwards, I actually finish and release the book prior to the webcomic since I never write anything in order.

If anyone is in Seattle, Maria and I will be at Emerald City Comic Con this weekend at Booth 1006. Stop on By! We will be raffling off the original inked image of Lark to the left and continuing our Like to Win ZB Publications Facebook Page giveaway until March 3rd at the close of the Con. We hope to see you there!

Emerald City Comic Con–Here we come!

So I am heading out to pick up our badges today for Emerald City Comic Con the largest comic book and pop culture convention in the pacific northwest! I also will bring one suitcase of display items and banners so I can do the basic table set up. Maria and I will haul the inventory together tomorrow. She gets here at 10 am and the con opens at 2pm so we have plenty of time for finishing set up and lunch.

Maria and I will be at Booth 1006 this year. The con is bigger than ever before.  We will also have some help from my niece, Jessica. We wil be “elfing-out” to celebrate the release of Faminelands #3. Come by for free postcard sets, bookmarks and other goodies. We have a special prize for anyone who buys the entire set. We also will be having a raffle with a hand drawn image of Lark and you can get your photo taken with people who dress up as elves to sell you a series of books.

We will be handing out buttons, postcards and excerpts for Other Systems. We also have news on The Martlet and Out for Souls&Cookies to share.

There will be plenty of celebrities, media guests, artists and authors. If you are in Seattle, come check it out!

Like ZB Publications on Facebook! Win awesome Faminelands Prize Pack!

Check out all the goodies!

In celebration of the completion of Faminelands #3, I decided to run a drawing.

LIKE ZB Publications on Facebook between Feburary 23rd and March 3rd to win an awesome Faminelands Prize Pack.

Included are signed copies of Faminelands#1 The Carp’s Eye, Faminelands #2 Living Stone and the long awaited Faminelands #3, postcard pack, 3 1 inch buttons featuring the cover art of each book and a Mareton’s Curse bookmark.

The winner will be chosen by random drawing on March 3rd after the close of Emerald City Comic Con and notified on this page, Faminelands.com, and Facebook on March 4th. Please remember I am on Pacific Standard Time.  Also no family members of Maria or myself can win, though we would appreciate it if you still liked the page.

Faminelands Book 3: Mareton’s Curse is here!!!

The graphic novels arrived this morning wrapped in cardboard, bubble wrap and shredded paper. I need to unpack them and repack them for ECCC and send out any pre-orders as promised. Also in the was our CD’s for the digital copies! Now I just have to burn them, then on to world domination…opps that wasn’t the inside my head voice, was it? There is still time if you want to place an order, check out our store

Also coming are more posters for both Faminelands and “Who wouldn’t trust a poode?” posters for Out for Souls&Cookies.

Faminelands #3: Mareton’s Curse Update: it’s gone to press!

As you can see from the title Faminelands #3: Mareton’s Curse has gone to press. I got it back last Friday from the last beta reader who is also my grammar nazi. She said she found it impressive. I went through it again, so now it is on its way to Ka-Blam to be printed.

This has definitely been one of the harder titles for me to finish up. Specifically because there were subplots that had to be closed in this book. As my readers know I believe in believable characters, but my  writing is plot driven. When I read books, I need to have a satisfying ending, to be a satisfying read and I write that way as well…or at least try to.  I am very proud of the artwork in this book. I felt more than once I stretched my artistic ability.

As I said before it will be released on March 1st. You can pre-order it here. Maria and I will be shipping pre-orders on Feb 26th.

Faminelands Book #3: Mareton’s Curse is in Beta Reading!

I finished the artwork for Faminelands 3: Mareton’s Curse in August, Maria and I have gone through the first edit. The next step is Beta Reading: which means we are having a few people take a look at it.

The story opens with Galdor’s wedding and follows Roan, Orin, and Lark as they leave the village and seek Mareton’s prince who has been kidnapped and about to be sacrificed in order to make it rain. Will they find him in time?

I am very proud of some of the artwork in the book. Also I would like to announce that this issue is also special, because it is Maria’s first writing credit. I will be talking about how the creation of this book was a little different than the creation of previous ones later in the week as well as how character’s grow over a series.

Release Schedule:

On October 10th through November 10th, we will be starting a kickstarter campaign for the cost of printing with some awesome reward tiers so look for updates on that.

Beta reading will end on October 31st.

After the campaign ends, I will be sending it to the printer in order to have it ready for Emerald City Comic Con 2013. It will be available on trade paperback and digital with extras on CD or download. The webcomic will restart the first weekend of January. Also at Emerald City Comic Con we will be having a raffle of some original character artwork of Lark and Orin each day of the convention.

More information to come….